We have been busy with both work and play. We have spent several weeks staying at campgrounds and driving in to work. A few things have come up that I wanted to write about, but was too tired or had to get to bed for work.
One important change I have made was to the output side of the air conditioner. I had considered buying one of these to improve the airflow, but when I started looking on YouTube I found that several people had made a not as pretty version for under $20. Since neither of us like to throw money away (we're cheap!) I thought it would be worth a couple hours to try it. (I get nothing for these links, they are only informational.)
I started using the idea I saw on this YouTube channel. I varied the design slightly by not using a teepee on top of a flat piece of foam. I just used the angled part and left the bottom open to improve airflow through the entire filter instead of only half of it. I am pretty sure I saw the idea on the video here from Big Truck Big RV.
The results were as good as the videos say they are. The airflow was improved very much! We only have one air conditioner, but in the 95 degree plus days we have had so far the rv temp has only gotten to the mid to upper 70s.
Another small modification was to the kitchen utensil drawer. We had tried the plastic dividers that can be found online but they wouldn't stay in place. I decided to go with wood and aluminum channel. I was able to get everything at our local hardware store. I do try to buy local whenever possible if it makes sense.
I got the idea from this video. It was one of the best ideas for drawer dividers I had seen. One thing I did a bit different was to use 1/4 inch plywood so we didn't lose so much drawer space. Play around with the dimensions you have to work with and then lay things out to make sure it will work for you. Here's a quick demonstration of how quickly it can be removed for cleaning.
Another thing I have just been putting off and finally did was to mount the display for the Progressive Industries hardwired surge protector. This unit will watch for high or low voltage and also monitors for surges on the incoming power. It will disconnect the power before it can do any damage to the electrical components in the 5th wheel. I also needed to mount the Charge Wizard controller for the power converter.
I was going to drill a hole in the wall to route the cables, but when I took the outlet out to make sure I didn't drill into any wires I saw that I didn't need to. Since it is a common rv style outlet, it just uses two screws that tighten a plastic piece against the inside of the wall. That meant that I could slide it over enough to run the wires next to the outlet. All I had to do was notch out a bit of the outlet cover.
This won't work for every rv, but it worked great for ours. There was an easily accessible space between the wall and the cupboard behind the wall that is in the picture. The way they are mounted it won't be distracting to the rest of the area, but the controls are now easily accessible. I had them stuck in a drawer before.
We are on our 5th summer using this 5th wheel. I have been very lax on washing and waxing it this year, and I figured it was time.
I still cheated though, I used Wash Wax All. The shine I got when I was done reminded me that I really do need to do it more often. Our 5th wheel is 30 feet long tip to tail, and I don't think I can get the whole thing done with one 16 oz spray bottle. I might be using a little too much, I'm not sure.
One thing I am not doing is using their overpriced mop. I bought two of these instead. I just use one to wash and the other to dry. It worked as good as I had hoped, and I still saved about half the cost of the ones from Wash Wax All. Again, I don't get anything for mentioning these products, they are just things I have found that work well for us.
We are getting ready to go for a week and a half trip to our hometown, so I am tying up some loose ends before we go. Everything we are doing is preparing for full timing in a few years. It's something we are both looking forward to very much. We joke that sometimes we wonder if we are prepping the 5th wheel, or trying to wear it out!
No comments:
Post a Comment