Hints, Tricks and Gadgets/Tools --- small ones.

I use  "cubicle clips" on window valances.  The one by my sink is used to hold a recipe card if needed.  The one by the door is used to hold lists, coupons, or whatever other papers we may need as we leave the RV.
If you don't know what these are here is a link for Office Depot  http://www.officedepot.com/catalog/search.do?fkey=GZF8us2PfYKIvf9cYTykqzX&Ntt=cubicle+clips

Don't know if it has been posted before, but here is one tip that I have found extremely helpful if your coach has a backup monitor--

Take some sticks, a rope, or a long power cord and go behind your coach. Put them in a line on the ground across the back of the coach three feet behind the rearmost thing (usually the ladder,) then 90-degree corners, and then a ways towards the front of the coach, maintaining three feet from the sides of the coach. I used five broom & mop handles -- three across the back and then one on each side.

Turn on your backup monitor and you should see the lines on the ground across the back and down the sides. Take some pin-stripe tape and tape over these lines on your monitor screen. (I got my pin-stripe tape at an Advance Auto store.) Because of the fish-eye, the line across the back will be curved and the lines down the side won't be parallel. Also, my "box" was a good bit off-center of the screen to the left.

Now you've got a reference stay-out box on your monitor screen for when you are backing up. It's handy for missing poles, fences, picnic tables, etc.

P.S. -- Don't forget to pick up the things you layed out on the ground. 

I took a few orange cones, put them in the monitor's view in line with my wheels, then put the tape over the cones to show where my wheels will go when I'm backing.

Larry N. said:

I took a few orange cones, put them in the monitor's view in line with my wheels, then put the tape over the cones to show where my wheels will go when I'm backing.

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That's a good idea.  You could also stick a broom in your receiver hitch and put a piece of tape on the screen to mark where your hitch is when you are backing up.

Mike Goad said:

On the first day of our seven week trip out north and west in August and September, we discovered after we got to the campground that some of the cabinet doors had come open.  The highways and interstate going across north-east Oklahoma, from Ft. Smith to Tulsa and then over to I-35 and up into Kansas, were probably the culprit, with contents inside the cabinets moving back and forth causing the doors to open.  I'm sure there are a lot of solutions for this out there.  Ours was to partially make our camper kid-proof. 

We visited a Walmart in Wichita, Kansas, and, in the baby department, I found

• a device that hooks over two knobs of opposing doors and then slides together.
• an inside the cabinet latch that has to be un-latched after the door is partially open

Between the two of these, small bungee cords, storage containers in the cabinets to restrain the contents and redistribution of heavier items to other locations, we didn't run into any further problems.  We just had to make it part of our "rigging for the road" routine.

That trip to Walmart was interesting in a way when Karen asked for $100 back in change, by mistake, when she used the debit card.

I'll try to get some pictures of those kid-proofing devices on here.

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We have been their & done that. I35 Wichita, Ks  to Ft. Sill  Oklahoma (problems on OK. highways only) 3 times last summer. I can say this is the only time we have ever had problems with the cabinet doors coming open. We have been hauling bikes on the bumper bike rack for 5 years we lost a bike last summer.  What amazes me is Oklahoma has road construction all the time & their roads are terrible.

Just my humble opinion but I like the hydrometer test.  When I was a trucker in the Army (Airborne) that's how we always tested batteries.  I just replaced both of my house batteries, but I'm gonna try an experiment with the old ones that I haven't discarded yet.  They read around 6 1/2 volts on a meter, but the hydrometer shows the cells being pretty low.  I read that if you make a solution of hot water and magnesium sulfate (epsom salt) and add it to the battery it will disolve the sulfate deposits that build up on the plates.  The recipe I read, called for 10 tablespoons completely dissolved in a quart of water.  That's around 10 ounces per cell for a 6 volt.  I figure I'll extract 10 ounces from each cell using a glass measuring cup and my hydrometer as a syringe, then replace it with the epsom salt solution.  I'll throw a charger on them afterwards and see how it goes.  Worst case scenario, I'm out a few bucks for espsom salt.  I don't know about the effectiveness of the epsom salt, but it stands to reason.  The chemical reaction between the sufuric acid and the lead is what makes the electricy.  If the lead is coated then the chemical reaction is diminished.  It's actually pretty amazing.  Last year on a camping trip (tent) our jet ski battery died.  I bought a new one at a nearby auto parts store and it came with the sulfuric acid seperate in 6 sealed bottles.  The guy at the store said adding the acid to the battery would bring it to about 70-80% of it's capacity just by the chemical reaction.  Darn if he wasn't right.  After it bubbled like crazy for 30 minutes it started the jet ski like a champ.  A drop of the acid spilled on a carpeted rubber backed mat in the process.  Burned through the carpet to the rubber in less than a minute.  Powerful stuff!  But it doesn't eat the lead.  Hmmmm.......No wonder superman liked lead to protect him from kryptonite. 

Wolf Pack Fan said:

...  I read that if you make a solution of hot water and magnesium sulfate (epsom salt) and add it to the battery it will disolve the sulfate deposits that build up on the plates.  The recipe I read, called for 10 tablespoons completely dissolved in a quart of water.  That's around 10 ounces per cell for a 6 volt.  I figure I'll extract 10 ounces from each cell using a glass measuring cup and my hydrometer as a syringe, then replace it with the epsom salt solution.  I'll throw a charger on them afterwards and see how it goes.  ...

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It might work, but I would think you would have to drain the battery afterwards and put in fresh acid...

I would be very interested in the results.

I think that I would try an electronic desulphator before trying this but that is me.

Jim, I've tried an electronic desulfator previously.  It worked a little, but not to the extent that I hoped for.  The battery ended up being replaced anyhow.  Don't remember which toy it was.  The sulfate deposits are a chemical bond with the lead plates and only a chemical added will disolve them.  We'll see how it goes.  I will be sure to post all results.  Good news though!  Tested AC in the mh tonight and it'sworking great.  Bring on whatever heat you've got this weekend, Lake Tahoe!!  We're prepared!!

Ray D said:

Others have posted about the non-skid shelf lining material, to hold things in place while moving. I have had an irritation forever, with dinette seat cushions moving, while the coach is sitting still. I move my behind around,  :  while sitting at the dinette, causing the cushions to move, slide out, angle out, and sometimes to fall off under the table. 

Thought of the non-skid material, to hold the cushions in place. Went to ACE Hardware and bought 5 ft of the material. ($1.79) I cut it in half, and put half under each cushion.

Holds great! Real improvement. Cushions stay put, no matter how much my behind moves.  :  If you have this problem, I recommend the non-skid shelf liner.

Ray D 

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I went to the fabric store an bought a yard of "industrial strength" Velcro.  I applied it in a couple of places on each cushion - works like a charm!

I see this forum hasn't been used in about a month but I read almost every post except the generator/electric system stuff which tends to make my eyes glaze over - I just don't understand that stuff!  ???  Anyway here's my hint for those of you who are cleaning the bugs off the front of your motorhomes. Get some dryer sheets - you know, bounce or downy.  Wet them and rub at the bugs.  They come off much easier than anything I've ever used.  My cousin who lives near a lake in Florida and gets tons of bugs in the grill of her car showed us this trick.  It works on the front of a car and on the windows so it should work on any vehicle.  Wet down the area to be cleaned first with a hose.  Wet the dryer sheet then just rub.  When you are done, hose off the vehicle and the bugs should be history. 

Way back I read that buy a spare tube of caulk after opening up a tube.  The trick is use a nail to open the seal after cutting off the tip.  Push the nail back in the hole when you finish up.  You should be able to use the caulk for a few months.

carson said:

Hints, Tricks and Gadgets/Tools --- small ones.


This new topic will feature a series of hints, tricks and gadget/tools that you may have in your kit bag of experience. You are probably proud of some, being the originator.

You are encouraged to post any item that comes to mind. There must be a multitude of  them between us. They should be especially helpful for the Newbies and of course to Old-timers as well.

Many of them are currently buried in old posts as well as in the library, but are hard to find in one place. We will most likely get duplications but your idea may have a twist to it, making it a valid entry. Attaching images will be appreciated to make the point.

It is important to keep it to ?small? items (see below), not engine overhaul, carpet replacement etc.

This is a bit of an experiment, but has been sanctioned by the forum management.

I will make the first post in a format that I think will work easily, below.



Hint: Smoke Alarm: ? is it really working? Not just by pushing the test button to find out.
      Invite your cigar-smoking neighbor over and have him blow a good whiff of smoke directly into the detector. That?s called a dynamic test.
The CO (carbon monoxide) and the propane detectors probably can be tested the same way, I?m not sure. Maybe someone can confirm that.

Trick: Low water-flow in galley sink?
Remove the aerator from the spigot, clean the screen and remove/discard the water saver washer. Water usage will stay the same.

Gadget/Tool:  A quick battery and alternator/charger tester.
This little tool features 6 colored LED lamps showing voltages @ 15.0, 14.0, 13.5, 12.5, 12.0 and 11.0 volts DC. Just apply to battery terminals with and without charger/alternator in use.  (RS: 22-112).  Image attached below.

carson FL

P.S.: Is this project gonna fly?  ???

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Re: testing propane detectors: Use your barbecue lighter, pull trigger until you hear gas flow, but doesn't light, and move it along face of detector. Here's a little chuckle. Believe it or not I got called to a 12 wide for sudden propane detector going off, no smell of propane present, detector had now stopped beeping and it hadn't occurred prior to this, so no reason to think it was faulty. During questioning owner of what they were doing at the time, he explained, just sitting around the table, and the detector went off, scared the hell out of the dog that was laying right near it, and not too soon after, it stopped beeping. Owner gave me a weird look when I started laughing, and asked if he'd been feeding his dog anything different like table scraps etc.  Yup! Poor dog was passing gas and just happened to lay too close to propane detector.  Maybe not the way you want to test yours, but yes, it is a gas detector !!  ha ha.

I don't know if this has been mentioned, but we just came up with it. When traveling with wine or other glass bottles, put them in a sock to keep them from bumping into each other and rattling while driving.

Or if I could get my son to send me the wine rack he has had sitting in his garage for nearly a year that would solve my problem.  In the meantime the sock routine works but it is tough to remember which bottle is in what sock!

Jim, just give it the smell test. Isn't that what you do when you pop the cork.. ? 

In that case, make sure the socks are clean!

In my case my smeller has gone the way of my heariing and eye sight and the rest of my body, nothing works like it used to!

If you are near a winery, purchase two or three bottles of wine, and ask them to put them is a shipping box.  They work great.  We get wine shipped from California, and travel across country with no damage.  If they survive UPS, USPS, and FEDEX they will survive any road condition. They are a little bigger than a shoe box.

Vin du Soif.  (drink it fast)