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

[bigbAZ]

Did the same with my Rig... Worked well.

It's amazing to watch the supply temp and the amps both drop significantly as soon as the water hits the condenser.

 

[bigbAZ]

New here and I have read this entire thread and picked up a few tips. I also have a few to offer which I will post soon. Meanwhile I am working on an idea to make solo toad hookup easier. On another forum a guy made a dot on the toad windshield and a dot on the rear of the MH, then he pulls forward till both dots are lined up with each other and with the top center of the steering wheel. I'll be working on this soon and will report back, meanwhile has anyone tried it?

I asked this in Feb and got no replies, today I spent some time and got it all figured out. I posted this on another forum and I'm going to copy and paste it here:


Unhooking a Ready Brute solo

---

If you own a Ready Brute you know that the release handles will not lift unless the hookup is either relaxed or in tension. If one or both arms are in compression the handle won't lift. Also, as with any tow bar, it is very difficult to remove the pins when there is any tension or compression on the hookup. Since the release handles are spring loaded they won't stay in the up position while you attempt to jockey the vehicles around to relieve tension or compression unless a helper stands in between the 2 vehicles holding them up which isn't an ideal situation. It's also not always possible to find that perfect spot to hook up and unhook.

So I made 2 shims out of 1/2" plywood to hold the release handles up. I tried them today, I went to unhook and one arm was in tension and one in compression, and both hitch pins were jammed up tight. I slipped a shim under the side in tension and moved the MH forward a foot or so while turning slightly. This allowed the free arm to recess into the socket and allowed the other arm to go from compression to tension so I could now lift that handle and shove in the second shim. Then it was a matter of inching the toad forward which relaxed both sides then setting the brake. This made both pins easy to remove, and no chance of the toad rolling away.

As a side note I also used some red pinstriping tape to mark the tubes so that when they are in the vertical position and I am pulling the toad up I know when I am at the right distance as it is right when the red stripes become even with the hood, just before they disappear.

Since I'll be doing a solo trip with the Jeep for the first time this year I wanted to do something about making the hookup and disconnect a bit easier. I think now I'll be able to leave the hammer and drift home

Do you have any toad tips to share?

 

[bigbAZ]

This tip is pretty simple. Initially I had purchased one of those little battery powered water meters that you put on your hose. I found it to be off by 10%. I don't have a lot of payload so I don't put a lot of water in my tank when I'll be driving. The meter was a hassle especially with the 10% discrepancy, and it finally dawned on me to just use a bucket and time the water flow. It just so happens that it came to almost exactly 5 gallons per minute coming out of the hose where I always fill at home, with the filter and pressure regulator hooked up. So now all I have to do is use the stopwatch on my phone knowing every minute is 5 gal and every 12 seconds is 1 gal. This is also handy when you want to fill the tank all the way but not have it over flow, which for me would mean water in the garage.
My tank level indicators are horribly inaccurate so I made a chart and taped it inside the closet door that shows the different tank level readings and how much is really in the tank written next to each one.

You folks with big rigs where a few hundred lbs here and there won't matter probably don't have a use for a tip like this but in a Sprinter motorhome where payload is only around 1,000 lbs it matters.

 

[bigbAZ]

Some people may already know this but I just read it. If your wipers fail and you don't have any RainX with you, but you have a potato, cut a raw potato in half and rub it on the windshield and it will work just like RainX. It is also supposed to work on the inside to prevent fogging.

I know, who carries a potato around right? But in an RV you just might.

 

[Rene T]

Some people may already know this but I just read it. If your wipers fail and you don't have any RainX with you, but you have a potato, cut a raw potato in half and rub it on the windshield and it will work just like RainX. It is also supposed to work on the inside to prevent fogging.

I know, who carries a potato around right? But in an RV you just might.

When I was a scuba diver back in the 70’s, we use to spit in our mask and swish it around using our fingers. That stoped the mask from fogging. I guess you could do that on a windshield if you didn’t have a potato.

 

[ButchW1]

When I was a scuba diver back in the 70’s, we use to spit in our mask and swish it around using our fingers. That stoped the mask from fogging. I guess you could do that on a windshield if you didn’t have a potato.

And had a lot of spit... ...
Butch

 

[Chef Duane]

When I was a scuba diver back in the 70’s, we use to spit in our mask and swish it around using our fingers. That stoped the mask from fogging. I guess you could do that on a windshield if you didn’t have a potato.

I was on the swim team in HS and college. We did that with our goggles. Didn't require too much spit tho..

 

[ButchW1]

Yea... I think I learned that as young a kid... Then later, used it when I got scuba certified as a teenager..
Butch

 

[dave541]

Who can remember all the little numbers and specs of your rig? All the torque settings, tank capacities, dimensions, etc?
I can't, and it is a PITA to dig out the manual and look up the number. If you try to remember without looking it up chances are you remember wrong.
I use the notepad app on my phone and have all the numbers there. When I need to know the gray tank capacity or torque specs on the hitch I look at the notepad on my phone. I always have it with me.

 

[bigbAZ]

Who can remember all the little numbers and specs of your rig? All the torque settings, tank capacities, dimensions, etc?
I can't, and it is a PITA to dig out the manual and look up the number. If you try to remember without looking it up chances are you remember wrong.
I use the notepad app on my phone and have all the numbers there. When I need to know the gray tank capacity or torque specs on the hitch I look at the notepad on my phone. I always have it with me.

I've started to use my label maker a lot these days. I've got circuits that I ran in my Jeep and in the RV that I can't identify, from now on everything gets a label. I also have a box on the shelf for each vehicle for oil changes. In that box is any special tool needed like a special oil filter wrench and a paper with my wrench sizes and torque specs for the plug, filter cap and under tray. I got tired of crawling underneath with the wrong size tools or a handful of tools hoping to have the right ones.

It also helps to make notations in your maintenance booklet.

 

[joerone]

Good Idea...I can't remember most either

 

[John From Detroit]

I've started to use my label maker a lot these days.

I Have, to date, only added one to my jeep a 'Dash" cam (plugs into 12 volt acc switched) and a circuit for a radio (And the radio_ all cables easily IDed And short power leads.

plan an 2nd radio power line.. come good weather. It will have the ability to power some other stuff too (Standard Power Pole AP45 30 amp fuses one each color battery direct RED/BLACK "ZIP" type.

Oh by the way the Predator "Solar Generators" (Li battery with charge controller and inverter)

The 12 volt or solar panel in connector AP45

 

[dave541]

I've started to use my label maker a lot these days. I've got circuits that I ran in my Jeep and in the RV that I can't identify, from now on everything gets a label. I also have a box on the shelf for each vehicle for oil changes. In that box is any special tool needed like a special oil filter wrench and a paper with my wrench sizes and torque specs for the plug, filter cap and under tray. I got tired of crawling underneath with the wrong size tools or a handful of tools hoping to have the right ones.

It also helps to make notations in your maintenance booklet.

Anytime I have to access behind cabinets or other difficult spaces, I label the plumbing and wiring, in case I ever need to repair in there again. Write on the wall next to it with a sharpie.
I label my outside hoses similarly. Black tape around the hose next to fittings tell me that hose is reserved for black tank use. Blue tape around potable water hoses.

 

[John From Detroit]

On of the things I really liked about my rig was that many circuits the wires bore text labels

Sometimes a tad cryptic but often rather good "Heater" for example (Dash HEVAC)
now the problem was they hooked it to AUX not HEAT so till I saw the label I could not find the blown fuse (it was a failed Short-Stop circuit breaker) worked a lot better after I found it.

 

[_Rusty_]

Don't Forget ! None of the testing suggestions are worthwhile without a decent quality ac/dc voltmeter. But you have to have it with you to use it!

 

[Firstime RVer]

Our method of testing the smoke alarm is to pop a couple of pieces of bread in the toaster without the AC or vents running. May not work in a larger rig, but it sure works good in ours!!

Our toaster always sets ours off, when we forget to turn the exhaust fan on!!
Safe travels and all the best.

 

[meierjn]

Our toaster always sets ours off, when we forget to turn the exhaust fan on!!
Safe travels and all the best.

Ours always set off the smoke detector. I replaced the smoke detector after checking the date label and realizing it was over 20 years old. The newer/more modern detector is not set off by the toaster anymore.

 

[tlmgcamp1]

This tip is pretty simple. Initially I had purchased one of those little battery powered water meters that you put on your hose. I found it to be off by 10%. I don't have a lot of payload so I don't put a lot of water in my tank when I'll be driving. The meter was a hassle especially with the 10% discrepancy, and it finally dawned on me to just use a bucket and time the water flow. It just so happens that it came to almost exactly 5 gallons per minute coming out of the hose where I always fill at home, with the filter and pressure regulator hooked up. So now all I have to do is use the stopwatch on my phone knowing every minute is 5 gal and every 12 seconds is 1 gal. This is also handy when you want to fill the tank all the way but not have it over flow, which for me would mean water in the garage.
My tank level indicators are horribly inaccurate so I made a chart and taped it inside the closet door that shows the different tank level readings and how much is really in the tank written next to each one.

You folks with big rigs where a few hundred lbs here and there won't matter probably don't have a use for a tip like this but in a Sprinter motorhome where payload is only around 1,000 lbs it matters.

That fill time is going to change as water pressure pressure changes. I municipal client of mine would actually have a neighborhood drop to a trickle at the sinks if there was a summer afternoon structure fire that added to the lawn sprinkler demand.

If you were at the pressure capped by your regulator at the time of your test, then that would be your worst case scenario weight-wise. However, if the supply has a lower pressure then you will have less water over a time period.

 

[John From Detroit]

This tip is pretty simple. Initially I had purchased one of those little battery powered water meters that you put on your hose. I found it to be off by 10%.

As someone said timer operated the water pressure (over 120 PSI in one park I visit) makes a difference so either regulate (Not the little cylinder regulators but a good Watts or Zurin)
Or.
There is another type of meter that measures the flow (it's water powered) and 50 gallons is 50 gallons plus or minus error.

 

[Wmlunt-WO]

I 've found it does not vary much if the sites are fairly level...1-2 inches. I had one site that dropped off under the pin and it was 4" over normal.

I am normally 53-54" from king pin to ground.

Bill

The level mate has a ‘height memory’ one touch button to memorize the position to set up.
Bill