Chickery's Travels

Chickery's Travels logo. A blue-green Earth globe with continents surrounded by dots with an arrow denoting movement or travel and "Chickery's Travels" as part of the dotted circle. Next to this is a photo of their blue and white Arctic Fox 5th Wheel with the awning out.
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      • Patrick AFB FamCamp (Cocoa Beach, FL)
      • Rainbow Springs State Park & Campground (Ocala, FL)
      • Walt Disney World’s Fort Wilderness (Orlando, FL)
        • Halloween at Disney’s Fort Wilderness
        • Chickery’s Travels Podcast Episode 5: Fort Wilderness Campground Review
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      • Alsatian RV Resort (Castroville, Texas)
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      • Fort Belvoir Travel Camp (Alexandria, VA)
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      • Crescent Bar RV Resort (Quincy, Washington)
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      • Apache Trail: A Crazy, Scary, Beautiful Drive
      • Lost Dutchman State Park (Phoenix, Arizona)
      • Phoenix Faves
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      • Gasparilla – Tampa’s Pirate Invasion
      • 3 Days on the Nature Coast 
      • Florida Freshwater Springs on the Nature Coast
      • Halloween at Disney’s Fort Wilderness
      • Kennedy Space Center – Cape Canaveral
      • Island Hopping at Honeymoon Island and Caladesi Island State Parks
      • Must See Sights in St. Augustine, FL – America’s Oldest City
      • Navy UDT-SEAL Museum – Fort Pierce, Florida
      • Rainbow Springs State Park & Campground (Ocala, Florida)
      • Sunny Sarasota
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        • Get Back to Nature in Tampa Bay
        • Take Me Out to the Ball Game – Spring Training in Tampa, FL
        • The 5 Best Beaches in the Tampa Bay Area
        • Why We Love Tampa
      • Tarpon Springs – The Gulf Coast Town with Greek Flavor
      • Top 5 Things to Do on Florida’s Space Coast
      • What Not to Do When Kayaking on the Weeki Wachee River
      • Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure
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      • Visiting Atlanta? Don’t Miss These Civil Rights Museums
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      • Two Days in Acadia National Park
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      • Planning an RV Trip to Nevada
      • Las Vegas RV Campgrounds: Nellis Air Force Base and Lake Mead RV Village
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      • Burgess Falls: 3 For 1 Waterfall Special
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      • WWII History in Tennessee
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      • Best Eats in Fredericksburg
      • Enjoy a Bird’s Eye View of Texas Hill Country
  • RV Resources
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    • 5 Years Full-Time RV: Lessons Learned & Biggest Regret
    • Boondocking – What We Learned From Our First Dry Camping Experience
    • Tips for Boondocking Success
    • Essential RV Gear
      • Essential RV Gear Guide
      • DIY RV Power & Solar Upgrade
      • RV Must Have: Tire Pressure Monitoring System
      • RV SnapPads Product Review
      • RVLOCK Keyless Entry Door Handle Installation and Review
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      • Downsizing: 3 Areas That Make The Biggest Impact
      • Full-Time RV: 2019 Year in Review
      • Full-Time RV: 2018 Year in Review
      • Full-Time RV Travel – 2017 Year In Review
      • How Full-Time RVers Celebrate the Holidays
      • Living in a Tiny, Traveling Home
      • Making Friends (and reconnecting with old friends) While Traveling Full-Time
      • Pros & Cons of Full-Time RV Travel
      • Learn How to RV Full-Time
      • RV Organization & Storage Ideas
      • Short-Term RV Storage: Leaving The RV Behind
      • Top 3 Lessons Learned & Biggest Regret: 3 Years Full-Time RV Living
      • What We Wish We Knew Before Full-Time RVing
      • Why We Are Traveling Full-Time In Our RV
    • Maintenance Tips
      • DIY Power Upgrade – “Solar Ready” Arctic Fox Fifth Wheel
      • DIY RV Power & Solar Upgrade
      • Easy DIY Project to Protect Your RV Water System
      • An Easy Way to Protect Your RV Water Heater
      • Odor Free RV Black Tank Tips
      • RV Condensation: What It Is, What It Does, and How To Stop It
    • Must Read Books Before Becoming A Full-time RVer
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      • RV Remodel Costs with Before & After Photos
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    • Why I Prefer RV Travel Over Flying
  • Travel Finance
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    • Five Credit Card Strategies To Improve Travel
    • How Much Do Campgrounds Cost?
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    • How to Camp for Free
    • How to Start a Profitable Blog
    • How to Save Money on RV Fuel Costs
    • How We Earn A Living While Traveling Full-Time (And How You Can Too)
    • How We Paid $139,000 of Debt in 2 Years While Full-Time RVing
    • Learn How to Finance Your Dreams
    • The Top 7 Ways to Save Money While Traveling Full-Time
    • Roadmap to Financial Freedom
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report April 2018
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report May 2018
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report June 2018
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report July 2018
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report August 2018
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report September/October 2018
    • RV Purchasing
      • Benefits of Renting an RV
      • Should I Buy A New or Used RV?
      • The True Cost of Financing an RV
      • Why You Should Attend An RV Show
      • Florida RV SuperShow 2018
    • Save Money Using the Public Library (On More Than Just Books)
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April 27, 2020 by Julie Leave a Comment

Easy DIY RV Care and Maintenance

We all know what a valuable investment your RV is. And, of course, there’s the cost of maintenance — or worse, the repair costs if you let your regular RV maintenance fall by the wayside.

Fortunately, RV maintenance and repair are some of the easiest costs of RV ownership to defray. Namely, by doing as much as possible yourself. This is so important because of the rate of growth in the RV industry has outpaced the growth of trained repair technicians. In fact, the RVIA estimates that each certified RV tech is responsible for servicing 658 RVs.

What does this mean for us RV users? Possibly long waits to get maintenance performed. When you want to use your RV, you want it to be ready. And if you are a full-time RVer, having service done can really be inconvenient if you have to wait for it, or even worse give up your home.

Start with these preventive maintenance basics, and you’ll get more familiar with your RV and more confident in working on it. That may lead to tackling bigger projects and saving even more money. 

If you’d like to have easy to follow video tutorials for these tasks and more, check out Fix It Yourself, a self-guided online course where certified RV tech Ed Wilcox walks you through all the steps you need to know to properly maintain your rig and fix problems when they come up.

Create a Schedule

The best way to take care of your RV is to create a preventive maintenance schedule. If you purchase a new RV, you’ll get a big bag of books. That is because aside for the structure of the RV itself, just about every component was made by someone else. For example, we have an Arctic Fox Fifth Wheel made by Northwood Manufacturing, the refrigerator is a Norcold by Dometic, the stovetop & oven is a Furrion, the entry steps are made by MorRyde, the air conditioner is a Coleman, and so on. 

The only way to know what preventive maintenance needs to be performed is to read these documents. If you purchased your RV used, you can find just about any manual online. Each manual typically includes a preventive maintenance schedule. We made a master schedule using Google Sheets. You could also add the items to your calendar and set reminders so you don’t forget.

Batteries

First, we’ll discuss the regular maintenance that you should perform monthly on your house batteries. There are a couple of different types of batteries that you may encounter in an RV, lead acid (flooded or AGM/gel) and lithium. Since lithium batteries require pretty much zero upkeep, we’re going to discuss lead acid here. If you’re interested to know more about lithium batteries and why we choose to convert to them, click here to read about our power upgrade.  

Regardless of the type of lead acid battery you have, flooded or gel, it is important to know that you should never discharge them below a 50% charge. If you do, your batteries will lose energy carrying capacity. A few other things you need to do include: 

  • Maintain water levels in flooded-cell batteries. The least expensive (and therefore most common) type of lead acid battery is called flooded-cell. Over time, flooded-cell batteries lose water with each charge cycle, and this water needs to be replenished. You must use distilled water to help reduce the formation of sulfate crystals when the battery plates are exposed to air. You should check the water level at least once per month.
  • Clean battery terminals. Typically a wire brush is all that is needed to perform this task, however, you can also use a mixture of baking soda and water or a commercial battery contact cleaning product.
  • Perform maintenance even when stored.Lead acid batteries self-discharge even when not in use. Be sure to keep an eye on this or set up a trickle charger. If you don’t keep your RV at home, it might be easier to at least remove the house batteries and take them home with you. This makes it simpler to check the charge, fluid level, etc. 

Generators

Motorized RVs and larger fifth wheels will come with an on-board generator. Many RVers choose to purchase portable generators for their travel trailers and smaller fifth wheels. Regardless of what type you have there are two main things you can do to keep it running well. 

  • Exercise it.Your generator should be run on 50% load for 2 hours each month. 
  • Change the oil, filter, and fluids.You can purchase a kit with everything  you need for your particular generator like this one on Amazon. 

Water Tanks 

When it comes to RV water tanks, let’s first talk about getting water into your RV. You’ll either fill your fresh water tank and use your water pump for water when traveling, or will be at a campground where you can be hooked up to “city water.” No matter which method, you’ll want to have two very important pieces of equipment at the water faucet: a water pressure regulator and a water filtration system. Click here to read more about the importance of water filtration and to see our DIY water filter system. 

  • Fresh Water Tank –You’ll want to sanitize this periodically. We do it at least twice per year. The simplest way is to bypass the water heater, and add ¼ cup bleach per gallon of water or one ounce of bleach for every eight gallons. Allow it to sit for 12 hours before draining. Then run fresh water through your tap until you can’t smell bleach any longer. 
  • Gray Water Tank –This is the waste water holding tank for the sinks and showers in your RV. Since the waste water already has soap in it, there isn’t much maintenance required. The most important thing you can do is have a drain catcher for hair in the shower and food particles in the kitchen sink. This will keep it from getting clogged and to prevent odors. 
  • Black Water Tank –This where the waste from flushing the toilet goes. The most important thing you can add to this tank is water. You need to be sure you have some water in the tank before using it the first time, then be sure to use plenty of water when flushing. This will ensure that everything flows out of the tank when dumping. Also, never leave the black tank release valve open even when hooked up to sewer. This is what causes the dreaded poo pyramid. Click here to see our step by step process for maintaining an odor free black tank.

Another task that should be completed a couple of times a year is flushing your water heater.

Tires

There are several things you can do to maintain your tires: 

  • Slow down. Many RV (and especially trailer) tires are not rated to be driven over 65 mph. Check your owner’s manual to verify the maximum speed recommended for your tires. 
  • Conduct a visual inspection regularly. Check the tread and sidewalls for wear and cracks. 
  • Keep them properly inflated. This is so important that we use a Tire Pressure Monitoring System to monitor the pressure and temperature while driving. We feel so strongly about it, we have an entire article dedicated to this topic. You can read it here. 

Sharing is caring! We’d love for you to share this article on social media & with your friends!

Save time and money with these simple DIY RV preventive maintenance tasks. These main systems have easy tasks that anyone can do to keep them running smoothly whether you have a motorhome, fifth wheel, or travel trailer.

Filed Under: Maintenance Tips Tagged With: DIY RV Maintenance, RV Care, RV Preventive Maintenance

May 29, 2019 by Julie Chickery Leave a Comment

RV Must Have: Tire Pressure Monitoring System

A tire pressure monitoring system or TPMS is one of the most important accessories to add to your RV, whether it is a motorhome, Fifth Wheel, or travel trailer. Just think of what you have riding on your tires. A TPMS can warn you of impending danger and save you thousands of dollars.

The Dangers

How many miles do you put on your RV each year? Chances are it is quite a bit, and each time you get on the road there is a chance that something could go wrong with your tires. It doesn’t matter whether you are in a large motorhome or a smaller towable (or anything in between), tire failure is an issue that can affect all RVers.

There are numerous social media posts out there telling stories of a tire blowout completely shredding the underside of the RV while the driver did not even know it was occurring. Motorhomes towing a vehicle can experience blowouts on the tow car as well and not even realize it.

In addition to blowouts, over heating brakes are more common than you may think, and if left unattended could result in brake failure or even worse, a fire. These are real issues, but are all issues that could be prevented by having the proper tire pressure monitoring system installed.

Tire pressure issues and heat issues around the tire are the leading indicators of future tire failure. If you can be warned of issues that are beginning to develop, then you will have time to get off the road and check out the problem. Plain and simple, having a proper tire pressure monitoring system for your RV is the number one item you can purchase to assist in ensuring a safe trip for you and your family.

How a TPMS Can Help

TPMS systems will not prevent every blowout from happening, but will warn you if your tires are running too hot or your pressure is too low!

Last year we had two flats on our Fifth Wheel and a slow leak in one of our truck tires. Our tire pressure monitoring system caught all these problems before we had a dangerous blowout. As a result, we were able to change the tire and get back on the road right away.

A TPMS can't stop all blowouts, but it can help you pull over safely before damage occurs.

A tire pressure monitoring system, or TPMS, consists of a series of sensors system that screw onto each tire’s valve stem to monitor tire air pressure and temperature. We have the sensors installed on the Fifth Wheel and truck tires.

The TPMS alerts the driver if a tire gets too hot or has pressure outside the desired range (too high or too low). This gives you time to pull over safely before a blowout occurs.

The TPMS alerts the driver if a tire gets too hot or has pressure outside the desired range (too high or too low). This gives you time to pull over safely before a blowout occurs.

A TPMS system can alert the driver of several scenarios that could lead to a blowout including:

  • Hot tires caused by overloading
  • Hot tires caused by component failures such as brakes or bearings
  • A slow leak from a puncture
  • A fast leak from a puncture, sidewall failure, or tread separation

Choosing a TPMS

We personally recommend the TST 507. We installed ours in July 2018, and as we mentioned above it has saved us on 3 occasions.

Note: The link above to the TPMS we personally use is an affiliate link, which means if you purchase something via the link we get a commission at no cost to you. It goes to our favorite company, TechnoRV, which is owned by a full-time couple. Learn more about them here.

It was simple to install as you can see on the video below.

There are specific reasons why TST is the brand that stands above the rest:

  1. TST employs a team of engineers in the United States that ensures that the technology is always ahead of its time.
  2. TST is owned by Pressure Systems International (PSI), the world’s leader in automatic tireinflation, so they have the research, backing and support available to build the best TPMS.
  3. No cheap parts! TST uses GE circuitry in their monitors, and their sensors are double insulated. Next time you see a system for cheaper, it is because it is cheaper.
  4. TST is the only system on the market to offer a color monitor. This monitor is brilliant, easy to read, and offers the flexibility to monitor up to 4 different trailers.
  5. If a support issue were to arise, TechnoRV and TST are here to support you. The team at TST is great to work with. Working together, our support team is very knowledgeable, and we will make sure you are successful with your TST system.

Sharing is caring! Feel free to share the image below on Pinterest.

A Tire Pressure Monitoring System or TPMS is an invaluable tool for all RV travelers. While it can't prevent blowouts, it can warn you in time to pull over and hopefully avoid costly damage. The sensors can be installed on all types of RVs including motorhomes, Fifth Wheels, travel trailers and small campers, as well as you tow vehicle.

Filed Under: Maintenance Tips

April 29, 2019 by Julie Chickery Leave a Comment

DIY Power Upgrade – “Solar Ready” Arctic Fox Fifth Wheel

We love our Arctic Fox 27-5L Fifth Wheel! Still, we knew we wanted to upgrade the solar & power set up right away. We’ve been so happy with the changes we made to our previous Fifth Wheel, we wanted to make them to this one too. This included 680 watts of solar, 400Ah lithium battery system, and a 3000W Victron inverter/charger.

Solar Ready? 

We left the solar panels on our previous Fifth Wheel. The Arctic Fox comes “solar-ready” so we though the process was actually going to be easier. For our package this meant it had a single 80-watt solar panel on the roof and a port on the side of the RV to add a portable solar panel. However, the wiring leading to the controller wasn’t sufficient for the additional 680 watts of solar we wanted to add.

For this upgrade, I purchased the following kit: 

  • 4 x 170-Watt Panels
  • 60-Amp, 5-stage PWM charge controller
  • Pre-assembled wiring harness
  • Two, 3-port roof caps (ready for future expansions!)
  • Stainless steel mounting hardware
  • Digital remote LCD display

Watch the following installation video: 

Lithium Batteries

We were able to swap out the standard lead acid batteries at the dealership for our Battle Born Lithium batteries. We choose to go with lithium ion batteries last year because they provide better performance, last longer, and contain no toxic components. Battle Born’s customer service and 10-year warranty stood ahead of the other manufacturers. 

Watch our battery installation video on the previous RV below: 

Inverter

The Arctic Fox did not come with an inverter, but we saved the 1000W inverter during our upgrade last year, and replaced it when trading in the RV. The next step will be for me to install it in the Arctic Fox. 

I’ll add that video when I complete the task. In the meantime, here is my inverter installation in our previous Fifth Wheel. 

Micro-Air EasyStart™

Finally, I plan to purchase and install a Micro-Air EasyStart™ Soft Starter on the main air conditioner. This is an easy to install product that allowed us to run the AC for short periods of time using the Battle Born batteries and Victron 3000 watt inverter charger. We had one on our previous Fifth Wheel and were very happy with it. 

The process will be the exact same as the previous one. You can see that installation here:  

Costs

As always, we like to be transparent about costs. We’ll admit that it was not an inexpensive project. All of the components, except the solar panels, were purchased from Battle Born Batteries. They sell bundles based on our set up at the 200ah, 400ah, 600ah, or 800ah levels. 

We were able to swap out the standard lead acid batteries at the dealership for our Battle Born Lithium batteries. We choose to go with lithium ion batteries last year because they provide better performance, last longer, and contain no toxic components. Battle Born’s customer service and 10-year warranty stood ahead of the other manufacturers.

The Zamp solar 680 watt kit (components listed in the Solar Ready paragraph above) was $2,900. 

We spread these costs over two years with the battery/inverter upgrade first. 

Is it worth it?

We had the upgrade on our previous Fifth Wheel for a year before moving to the Arctic Fox, and can definitely say that the battery and inverter upgrade alone was 100% worth it.

We took our RV in for service and did not worry about it sitting in a bay for 6 or 7 hours because we knew the batteries and inverter would keep our refrigerator running. In fact, the batteries did not go below 70% during that time. We would not have been able to do that with our factory installed batteries and inverter. This is not a knock on the factory equipment, it is just that they are not designed to be compatible with that type of use.

We also started doing some boondocking and dry camping. We spent 9 days off grid in January and only had to run our generator twice for one hour each to top off the batteries when it was a little cloudy .  

Our Arctic Fox has a Norcold 2-way refrigerator that can run off propane or electricity which is another bonus for off-grid camping. There are less electronics in general in our new set-up so we know we’ll have more than enough power for our use.

Sharing is Caring! Feel free to share the image below on Pinterest.

Our solar ready RV only came with a single 80 watt panel and no inverter. Our upgrade included 680 watts of solar, 400Ah lithium battery system, and a 3000W inverter to allow us to dry camp or stay off grid for weeks at a time. This upgrade can be applied to any type of RV, motorhome or fifth wheel.

Filed Under: Maintenance Tips

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