Tips, Tips, Tips everyone loves RVing tips and tricks, especially folks that are just starting out. Several of my most popular all time articles and videos on “Love Your RV!” are just random collections of handy little tips.
After 4 years of full-time RV living, I have learned quite a few things and love passing that knowledge on. So, I’ve once again put together a small collection of tips for you.
Tip #1 – Easy Way to Clean the Screen Door
One day while performing the picky job of cleaning our screen entrance door I noticed it was only held on by six little screws. Bam, a lightbulb lit up above my head, I should just take the thing off its hinges. A few minutes later it was off the RV and on the ground. It’s so much easier to clean it using a bucket of soapy water, a soft brush and hose. It also does a much better job than before as every nook and cranny can be easily cleaned.
Tip #2 – Get an Infrared Temperature Gun
A favorite gadget for use around the RV is my infrared temperature gun. I originally got it as an easy way to monitor my trailers tire, brake and axle hub temps, but have since found a plethora of handy uses for it.
Temperature Gun Uses:
- Check tires, brakes, and hub temps on trailer and truck.
- Check radiator, exhaust, turbo, engine, transmission, rear differential, etc.
- Check for proper air temperature coming out of our Air Conditioner.
- Check fridge and freezer for proper cooling.
- Check RV Gas Oven temperature.
- Check barbecue grill surface temp.
- Find areas of the RV with poor insulation.
Tip #3 – Carry Tapes and Bailing Wire
You never know when a piece of your rig might come loose due to an accident or wear. It’s a good idea to carry a means of holding it together until you can get to a repair facility. I carry a couple different type tapes. One is an extra thick, wide roll of Gorilla Tape. It is excellent at adhering to rough uneven surfaces. I use it under the fifth wheel to hold several areas of my chloroplast underbelly in place.
Another terrific tape is called Eternabond roof repair tape. I use it on my roof as a seam sealer and around roof vents. I’m sure it could be used for other things like patching a plumbing pipe or temporarily mending a cracked waste tank. Two other things I keep in the rig for emergency repairs are good old bailing wire and a couple rolls of Velcro tape.
Tip #4 – Cheap and Effective Trailer Leveling
I’ve had my eye on a set of Anderson levelers but for now they still remain on my extensive RV wish list. 😉 In the meantime I use a pair of 2 x 8 pieces of wood.
I have cut the planks just long enough to hold up both my tandem axle trailer tires at the same time. On each end, I cut a 45-degree angle so the boards don’t flip up when the tire hits it.
To keep the top board from slipping, I drilled three holes through both boards and installed some three-inch lag bolts. Works great! Much better than messing around with plastic levers found in the RV Parts stores. Also, the longer boards don’t sink as easily in soft soils.
Another use for the board is in combination with my Trailer Aid tire changing ramp. My Cougar trailer uses a special equalizer in the suspension for a smooth ride. Because of that I need more lift before the second wheel comes off the ground. One of the boards placed under the Trailer Aid does the trick.
Tip #5 – Avoiding Injury around Your Rig
Watch out that RV can jump out and bite you. Almost all of us have at one time or another have smacked our head or bruised another part of our bodies walking into the wrong part of our rig. Funny how immoveable of an object they are when struck by our puny human bodies. Big offenders are trailer hitches, motorhome mirrors, and slide out corners, especially those fifth wheel bedroom slides.
To alert you to the danger areas before impact try marking it with something. I like to use a flag on the fifth wheels king pin. Other methods I’ve seen are flower pots, name placards, traffic cones and wind chimes. As for protection, the go to item seems to be a piece of an inexpensive foam pool noodle. At least that will lessen the blow.
Tip #6 – Weather Alert Radio
Our RVs are a lot more vulnerable to severe weather than a regular sticks and bricks home. Heavy winds can flip us over; large hail storms can completely ruin our rigs and as for tornadoes, forget about it! If you’re RVing in the desert another big weather risk is flash floods.
Having said all that our best defense is information. If we have warning before the bad weather hits we might be able to move away from it or at least seek safe shelter. Get yourself a weather radio with an alert mode. That way even if the radio is off it will wake you up and let you know anytime a high-risk weather alert is in effect.
Myself I have a C. Crane model CCRadio2E. It also has a built-in ham radio band, very useful in emergencies. It was a birthday gift from my sweetie as I’m kind of a late night AM talk radio addict and wanted the best quality I could get. However, you can find a decent weather alert radio in the 50 dollar range.
Tip #7 – Hummingbird Feeders are Fun!
This final tip is just plain fun. My wife was skeptical when I shelled out the money for my little hummingbird feeder. It was a sort of impulse buy one day while browsing a garden store for another person’s gift.
But it only took a few of the tiny visitors showing up to have her totally fall in love with the idea. We’ve had hours and hours of entertainment from it, plus captured some really cool close-up snapshots of the little cuties.
7 Random RVing Tips Video
See more Random RVing Tips Videos from Love Your RV!
- 11 Quick Little RVing Tips from a Full-Time RVer
- 8 More Simple RVing Tips From a Full-Time RVer
- 10 Helpful RVing Tips and Tricks
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