Don't Get Zapped by Low Voltage Problems

In the classic monster movies, the mad scientist zaps his new "creation" with a huge blast of electricity--and it all goes bad from there. As RVers, the wrong kind of voltage can raise all kinds of problems for us: But what we may fail to be on gaurd against is not high voltage, but low voltage.

As we move nearer to summer, or we plan to attend a big RV rally, low voltage issues really do come to the fore. Pull into that "budget" RV park, plug into the electrical system, and prepare to cool down by switching on the air conditioner. But hang on a minute! Old RV parks often have an old electrical system--one that may well be under-rated for the needs put on it by present-day power-hog RVs. If the electrical system voltage is low--consistently below 104 volts--it can cause damage to RV electrical and electronic gear.

Your air conditioning system is one of the most easily grieved by low voltage. It takes a set amount of power to operate your air condition--it MUST have it. If the voltage is low, then the a.c. unit will still try and respond to your command to produce cool, but in the process, it will run hot. This puts a huge strain on the compressor motors, and given enough trouble, something’s gonna break--and we can gaurantee one thing: It won’t be cheap to fix.

How can your protect yourself? Buy, install, and use a power line monitor. On those hot summer days when everybody around you has fired up their a.c. unit, before you switch on yours, take a quick peek at your monitor--conveniently plugged into a wall outlet--and make sure the power is safely above 104 volts.

We use ours as an added safety benefit against bad electrical wiring at the RVhookup. One of us gets in the rig before we plug into the power. The other plugs in the power, while the inside person verifies that the power monitor shows "good" wiring--no reverse polarity, no "no ground" situations--any of which are present can lead to safety issues. We’ll touch bases on these matters in a future blog entry.

Camping World sells a fancy power monitor for about $65. If you don’t want to spend that much, the use your digital volt meter: Set the meter to monitor AC voltage and carefully plug the probes into the large, rectangular blade slots of one of your wall outlets as shown. Check the voltage that way--but don’t leave the meter probes plugged in unattended! An alternative would be to build yourself a "plug in" cord set, using a wall plug, some "zip" wire, and a set of plugs to fit your meter. With digital meters so inexpensive, you can build your own for a whole lot less.

The Nose Knows Holding Tank Stink

"I stink, therefore I am," says my philosopher. He lives under my RV, and travels everywhere with me. He is a rather nondescript fellow, about six feet tall, four feet wide, and a thin six inches thick. He seems to prefer a dark suit, in fact, every time I lay eyes on him, he's laying about, clad in the black skin of plastic suited to folks of his kind. Although he is never invited inside, from time to time he does--in an awful way--make his presence known. He is a windy fellow, and many of my associates simply state, "He's full of it." And so he is, for my friend the dark philosopher is a black water holding tank.

As much as I try and force him to keep his ideas to himself, he does on occasion air his opinions. Usually my better half, she with the more sensitive of noses, is the first to complain. "You've got to do something about this!" she'll yelp, making a rapid exodus from our little room of rest. It is perhaps the torture stake of the male species, this job of being resident problem-solver.
To keep my dark friend happy, I feed him a gruel of enzymes and bacteria, guaranteed to be "earth friendly," and to relieve my friend of unwanted odors. To be sure, when it doesn't work, I'm not sure who makes a bigger stink--my tank, or my wife.

Holding tank odors are a bane for RVers, but often they can be simply cured. First, we have not enough space to discuss the relative merits of holding tank chemistry--check a future blog for that--but if your tank "sits" for a long time without motion, say parked in an RV park for months on end--a sour tank is often a result.

I know I said I wouldn’t go into depth on holding tank chemistry, but I swear by the natural, enzyme and bacteria friendly variety. When my "green black water tank" goes sour, here’s the first fix: Dump the black water tank and refill with fresh water--and dump it again. Now chuck a pound box of baking soda down the toilet and again, REFILL the black tank with water. Let it sit overnight and dump it again. Now recharge the tank with your bacteria friendly treatment following the maker’s recommendations.

My philosopher friend urges that dogged determination may be required to track down and cure a smelly problem. At least that's what I translate--"When pesky pots pose proboscis problems, probably pointed poking will prevail." 'Nuf said.

Easy Height Adjustment for Re-Hitching

Folks who tow travel trailers and fifth wheels often struggle with hooking back up after setting up their trailer for livability. The problem is this: You unhitch and level the trailer; when it’s time to hitch up again, getting the front of the trailer to the right height to hitch up can be a pain in the neck.

Here’s an easy way to deal with this issue. Get yourself a simple bubble level like the one pictured. Mount it on the side of your trailer at the front of the rig. Fifth wheel folks will like this one, just mount it close to the switch that controls your "landing gear." Don’t use the double stick mounting tape included with the level, but rather, run a screw through the top center portion of the plastic above the level tube. Snug the screw down only far enough that you can push either end of the level up and down with some amount of force required.

Now when you unhitch, raise the front of the trailer high enough to unhitch--just off the ball in the case of a pull trailer, or just off the fifth wheel saddle plate. Now adjust the new level to where the bubble is showing level. You can now level up the trailer for livability--just don’t touch the "hitching level." When it’s time to hitch up again, raise or lower the trailer until the hitching level shows "level" again. Now your trailer is at just the right height roll right under and hitch up.