Water damage, the good the bad and other upgrades

[shadow]

When I got home from work tonight I found a nice surprise waiting for me.
my new inverter/charger was here, a day early.

It might be a week or two before I get it installed though, lots of rain, frozen rain, and light snow,
and its very cold.

As always, there will be lots of pictures when I do the installation.
But for now, here are some pictures of the new inverter/charger.







Click on the picture to make them bigger.

 

[shadow]

Got snow ?.
Its about 9:00 pm and about 24 degrees.

 

[VanKitten]

Noooooooooo

I just can't "do" winter any more.

Sorry you must

 

[shadow]

Noooooooooo

I just can't "do" winter any more.

Sorry you must

I can understand that. The older I get the harder it gets to deal with the extreme cold.
I wish I was able to go some place that stayed in the mid to high seventy`s in winter.

oh well, maybe some day ?.

 

[shadow]

I have no updates or any progress to report, and I still have lots to do on the rv, but
its just to cold to be outside right now.

It was 16 degrees here today, and I just can`t work in weather that cold.
It seems (to me at least) that the older you get, the harder it gets to deal
with really cold weather.

If it would at least get into the mid 50`s I could handle that and get some
things done.

 

[shadow]

We got hit with a big snow storm yesterday, we got at least a foot of snow,
and the seventeen mile drive home from work was not fun.

I know a foot of snow is not a lot to some people, but when you add fog
and high winds to it, it makes for a very slow and stressful drive home.



My front yard.

 

[VanKitten]

Yeah, but from here it is real pretty.

I love snowstorms...from a good long distance

 

[shadow]

Yeah, but from here it is real pretty.  

I love snowstorms...from a good long distance

There is just enough snow here that it does look real pretty.
This time last year we had over three feet of snow.

I hope we wont get anymore snow, even though I know we will.

 

[rvpopeye]

At least you don't have to live in it !

 

[shadow]

At least you don't have to live in it !  

Not yet, anyway.

I am always thinking about how I would or could do it in the winter when the time comes ?.
How would I keep my tanks from freezing in winter ??, being new to the rv world, I have no idea.

Once I retire I could move to a warmer area in the winter, but if I have to move into my rv before I retire,
moving to a warmer area in winter isn`t an option because of my job.

 

[rvpopeye]

There are heater pads for the tanks if you have hookups.
Are they exposed to the outside or enclosed in the rig belly ? Some enclosed type rigs even have furnace ducting to heat them !
I've also used those drop lights with a lampshade up against the bottom of tanks with some good results.
If , say your potable water tank is inside you could open the cabinet door and point a portable electric heater at it...again, need hookups.
Fill the water tank then disconnect hose and store inside.
Dump hose used only when dumping , ( don't leave the gray tank valve open to slow drain...).

For extended extreme winter though , it's best to drain and winterize everything And go into boondocking mode.

I've been doing it for way too many years so you can too !

I've also used the "just go south" method many years too.

Follow the sun method is by far the best though ,,,,,yup yup !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[bullfrog]

Don't use radiant heat lamps under a black plastic tank, you can't get them far enough away. Fixing a melted hole in a black tank while laying on frozen black water is no fun!

 

[shadow]

I would probably be boondocking most of the time, so no heat pads or drop lights.
The tanks must be up in the belly of the rv, because the many times that I have looked under the rv,
I have never seen the tanks.

The water tank is located in the basement, and only way to get to it is through the basement door, or to
take the rear bed area a part. I did ask before if it would be a good idea to insulate the water tank, but because
the hot water heater is in the same area, I was told it was not necessary.

I would probably end up going into boondocking mode for about four months or so until the worst part of winter
is over. Going south or following the sun isn`t an option right now. But after I retire it will be.

 

[shadow]

Don't use radiant heat lamps under a black plastic tank, you can't get them far enough away.  Fixing a melted hole in a black tank while laying on frozen black water is no fun!

I won`t be using any heat lamps.

 

[shadow]

Its ten degrees outside right now with snow, and more snow and rain coming this week according to
the weather forecast. So I ordered some more stuff for the rv, so once the weather warms up I can
bring this thread back to life with continued upgrades.

I ordered three compartment doors and some butyl tape for the outside of the rv. Two are for the gas tanks
and one is for the shore power cord. Because the compartment doors for the gas tanks
and shore power cord are an odd size and very hard to find, I had to order three of the same compartment doors
and I will have to modify one of them for the shore power cord. There will be lots of pictures
as always once I start this project. (when the weather warms up)

I also ordered new window channel seals for the cab doors.
I still need to get a couple of other cab door seals, so I will order
those next month.

 

[rvpopeye]

You sure aren't going to have much on your list by the time you launch that shuttlecraft !
A good indicator for Happy Trails

 

[shadow]

You sure aren't going to have much on your list by the time you launch that shuttlecraft !
A good indicator for Happy Trails

That`s my goal, to have everything fixed or replaced that needs to be.
After thirty three years all of the plastic pieces on the outside of the rv are either broken
or just falling a part from age. 

So far, I have been able to find all of the parts that I have needed to get things fixed,
but sometimes it takes a lot of online searching to find the parts and pieces needed.

Right now I am trying to find some new tail lights, and I`m not having much luck so far.
The tail lights on my rv are twenty one inches tall, and the tallest tail lights I have been
able to find so far are eighteen inches tall.

I have seen on youtube were other have had to replace there old rv tail lights and they
had to make a block off plate because the new tail lights were shorter than the original
tail lights. So, I might have to do the same thing if I can`t find any original sized tail lights.

 

[rvpopeye]

RV scrap yards and NOS parts suppliers ?

 

[shadow]

RV scrap yards  and NOS parts suppliers ?

I know scrap yards are an option, but when I`m replacing something on the rv, I prefer to
use new parts when ever possible. I have also searched for NOS parts, but no luck there either.

For some reason my rv uses larger than standard compartment doors, and tail lights, and that makes
it very hard to find some parts. When I replace the tail lights, I`m going to have to make a three inch
block off plate because the new lights are shorter.

I will make it all work, its just going to take a little extra time and effort.
But considering the work I`ve done on the rv already, it shouldn`t be that bad.

 

[shadow]

I have spent many hours searching online for original replacement tail lights for my rv, and I have
come to the conclusion that they are no longer made. The over all measurements of the original
tail lights are 21" tall and 5-1/4" wide.

The closest tail lights I can find are 18" tall and 5-5/16" wide.
So I will end up getting a pair of these tail lights, and making a filler piece
to cover the difference.

Stock tail light on my rv.


This is the new tail light I will be ordering.