Our RV Adventures

The BWF really pitched a hissy fit all night, with high winds and a lot of rain coming down. Finally about 5:30 this morning I went outside and took in the bedroom awnings so I could get back to sleep. The flapping was keeping me awake.

Another At-A-Boy to Daryl Lawrence of Lawrence RV Accessories. I bought his TireTraker Tire Pressure Monitoring System from him this past March at the Gypsy Journal Rally in Yuma.

When we ready to leave Celina last month I discovered the cap on one of my tire sensors had a large chunk broken out of it and water had gotten in with all the rain we had there. It looks like it took a hit from a rock.

I was able to get the sensor working again by drying it out and replacing the battery, and sealing the cap with Gorilla Tape. That worked but I wanted a new cap.

Nick said Daryl was down in Goshen at an RV rally, and after contacting him, Daryl said to come down and pick some up. When I got there he had a bag of four caps waiting for me. Thanks, Daryl.

Getting back to the rig, we found a wonderful surprise. Miss Terry had been baking her world-famous Cinnamon Buns. I think the wonderful smell hit us as we came into the park. We went next door to Nick and Terry’s rig for a warm sample and spend a while talking.

About 2pm I headed back over to the RV/MH Hall of Fame. I told Nick this is now officially a ‘tarbaby’ project. A ‘tarbaby’ project is one where the further I get into it, the more stuck I become. I keep finding things they forgot to tell me about, things I would have done different if I had known ahead of time. Oh well. That’s why they pay me the big bucks . . . well, that’s why they pay me, anyway.

Nick had decided he wanted his birthday dinner at the Crimson Crustacean, known as Red Lobster to some people. so we headed over there a little before 6 pm. Only had about a 15 minute wait, pretty good for a Saturday night.

And here’s the birthday boy himself. I’m not sure, but I think maybe he needs to go.

After a great meal we got back to the rig about 7:30, and looking at the weather radar, it’s going to another bumpy night.

And now for another installment of . . .

Things Every RV’er should have:

But first, a blog reader wanted to know how to use a Volt-Ohm Meter to test a light bulb like I’d mentioned in yesterday’s blog.

First off, we talking about regular incandescent bulbs, not fluorescent, or LED. Sometimes the bulb is small and it’s hard to see the filament, or the glass is opaque and you can’t see it.

You test a light bulb exactly like you test for a blown fuse. Set your VOM to Ohms and touch the leads together. You should see a reading on the meter. Separate the leads and touch one lead to the bulb tip and one to the threads. If you get a reading the bulb is good. If the meter doesn’t change, the bulb is bad. And you test a fuse exactly the same way.

Here’s a link that will get you started using your VOM.

Measuring Stuff with a Multimeter

If you go to YouTube and type in ‘Using a Multimeter’ you will find a bunch of instructional videos on VOM use. Check it out.

Today’s gadget is the Kill A Watt.

There is a 3-prong AC plug on the back of the unit, and using a short extension cord, if necessary, plug the Kill A Watt into a wall plug. You can then plug any device into the socket on the front.

Then using the buttons on the front you can check the voltage coming into the KAW, the amps the device is pulling, and the watts used. You can also measure the kilowatt hours (KWH) the device is using just like the power company’s electric meter at your sticks & brick.

Another good use is to check the AC frequency of your power when using your generator. It should be 60 Hz, but how would you know?

Nick and I used ours earlier this year at the Gypsy Journal Rally in Yuma. We had to live on 20 amps for a week before the rally started, and by plugging the rig power into the Kill A Watt we could monitor how many amps we were pulling and how much more we could use without popping the breaker. Very useful.

You can get your own Kill A Watt from Amazon for less than $20.

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Thought for the Day:

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” John Adams –October 11, 1798

asdf

First off, Happy Birthday to my good friend Nick Russell. It’s hard to believe I’ve only known you for four years or so. Seems like I’ve always known you.

Despite the forecast, apparently Nick’s BWF (Bad Weather Fairy) was so hung over this morning that he forgot to make it rain. So the sun was out, and although it was a little cloudy, all in all, it was a nice day.

After coffee and lunch I headed back over to the RV/MH Hall of Fame to get the last of the new computers configured for them. I’ll probably go back on Saturday afternoon to install them on everyone’s desk so I won’t disturb their work

I got back to the park about 4:30 and then we all quickly piled into the truck and headed off for dinner at Ryan’s. Love that fried chicken!

A few minutes after we got there, Al Hesselbart, the RV Historian at the Hall of Fame, joined us. And as usual we spent a good while after we finished eating, just talking.

We got back to the rig a little after 7, and then about 9 the BWF finally sobered up and the rain started coming down hard, and kept coming down hard for the next couple of hours, hard enough to knock out the satellite a couple of times.

Things Every RV’er should have:

The last couple of days I’ve talked about things RV’ers need, and this is another one.

A VOM, or Volt-Ohm Meter. Every rig should have one, or more. And they’re not expensive.

This one costs about $5 on Amazon.

They’re good for a myriad of uses. Checking for a blown fuse, checking to see if a light bulb is bad, checking to see if voltage is getting to a switch or socket. I even used one under the rig to find a broken wire on my starter when my Cummins diesel wouldn’t crank. I also used one to fix Nick Russell’s broken water heater.

Get one today!

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Thought for the Day:

Some of Murphy’s Other Laws – Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just don’t have film.

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