RV Gadgets .net

So you take the RV to a friend or relative’s house and they do not have 35 or 50 amp service. Of course not. The only thing in their house that may is the washer or dryer and those are probably too far away right? So I guess you will be running on one A/C unit and keeping the food cold. That is about it. Not a problem if you have the Camco 55165 RV 12. Just plug it into the outside wall socket (probably GFCI and 25 amp breaker anyway) and plug your RV into the other end.

The handles on the plug converter make it easy to unplug and the extra 12 to 18 inches make it a bit of an extension, but usually just enough to let the plug sit on the ground. While taking power from the house you might “blow a fuse”, as they say, but really just keep an eye out for the location of the breaker panel.

I have misplaced or lost numerous of the little black adapters in the past and the bright yellow color of the Camco 55165 RV 12 is also really helpful. You should only be buying one of these for each type of plug for the life of your RV.

Knowing what can happen if you hook up city water to an RV I feel obligated to remind all of you to ensure you have a pressure regulator. I think the Camco 40053 RV Brass Water Pressure Regulator will probably work just fine. I even use my own regulator if there is one provided.

How do you hook up your RV to the water at each park you visit? The following is the process I follow:

1. Unwrap hose. It was connected to itself from the last time it was used.
2. Unwrap filter. It was also connected to itself (or in the hose) to ensure a closed system while traveling and in storage.
3. Run the water from the tap for 5-10 seconds at a reasonable pressure.
4. Hook up pressure regulator and filter
5. Run water for another 5 seconds
6. Hook up host
7. Run water for 10-30 seconds to ensure a “full hose.” This ensures that anything in the hose has had a chance to be hit by the water and flushed out
8. Hook hose to RV with an angle adapter

It may seem like overkill to you, but get some of that red, gross water into your rv’s system one time and you will regret it. Blow a fitting or two in the middle of the night (when the pressure rises) and you will regret it too! The Camco 40053 RV Brass Water Pressure Regulator is a nice $10 safety investment.

So if your forget to keep your coach batteries charged you have little choice but to jump start your Motorhome. We like to make sure the ladies are not around when this realization hits us, but it is also nice to be able to yank the Duracell DPP-600HD Powerpack 600 Jump Starter & Emergency Power Source with Radio out of our car and hook it to the motorhome and start it up without a problem.

If you are trying to save face or just trying to get out of there quickly the Duracell DPP-600HD Powerpack 600 Jump Starter & Emergency Power Source with Radio is a lifesaver. Simply hook it up and start the coach. You can play some tunes at the same time and that is nice at the beach every once in a while, but realistically this is used for starting the motor home or perhaps charging a cell phone in a pinch.

I have even been at the campground and left something on for 3 days and needed a boost. I have used it for my boat because it is hard to get my truck into the water when I realize the boat battery is dead.. all sorts of reasons to have a Duracell DPP-600HD Powerpack 600 Jump Starter & Emergency Power Source with Radio on hand.

Lets get back to basics. You need to keep your batteries charged in both the coach and the house of your RV. If you store your RV near your house or in a storage unit with power then the Battery Tender 021-0128 Battery Tender Plus 12V Battery Charger is for you. You just set it and forget it. I actually suggest mounting it and leaving it plugged in when you can.

There is nothing worse that getting to your RV and the house batteries are dead. Not to mention the wear on these batteries when they are left in a discharged state. Check out the Battery Tender 021-0128 Battery Tender Plus 12V Battery Charger and get the best $50 insurance your batteries can have.

I have even accidentally left a rear camera on and this kept the battery going. It was draining the coach battery pretty good and the charger just kept it to a point I could start the coach and get it going. What a relief. If you follow this simple advice you will have no need for the next product I have for review: The Duracell DPP-600HD Powerpack 600 Jump Starter & Emergency Power Source with Radio is needed when you fail to keep the batteries charged

Carol and I have two kids and we end up bringing 3 bike everywhere we go. Shortly that will be 4 bikes when our youngest is old enough to ride her own. Fitting 3 bikes in the standard flat hitch rack we have is tough and some of the others just let the bikes swig a bit too much. In comes the new Swagman 4-Bike RV Bumper Rack which seems to solve the problems. It actually holds 5 bikes by their wheels instead of their cross bars. This is perfect for small kids bikes or womens mountain bikes where the cross bar is odd shaped or too short.

Locking the bikes is about the same in both cases, but we like to lock the front ant rear wheels and this allows us to do that. Check it out the: Swagman 4-Bike RV Bumper Rack

In the RV we all have cell phones, navigation Units or GPSs, perhaps an MP3 player and even the occasional laptop up front. All of these device require one thing: power. Most of the devices take 12V cigarette outlet type power and some others take 5+V USB power. I have a mixture of both, so I stick with the Wagan Twin USB/DC Cup Holder Adapter. I actually have a couple of versions, but really this device has them all in one and all in a device that fits in a cup holder.

There are a hundred of these on the market and here are a few popular ones:

• Wagan Twin USB/DC Sockets Traveler’s Adapter
• Multi-Use Vehicle Charger with Dual USB Ports and Dual 12 Volt Sockets

Keep in mind the cord or no cord. Some plug directly into the socket and this can cause a problem in some Class C vehicles. The extenders with a cord are usually pretty easy to stick in a location that works.