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Hello Fellow Campers,
Happy Independence Day!
Hopefully your 4th of July weekend involves an RV trip. We just spent several relaxing days in our RV at the beach and I am hoping to spend the 4th of July there too. We have lots going on with work, but it sure was nice to get away, and forget about everything for a few days.
We are already experiencing temperatures in the high 90's here in North Carolina, and that kind of heat can take its toll on RVs. Don't miss my feature article and videos this month when I discuss how to beat the summer heat.
Enjoy the newsletter, and if you have family or friends who like RVs and the RV lifestyle share with them.
Happy Camping in 2018.
Mark
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Need a Sway Control Hitch?
Check out the hitch Mark uses when he tows a trailer.
The Original
Equal-i-zer Sway control hitch has been enjoyed by thousands of trailer owners for over 50 years. Learn more about the Equal-i-zer hitch, and find out which hitch will work best for you:
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RV Adventure Videos
Our friend and colleague John Holod is an internationally recognized cinematographer who has filmed all over the world. He has presented his documentaries to audiences across North America. John has produced an entire series of RV Adventure Videos specifically for RV owners. The series includes DVDs on travel to Alaska, the East Coast, Rocky Mountains, Gulf Coast, Route 66 and more!
If you are thinking about taking an RV trip to any of these destinations John's DVDs will save you time and money on your adventure. Each DVD is 80-minutes long packed with exceptional footage, and each DVD has 45-minutes of extra information including the best campgrounds, places to eat, attractions and much more.
Note: Even if you do not plan to visit these destinations this collection of professionally filmed RV travel videos are great for viewing and entertainment.
Individual DVD's are $20 each, but right now John is selling the entire 10-DVD set for only $80.00. If you are interested in ordering single videos or the complete 10-DVD set you can order by phone. To place your order call
313-510-2350.
For more information on John's travel videos visit his web site and to watch a short preview (3-minutes) of all 10 videos go here.
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Feature Article & Videos
How to Beat the Summer Heat!
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It seems like we were just talking about how to stay warm in our RV and now we are talking about how to stay cool. Time flies when you are having fun!
For lots of folks the summer months are the most enjoyable to get out and use their RVs. Having fun in the sun is great, but when it gets hot outside you want your RV to be ready to deal with all the heat.
Fortunately there are several things we can do to make our summer RV camping trips more pleasurable.
For starters when you arrive at your camping destination strategically park your RV to take advantage of any shade available, especially on the side where the refrigerator vent is located. Don't be afraid to ask for a shady site when you check-in at the campground. This will not only help cool the RV down, but your refrigerator and roof air conditioner will work more efficiently too.
You can also improve your RV air conditioners efficiency by keeping the A/C filters clean. In most cases you can wash the filters in warm soapy water, rinse thoroughly and allow them to dry before reinstalling. Another option is to clean the filters using a small hand-held vacuum cleaner. I recommend you keep a new set of filters on hand in the event the old filters have seen better days.
Use your main patio awning and any window awnings to assist in keeping the interior cool. In addition to the awnings use your window blinds, or day/night shades to help keep the sun out and the cooler air in.
Campground voltage can fluctuate, especially during the hot summer months when all the campers are running their air conditioners
, placing a higher demand on the campground electricity. You should monitor the voltage coming into your RV with a digital voltmeter or use some type of a surge protector.
If voltage drops below 105-volts or goes above 130-volts turn your appliances and electronic equipment off until proper voltage is restored. Some of the more advanced surge protectors do this automatically.
You can increase the efficiency of your RV refrigerator by installing a vent fan that is thermostatically controlled. If you are mechanically inclined these fans are fairly simple to install, or you can have your local RV dealer install one for you. Either way it's worth it. Removing heat from behind the refrigerator can improve performance by up to 40 percent.
Another ingredient to help keep your RV cool is proper ventilation. Proper ventilation helps prevent excess heat from building up in your RV. You can install vent covers, like Maxx Air vents over the roof vents to allow for ventilation. They are inexpensive, easy to install and they let the fresh air in, even when it's raining. I use a vent cover on each end of our RV to help promote cross ventilation.
To help keep the inside of the RV cool start and run the roof AC early in the morning when it is cooler outside, try to avoid opening the door as much as possible and cook outside rather than inside whenever possible.
Of course when all else fails go enjoy the campground swimming pool.
Have a great summer camping season.
~RV101
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What's in your RV Toolbox?
Storage space is extremely limited on some RVs, which means space for tools and RV supplies is limited too. When that is the case you need to scale back and only keep the tools and supplies you consider absolutely essential. If you have tools in your RV that you haven't used since putting them there, you might want to do what I did, and reorganize your RV tools and essential supplies. I like to have the right tool for the job, but I decided to be more practical and organize my storage compartment with tools and RV supplies that really are essential.
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Are you interested in keeping up with breaking news about the RV industry? If so
visit RVBusiness
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Tired of dead RV batteries?
Stop the problem for good with the charger, maintainer & conditioner that Mark uses on all of his batteries.
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Visit our new RV Online Training Site
Are you interested in learning more about your RV? Our new online RV video training courses can be viewed on computers, tablets, and smartphones. All of our courses includes written text, video segments. related articles written by your instructor, helpful tips & tricks, fun play & learn RV University crossword puzzles and quizzes to help you retain the information.
click for more info or to enroll
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RV Consumer Magazine Archives
The link below goes to archives of our RV Consumer Magazine magazine issues. These past issues offer great information for RV owners, but keep in mind any offers or specials in these archived issues may no longer apply. The top link goes to the Flip book formatted issues and the bottom link goes to the PDF formatted issues.
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