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  • Suspect an RV Roof Leak? Don’t Trust Your Ceiling!

    Suspect an RV Roof Leak? Don’t Trust Your Ceiling!

    One would expect that a leaking RV roof would cause a stain, bubble or wrinkle on the RV ceiling. Water has to go somewhere, right? Isn’t it reasonable to assume that a hole in your roof would manifest itself on the ceiling below? Unluckily for you, dear RV owner, Recreational Vehicles follow their own rules,…

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  • What Happens If You Forget to Winterize Your RV??

    What Happens If You Forget to Winterize Your RV??

    If you’re reading this article in November, time may remain. Pump your RV’s veins full of antifreeze, and you may stave off the worst of the effects of the cold.  But if you’re reading this March, then the prognosis is poor. If you forgot to winterize your RV, and Christmas Bells have already stopped ringing,…

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  • Chat With an RV Tech: Can You Actually Keep an RV Safe from Theft?

    Chat With an RV Tech: Can You Actually Keep an RV Safe from Theft?

    Customers ask me all the time how to protect their beloved RVs. Chains? Couper lock? GPS tracking device? An anti-missile Iron Dome defense system? They’re desperately hoping I have some insider knowledge of a particular, recently invented but as yet unknown device that will assuage all their worries.  My standard response is that protecting your…

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  • Smackdown: Advanced Surge Protector Vs Multimeter vs Circuit Analyzer?

    Smackdown: Advanced Surge Protector Vs Multimeter vs Circuit Analyzer?

    Concerned about the quality of the power at the pedestal? In the matter of RV electrical protection, you have three options: Which Is Better: A Multimeter or Surge Protector? Between the first two options, you might assume, given that I am a borderline Scrooge AND a bit of a data freak, that I would award…

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  • Uh Oh … Are You Exercising Your RV Generator Every Month?

    Uh Oh … Are You Exercising Your RV Generator Every Month?

    Much like humans, generators don’t like being couch potatoes. Just like our arteries clog up from a sedentary lifestyle, so does bad fuel gum up tiny passages in carburetors when left to stagnate. Most RV generators die from neglect, not old age. How Often Should I Exercise My RV Generator? All the major RV genset…

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  • Yikes! Replacing the Corroded Battery Lugs of an RV’s House Batteries

    Yikes! Replacing the Corroded Battery Lugs of an RV’s House Batteries

    Recently, I replaced the house batteries on a Class C motorhome. What would normally be a routine maintenance item turned into a miniature masterclass on RV battery maintenance. Here is the Spark Notes version: My customer wanted to upgrade his flooded RV/marine lead-acid batteries to modern AGM deep-cycle batteries. He’d be the first to admit…

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  • What Causes a Failed Cooling Unit on an RV Propane Refrigerator?

    What Causes a Failed Cooling Unit on an RV Propane Refrigerator?

    You’ve probably heard the term “bad cooling unit.” This is a catch-all phrase to describe any number of failures with an absorption refrigerator’s cooling unit, which is the labyrinth of tubes partially encased in foam that we’ve been talking about. A failed cooling unit = a dead refrigerator. It runs, but no cooling. A failed…

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  • Nerd Battle of the Best RV Self-Leveling Roof Sealants

    Nerd Battle of the Best RV Self-Leveling Roof Sealants

    Are you a fellow sufferer of analysis paralysis? I am. Choosing a self-leveling sealant is enough to set me back three Ibuprofen pills. Options abound. And as an RV repair technician, I must carry sufficient stock to re-seal all roof types, all colors, at any time. I don’t want to stock $700 worth of self-leveling…

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  • Loud RV Hydraulic Pump? Entrained Air Might Be the Culprit …

    Loud RV Hydraulic Pump? Entrained Air Might Be the Culprit …

    Many larger RVs and motorhomes use a pressurized hydraulic fluid system to move slide-outs, leveling jacks, and landing gear. They are relatively simple hydraulic systems. Most have a simple displacement pump and gearbox transmission, a machined manifold with solenoid-activated flow control valves, some safety switches, and a little PCB brain.  Note: As an RV engineer/tech,…

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  • Quick Tip: Clean Your Air Conditioner Evaporator Coils in the Spring and Fall! (with Video)

    Quick Tip: Clean Your Air Conditioner Evaporator Coils in the Spring and Fall! (with Video)

    Today’s quick tip is to clean your air conditioner’s evaporator coils during your spring shakedown and your fall winterization routines.  Why an Air Conditioner Evaporator Is Important The evaporator is the star of the show. The air conditioner throttles warm refrigerant through an expansion valve or orifice into a low-pressure liquid inside the evaporator tubing.…

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  • Resetting the Excess Flow Valve Inside the Big Green ACME Nut on Your LP Pigtail

    Resetting the Excess Flow Valve Inside the Big Green ACME Nut on Your LP Pigtail

    If you’ve been RVing for any length of time, someone has probably told you about the trick to “resetting” your propane tank: Yes, this trick works. It’s just like the old IT joke: “Have you turned it on and off again?” But why does this work? What are you resetting? And will it happen again?…

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  • How Does an RV Absorption Refrigerator Work? No, Really!

    How Does an RV Absorption Refrigerator Work? No, Really!

    Call me suspicious, but I am skeptical of anyone who claims to comprehend the inner workings of an absorption refrigerator. To fully fathom the depths of magic inside all those steel coils, you must understand thermodynamics, chemistry, fluid dynamics, and mechanics of materials. It’s an entire engineering education within a single appliance. Every time I…

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