50 RV Tips You DON'T Have to Learn The Hard Way - RV Tricks & Hacks for Beginners & Newbies

tip number one when filling your fresh water tank after it's been drained leave your fresh tank drain valve open and let a little bit of water come out at first I usually just let about one gallon drain through and then I'll go ahead and close the valve so why are we doing this if you know anything about RV Plumbing you know that there's always water left in the lines somewhere doing this allows you to push out any stagnant water that may be sitting in the lines anywhere from here all the way over to your freshwater tank it's also going to help push out any sediment that may be sitting at the bottom of the tank so it doesn't mix with the new water so what if instead you use the city water pressurized line instead of filling your fresh tank this is still something you want to be doing after you set up your camper and connect your water just run your sink and shower faucets for about 15 to 30 seconds to push any of the water from the last trip out of the lines after rving for 8 years you learn these little tips here and there that make RV life easier safer more enjoyable and if you're new to RV life these are some of the tips that you may not realize until somebody tells you or you find out the hard way so I wanted to take a lot of these tips that are spread throughout a lot of different videos and put them in one place for a lot of the people who are new to rving and listen if you're an RV veteran you may learn something like I said I've been doing this for 8 years and I'm learning something every day so let's get right back into the video so there's a lot of different water filter options you should always be running some type of filter before your RV but there's one that's already in your RV that I think some people forget about or some people don't even know about you'll find a sediment filter at the front of your water pump now these are not Advanced five or six-stage filter filters it's more of a debris filter it's essentially a metal screen its purpose is to filter out debris that could damage the O-rings diaphragm and gaskets inside your water pump to check and clean it you'll just want to make sure the water pump is turned off they usually just unscrew by hand and you can wash them out with some tap water I check this debris filter twice a year if you notice that the screen is damaged or corroded it's probably time to replace this filter so while you're at the filter get the manufacturer and model information to order one up myself included we get so consuming with making sure that we have everything everything is packed but before you head out take a step back take a nice deep breath and go for a nice slow walk around the RV and your tow vehicle check for any obstructions or equipment you forgot to pack make sure you didn't forget to remove a wheel chock or any large rocks that may have gotten kicked under the RV during the camping trip and now is also a great time to check all your light bulbs on your RV now that you're connected to the truck if you RV at any time throughout the year where it gets cold or even cool enough to have to turn the heat on invest in a good electric heater unless you're at a seasonal site where your electricity is metered you've already paid for your electric through your sight fee whether you use a little bit or a lot now electric heaters are probably not going to do the job in the debt of winter and remember they're not going to heat your underbelly but they're great to have to take the chill out of the air on a cool night plus you're going to save money on propane now there's a lot of different options out there I'll put some links down below now I'm going to shut this off cuz it's getting hot in here we've got a lot of tips to cover in fact we're actually going to split up all this information into two videos the first half of the tip will be in this video and the second half of the tips will be on the channel RV gear and far don't worry I'm going to make it very easy for you to find that video at the end of this video I'll put a link right on the screen also if you have some cool or interesting tips that we don't cover in these videos please let everybody know watching in the comments down below and with that said I'm going to turn it over to Josh to add some things to this video that he's learned from traveling throughout the country painting a section of the hitch on a toll will makes the coupler stand out better in a backup camera or in the shadows of a nose cap and these magnetic alignment balls work well on any tobo trailer to assist in hitching up without the constant back and forth micro Corrections and having to get in and out of the vehicle multiple times to see what's going on additionally if you don't have a backup camera or you don't have it in the location you need it a second smartphone and a video call might be an easy way to get a better angle on the components there are a few things in the RV life that you'll only do once having to pack up reh hitch and move sights because the power pedestal wasn't working is one of those do yourself a huge favor and before you pull into a site or at least before you un hitch check the status of the hookups that are provided plug in your electrical management system or search protector and verify the presence of power and to check for faults turn on the water spet to verify water and check to make sure that the sewer hookup is clear and intact this is one of those things in most vetv do out of habit upon arrival but it's really easy to take for granted that the hookups will be functioning and a huge hassle to find out after unhitching that something isn't working not all campgrounds have 50 or 30 amp service and you're not going to always be able to pick your own site so before your first trip pick up what's called a dog bone adapter this adapter is going to give you the ability to plug into a 30 amp plug if you have a 50 amp camper or a 50 amp plug if you have a 30 amp camper now these are not going to magically give you 50 amps if you have a 30 amp camper you're always going to get the smaller amount of power so if you have a 50 amp camper and you're using a 30 amp dog bone you're only going to get 30 amps if you have a 50 amp camper get a 30 amp dog bone and vice versa and if you want to plug in at home just to keep the battery topped off or to turn the lights on occasionally you can get a 20 amp dog bone that will allow you to plug into a receptacle in your house I'll make it easy for you guys and I'll put links down below that'll tell you exactly what you need to get when hooking up your sewer connections always start at the sewer and work your way back up to the RV that way if there are ever any issues you can shove the hose in place and the waste water will be funneled into the proper place think about what might happen if the reverse were true there's this widely accepted rule to always dump your black tanks first and then dump your gray tanks second and the idea or the logic behind this is that while gray water is still waste water it's much cleaner than black water so after you dump your black tank you can kind of rinse out your sewer hose with your gray water it's a good idea in theory but I think there's a step that should be added to this process do gray black gray let me explain you have no guarantee when you connect your sewer hose if you've made all the connections properly you may have a seal inside your sewer hose that starting to fail as well so instead of dumping your black tank first just crack open one of your gray tanks for just a couple seconds get some water flowing through there make sure that you don't have any leaks it's better to find out you don't have leaks with gray water than black water then go ahead and close your gray tank valve dump your black tank and then dump your gray tank this is just a little tweak to the process that can save you or your neighbors from a miserable camping experience so remember gray black gray go is an acronym borrowed from the Transportation industry and stands for get out and look it never hurts to take another look when maneuvering an RV and taking the time to see the entire scene for yourself without the visual limitations of cameras or mirrors can avoid costly collisions or incidents so you're brand new to arving you've watched a ton of videos on how to manage your black tank three trips in you're realizing that your tank sensors aren't working correctly they're showing full when the tanks are in fact empty or they're showing empty when the tanks are completely filled up guys this is not something to spend a lot of time worrying about sometimes toilet paper or other debris gets stuck on Those sensors and that provides a false reading there's a lot of information available on how to clean tank sensors that's not something we're going to get into today but just know that you're not alone correct tank sensor readings are just one of those things in the wonderful world of rving that are Hit or Miss but as a beginner don't get stressed out if your tank sensors aren't reading properly most rvers will age out their tires before they wear them out it's recommended to replace trailer tires every 3 to 4 years because of the breakdown of the tire composition regardless of whether the tread is worn out or not there will be a date code stand on each tire it'll have the week of the year and the two-digit year code that it was manufactured so a tire that says 2823 means it was manufactured in the 28th week of the year 2023 also the date code may only be on one side of the tire so if you can't find it on the outside of the tire check the inside regardless of the RV that you have whether it's a travel trailer fifth wheel motor home whatever there's still a setup process and I'm still learning after 8 years there's little tweaks to this process that could save you a lot of time adding these quick connects cuts down on both setup and tear down times especially if your water setup has multiple connections there's a couple different types of Quick Connect fittings the most popular are aluminum because they're the least expensive that's what I've been using and I've been using these for about a year now I've heard from a few people that the aluminum ones will eventually leak and if and when that time comes I'm going to upgrade to probably either a brass or stainless steel Quick Connect which cost a little bit more but will last longer they are nice though they speed up the setup and tear down process so you can enjoy your camping trip more we do not charge a membership fee to watch any of our videos they're all free for everyone to watch our Channel sponsors help us keep the lights on because I refuse to charge our viewers and I want to keep it that way so I'd like to thank RV snap pads for sponsoring today's video RV snap pads have become one of the most popular RV products over the last few years and now they're available for travel trailers snapjack simply replace the metal foot of your scissor jack giving your stabilizers up to 274 more surface area and that means more stability and less sinkage into soft ground made from recy tire rubber they provide better grip than a metal foot especially on loose and uneven ground snap Jacks protect not only your RV landing gear but prevent scratching doging and rust staining to your driveway or campsite pad use the link below and get 10% off your RV snapjack order here we have two different RVs a large fifth wheel with a huge storage Bay under the rear kitchen and this 35t travel trailer which do you think can carry more weight contrary to initial perceptions biggar does not always mean it can carry more the travel trailer's cargo capacity is almost double what the fifth wheel can carry don't fall into the mental trap of bigger is better in terms of how much cargo you can carry unfortunately each individual rig can vary based on its specific equipment so not all RVs of the same year brand and model will have the same capacities you can find the cargo carrying capacity of each rig on the yellow information sticker typically found on the entry door there's also usually one at the driver side foremost spot of a towable or on the inside of a driveable RV this next tip will come in handy I don't think it's mentioned enough especially for people who are new to RV life keep a hard copy of your owners and Appliance manuals with you at all times you just never know when you're going to need to reference something from these manuals now listen it's okay to have these digitally stored on your phone but make sure they're stored on your phone's hard drive and not the cloud your RV is going to take you a lot of places throughout the country but some of those places are not going to have cell or Internet service electric motors are fantastic and help us accomplish many things in the RV World but if they stop working you can find yourself in a pickle say your slide won't go in or your tongue jack won't extend having the proper manual override tools for each electric motor that is crucial to the function RV is important you may never need them and I hope that you do not but if you find yourself in a situation that requires them you'll be sure glad you had them and this is especially crucial when buying a used RV often these little wrenches or tools get stashed in a bin and forgotten about then when the rig is passed to the new owner they're often not transferred so make sure you get them all slide rooms stabilizers Jacks awnings they all have manual overrides and sometimes specific tools needed to operate them manually cleaning your RV's air conditioner coils is more important than how often it is discussed RVs are just not insulated as well as a brick-and mortar house windows are usually single pane there's spots around the slideouts that are only sealed with a rubber gasket cleaning your AC coils is going to make a huge difference to keep your air conditioner running efficiently as long as you're okay with going up on the roof it's an easy process that you don't have to pay someone else to do I previously made a video that will walk you through the entire process I'll put a link to that video down below one of the many benefit benefits of traveling with your home is that you can have access to the rig on travel days we fill our freshwater tank about 1/3 full of water for travel days to be able to use the bathroom or wash our hands after lunch using 12vt pump When we arrive at the campground we get our hoses all set up and typically fill our fresh tank all the way full there's two reasons for this one it's happened many times that the campground water lines lost pressure due to power outages someone backing over a PVC water spet down the line or a scheduled maintenance that they conveniently forgot to tell us about filling your fresh tank upon arrival make sure that these instances are inconvenient at worst just flip on the 12vt pump and use the fresh tank the second reason is to be able to supplement the park water pressure when it's low too high of water pressure at the spigot can cause damage to your rep Plumbing which is why you should always utilize some sort of water pressure regulator but too low pressure can be all sorts of frustrating one quick solution to the low pressure scenario is to turn on your 12volt pump and supplement the Park's water supply yes you could fill your tank and only ever use the 12volt pump that way but if you combine them you won't have to refill the fresh tank as often especially if multiple people are using it just remember to refill the tank at the end of each day because it would suck to be caught in the first scenario with no water because you're using the fresh tank and the pump to boost your pressure unfortunately for those of us with 30 amp campers we're just not going to be able to run all the appliances at the same time it's just not mathematically possible running everything together like the fridge the air conditioner the microwave and the water heater it's just going to pull more than 30 amps and it's going to pop your breaker so if you're camping in the dead of Summer and the air conditioner is blasting a couple other appliances are running you can cut down on current draw by simply using the propane side of your water heater instead of the electric side turn off your propane while driving ah one of the oldest RV debates around many folks swear by driving with their prop on to power their gas refrigerator and many sorts of say to shut it off completely obviously you all have to make your own decisions here but here's what we know if you're going through any fuel stations or tunnels you're supposed to have your propane shut off Ross has also done a video testing if it's even necessary to power your fridge during a travel Trav day and as an arer that traveled fulltime for 2 years all throughout the country and never having operated my propane while underway I can concur with his findings it's just not necessary and the final Point your gas fridge that runs off propane needs to be level in order to work correctly traveling along North American highways and byways is anything but level the point we're trying to make here is just turn off your propane while underway you can turn it back on when you get at your campsite the fridge will be just fine okay a couple quick tips when connecting your travel trailer a lot of you may know this one already cross your chains take the left chain and connect it to the right side of the truck and the right chain to the left side the idea here is that the chain will create a cradle and stop the trailer from hitting the ground should it come uncoupled also there's two ways to kind of check to make sure that your hitch is seated correctly in your coupler once you drop your coupler onto the hitch if this coupler lock does not fully close it is not seated correctly sometimes the ball is sitting too far back for the coupler lock to completely close in that situation when the ball looks like it's in the coupler but the coupler Lock's not completely closing you're just going to have to to move your truck usually about a/ in forward once you do that you'll find that you can then close this coupler lock after the lock is closed it's perfectly fine to raise your tongue jack an inch or two if the truck starts to lift with the trailer you know you're seated correctly and don't forget to lock your coupler with a lock pin and an easy way to not lose this coupler pin is to just attach it to the trailer chain when it's not in use rocks dirt debris and toys easily make their way under the flooring flaps of slide droms make sure to sweep your vacuum underneath them before closing the slide to avoid damaging the slide and the flooring of the RV there's a lot to remember as an RV owner and operator there's maintenance schedules setup and tear down processes equipment specs and while all these tips videos are great and if you're watching for pure entertainment purposes fine however none of this stuff matters if you don't apply it if you're like me you have a hard time remembering things sometimes so the best tip I can give you whether you're new or a veteran is to start making your own checklists some folks print them out some people keep them on their phone that's what I personally do but remember like we talked about earlier if they're on your phone make sure they're on your hard drive on your phone so you can access them if you don't have cell service for me RV life would probably be unmanageable if I didn't have my own checklists all the products mentioned in this video are linked Down Below in case you need to pick something up I'll put a link on the screen right now to the other half of this video thanks for watching and we'll see you over there

Channel: RV Tips & Travels

Views: 50,890

Keywords: rv tips, rv modifications, rv upgrades, rv mods, rv life, rv how to, rv maintenance, camping, rv travel, travel trailer, rv tips and travels, rv living, camping hacks, travel trailer tips, rv tips and tricks, rv living full time, rv lifestyle, rv hacks, best rv accessories, rv must haves, rv camping, full time rv living, rv essentials, rv hacks and ideas, rv 101, rv newbie, rv beginner, rv basics for beginners, learn to rv, rv noob, how to rv, rv mistakes, basics

Id: xP7rAW6DF2U

Length: 15min 56sec (956 seconds)

Published: Sun May 12 2024