David

RV technician and renovation extraordinaire.

Making use of unused space in an RV

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Like a lot of travel trailers, we have a pass through storage area under the nose of our trailer. I recently had to do some repair work to our water pump that is located in this storage area behind a carpeted false wall. This is also where our leveling system controls are mounted. There was quite a bit of unused space in this utility area enclosed by the false walls. After completing my water pump repairs I removed the two false walls and cut the shorter wall down to allow the front wall to move back. The new space will allow us a couple more square feet of storage. The control panel for the leveling system is still usable in this area but I will be relocating it in a future post to make it more user friendly.

Heading in my new direction

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I am officially an RVSA Certified RV Technician! We’ve been full-time RVers since September 2018, but only on the road since July 2019. Jen and I have been planning and working to fulfill our dream of full-time RV travel. Making this transition meant letting go of the career that had sustained me up to this point. I spent much of the last 20+ years working as a operations and equipment maintenance supervisor in the manufacturing industry. I was very good at my job but I was fed up and burned out. The politics, dehumanizing management, and frustrating environments meant each day was a soul-sucking blender. We budgeted, scrimped, and saved in order to help make the transition possible. I have always been a hands-on person and enjoy fixing and making things. My favorite job was the three years I spent working as a residential electrician before going back to school …

Read the rest of this post.Heading in my new direction

Sanitizing Our Fresh Water System

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How long has it been since you sanitized your fresh water system in your RV? Did you know your fresh water system needs to be sanitized on a regular basis? Even with a good filter, algae, debris, and bacteria can build up in the fresh water tank and plumbing.

The sanitation process can take several hours, and will require access to a fresh water supply.

We have a Keystone Laredo travel trailer with a 43 gallon fresh water tank, and our water cabinet includes the fresh water fill inlet, fresh water tank vent to prevent overfilling, valve for switching between onboard water and city water, black water flush inlet, outside shower port, and the cable TV connections.

View of the fresh water fill cabinet on our Keystone Laredo travel trailer

Read the rest of this post.Sanitizing Our Fresh Water System

Doubling Our Usable Kitchen Drawer Space

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I borrowed this idea from my father. My dad added several pull-out storage areas in their kitchen pantries as well as interior drawers similar to this project. This additional pull-out storage made much better use of the space, making the contents neater and easier to access.

Our utensil drawer is definitely in need of a space utilization improvement project. The standard silverware organizer does do the job, but the drawer itself was never more than half full.

View of the utensil drawer before the project to add an interior drawer started

Read the rest of this post.Doubling Our Usable Kitchen Drawer Space

Making Gray Tank Valves Easier to Reach

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Waste water tanks are not high on the list of fun things to do while RVing. We have two gray tanks, and the way the manufacturer installed our kitchen gray tank’s dump valve does not make the process any more fun. Basically, they were installed “backwards.” In order to open the gate valve you have to climb under the edge of the slide floor and electrical cables, and the valve must pulled away from you in order to open it.

View of the kitchen waste water tank dump valve with the handle facing away from the viewer
This is the easiest angle to approach the gray tank. Why is the handle on the opposite side?

Read the rest of this post.Making Gray Tank Valves Easier to Reach

Everybody poops! Or alternately: Full-time RVing with cats, and where the heck did we put the litter boxes?

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We have four cats and live in a 35-foot RV. Where do our cats poop? Not gonna lie: this was at the top of our priority list when we were RV shopping. It is extremely important to have a clean and safe area for cats to go to the bathroom, because without that, it can cause all kinds of behavioral problems that could lead to anything from aggression to physical illness.

Read the rest of this post.Everybody poops! Or alternately: Full-time RVing with cats, and where the heck did we put the litter boxes?

Why is our ceiling wet?

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Humidity can a real problem while living in an RV. We have been traveling east, officially leaving the dry desert and entering bayou country. On the first night of 90% humidity, we wondered when we would be dealing with complications of humidity in our RV life.

The next morning, while making my morning tea, I noticed a six inch round spot on the ceiling with condensation forming.

view of condensation formed on the ceiling with an a/c vent close by

Read the rest of this post.Why is our ceiling wet?

Installing a Laundry Chute in Our RV

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Where do we hide our dirty laundry? With limited space, we needed a place to store it until laundry day. Our rig has a pass-through storage compartment under the front of the trailer, which is under the bedroom closet.

Rather than keeping a hamper for dirty clothes alongside the clean clothes in the closet, I decided to make a laundry chute.

the front of an RV with an arrow pointing to the storage door on the bottom side, and the words "pass-thru storage."

Read the rest of this post.Installing a Laundry Chute in Our RV