A Pre-Season Opener For My Roadtrek

It has been a very long and difficult winter in the Northeast this year. My Roadtrek has been winterized since mid-November and it has only been off my driveway for a single day - there and back the same day - trip in early December.  We enjoyed that trip in December and since then have been looking to do it again.

We usually take these one day trips in the car, but with the car being a little uncertain for long distance trips, we have decided that we might as well take the Roadtrek and put some driving hours on it rather than it just keep sitting on the driveway. Using it just to drive around town is not easy here as just getting it off our driveway and into the steady flow of traffic at most hours of the day can take up to 30 minutes to safely have a clear enough opening to back it out and get it on the road. We had hoped to be able to do a repeat trip in January. The weather was not cooperating. Despite some warmer days in February, that month did not work out. We were sure that when March came we were going to be able to do it and we had four Nor'easter snow storms in March with no hope of going anywhere - including one on the first day of Spring. With April coming we were really hopeful and until just now, April has been cold and raining - too cold to even consider de-winterizing. But then there was a forecast like no others in the recent past - it was going to become suddenly warm and not raining - maybe even hot - not necessarily here where the ocean influences the temperatures this close to the coast, but inland. Inland was good - inland was where we would like to go. This sudden gift was only to last two days because following this phenomenon the temperatures would drop again into the 40's and perhaps lower once again with a two day rainstorm. Circumstances here - as they often do - were not going to let us take advantage for more than one single day. It would be out and back in the same day - as it was in December - but one day was good. One day was wonderful considering!

We knew where we wanted to go - one of our favorite haunts in Pennsylvania which to most would make them wonder why - but during those snow storms and those cold days and nights, if someone asked me where would I rather be - it was there. It was outdoors. It put me in the middle of people that I very much like interacting with and being around. We were going!

We left at 9:30 in the morning- to avoid the heaviest of Metro NY rush hour traffic - and off we went. Getting out of the driveway only took ten minutes after a steady stream of cars whizzing by. I had plugged the Roadtrek into the outside house outlet two days before and let it sit for 24 hours plugged in so that the batteries would be fully charged and there would be no problem running our Roadtrek's compressor fridge on batteries for the trip. There were plans to bring back some foods that are not available here. After an hour and a half this fridge reaches temperature.

As always, traffic getting out of NY was heavy but at least moved. The trip should take no more than three hours - but it generally takes four to four and a half hours - not counting the time to get out of the driveway. As I have written in the past, the trip is bang, bang, vibrate on the roads in New York. Once into New Jersey the ride gets noticeably better. In Pennsylvania with a newly repaved PA Turnpike it gets much better. The PA Turnpike - I suppose because of its new road surfacing -increased the speed limit for most of the part we drive on to 70 miles per hour. The 6L engine in my Roadtrek 190 Popular handles that speed very nicely - in fact it is too easy to get to 80 and not realize it - and it handles that speed nicely also , but I am never comfortable driving it at that speed and pull it back down. One thing that is odd, however, on the PA Turnpike with this new speed limit is that some cars and trucks do not want to drive at it. In fact they are driving below 65 - and more like 60. This was not making me happy. With one day and the long a drive to get there, I wanted to be at least the speed limit. Where I live the speed limit is 55 mph. At any time of the day or night local drivers see that sign and see 65 and faster. Most of the roads here are not made to go that fast but fast most go. I try to avoid having to keep up with that at times here can be more dangerous than not - and I not just in the Roadtrek. But here I was with a legitimate 70 mph speed limit which if it was ever to be the speed limit here would translate to 95 or 100, and I was sitting behind 60 mph drivers. It was not just the time of day because the same happens when we head home - and we travel later at night most trips when we are heading home.

When we arrived it was after 1:30 pm and it was 82 degrees outside. Oh my! The sun was shining. The place we were going was hoping and I was looking forward to a wonderful day - which we had. The trip down, at least past NY, the Roadtrek rode smoothly. Parking is in a large gravel and grass parking lot and we usually head down to the farthest section where it is open enough to park even a larger RV - and there are always a few RVs parked there - and there is no concern of being boxed in by cars or the narrow lanes that the rest of the parking lot has.

As we roamed around I realized that I have been in the house too long this winter and what is generally not tiring was really tiring me out after about two and a half hours. Not good - and I had to readjust to what it is like to be in over 80 degrees. I did find a bench and sat down and listened to two gentlemen talking about hunting and their tales of learning to hunt from their fathers. These are things one does not much get to hear being discussed where I live - and while I was not involved in this discussion at all, I did enjoy it. It was only fifteen minutes or so later that I was ready to leave the bench and get back to Meryl and keep going. (If you are waiting to hear of some catestrophe that happens on this trip - there was none.)  This was a nice slow day with me trying to pack in months of not being there. Overall we were at this one location for over four hours. Nothing important to do. Nothing spectacular to find or even seen. As a mostly city boy, I have always had a special place in my heart for sprawling farm land and things that are basically plain - and this all is all around people that are, with no negative connotation, "The Plain People". Beaches don't interest me. Mountains only marginally appeal - and generally don't more than do. This is where I need to be to really relax  and it has been for many, many years. And there I seek out being away from the tourists and get to be among the locals, and especailly the Amish and Mennonites of this area. I have met some. I am never intrusive. I don't gawk as some people do there. Any interaction and I am especailly respectful. And I am grateful that my good wife recognizes this in me and enjoys it as well.

Past 5 pm we headed to a favorite restaurant - again not a fancy restaurant but one that is really only known by the locals - and had a great dinner. After dinner I was not really ready to leave, so we started out the long way back. We drove past the campground we usually stay at. We even stopped at a store before we actually were on the road to go home. It was past 1:30 am when we arrived home. There was no traffic coming home -in fact some roads were surprisingly empty - yet we still found ourselves behind slow drivers with the road empty in front of them - and again, I don't mean slow because they were just at the speed limit - but well below the speed limit. I was in no hurry to get home but the last thing I like have happen in the Roadtrek is for anyone behind us to think it is us slowing them down - and resulting that  - they speed around us and cut in too close.

Last Spring I took the Roadtrek for a ride to the East End of Long Island to get it on the road. I realized after that it would have been so much better had we come to this area instead. Eight plus hours of round trip driving plus multiple bridge tolls and turnpike tolls - almost a full tank of gas - and it was all worth it.

The Roadtrek did not balk the whole time. This is not always the case, and surprises no matter how minor are more the norm than the exception. I think it liked its drive. Had it not been for the past weather, it would have been on several more trips like this.

I am still not sure when I will dewinterize. Most years I would have done it already. Since I am hearing low 40s or colder in the forecast, I am not running to do it. One of the advantages of even a single day trip with the Roadtrek is having a bathroom along for the ride, I figured that were we in need, we would just use it and not be that concerned. I could always through more A/F down into the black tank when we got home.

So this was not a real - sleep in the Roadtrek trip - but we did most everything we would do if we went there to stay overnight for two days. What I knew before but this trip made me more immediately aware of was that the CO Detector has expired and needs to be replaced - which we will do when we dewinterize. That the Roadtrek Roadside Assistance policy needs to be renewed - and we have not heard anything from them about it. That we discovered after our last regular RV season trip was that our walkie talkies no longer worked and we needed to replace them which I put off until we were ready to start traveling again. We use the walkie talkies to get the Roadtrek out of the driveway and into the street in front of our house (Meryl "OK it is clear RIGHT NOW - GO QUICK!!!") and when backing into a campground site, Meryl guides me in using the walkie talkies. I know which I am going to buy and we will be doing that pretty soon!

So thanks for rambling along with me. Nothing exciting - but isn't that nice!

SEAT COVERS FOR A ROADTREK

In a recently past article - which seems so long ago - I wrote about a problem we were discovering with the "leather" seat covers on the seats in our Roadtrek. I had indicated then that I had found a glue that worked - fairly well to seal the small tears that we were finding. Well, not long after we found more areas in which the outer surface of the seat was peeling - and there were just too many to try to use the glue on without it looking terrible. We had to find something to cover these seats with.

As I had said then our looking at car/truck seat covers in the local auto stores and Walmart just did not seem that they would fit and work. I went back to the Internet and asked for help on a recently new Facebook Group specifically for Chevy Roadtreks.  There two members shared with me that they had found seat covers in Walmart that did fit - fairly well. With that we went out to Walmart to see if we could find these covers. Of course, when looking for something that was purchased years back it is not always possible to find the same "models'. We did find one of the same brands and bought two different sets to try. We also bought a seat and backrest pad to try as well - in case the covers that are available now did not work.

We purchased two different sets of "Dickie's" seat covers (a subsidiary of Kraco). One was sized for trucks and was a thicker fabric. It also had a side zipper for just one arm rest. The other was a thinner cover that was a "universal" fit including cars, vans, SUVs, and trucks.

We tried the thicker cover on the driver's side seat first - which is the peeling seat. This is the cover fit for truck seats - and the one with the zipper opening for one of the arm rests. We pulled it over the seat. Meryl opened the zipper to put the arm rest through and the zipper slide broke off in her hand. Well that was not a good sign for this particular choice of cover. We continued to pull the cover over the backrest and then onto the seat. We got the elastic strap under the seat from side to side to secure it. The cover was much too baggy - and was not a close fit at all. That cover came off the seat and packed back in the box to go back to Walmart - with the broken zipper pieces to show the store.

The thinner cover went on next. It slide on a little easier onto the backrest. There is no hole on either side for the arm rests so we had to stop above the arm rests with the sides. We continued to pull the back down as far as the top of the rear seat pocket. We pulled the cover over the seat and there is a small solid bar attached in cloth in the middle of the back of it to push through to the back of the seat where the backrest meets the seat. That pulled the cover that is over the seat nice and tight and fitted.  We put the elastic Velcro strap from each side under the seat toward the rear and attached the two where they met. It took some adjusting to get the cover straight on the seat back.

I had been concerned that the arm rests that are tight against the seat back without a cover would not fold back or fold down. With the seat cover back pulled back on the sides, the arm rests moved easily.

Standing back and looking at the seat the seat back was not well fitting. It was a bit baggy but just about passable. If there were no arm rests to work around and the cover could be pulled down all the way on the sides and back, it would likely fit better. But that is not possible with an arm rest on each side and not losing use of the pocket on the back. I sat on the seat and the cover felt OK.  It was not the best but it would protect the seat - at least if there is more peeling there will be a layer between the person sitting and the surface of the "leather" and there should be less abrasion.

Just to see how the seat and backrest pad would work, we put that on the passenger seat to try. This had two elastic loops on the back to go around the seat and nothing to hold the seat pad in place. As soon as I got in the car to get on the seat the motion of getting on moved the seat pad toward the edge of the seat. Sitting on the seat, any movement moved the pad. This would not do at all!

So - the seat cover that we tried on the driver's seat will be what we stick with - until we find something better - which is unlikely. The Roadtrek seats are not standard seats and are made for Roadtrek or modified seats for Roadtrek. You cannot go to a custom seat cover site that asks for make and model of the seat and put in Roadtrek - they are looking for a car/van year and model - and the stock Chevy 3500 seat is not the same.

Here is what the cover looks like on the seat -

You should find this cover currently at Walmarts in the auto aisles. The brand is Dickies. The writing on the stick on label says "Hudson Grey 3001170LD" and the SKU on the UPC code says "4338801170".

It is unlikely that Walmart still stocks this same seat cover - it is specifically a seat cover for a truck/van with "high back seats". It is the high back seats that are the important thing to get for proper fit. 

As I say, they are not perfect. They are OK and we will see if they hold up. Our seats are grey. They say the color of this is Hudson Grey - and on the seat it looks black. When I commented this to Meryl she remarked, "Maybe the color is supposed to be the color of the Hudson River." - which is pretty close to what it is.

Roadtrek front seats are pretty much all the same and this should fit, the same way, not only a 190, but also a 210, a 170 and even the Sprinters and the Dodge ProMaster Roadtreks (unless those seats have changed in the newer models).

How to Use the Furnace

There are a lot of things that those who have had an RV for awhile just do automatically, but for a first time RV owner there are many things that a good step by step understanding of will help a great deal. I have had several readers email and ask about some of these things and I will try to do some more articles on some of the basics. Since we are now in November and there may still be some who are not ready to set their RV aside for the winter quite yet, I will start with the FURNACE. (If you have a new Roadtrek and don't have a furnace for heat, this does not apply to you.)

The furnace in the Roadtrek and most RVs runs on both PROPANE AND BATTERY. The propane is the fuel used to make the heat. The battery is needed to:

-  Ignite the propane
and
- Run the fan to move the heat out of the furnace and into the RV

I have an article already about propane and you can go there to learn from this two part article about how to turn on your propane and also what to do when you first turn it on to make sure there is propane gas in all of the gas pipes.

So to use your furnace -

TURN YOUR PROPANE ON - Get it into all pipes (see article link above).

TURN YOUR BATTERY SWITCH ON.

The furnace switch is on a control panel. Mine is located at the rear of the cabin on the passenger side on the wall above the bed. I have a mechanical switch with slide switches. The newer Roadtreks have a digital switch with a digital thermostat display. Both do the same functions.

This is what mine looks like. If you have an older Roadtrek yours should look similar.

Here is what the digital switch looks like -

MAKE SURE THE SWITCHES ARE SET AS FOLLOWS:

FAN SET TO AUTO

FAN SPEED SET TO LO OR HIGH

THERMOSTAT SET TO TEMPERATURE WARMER THAN INSIDE YOUR COACH

THEN 

SLIDE THE SWITCH (or push buttons on the digital version) TO FURNACE

What should happen now is you will hear the blower fan inside the furnace turn on. It will be blowing cold air - that is what it is supposed to do right now. After a short time you will hear a CLICK. That CLICK is the battery run ignition lighting the propane.

IF THE FURNACE KEEPS CLICKING it means that the propane did not light. IT WILL ATTEMPT TO LIGHT SEVERAL MORE TIMES. If it does not light turn off the Furnace switch on the wall and check that all setting are as described above, that there is PROPANE in the tank, and it has been run through all the lines as that link above tells you how to do. Once checked, turn on the Furnace switch again.

HOW DO I KNOW IF IT HAS LIT?

There will be no more clicks and in a few minutes when you put your hand in front of the furnace vent inside there will be heat coming out and not cold air.

Your furnace is now in operation!

Set your thermostat lower if it gets too warm or higher if it is not warm enough. What will happen is with the settings on AUTO the furnace will turn off when it reaches the temperature set and turn back on when the temperature gets colder again. This cycling on and off is NORMAL.

OH MY! OH NO! THE SMOKE ALARM IS GOING OFF!!!

DON'T PANIC!

OPEN A WINDOW OR OPEN YOUR CEILING FAN VENT AND TURN ON THE FAN TO EXHAUST.

The first time that a new furnace is turned on, the furnace flame will burn off any packing oil that the furnace parts were coated with. This will result in a lot of smoke and a sharp burning smell. This IS NORMAL!  Once the smoke that this results in clears and is out the window or the fan, you can push the button to stop the smoke detector and it will not go off again. If it does, there is still more to burn off and exhaust out.

THIS MAY HAPPEN THE FIRST SEVERAL TIMES YOU LIGHT THE FURNACE - OR NOT.

THIS WILL OFTEN ALSO HAPPEN THE FIRST TIME THE FURNACE IS TURNED ON FOR A NEW SEASON. Dust, etc. collects inside the furnace and this too burns off when the furnace is ignited and will set off the smoke detector. IF it does, just do the same as above to stop it.

TURNING OFF THE FURNACE -

You would think that this is just as simple as moving the switch to OFF - and it IS, BUT...

When you turn the furnace off the flame will go out BUT the furnace fan will run for several minutes to cool off the inside of the furnace. THIS IS NORMAL! But it is very disconcerting. It troubles me when I first use the furnace after awhile and I never have gotten used to this. You hear it keep running. It will stop. Even though, if you are like me, you don't think it will stop - it will stop.

The furnace is VENTED outside. Here is a photo of the vent usually located on a Roadtrek just past the driver's door on the side of the van:

Always keep this vent CLEAR! If you are in the RV in the winter and it has snowed. Clear this off of snow if you are going to put on the furnace. If there has been an ice storm, clear all of the openings of this vent of ice. If you do not DO NOT TURN ON THE FURNACE. There are also special screens made and sold just for this vent to keep bugs out. Bugs can build nests or webs and cause all types of problems for the furnace.

That is it! You now are an expert in using your RV furnace!


 

Table for One

There are two tables in my Roadtrek - one dining table for the back which fits in the rear aisle where the bed gets made up and one in the front that slides out of and flips up from a slim cabinet that is there just to hold this table. The rear table is held up by a post that sits in a hole in the floor. The front table is held up by a slide that comes out from the outside wall of the clothes closet behind the drivers seat and sits under the table to hold it. The rear table is useless and we have never used it. When it is in place it sits so close to one side of the aisle that anyone would want to sit on the cushion seat there does not fit - no matter how thin that person may be. One person could slide though on the other side and get to the cushion and platform that makes up the head of the bed but once there, if someone sits on the side where they just slid through, they are trapped back there unless the other person gets out to allow them through. Useless. We keep the bed made up all of the time that we are traveling and have never used the rear table. (We actually still carry it with us - I am not sure why - though it is better there than finding a place for it in the house to store it.)  The front table since I modified it to half its size is more usable and that is the table that we use if the two of us are having a meal inside the Roadtrek. Once open it is also not very convenient to move around. After we eat the table is folded back into its cabinet and stays there.

We found early on that there are times at night when one of us needs a table - either to use a laptop on or for whatever reason. We went out and looked at the usual folding tables and kept looking until we found one that is small, but usable, light in weight, folds and unfolds easily, and that we could find a convenient spot to keep it in for quick retrieval and use. We found one, that turns out to be a very common table to find, at a summer clearance sale at an Ace Hardware store. This is the table that we found -

The only color they had was pink but it was just what we were looking for and for the price it was not too hard to get used to it being pink.

The table folds flat and I keep it behind the driver's seat. It just happens that there is an indention between the cabinet wall and the door post of the van that this slides into perfectly.  To keep it from unfolding if it should fall out - which it has never done - I wrap an elastic strap that closes with Velcro around the table (found in Home Depot or Lowes with other Velcro utility products). 

The table is made of a molded plastic and opens very quickly and closes just as fast. It is made for the outdoors so it can be taken outside to use as well as being used inside the Roadtrek. It fits next to the third seat in the aisle or in front of the front seats swiveled around. If someone needs to get by, just pick it up and move it out of the way.

Since we purchased this table we have also seen it at Camping World - sold for RVs! They want more for it than it sells for in home stores and discount stores. They do have it in brown, green, and tan - so you don't have to get it in pink. During the Spring and Summer when stores start to get their garden and patio furniture and yard accessories, you will start to see these tables. They sell for between $12 and $15.00.

It comes in handy if you need a folding table and most important it is easy to store when storage space is at a premium.  Need a table for one (or a cozy two)  - take a look at this one.

Step Up or Sit Down

The title of this article is an attempt to be cute - not so sure it works... Anyway. I have been asked at times by readers and I have also seen in some RV forums about what to do to get down low on the ground when for whatever reason you just can't bend or get down easily to sit on the ground. I solved that problem a long time ago with a very inexpensive and relatively easy to find item that fits easily into several places in most Roadtreks and certainly fits easily into larger RVs or Travel Trailers. It is a small folding step stool.

I first got one before I had the Roadtrek for a new car that we had purchased. With the car this was not needed as much for getting low to the ground but as a step up - as the access to the engine under the hood was much higher than other cars we had owned and surprisingly to me, I could not reach in to get to the oil stick, etc. just standing on the ground and leaning in. The step enabled me to get up high enough to get to where I needed to get. This also applies to our Chevy Roadtrek - and perhaps would apply to other vans as well - though my older passenger Chevy van does not have this problem. So, this is the "step up".

The "sit down" is much more the case now for the use of this stool. Here are a few photos of the stool so that you will see why this is not just any folding step stool -

 This stool is made of a thick, molded plastic with metal rods inside the hinges. The stool folds flat. The size of this stool folded is 12.5" across at its widest point and 13.5" up and down. When unfolded as shown in the first photo it is 9" off the ground. It flips open and flips back closed with pull up of the seat through the handle holes and a press in of the side of the legs. The step is designed so that it will not close while you are on it.  The stool has held my weight either standing or sitting.

The name of this stool - very hard to remember... "Folding Step Stool". This one was purchased at Walmart. I have seen two different sizes of the stool in Walmart - this one and a larger one. This one gets one closer to the ground. It comes in a variety of colors - black, white, and colors (depending on what is in stock at the time). I have also seen this and similar stools in other stores. There should be no need to have to purchase it from a website. There are other variations of this stool  in design - if it looks sturdy, folds flat, is a good size, and brings you down to the level you need to be near the ground, one is just as good as the other. Home Depot has one.

Both of us use this stool when we have to do things down near the ground around the Roadtrek. It is a good height for getting into the side exterior storage compartment, getting into the battery compartment, getting to the electric cord to hook up, getting to the outside shower handles or to attach the shower hose, getting to the city water connection, dumping the tanks to get to the dump hole, getting to the waste valve pull handles, and getting to the tire stems to check and/or fill the air in the tires.

So don't worry about not getting down to do what you need to do on your Roadtrek - this little stool makes it easy. 

Taking the Roadtrek for a Drive...

We have been having some odd things happen in the Roadtrek going back to our trip this past August. When I wrote about that trip I talked about the coach batteries not starting to drive when we started the engine to leave for the trip. It took about twenty minutes of driving when we stopped to check to see that the charge LED had come on the battery monitor. This has been happening since then. The engine is started and the charge LED does not come on to show the coach batteries are charging when the "test" button is pressed. After awhile it does come on, but this is not how this was before and this is not right.

I have been doing some research and asking some friends on the Roadtrek Owners Facebook Group and have learned some things about the relationship between the engine battery and the coach batteries and the Separator unit that is installed between them. It seems that the Separator connects the systems when one or the other voltage is 12.8 volts. So if the engine battery is below 12.8 volts it is not going to be connected to the coach system to charge the coach batteries  until the engine battery comes up in charge. And conversely - I am told - if the coach batteries are below 12.8 volts the engine battery will not be charged until the coach batteries come up in charge. I am not an engineer and I really do not understand all of this but others who are knowledgeable about these things have it explained it this way to me.

While the battery is a 12 volt battery, apparently that does not mean that at 12 volts it is OK. I am told that it should be up around 12.9 or higher to be charged and that at 12.1 it is at half charge. This holds for the Roadtrek's coach battery system as well - 12.1 is half charge and with the Roadtrek batteries (likely all batteries) you never want the charge to go to half as it shortens the charging life of the battery - or so I am told.

Had the Roadtrek been just a regular van without the Roadtrek conversion, I would not think anything at all about the engine battery at this point.  Turn the key and the van starts right up with no hesitation. In a car or just a van, that is all I would care about. In the Roadtrek, the inter-relationship of the van's electrical system with the Roadtrek electrical system was what was giving me concern and alerting me to give this attention. The system with the Separator and the Roadtrek's inverter/converter/charger - in my Roadtrek the Tripp-Lite 750 - is designed to charge all batteries when driving, running the generator, or plugged into shore power. This system if not functioning as it had always functioned before.

A few days before Christmas I decided to take an opportunity of good weather and unseasonably warm temperatures and plug in the Roadtrek to shore power at the house to charge all of the batteries - coach and engine. Before starting I checked the charge with the digital meter and the engine was around 12.3 volts. I plugged in to shore power and the digital meter in the 12 volt vehicle socket in the dash did not indicate that the engine battery was charging. I checked four hours later and it was with a reading of 14.5. So I left the Roadtrek plugged into shore power for almost 24 hours. The coach batteries charged fine. The engine battery about a half hour after pulling the shore power cord was reading only 12.1 volts! Not good. I had two thoughts - the engine battery was going bad - it is just going on five years old - or the separator is going bad which I have read they do and that when there are odd things happening in the electric system it may be an indication that the separator has gone bad. I did not know which. I went back to the Facebook group with that question and what I got back was that five years is long for the engine battery. What I did was start the engine and let it run at idle on the drive way for one hour and it did charge the engine battery up to 12.65 volts. The vehicle alternator was charging the battery. A day latter it had dropped and it dropped more after a few more days. The engine battery seemed to be on its way out.

I had been talking with Meryl before this all took place that we should change the plug in schedule for the Roadtrek from charging once a month to perhaps charging two or three times a month in addition to the generator exercise of 2 hours a month - which, if all are working correctly, will also charge all of the batteries. I also said to her that we really should take the Roadtrek out for a drive every so often. The only reason that we don't do this is the difficulty getting it off the driveway and into the four lane avenue in front of our house. That road is full of traffic day and night. It can take as much as 45 minutes when backing out of the driveway to wait for a clear and safe spot to back  the Roadtrek into the street and then get to the curb so that Meryl can get in. She has been out in the street during this maneuver with a walkie-talkie telling me when it is clear to back out into the road. We knew this before we started out with the Roadtrek and it is a pain but the price to pay to be able to have the Roadtrek so we put up with it.

I had been thinking that on Sundays during the day the traffic is less than it is at other times and that was an idea for taking the Roadtrek out for a drive. We did not do this the Sunday after Christmas. I did decided to try on New Years Day when there were very few cars (or trucks) passing by the house. I wanted to drive for at least two hours on a highway with the Roadtrek which should when all is well charge all of the batteries to full. So for New Year's Day 2016 we took the Roadtrek for a ride!

Even with the little traffic going past it took ten minutes for a clear spot to back out and be on our way. I had to get to the North Shore of Long Island to get to the Long Island Expressway and if I wanted to drive a hour each way out and back I had to head east toward the end of the Island. To get to the LIE I had to head north and I wanted to not take streets to do that I headed to the Seaford Oyster Bay Expressway that the Roadtrek is permitted to drive on due to height restrictions on other highways (parkways). This is Route 135 - an expressway built to cross the Island around mid-way that was intended to join a bridge that was never built that would cross the Long Island Sound to Connecticut. That idea ended a long time ago along with the expressway ending abruptly into a field. You see on Long Island we have something called NIMBY - "Not in my backyard!" and some decided they did not want a bridge in their backyard - so we don't have one. Anyway, we drove by streets to the 135, headed north and joined the 495 - the Long Island Expressway eastbound toward the end of Long Island that is shaped like a fishes tail into the Atlantic Ocean.

The 495 is not a very scenic drive. Mostly what you see are barricades along both sides of the Expressway that block the road noise from the backyards of houses, industrial parks, and shopping centers that line the road. Of course, those barricades have to be there or the NIMBYs would rise up and demand that there be no main highway that almost runs the length of the Island. So we talked and drove and I wondered if things related to the batteries were actually working. Around the village of Shirley we got off at an exit and looked for a place to stop to check to see if the coach batteries were charging.

We seemed to pick the one southbound road that had no place to easily stop. We drove for 15 minutes south before a shopping center came up to our right and we pulled in. Yes, the coach batteries were charging. The Chevy has a volt meter on the dash and all along I could see that this was up above the middle (14 volts) mark indicating that the engine battery was charging. I left the engine running while we were stopped. Pulling out every exit was going the wrong way. The road from the parking lot that led to the road we had come in on was no left turn onto that road. We went straight and crossed that road and had to drive to a parking lot to the left down the road to be able to pull in there and eventually get out by the single exit that allowed a right turn and then back up to the main road to make a right to head north back to the Expressway. Isn't Long Island wonderful?

So a half hour lost on this stop but a half hour added to our trip as I was determined to do an entire two hours at highway speed so we while we were more than an hour driving, I wanted to drive for two full hours at highway speed - just to give the van and the battery charge a workout.  It had been almost two months since we had driven the Roadtrek before this. I got back on the 495 and kept heading east. I glanced at the clock which in my Roadtrek is on the GPS screen and it said that it was after five. I could not believe that we had been driving that long - and it was not getting dark out. Meryl scrambled around to reach her cell phone to check the time and it was only just after four. I then realized that the last time we were in the Roadtrek was before the change to Standard Time and the clock had never been turned back. Well, this was a good time to gain that extra hour...

It has been awhile since I have driven this far out east and I did not remember that the LIE actually ends when it comes to the split of the two east end forks - one to Montauk Point on the south and the other to Orient Point on the north. The town where the forks meet is Riverhead. Signs came up that the Expressway was ending. It ended and I headed to the North Fork and and shortly we had come to  the hour of highway driving that I was looking to do. So did we stop and look around? Nope! I found a shopping center and turned around. When we got into that parking lot, Meryl announced that this must be the new Walmart that was a big controversy in the local newspaper. It was to be the first Super Walmart 24 hour store on Long Island. Why is that a big deal? NIMBY - a few didn't want a 24 hour Walmart near them. Well, here it was, but its not a 24 hour Walmart - it closes at Midnight though that is better than the rest here that close at 10 pm, but that does not do much for us as it is an hour away. We pulled out and now headed west toward home.

The Roadtrek was back now on the 495 heading west. An interesting thing about US 495 is that the number does not fit with the standards for federal route numbering. As 495 it should connect someplace with US 95, and it doesn't. The intent may have been that a bridge would be built to connect it to 95 in Connecticut but, of course, that bridge never happened. As we drove home I realized that I was getting close to half a tank of gas and with the need to run the generator to exercise it for the next several months, it would be a good idea to stop for gas. In Huntington I pulled off to head for a BJ's Wholesale Club with a gas station that we know. Gas was $2.03 with no extra to charge it - the lowest gas is here and the lowest that the Roadtrek has gotten gas at home in NY. Of course, out of NY we have found gas lower and that has made a difference in the cost of travel this past year with the Roadtrek. I am still waiting to see gas fall below $2.00 here. It would be a pleasant surprise but the last time gas was approaching that here, it went right back up again. After filling the tank, it was back to the 495 West to connect shortly to the 135 South and home.

When the trip was over I waited three hours to check the charge on the engine battery. It read 12.65 volts. The next day it was 12.47 volts. Two days later it was 12.2. It was time to speak to the mechanic who has taken care of my Roadtrek's vehicle side since we got it. He wants me to bring it to him to check the battery and I will do that in the next two days - if I can back it out into weekday traffic and get there.

I will let you know what happens...

ADDENDUM:

My mechanic load tested the engine battery with a load of 300 amps and the result was 9.5. He told me that this number should be higher than 9.6 and that this indicated that the Chevy Roadtrek battery was low. He replaced the battery with an equivalent and it only cost me $155 including labor.

When I got home I left the engine running and I checked to see if when I put the battery switch on, the LED would go to C (Charge) when I pushed the test button. The coach batteries read 12.4 volts. I had expected to see that top green C LED light. I am guessing that this coming season I am going to need to replace the two AGM coach batteries as well - or have my Roadtrek dealer service check out the Separator.  When plugged in the C LED immediately comes on so I do not thing there is any problem with the Tripp-Lite 750 inverter/converter/charger.

While I was with the mechanic we were talking about the engine charging the coach bateries while driving and it is his opinion that the alternator in the Chevy will only put a surface charge on the coach batteries and would not charge them from low to full. He does not know anything about the Tripp-Lite which has the function to charge the coach batteries when the engine is running. He said that when there were generators in old cars' engines instead of alternators they would be able to charge the batteries from low to full as they put out much more power - but they no longer exist in cars or vans.

For Chevy Roadtrek Owners - Replacing a Broken Sun Visor Clip

This article is going to be of interest to just the owners of Chevy Roadtrek owners with the newer Chevy Express 3500 or 2500 van - that would be Roadtrek 170, 190, and 210. This applies to years from 2011 on - and MAY also apply to earlier years.

It should seem like it is no big deal to replace the clip that holds the sun visor in place over the windshield. This is something that is in all vans, trucks, and cars - and usually is held in place by screws that screw the clip into the metal roof line under the headliner. That is how many of these are installed - but not on the Chevy Express vans. In fact, doing a search for how to do this on the Internet comes up with results for just about everything else but the Chevy Express Van.

When we first got our Roadtrek in 2011, during the first trip I went to move the sun visor to help to block the sun in my eyes while driving and I noticed that the clip that holds the sun visor from moving and in place to flip down, was loose. I carefully moved the visor out and the clip came down. I tried to push it back into place and it did not stay. On our next trip to dealer service - not knowing if this was a Roadtrek part (as this sits right below the curtain track for the front windshield curtain) or if it was a Chevy part - I asked the Roadtrek service tech at the dealer if he could put it back when he was doing the other work that we were there for. He said he would and when the work was done and we were given the Roadtrek back to leave he said to me that he had never seen a clip go in as this one does and he was not sure that how he got it back to stay would hold for very long. The clip seemed tight, but not exactly in the position it should be in. It actually lasted there until this past summer.

Again, while on a trip, I had glaring sun in my eyes and I went to move the sunvisor and the clip came down in my hand. This time, if we were going to continue on with the trip, we were not going to have time to find any type of dealer and spend time there to have this fixed. So we finished out the trip with a sunvisor that moved with every turn of the van and never really stay in the right spot to block the summer sun.

When we got home I went on the Roadtrek groups for help and was informed that the clip was not from Roadtrek - that Roadtrek does not touch the headliner (though we know that it has to be touched to install the curtain track) and that the part comes from Chevy. Well, at least I knew now where to go to for the part. One kind responder - another Chevy Roadtrek owner - shared the part number that he had been able to find - but no one seemed to know exactly how it installed. I had no problem getting the old one out - it was sitting on my desk.  I started searching for both the part and the method of installation. The part is available from a number of sources - some say that what they are selling is original GM, others say it is a used part from a van, GM sells the part in their service department. The part number is GM# 25840046.

I called the local Chevy Parts Department at the Chevy dealer that I have bought several of our cars at and asked about the part. I was told that it was a two day order and I could order it on the phone. I asked if I could come in and show them the part I had that had fallen out for them to see if it was broken and if I really needed a new part - and if so I would then order it there in person. He said sure and the next day, off we went with the part to Chevy.

I showed the part to the man at the service desk who I had spoken to. He looked at it and told me he had never seen anything like that before. He had no idea how it went in, and he was not sure if it was broken or not. He called over the parts manager who said, "What's that?". They suggested that I walk it over to the service department - which I did. I saw a service manager who I have worked with in the past on my car. I asked him to look and tell me if he thought that the part was broken. He, too, admitted that he had not seen one of these before - apparently they don't come loose or fall out too often (which is a good thing - but when they do it seems they are a mystery). He looked at it and thought he could see parts of it that looked broken or cracked. That was enough - and I knew that I would order the part. Before I walked back to the parts desk I asked the service manager if when it came in, would he have one of the service techs put it in for me - I was not asking him to do it for free - I was willing to have them do it and pay the dealership for the work. His answer was "We'd rather not. We don't want to take the chance that it might break when we try to put it in." Well, that was a surprise! Chevy did not want to repair a broken visor clip in a Chevy van with a Chevy part. As I was walking away, he asked what the part costs. I told him what the parts department told me - $25 including State and local sales tax! He said, "Wow! For that?". Yep...

Online the part is much less - but it is uncertain if you are getting OEM GM and if you are getting a new part. So it was best to order the part from Chevy - have it the next day and not have to have the visor flop around any longer.

OK so we order and pay for the part and go back the next day to pick it up. The part comes in only one color - beige which matched the one in my Roadtrek.  The part has a button that comes down in the middle of the bottom. It appears that the button locks a clip that secures the visor clip to the hole in the metal ceiling beneath the cloth and padded headliner. When I had tried to put the old one back, that button looked like it pushes two sides of a clip apart that lock the visor clip to the metal. With the old one those two sides did not spread very far and the clip just fell back down when touched. I was hoping that the new one would lock in.

Here is what you find when you look up through the head liner where the clip once was -

Here is what the clip looks like and you can see the button below the base behind the part that comes down to clip onto the sun visor -

 Here is the clip from various angles and you can see how it works to go in.

 You can see in the photos that there are actually two mechanisms that hold this in place - the upper part that spreads into the hole and below that just above the base there is a spring clip on each side.

As I examined where this has to go and how it has to go in, I used the old one to see what happens when I push the part up into the hole and where the springs on the side seem to go. It seemed that all of that went up into the hole. I found that I had to push and hold the headline all the way up to make sure that the part went as far up as it could to lock in. I also found that the maneuver to do this and get the button in was awkward.

I also knew that once it went up - if it did not seat properly, there was no taking it down without breaking it and spending another 25 bucks for another one. I measured the depth of the hole - there was enough room above for the whole clip assembly to the base to go in. I started my attempt at this.

I pushed the headliner as far up as I could. I made sure that I had the clip in the proper direction and orientation - VERY IMPORTANT - check twice so that it does not go in backwards! Over the years I have learned that check and "measure twice and cut once" is an important lesson to learn. I had it in the proper direction and I pushed the clip up toward the hole in the metal ceiling though the headliner - making sure that the base was on the outer side of the headliner where it belongs.

I then pushed with some force up and into the hole to sandwich the headliner between the base of the clip and the metal. I pushed it up as far as it would go and I started to push the button up to lock the clip in place. The button went halfway up and then there was a LOT of resistance. It took a lot of effort to push that button into place with the fingers of one hand, but I could not let go with the other hand in case the clip came down before it locked. I got the side of the palm of my hand on the button and got it to go the rest of the way up and as far as it is supposed to go. When I let go, there was a deep impression of the bottom of the button in my palm. It was up and it did not move when I took my hand away.

Now, I very gently touched it - was it going to come down? No, it stayed in place. Next I gave it the acid test and I pulled on the clip - it was solid. Good. So far it seems that is is fixed and secure.

It may be that this is the only instructions on the Internet on how to install a visor clip on a Chevy 3500/2500 van. There seems to be nothing else like how this one goes on. I looked at the visor clips on my 1996 Chevy van and they have screws that hold them in place. I looked at the clips on my 2013 Chevy car and that clip is completely different than this one.

So if your visor clip comes down, now you know what part to get and how to install it!

Finally Resolving the Window Cover Problem

The front of every Roadtrek roof has a signature thee windows. On the Chevy Roadtreks and also the new Zion, these are real windows. On Sprinter Roadtreks these are decals. I would so much have preferred decals.

Our 2011 Roadtrek 190 Popular came with three plastic panel covers for these windows. The covers for the two flanking windows have done a fairly decent job in blocking the sunlight that streams through the roof windows. The center window has done a poor job at this with light streaming through past the top of the cover - since we have owned the Roadtrek. I could never figure out why. The window covers are held in place with turn buttons that fit into slots cut into the covers at the Roadtrek factory. The turn buttons are installed at the factory to match the slots. Why did then did the cover not fit?  It took me until very recently to realize that the either the turn buttons are in the wrong place or the slots on the cover are in the wrong place. But how could that be? Surely, there is a template or computer guided cutter used to cut out or stamp out the cover. And when the turn buttons are installed there must be a standard placement.

To block the light coming through the window, the cover needs to cover the gasket that surrounds the window glass as shown in the photos above. The side covers do this. The center cover does this on the sides and bottom but not the top.

I decided to make my own cover to correct this and finally, get the coach dark when the sun comes up in the morning. Now, I have gotten the comments on the last article about blocking the light that comes through the ceiling fan - just wear a sleep mask. A sleep mask was the first thing I tried when I was being woken when the sun came up every morning. The sleep mask seemed a good idea and I put it on and in the morning it had moved off of my eyes and there was the sunlight. It may work for some, I must move a lot in my sleep and the mask was not staying on. I have heard from other Roadtrek owners about these windows who feel the same way as I do - the covers - particularly the center cover - just do not block the light. There are earlier year Roadtreks that did not come with any window covers at all.

I looked in home stores and craft stores for a hard, not flexible, material that would make a good cover. I was hoping to find a plastic similar to the original but found nothing like it at all. Most of what I found in craft stores - corrugated plastic board or foam core board did not block the light. I also looked at window cling material that is used for blackout windows which would have worked but I was concerned about a warning on the package that the glass could break with this material applied if the glass becomes too hot. These windows in the direct sun get VERY hot. I did not want to chance having these windows break - they are an odd shape and size and to replace one, you must wait for Roadtrek to send a replacement or hope to find a glass shop that is willing to match the shape with auto grade glass. I was in my workshop and  found a small piece of oak surface plywood that I had used for a project at sometime in the past. It is nicely finished on both sides, is the correct thickness - this was another problem in matching the cover as the cover must fit under the turn buttons. The original cover is 5/16" thick. This plywood just happened to be 5/16" thick. The turn buttons can be loosened - enabling more space under each one - but they can only be tightened down so far, so any significantly thinner material is no good. I went to Home Depot to find a 2 foot by 4 foot sheet of finished oak plywood. Having been in Home Depots and Lowes stores in other parts of the country, I know that the condition of the wood sold is very much better than the wood that is sold in these stores local to me. Any trip out for wood involves visits to multiple stores to find wood that is not warped, cut up, or scarred. If one wants to build a boat you will find wood perfectly bent at these stores near me. Plywood should be different, especially hardwood plywood - but two stores and I found nothing usable. At that point I gave up to wait to go another day to more stores. Perhaps I was not meant to find the wood, as I returned to my workshop and was rummaging around in my wood stacks and there was a nice piece of oak plywood large enough to cut the cover from.

OK - so I took the original cover which is actually the correct size and traced it onto the plywood. In the Roadtrek I measured where the slots for the turn buttons were off - if the bottom of the slot on the original had been the top of the slot, it would have fit as it should. I traced the line of the bottom of the slot on the original and moved the original down so that the top of the slot would now be in the correct location and traced around the slot. I took the plywood over to my bandsaw fitted with a fine tooth blade for a smooth cut and cut out the new cover. A little sanding on the cut edge and the new cover was ready to test.

Perfect! The top of the cover completely covers the black gasket as the original should have.

No light now comes through the new cover! If I do this again, there is one more thing that I would correct. The length of the slots are just a little too long - on the original of all of the covers and on my new cover. Shortening this would hold the cover a little better and would prevent the little light that leaks through the slot.

Just to illustrate clearer what is wrong with the original cover. Here are two photos comparing the corrected cover in wood to the original grey plastic cover.

We tested the new cover out on the next trip and it worked perfectly. If you have mis-fit covers (how can that happen???), this is an easy way to make new covers if you have basic woodworking skills or know someone who does. (No need for big shop tools, a hand scroll saw for a few dollars will cut this out easily.) Finished oak plywood is really nice wood to work with - both sides are finished and the grain pattern is beautiful. I have not used any surface finish on the cover. If you do want to finish it, use something that will hold up to the heat of the sun coming through the glass in the morning when the window is in place. As I say, these windows get very hot in the sun. Do not use Reflectix - it causes the glass in the windows to become extremely hot when sitting in the sun and the high heat could cause the glass to break or the window seals to melt (resulting in the windows leaking in the rain). 

Finally - Keeping the Drawer CLOSED! Closed!

If you are a regular reader you know that we have had a big problem keeping the one drawer that we have in the 190 closed. There is one, small, plastic catch at the bottom corner of one side of the drawer face and the inside of the drawer space and this is supposed to keep the drawer closed - but since we have had the Roadtrek - that's four years now - that drawer flies open at the most inopportune times. At the beginning we brought it back to the dealer and they said they "tightened the catch" - since both sides of the catch are plastic I am not sure how they did that but it did nothing. it is very exciting when driving on a high speed interstate and you go around a turn and hear "CRASH BANG" behind you inside. Of course, I can look so Meryl turns around from the passenger seat and says "Drawers open again." and we keep on driving because there is no place to stop to do anything about it. And then as you drive, the slightest bump now jumps whatever is in the drawer and that makes a loud crash. Then with a turn in the other direction the drawer goes back across the aisle to the drawer opening, but that is not enough to close it, so with the slightest turn it comes sliding back across with another "crash"! As I say, very exciting.

We have been looking for four years for a way to keep this drawer closed. Several things have been suggested - none have worked. The suction cups on the counter top with a string around the draer pull worked for awhile but then didn't. The suggestion to install a hasp on the drawer front did not work and resulted in four screw holes that will never go away - even if filled they will be obvious (covering them with a charm or sticker may be the solution for that). The reason the hasp did not work as the cabinet front next to the drawer is - surprise to us - hinged in place so that when the hasp was closed and secured with a pin - when the drawer tried to open it pulled the cabinet front down. As I said in another article we are not sure why this panel is hinged as there is nothing accessible to utilize behind it. So we have been looking for a solution - and with a visit to an RV show an idea started to perk...

We went to an RV show just for something different to do. We went into all types of Class As, Cs,  B+s, Fifth Wheels, Toy Haulers, and Trailers. I was interested in seeing what kept the many drawers inside a Class A closed. The most common catch was a spring loaded hook that was caught when pushed into the drawer by a mating piece on the other side. It took a very hard pull to get one fo these drawers open. A similar catch was used on cabinet doors. I took some photos and kept this in mind. We also saw something that was unrelated. Many of these Class As had house refrigerators with large doors and freezer doors. Many of these had a velcro strap that went across the door to the cabinet or wall on the side and with this put in place the door would not open. I did not think much of this - but this was the seed that was planted.

We went to dealer service for work and they have an RV parts and accessories store. They had these catches that we saw at the RV show, but looking closely at them there was no room in the Roadtrek drawer or drawer frame to install one. The drawer front top goes under the granite counter top ledge which sticks out about a half inch or more past the drawer front when it is closed. No catch can be attached above the inside of the drawer because you would be screwing into the granite - or whatever the granite is backed with - and you take a chance of cracking the counter top. No way was I going to attempt that. We left that catch on the rack and looked around for something that might fit and other than the standard catches one sees in Home Depot there was nothing - and none of those standard ones were going to hold this drawer in - which is weighted by whatever is inside and picks up the side momentum of the van.

But there was still this idea percolating at the back of my head. I made a trip to Home Depot and Lowes and looked at various possibilities. I passed a display of Velcro and that refrigerator stap came back to me - what if I created a similar Velcro strap for the drawer? I had an idea like this about a year ago - making a catch with Velcro but I was seeing it in my head at that time all wrong and there were reasons why that way would not work.  Now when put together with the strap around the Class A fridge - this would work. I went home to examine the inside of the drawer.

What I saw were several obstacles. The most logical place to put the strap was across the bottom of the drawer as this would cover all of the edge of the lower drawer front - but on one side was the catch that did not work and that would have to be removed - but if removed and when living inside the Roadtrek on a trip, nothing would keep the drawer closed - and if on a slight angle it would open unless strapped. The top edge had room for installation but I was not sure enough of the top edge of the drawer would be covered enough to hold the drawer closed. Meryl gave her opinion and said, if you can do it without removing the catch do it that way. OK - as I have said often - "Meryl is always right." (Well almost but we won't get into that story right now... though I will tell you that she insists the map was wrong.) Anyway - here is how we did it.

What to buy - Velcro strap - 3/4" double sided Velcro that comes on a roll of 12 feet of strap to make cord ties, wraparounds, etc. One side sticks to the other side. We found it in Walmart at the cheapest price ($7) in the electrical department. It is in Home Depot and Lowes for $10.

You will also need two screws  3/8" - 8 and two matching washers. I had stainless screws this size and bought a package of matching washers - both come from Home Depot (or Lowes). You also should have metal eyelets and an eyelet setter. The eyelets will prevent the screws from ripping through the Velcro - while this Velcro is strong and thick, the drawer exerts force when it opens as it has been. A simple setter complete with eyelets is a few dollars at any sewing store. As a leatherworker I had a supply and the setter already.

First step - we measured from the inside side of the top of the drawer just above the drawer side going inside three inches to outside around the drawer past the drawer pull. Longer was better than shorter and we decided on 14".  I cut two lengths of the Velcro 14 " long and I set on eyelet on each of these lengths one inch from the end of one end. I wanted the rounded side of the eyelet to be against the wall of the drawer opening so I made sure the Velcro was oriented in the proper direction for each strap. When the strap is installed it must be soft side out on the outside of the drawer which means inside - soft side against the wall of the opening.

Next came the actual install - easy as long as you remove the drawer. There is a catch on each drawer slide. Pull the drawer out all the way. Go to mid-slide sticking out and look for the black lever - one side goes up and the other side goes down. Push those and pull. The drawer slides off the track. If you don't empty the drawer (I didn't) support the drawer well as it comes off and sit it aside.

One more step - VERY important to remember at this point (and not later). If you have the sliding cutting board inside the drawer that slides out and sits on top of the drawer for use - PULL IT OUT NOW! The only drawback of this whole solution is that the cutting board will not fit inside any longer - well, it fits inside but it will never pull out (don't ask me how I know...). Just put it aside and it can sit under the sink or under one of the cushions. We have never used this in four years anyway. It still sits on top of the drawer once the drawer is open. We have it under a cushion for the moment and I will look to see if there is a way of modifying it to bet it back in and out. With this install the screw blocks its path out and in.

Now you are ready to start putting the straps on. These are installed right along the top edge od the slide against the inside of the drawer opening. Measure three inches from the front edge and mark that spot - do this on both sides. Do not drill a pilot hole for the screw. The wall is only 1/2" thick - and despite Roadtrek's claims that all of the wood inside the Roadtrek is real wood - the side of the drawer against the end of the kitchen sink woodwork from the counter top to the floor is plywood covered in laminate and not solid wood. The sink side of the drawer space is real wood. (The cabinet doors and SOME of the trim are real wood - in mine, cherry, but that is the extent of the real solid wood.) Put the strap in place and mark around the inside of the eyelet with a sharp pencil. Use a nail or awl with a gentle push to make a small starter dimple for the screw in the center of the eyelet that you just marked in pencil. Put a washer on one of the two screws and put the screw and washer on the end of a magnetic screwdriver - if the screw does not stay use a piece of Scotch tape and wrap it around the screw head securing it to the end of the screw driver. Put the strap in place - soft side to the wall and push the screw into the dimple on the wall in the middle of the eyelet and start to screw the screw in.Screw it in so that it is well in but not so tight that the eyelet won't rotate slightly on the screw. Do this on both sides. Remember - soft side to the wall - so that when you pull the straps out to around the drawer front the soft side will be facing out and what you feel if you rub against the straps.

That is it. Put the drawer back on the slides. Pull both slides out - fit them back onto the drawer. This is easiest done by two - togetherness is a prerequisite for traveling in a Class B. Once the slides are lined up and each is set into its mate, push the drawer closed and it will be as it was before. As you close the drawer keep both straps outside the drawer.

Now pull one strap over the top of the drawer snugly and hold it in place and pull the other strap over it and across and let the Velcro catch. It does not matter which strap you put over or under - they will hold both ways - this is how this Velcro is designed. The top of the strap will cover just about all of the top edge of the drawer. Give a tug. That drawer is not going anyplace.

Now when you are stopped and are going to use the drawer - opening and closing and opening again, just open the drawer by pulling the end of the Velcro strap on the top off the strap under it, open the drawer and just put the two straps over the drawer sides inside the drawer. The drawer will open and close normally and those straps will stay inside until you are ready to lock up the drawer again for travel.

It works. No more crash bang! The drawer stays closed until you want it open!

FIELD TEST REPORT:  It works perfectly. We have been on the roughest roads and the sharpest turns with the strap closed on the drawer front and the drawer does not budge. At night and stopped, the strap ends go inside the drawer and the drawer opens and closes normally and they don't get in the way. 

Sanitizing the Fresh Water Tank(s)

We already have three articles on dewinterizing and sanitizing, but I get a lot of questions specifically about sanitizing the fresh water tank(s) and I thought that having an article just on this would be helpful.

Most important to be aware of is DO NOT USE NO SPLASH BLEACH to sanitize your tanks and plumbing. It does not have strong enough disinfectant qualities to properly sanitize your tanks. Use only regular bleach when following these steps.

 I will repeat the steps here but read the whole article before you follow these steps -

1. TURN HOT WATER BYPASS VALVES TO HOT WATER FLOW.
2.  USE CITY WATER LINE TO FILL HOT WATER TANK BY RUNNING CITY WATER INTO THAT TANK. (NOT CITY WATER FILL - REGULAR USE OF CITY WATER)
3. DISCONNECT CITY WATER CONNECT FROM HOSE.
4. *PUT ONE HALF CUP BLEACH INTO THE FRONT EXTERIOR FRESH TANK. (PRE-MIX THE BLEACH IN A GALLON JUG OF WATER BEFORE PUTTING IT INTO THE FRESH TANK - DO NOT PUT PURE BLEACH INTO THE TANK.)
5. *PUT ONE QUARTER CUP BLEACH INTO THE REAR INTERIOR FRESH TANK. (PRE-MIX THE BLEACH IN A GALLON JUG OF WATER BEFORE PUTTING IT INTO THE FRESH TANK - DO NOT PUT PURE BLEACH INTO THE TANK.)
6. TOP OFF WATER IN TANKS WITH HOSE.
7. DRIVE BACK AND FORTH TO MIX THE BLEACH INTO THE WATER.
8. TURN ON BATTERY SWITCH AND WATER PUMP.
9. **TURN ON EACH FAUCET HANDLE PLUS INSIDE AND OUTSIDE SHOWER ONE HANDLE AT A TIME SMELLING FOR BLEACH TO COME THROUGH WITH EACH. NOT THE TOILET.
10. LET BLEACH SIT IN TANKS FOR AT LEAST FOUR HOURS.
11. DRAIN WATER TANKS.
12. FILL WATER TANKS AGAIN.
13. **REPEAT STEP 9 SMELLING NOW FOR NO BLEACH SMELL.
14. DRAIN TANKS THROUGH THE LOW POINT DRAIN.
15. REPEAT STEP 9. IF BLEACH SMELL AGAIN REPEAT FROM STEP 12.
16. DRAIN TANKS OR LEAVE FULL FOR TRIP

* IF you have a single fresh water tank (which is the capacity of the two tanks combined, use 3/4 cup of bleach for the one tank. - Mix it with water first. 

If you have seen our step by step de-winterizing and sanitizing article you will note that Step 4 has been changed. Do not put pure bleach down into the tank. Mix it with water first by pouring the bleach into a gallon jug with a little less than a gallon of water - to have room for the bleach in the jug. There is a lot of discussion on various RV forums about just how much bleach to use. Some say a quarter cup, some say a half cup - as I have here, and some talk about a full cup of bleach or more. Fresh tanks vary in size from type of RV to RV. The Roadtrek has smaller fresh water tanks than most RVs and you really want to take that into consideration when you prepare your bleach mixture for sanitizing. With a 190 or 210 and their two fresh water tanks you are going to be putting the bleach/water mixture into each tank. It occurred to me this year when sanitizing that perhaps too much bleach was going into the interior, rear, smaller fresh tank. I cut that down to 1/4 cup of bleach. Some of the bleach is going to flow into the hot water heater when you open the hot water faucet - and you will be adding some bleach into that tank in this manner. See the asterisk just above for single tank systems.

Make sure you use a recent bottle of bleach. We had a bottle of bleach that was not past the expiration date stamped on the bottle but when I poured the bleach into the jug of water there was no strong smell of bleach. It was faint at best. I did what my chem professor instructed so long ago and put my nose not over but near the open bottle and waved my hand toward my nose over the top of the bottle - no strong bleach odor. This resulted in a quick trip to the supermarket for a new bottle of bleach and this one could be smelled as soon as the bottle was opened and it was strong in the water as well. You will waste all of your time and efforts with an old bottle of bleach.

Everything else is pretty straight forward as always with just one more exception. See that double asterisk ** on Steps 9 and 13. While I was doing these steps this year I realized that everything smelled of bleach at the sink. The water seemed to smell of bleach as it came out of the faucet but when it was off I still smelled bleach. That is because the bleach water was now in the sink and the sink smelled of bleach. So - get a paper cup - any size - and when you open the faucets and the showers to smell bleach, run the bleach water into the cup - just an inch will do. Smell what is in the cup. This way you know it is the water from the tanks and plumbing that you are smelling. I flushed the tanks twice and I thought I still smelled bleach - but it was not coming from the water now - it was coming from the sink with the bleach water that had run into it before.

Can it sit for more than four hours? Yes, it can. Some say to let it sit for 24 hours. Bleach mixed with water in these proportions will dissipate after about four hours.What you are left with is water with a bleach smell and no potent bleach. The bleach's work is done in four hours. If you run out of time and it has to sit until the next day - no problem!

The sanitizing process is the most time consuming of the de-winterizing process. And it is only because it takes time to fill the tanks, wait the time for the bleach to work, and then flush the tanks - and flush again if needed.

Do you need to do this more than once a year? If you use your RV 12 months a year, you may want to do this twice or even three times a year. If you let your RV sit a long time - months (not weeks or one month) between trips you might want to do this again before you use the RV again.What you are doing is killing any mold or bacteria that may have developed and grown inside your fresh water tank.

Now - every year that we have sanitized the tanks after de-winterizing we have experienced the same problem with the second tank - the rear interior tank. When we try to refill the tank after draining the bleach and water out of it, water starts to go in and then when the tank sensor shows one third (which can be anything from a quart of water to actually one third full) the water backs up the fill hole and pours out - with no more water going into the tank. This does not happen with the front exterior tank at all - just the rear tank. We have dealt with this in different ways each year. Last year I created a tool to deal with this and I will tell you all about that tool, or perhaps it is more a gizmo, with photos in our next article.