The Honda Has New Shoes

It's been raining all week here in Houston, and I've been slip-sliding the car around on these oily roads. Not good.

So we made an appointment at Discount Tire to have four new tires installed. I  knew we would have to put new tires on the car when we bought it and so this was not out of the blue.

We ended up getting Arizonian Silver Edition tires, which I never heard of before. They come with a 65K mile tread warranty, are well-reviewed, and were $140 cheaper than a set of Michelins. I've been driving on them for three days and they're fine.

No more slip-sliding!

RV Fire Safety

RVs tend to be fairly high-risk for fire because many have heat-absorption refrigerators, use on-board liquid propane systems, and the electrical systems are prone to failure due to stress from vibration and temperature changes.

An RV on fire is like a burning Christmas tree: it goes up fast and burns incredibly hot. For many of us, the biggest concern regarding an RV fire is that we can get out as fast as possible. This means our lives may depend on the effectiveness of on-board warning devices such as smoke detectors, CO2 alarms, and LP detectors. Fire extinguishers also need to be accessible - not necessarily to put out the fire, but to help buy time so we can get out of the motor home.

Anyway, we've spent a fair amount of time over the past couple weeks working to improve our fire prevention and safety equipment.

We started by replacing the 11-year old Carbon Monoxide alarm and the Propane Gas detector. A lot of RV owners don't replace these units, although they are known to fail after 10 years. They won't save your life if they do not work! We test these units once a month.

We also installed three Dual Sensor Photoelectric and Ionization Smoke Alarms: one in the cockpit area, one in the kitchen area, and one in the bedroom. Compared to just an ionization- or photoelectric-based alarm, a dual sensor alarm can detect both flaming and smoldering fires, therefore providing better fire safety protection. We test these units once a month also.

We keep a Sodium Bicarbonate powder-type B-C Auto/Marine fire extinguisher mounted by the door to the RV. We turn and bounce this extinguisher on the floor once a month to prevent the powder from hardening in the cylinder, and we also check the pressure gauge to verify the charge is still sufficient.

We also keep two foam-type A:B:C Multiple Use Fire Suppressant extinguishers in the bedroom. In theory, we could spray ourselves with this foam and run through fire to get out of the RV. They can also be used to put out stove-top fires. We check the expiration dates each month and will replace at that time.

The leading cause of RV fires are malfunctions with heat-absorption refrigerators. With this in mind, I installed a Halon autorelease fire extinquisher in the refrigerator compartment. If the ambient temperature exceeds 155°F (indicating a fire has erupted), this extinguisher will spew Halon in a 360-degree pattern to put out the fire. I check this unit once a month when parked for extended periods of time. I also check that it is still securely attached every time we reach a new destination.

In total, we invested around $430 on the above equipment. I would have spent twice that amount if needed - and I sleep better at night knowing our fire safety equipment is up-to-date and effective.

Magnets and Norcold Refrigerators

While we were staying at Manatee Cove Campground (Patrick Air Force Base),  it started raining one afternoon. If you've ever spent time in Florida, you know the rain comes down with a vengeance! After a couple hours of this downpour, I noticed our Norcold refrigerator was no longer working. By this time, it was after 7PM.

I verified that power was running, etc., and then checked the outside compartment. This is when I noticed an LED was illuminated on the Norcold  high temperature sensor retrofit, which is intended to prevent fires (it does not).

LED on Retrofit box

After doing some research, I learned this is a common problem. That is, moisture can trigger an error state in the retrofit box, and shut down the 12VDC power to the refrigerator. Regardless of whether the refrigerator is running in the LP or the AC mode, 12VDC must be available for the system to work.

Fortunately, the error can usually be cleared by holding a strong magnet on the retrofit box, to the right of the LED. After 10-30 seconds, the magnet will cause the circuit board relay to reset and clear the error.

But I did not have a magnet and the one I borrowed from a neighbor was not strong enough. So I made a jumper to bypass the retrofit box and get us through the night. This was only a very short term fix, and I do NOT recommend this approach. If a fire does start, the insurance company would likely deny the claim because the Norcold retrofit was bypassed.

The following afternoon, after getting back from boating with our friends, I went to the nearest Ace Hardware and got a magnet. Worked like a charm!

Weighed the Motor Home

We left Jacksonville yesterday and made our way to the Escapees Sumter Oaks RV Park in Bushnell, Florida. We had an appointment to have the Dolphin weighed this morning, through the Escapees Smart Weigh program.

Weighmaster Gaylord Coston did a fine job weighing our Dolphin and car, and going over the information with me. He also measured the height of the motor home, which is good to know.

It turns out that we are 400 pounds under max weight, which is almost exactly what I had calculated! And our tire pressure is right on the money as well, according to Michelin's Load and Inflation chart.

So we're in good shape providing we keep an eye on items we bring on board. We'll probably weigh the coach again in 6 months or so... weight can sneak up on you!

When we first arrived at the Oaks RV Park, we were perplexed by the layout of the campground. Turns out this used to be a mobile home (trailer) park before being converted to an RV park. Anyway, there is plenty of shade around the perimeter but the pull-through sites in the middle of the campground are open to the sun and heat. We would consider staying here for an extended period, provided we could get a shaded site.