RV University This Week 4/20/2009

Mark's RV Garage

Some of our RV Video Tips are designed to provide basic RV information for new RVers and some of the future RV Video Tips will cover more advanced topics. If you have any ideas for future topics you can email me at Mark@rveducation101.com

This RV video tip is: "RV Awning Installation"

...with Mark
Q. 1 I am looking at purchasing an RV and living in it (for the next 5-10 years). It would be parked at a friend's house, without much more movement or travel from that point forward.

I am leaning towards a Travel Trailer over a Fifth wheel, but, for me, the determining factor would be based on which one has the greater durability and resilience against wind, heavy rain, snow, and freezing winter tempertures. Reliability would be an equal consideration as well.

Between a travel trailer and a fifth wheel, can you shed some light for me with your thoughts on which type RV would be best suited for the above climate conditions. Any other helpful tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much for your time.

Mark Says:
In this case it's not so much which type of trailer is better, it's more a question of the quality of the trailer you select. I have always compared RV's to automobiles to make my point. You can go to the GM dealer and buy a Chevy, a Buick or a Cadillac. It all depends on what you are looking for and your specific needs.

In your situation an entry level trailer (Chevy) won't work, whether it's a travel trailer or a 5th wheel. Trailers have options just like cars do. Some of these include things like an arctic package (upgrade in insulation), dual pane windows and heated holding tanks. These are some of the things you need to look for. Also some have larger BTU furnaces which is another consideration. These are normally found in mid-line or higher end units.

As far as snow goes not many RV's are built or designed to have lots of snow on the roof for long periods of time, but a trailer with aluminum frame construction and fiberglass sides will probably hold up better than one with wood frame construction and aluminum sides. Most have some type of rubber roofing which will do quite well with the elements.

If you plan to stay in it for several years it would be wise to upgrade a bit.

***

We were some happy campers to see it working again so I wrote a comment into our RV Times magazine who checked it out with a dealer. Apparently it's only a temporary fix.

What do you know about this process and have you heard how long it lasts? Frustrated fridge burper.

Mark Says:
Frustrated fridge burper,
Back in the 70's we used to burp RV refrigerators frequently. Older RV refrigerators (pre-early 80's) required precise leveling for them to work properly. If the unit wasn't level the flow of ammonia in the coils would get vapor locked and the refrigerator wouldn't cool. You would remove the refrigerator and (burp it) turn it upside down for 24 hours. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't.

Newer RV refrigerators don't require as precise leveling as older models did. If it's within half a bubble on the level it will operate okay. If you experience a problem with a newer model you can usually turn the refrigerator off a couple hours, make sure the RV is level and turn it back on.

If a refrigerator is operated out of level (more than half a bubble) for extended periods of time the coolant can pool (stop moving) and overheat, resulting in the cooling unit failing.

There are some tell-tale signs of a failing cooling unit that will eventually need to be replaced. If you smell ammonia in or around the refrigerator the cooling unit is bad and will need to be replaced. If the refrigerator makes loud noises during the initial cool down process the cooling unit may be going bad.

If you burped the unit it's possible that it removed an obstruction that was restricting the flow and now it is okay. If it has other symptoms like I mentioned, or was operated out of level, it will probably need to be replaced.

Wish I could tell you more, but it's difficult to say what the outcome will be.

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