Camper and RV owners-please help a new owner!

[Bocefus78]

I just purchased a 21 year old 5th wheel to perm park at my little camp spot. First project is going to be resealing the roof. The previous ower had a leak. Its fixed now but he used black goopy roof tar or whatever on the seams.

#1: Should I just use that stuff on the whole thing or should I go with the good stuff from Menards thats made specifically for EPDM roofing. The next question is should I keep doing the tar stuff on the seams or will the Menards stuff bond to the tar?

#2: How much propane will the fridge use in a day?

#3: Please explain the winterizing process

#4: If I replace the crappy built in tapedeck radio with an actual car unit, how much more battery power is it going to draw?

#5. I see people with nicer units have an indoor battery meter. How much are they and how hard to hook up?

Any other info a newbie could use will be much appreciated!

 

[DAKSY]

#1 - Can't help you...
#2 - Find the BTU/HR rating of the fridge. There are approximately 92K BTU in a gallon of LP. Do the math.
#3 - You hafta get ALMOST every drop of water out of every line in the unit. BOTH feeds & drains. Low spots in the plumbing are the WORST. A compressor & a Shrader valve to make a positive connection to the lines will be required. Once they're as clear as you can get them, add RV Anti-freeze to the lines, especially the P or S traps in the drains. An RV place will give you more detailed instructions & have the products you need. The gf's mother places moth balls & dryer sheets in all the cabinets to deter rodentia...
#4 - I don't think there will be that much of a diffence between the OEM & newer units, unless you're powering some MONSTER speakers with a super Amp, but you'll need an audiophile to verify that.
#5 Can't help you...

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I just purchased a 21 year old 5th wheel to perm park at my little camp spot. First project is going to be resealing the roof. The previous ower had a leak. Its fixed now but he used black goopy roof tar or whatever on the seams.

#1: Should I just use that stuff on the whole thing or should I go with the good stuff from Menards thats made specifically for EPDM roofing. The next question is should I keep doing the tar stuff on the seams or will the Menards stuff bond to the tar?

I'd be tempted to try the stuff from Menards. I've never had a problem with leaky roof on RV though so no experience with it.


#2: How much propane will the fridge use in a day?

Good answer by Dasky.


#3: Please explain the winterizing process

Again, good answer by Dasky except that we have never put anti-freeze in the lines and never had a problem. We do put the RV anti-freeze in all the traps and, of course, blow out the lines. Don't be afraid to blow out the lines and wait a day then blow them out again as this assures you get the water out. You will no doubt also remove the battery.

#4: If I replace the crappy built in tapedeck radio with an actual car unit, how much more battery power is it going to draw?

Doubt there would be enough difference to notice.


#5. I see people with nicer units have an indoor battery meter. How much are they and how hard to hook up?

Very easy to hook up and a good thing to have. Purchase at an RV store and they will tell you the simple instructions. You also need to be aware of what the voltage is at full charge and at discharge. If memory is correct, it is 12.7 for a full charge and 11.7 or 11.9 considered the lowest point you should go.


Any other info a newbie could use will be much appreciated!

One for sure and that is because I've ran into so many who never realized the problem. When dumping the tanks, always dump the black water first and then the gray water as the gray water will get rid of any nasties left over in the line.

 

[fossil]

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=stripbooks&field-keywords=RV+maintenance

 

[smoke show]

Its too bad he didn't repair the roof with proper materials.

like these- http://www.rvpartscountry.com/RvRubberRoofProducts

http://www.eternabond.com/?click=4814

 

[jeff_t]

#1 Use the stuff for a rubber roof.

#2 You can go for a long time on a 30# tank. Depends on how much you open the door. It's kinda like a radiant stove, as it doesn't move any air, and the quicker you are out of it, the better it will work. It took a long time for me to get that thru to my wife. A small fan for that purpose can be bought from an RV store, like Camping World, and helps a lot. It will run for weeks on 2 D batteries.

#3 I'll add that I have a bypass for the water heater, and I fill the lines with antifreeze. Takes about 1.5 gallons for me.

#4 I don't think I've ever turned my radio on, except when I bought it.

#5 Pick one up at Camping World with the fridge fan. Pretty simple.

I'm sure there is a Camping World around Indy? It's not inexpensive, but it's a good, one stop shop for that kind of stuff. Or Amazon.

My last unit had a flat roof. I had some trouble with the roof leaking around the a/c. Turned out that I just had to tighten the thing up, but the interim solution was to crank it up 3-4" high in the front. It actually didn't leak any more for the rest of the trip, and it became a standard practice for me to leave it a bit high in the front. Also helped condensate from the a/c run off the back and away from the door. Your supposed to keep it as level as possible for the gas absorption refrigerator, but it wasn't enough to cause a problem. The new one has a radius roof, so now I park it level again.

 

[woodgeek]

for #5:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0027NRBUA/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

techies would want volts and amps, the above will get the job done.

 

[Highbeam]

Petroleum is bad mojo for a rubber roof but at 21 years it is not likely to matter much as these things just don't last that long.