How to Fix an RV Roof Leak - Part 2

Well, our RV roof leak saga continues lol.  Upon further investigation, Chad found what he thinks is the main culprit for the roof leak in the front of the RV.  It was the bathroom vent pipe pictured here...

He took the lid off and noticed that the pipe fit loosely in the hole.  So, he sealed it up good with white silicone. 

Today we had a nice rainy wintry mix.  So, we had a good opportunity to see how the fix worked.  Well, there was no water in the cabinets.  So, that is an improvement.  But, there is still a drip on the right side above the area where we keep our shoes.  So, we are well on our way to getting the problem completely fixed.

How to Thaw and Drain Waste Tanks

Well, the Winter Rving adventure continues in Our RV life.  Yesterday morning, it was 12 degrees.  And, our rinse & waste tanks were full.  So...time to dump.  But, wait!  We couldn't because the valves were frozen.  We have been using rock salt in the tanks to keep the liquids in the tanks from freezing.  But, in temperatures this low, that may not keep it completely thawed.  So, Chad came up with the idea to build a little foam board enclosure around the tanks that we can heat to thaw the valves / tanks as needed.  

How did we do this?

Items needed:

foam board insulation 

Measuring tape  

Knife / razor blade for cutting the foam

Duct tape 







First, you need to take measurements for the sizes you need to cut the foam.  We only wanted to enclose the area around the holding tanks.  
So, we cut two long pieces...... 

and two short pieces for the sides.  And, a few smaller pieces at the end to fill in the gaps.

The board is flexible enough to conform to the shape of the tire.

Tip - when cutting the foam it's easier to cut down the lines already in the foam board.

Chad cutting the foam board

The foam board configuration

Cut out the area for the sewer hose door.

We plugged our small electric heater into this outlet...

....which is located close by in the refrigerator vent compartment.

We placed the heater in the compartment.

The last step was to secure the corners and any loose sections with duct tape.

We left the heater running in the enclosed space for 5-6 hours.  The valves opened easily and the tanks drained with no problems.  Success!  

Making New Curtains for the RV

Back in September, we made new curtains for our bedroom in the RV.  It was actually very easy, so I wanted to share with you all how we went about it.

The existing valance was actually stapled onto a piece of thin plywood.  As you can see in the picture, there was stitching to create texture.  So, we decided the easiest thing would be to cover the existing valance. We bought long thermal blackout curtains from the Dollar store.  Then, cut the curtains to fit the sizes we needed.  

Items you would need for covering the valance:  

Staple gun & staples



3M Spray Adhesive



The fabric needs to wrap around the valance piece.  We attached the fabric to the existing valance piece with staples on the back side & used spray adhesive on the front side.  On our valances, there is a piece of wood that attaches to the underside of the cabinet in the RV as well as the fabric part of the valance as you can see in this picture...

This piece was attached with finish screws.  So, after the valance was recovered, we reattached it using finish screws

We used the existing curtains to determine the sizes for the new curtains.  The new curtains we bought had the seam already sewn in for a curtain rod on the one end, so we sewed a new seam on the other end/sides, as required.  

Gluten Free Party Snacks

(Image from the kitchn)

Have you ever been to a party and there was nothing you could eat?  I know many people tell me to bring something I can eat.  But, I want to bring something that other people will actually enjoy too.  A friend recently sent me a link to 20 Gluten-free Party Snacks.  So far, we have tried kale chips & roasted chick peas which are both very good.  And, I always love plantain chips.  What ideas do you have for gluten-free party snacks?

Winter Rving - Update - Our Pipes Froze

Our RV life is getting cold!!  This morning it was -5 degrees here.  We knew it was going to be cold.  And, despite our latest additional preparations, our pipes still froze last night.  Chad even got up during the night and turned the propane furnace on.  So between that and the electric heaters, it stayed 65 degrees in the RV all night. However, this morning, when I got up and turned the faucet on, no water came out.  The pump didn't even run.  So, our first step was to check things out under the bed, which is where the water tank & pump are.  We placed a heater under there to warm everything up.  It didn't seem like the pump was actually frozen, though.  So, in a very short time, the water was running on the bathroom side.

The electric heater under the bed

On the other side of the RV, we opened up the cabinets and placed a heater under there.  And, a couple of hours later, the water was running again.  We will be opening the cabinets up from now on when it's this cold and see if that prevents any further freezing in the future.

Fortunately, no pipes burst and we have no water leaks.  We are so glad that we replaced all of our water piping back in September with PEX tubing and shark bite fittings.  That will hold up a lot better to freezing than the polybutylene pipes that were in the RV before.

Getting more electricity to the RV

Since we have been running two electric heaters and the dehumidifier, we have been tripping the breaker in the RV fairly often.  We have close to 20 amp service right now.  If we had 30 amp service, it would be enough.  So, we ran another extension cord to the inside of the RV and have one of our heaters plugged directly into that.

How did we do this?

We ran the electric extension cord through the storage compartment....

Chad drilled a hole through the back of the compartment...
 

...which can be accessed on the inside of the RV.

Then, he sealed up the hole with great stuff insulating foam to make sure no rodents can get in.

Voilà, we now have another source for electricity.

And, I might add, we are staying very warm in this very cold weather we are having.

Adding More Insulation in the RV

This week is the coldest week so far this winter in our RV life.  The forecast for tomorrow night is a low of -2 degrees.  It is 18 degrees right now and snowing.  Any insulation we add will keep the RV cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.

So, in preparation for the cold week, we decided to add some more insulation to some areas of the RV.  Chad has been trying to make sure our water pipes don't freeze.  They are located inside the RV, but with these low temperatures, they could still freeze.  

First, he added great stuff insulating foam to the corners as you can see here....

Then he added bubble wrap insulation around the pipes to protect them from the floor / outside walls as you can see here..... 

These pipes are located under our bed with the water tank.  Since they are lying on the cold floor, Chad added insulation underneath the pipes.

These pipes follow the outside wall.  The insulation will help protect the pipes from the cold outside the wall.

Pipes behind the drawers/cabinets.

We also added insulation under the couch.  There is an outside storage compartment underneath the couch, so the couch actually felt cold to the touch.  We added insulation around the storage box as shown here.....

We used duct tape to secure the insulation pieces.  We also added insulation along the floor around the box as shown here....

The side

The front

Will keep you all posted as the week progresses if we have any issues with the cold....