How many of you have a trailer, 5th wheel, or motor home? Perhaps I should also ask, how many of you formerly had one? You folks know there are many things to consider while living in an RV and things can go wrong.
While setting up in a campground or park, we need a level spot, or we need to use various items to level the rig. We need to connect to the proper power – 20, 30, or 50-amp service – and include a heavy-duty surge-protector in the circuit. We never know when rain and a thunderstorm will descend on us, or if other catastrophic electrical surges will hit. And as we connect to the water supply, we need to have a pressure-limiter to protect the plumbing. Believe-it-or-not, many campgrounds have high water pressure which can rupture plastic pipes.
When setting up the drain for the gray and black tanks, we need to assure that the tube cannot come loose during the draining operation. That would be a mess, especially with the black tank, and could cause a political or environmental mess. Oh yes: the gray water is from the shower, bath, and sinks. The black water is from the toilet. And when draining both tanks, we drain the black water first and let the gray water flush everything else down the drain. Of course, you want to have an attachment to rinse the tube with fresh water after you drain both tanks.
Until we bought our RV, we didn’t realize how much water evaporates in the trailer. Cooking, boiling water, making coffee, washing dishes, and cleaning ourselves all puts water in the air. But even when we don’t do any cooking, washing, etc., in the trailer, we still found heavy condensation on the windows on cold mornings. We learned that on the average, each person perspires and breathes out between three to five and a half cups of water a day. So, in humid areas, it’s beneficial to have dehumidifiers in the RV.
Hopefully your RV has an outside hose to rinse off sand and mud, so you don’t track it inside. You can use another garden hose if you have multiple faucets or use a splitter on a single faucet.
Most RVs I’ve seen use propane for cooking. When propane burns, it produces heat, water, and carbon dioxide (CO2). CO2 is not poisonous but can kill by displacing oxygen – it suffocates us. But when propane doesn’t burn properly, it produces heat, water, CO2, and carbon monoxide (CO). CO is absorbed into the body much more easily than oxygen and is poisonous. So, check your burners periodically, and make sure that you open windows and use the exhaust fan while cooking.
One time while toasting bread in the microwave oven, we over did it. When we opened the door, the smoke alarm exercised its sound system. In a regular house, the beeping is highly irritating. But in a trailer, it is LOUD and hurts the ears! That’s when we learned the smoke detector works.
That reminds me: once while we were washing dishes after breakfast (Carol washes and I dry), the propane sensor began screaming. That’s loud enough to wake up someone in the trailer next door! But it has to be loud in order to save lives. We discovered that while we were cleaning the stove, we lightly bumped the burner knob and turned on the propane. It wasn’t enough to cause a hiss as the propane escaped, and we don’t have an electronic ignition; but enough gas was escaping to set off the danger warning. That’s when we found out the propane sniffer works.
As I said earlier, there are many things to think about while living in an RV, and our enjoyment and satisfaction depends on our attention to detail. I’m happy to report that after our year-long trip in the RV, we arrived home safely.
But did you realize there are many things to think about while living on this huge RV called Planet Earth? Although we must learn to live safely, we’ll all die sometime, and we need to think about where we’ll go.
God has supplied us with numerous warnings to let us know when we’re in spiritual danger. We receive advice from our parents, spouse, friends, and authorities; but most of our best cautions, counsels, and admonitions are easy-to-read in the Bible. The Psalms and Proverbs are primary sources of wisdom, and our safety depends on our attention to detail. If we read the Bible daily and learn to live for and honor Jesus, He will guide us, and we’ll get to our ultimate “Home” – heaven – safely.
Gene Linzey 