September Q & A by Mark Polk

*NOTE: At Mark's discretion, material might be edited to suit a wide audience. Due to the large volume of material and correspondence we receive, individual replies might not be possible, nor can we acknowledge receipt of submitted material. Selected questions will be answered in future issues of our RV Education 101 newsletter and on our site. Thank-you for your understanding.

Q I have purchased a used Palomino truck camper (1996). It has a Magnetek 6606 power converter. Is this also a battery charger? If not, how can I keep a charge in the battery from my truck ( 2006 chevy 2500HD) I have signed up for your news letters. Can you direct me to a previous news letter that covers this subject.

Mark Says: An RV converter also acts as a battery charger whenever the RV is plugged into electricity, or if the unit has a generator and it is running. However in most models the charger is only designed to keep the battery topped off, not to actually re-charge a depleted battery. Some newer battery charger converters do actually work as a 3 stage battery charger.

If your truck was pre-wired with a trailer plug it should already have a charge line from the truck to the trailer receptacle plug (for the campers wiring harness.) One terminal in the plug is a charge line. It may be necessary to relocate the trailer plug to the bed of the truck, or tap into the existing wiring and add another plug, to plug the truck camper harness into it.

If it's wired properly it would charge the battery when ever it is plugged in and the truck is running.

Q Thank you for the wonderful information you are providing. Do you think the " tornado " that is advertised on TV works on the fuel economy. It is a device that is installed in the hose that goes to the air filter and supposedly " twists " the air going into the intake valve. Do you think that really increase gas mileage? Is it worth it?

Mark Says:I've actually never heard of or seen the Tornado advertised anywhere. But it is my experience that most most fuel additives and devices promoting increased fuel economy turn out to be gimmicks.

Q I was looking online to see why the awning of our travel trailer drips water and came across your web site. We store it in the travel position but when we open it its full of water and drips from underneath as you open it. We are trying to determine why this is happening. We bought the camper last year and had no problems then, just this year. Any suggestions?

Mark Says: I have experienced this same problem too. I think this can be caused by several factors. Washing the RV and water gets in from the ends, traveling while it's raining and water gets in from the end of the awning, while sitting in storage, in the rain, and water gets in from the ends, and possibly from condensation (not sure!) Water can do some amazing things once it finds a way into an area.

Regardless of how the water gets in my recommendation is to put the awning out before you put the unit in storage and make sure it is 100% dry before putting it in the stored position. And to discover the cause of your particular problem I would try unrolling it after a rain storm to see if it is wet. If this isn't the cause of the problem I would recommend unrolling the awning on a monthly basis when in storage to check it and let it air out and dry.

Q I am fairly new to owning a 23' Terry Fireball travel trailer. I am going to be replacing my 30 amp converter soon and am wondering if I can put a larger one in, say a 60 amp. Is that possible or do I have to make changes somewhere else?

Mark Says: The amperage rating of the converter basically determines how many DC components you can use at any one time in the RV. And of course it charges the 12-volt RV battery. If you do a lot of dry camping and use a lot of DC powered components a converter with a higher amperage rating could be useful.

Replacing the converter will depend on several factors. Some but not all would be the age of the RV and the type of converter currently in the RV. Newer RV's use electronic converters which are more efficient than some of the older ferroresonant and linear models.

I would suggest you call the phone number (progressive Dynamics)in this link and ask a technician about replacing the converter with a higher amp model. You should have the RV make, model and year and the information on the current converter available when you call. http://www.progressivedyn.com/./servicedept.html *****

Q In five years I will retire and we will sell our house and go full time RV. Pretty much will look to buy used RV. Price range $80,000.00 and under. We just bought a 2004 Ford FreeStar SE Mini van , weight 5600 lbs. What can we expect to find that will tow our mini van? Gas or diesel ? I have been told that this van has great towing capacity, but would rather have a RV instead of a trailer. I bought your 8 dvd on RV and when we are ready to buy I have great deal of confidence with the help of your dvds.

Mark Says: If you want to tow the van you will probably need to look at a diesel motorhome rated to tow that amount of weight, and you will need to talk to the dealer about any requirements to reinforce the hitch receiver.

Q My wife and I are going to buy an RV. She is in a wheelchair and we are wondering if maybe this lifestyle is not something that would be user friendly to her. Do you have any suggestions?

Mark Says:There are several types of RV's that are handicap accessible. Here is one link with some information http://www.rvproperty.com/handicap_rv's_for_sale.htm

If you type phrases like "handicap accessible RV" into your internet search engine browser you will find lots of useful information about these RV's.

Q I am new to RV’ing and am on my 1st trip with my wife and grandson. I have a 1999 Airstream with a 2004 GMC 2500HD pulling it. I have been using your web site, DVD’s and e-books to get the information I need to have a successful trip and enjoyable time with my family. I understand and agree with the importance of tires and proper tire pressure. The problem I am having is that on the road there is no available air support to check tire pressure. None of the RV resorts (9.0 + ratings) have an air compressor available to check a cold tire. If you wait to get on the road to check then the tires are to hot for correct evaluation. I am considering purchasing a small compressor for this purpose. Have you found the same thing for service at the RV resorts? What would you suggest for a more practical solution? Thanks in advance for your time. Your information is very practical, makes good sense, and has been a great value to me. PS: Do you have any suggestions on a type of portable air compressor that would be practical for my application?

Mark Says: This is a common problem for RVers, and that is why a portable air compressor is a good idea. Here are a few pointers when deciding what compressor to purchase: The rate that a compressor can deliver a volume of air is measured in cubic feet per minute (cfm). cfm varies with atmospheric pressure. It also varies with the temperature and humidity of the air. Technically, air compressor manufacturers calculate standard cubic feet per minute (scfm) as cfm at sea level with 68 degrees F air at 36% relative humidity. Scfm ratings are given at a specific pressure (for example)3.0 scfm at 90 psi. If you reduce pressure, scfm goes up, and vice versa. I would recommend a model rated at about 4.9 cfm @90 psi The cfm and psi ratings are important because they will determine what a compressor is capable of doing. The most important thing to determine when choosing a compressor is to make sure it can supply the amount of air and the pressure that your tires need. Many applications in garages and shops (like air tools) don't require 125 max psi, so they have a regulator to adjust the air. It may be necessary to increase this setting to inflate the tires.

Copyright 2007 by Mark J. Polk owner of RV Education 101

RV Expert Mark Polk, seen on TV, is the producer & host of America's most highly regarded series of DVD's, videos, books, and e-books. http://www.rveducation101.com/