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Your weekly source for interesting
RV articles, tips, tricks, video clips and advice

From the Industry Leader in RV Education:
RV Education 101
U of RV Journal #58 – April 5, 2010

~Albert Einstein

BY MARK

A GPS for RV Owners

I’m sure you have read many articles about the benefits of using a GPS when traveling in your automobile or RV. Since GPS technology was released by the military, for use non-military use, I have owned two. Both worked okay when traveling by automobile, but when traveling in a 35’ motorhome, towing a dinghy, they can get you in situations you don’t want to be in…..

……. Read the article

Check out this week’s poll: “Do you use rest stops along the highways while traveling by RV?” To participate in the poll, look on the left hand column (here at RV University) towards the top

BY Mark Polk

Ultra-lite weight, tent campers
The QUICKSILVER was designed with today’s young families in mind – especially those with children and who drive fuel-efficient cars and mini-vans. Unlike traditional recreational vehicles, the QUICKSILVER is light enough to be towed without having to purchase an expensive truck or SUV! …..

Census Day passes with some (RV) households still waiting for questionnaires

Howard Sutton and his wife, Christine, who spent that winter in the Rio Grande Valley, never received their questionnaire for the nation’s 2000 census because they were in an RV headed on a trip to the Canadian border at the time…..

Jury: Katrina trailer not unreasonably dangerous
A federal jury has rejected a New Orleans man’s claims that government contractors provided him with a trailer after Hurricane Katrina that exposed him to dangerous fumes….

…with Mark
Q. Got a question that you may want to address in a future article. We own an ’08 American Eagle with a tag axle as well as several personal vehicles and an enclosed car trailer. For about a year now we’ve been inflating all vehicle tires with nitrogen. The claim is that the molecule is larger resulting in less frequent deflation over time (storage for instance), cooler running temps and better mileage. I watched the on line tire safety presentation at the New Mexico FMCA rally, but tuned in late so I don’t know if the subject was addressed.

The cost for inflation is usually very reasonable. We paid about $25 for standard size vehicles (all four plus full size spare if so equipped) and $120 for the bus. Our experience is that for the motor home, our mileage did increase by 2/10ths. Ride in all vehicles seemed improved as well but that could just be a personal thing. I was curious as to your thoughts.

Thanks

Mark Says: Nitrogen has been used for tire inflation in airplanes, racecars and trucking companies for many years. Nitrogen filled tires do run cooler and last longer according to many tests, and as you pointed out it holds the pressure longer too. There are other benefits as well, like eliminating water vapor from tires which can deteriorate the tires at a quicker rate.

All of these benefits make nitrogen a logical substitute over using compressed air in our RV tires. I have read that nitrogen should not be used in older tires (not sure why) and if you do need to inflate the tires, for whatever reason, you have to find the nitrogen.

I would agree that at a reasonable cost there are several good reasons to use nitrogen over compressed air in tires.

Let RV Education 101 help you save money in 2010
This weeks special:

RV Boondocking In Arizona E-book


This 112-page printable eBook contains:
Detailed directions to every suggested attraction and campsite.
An Arizona map shows suggested routes and where to camp for free along each route. It will help you plan the best route for the time of year you’re traveling.
Easy Referencing: The book is divided into color-coded sections corresponding to the 4 different geographical areas shown on the map. A full index is also provided at the back of the book.
A detailed 6-week itinerary covers the most popular Arizona destinations. Follow it and spend less than $110.00 in camping fees for the entire month and a half.
Tips on what to see, where to camp for free or cheap, where to shop, where to eat, where to find free water, free RV dump stations, propane, showers, Internet service and more.
Hiking suggestions. We love to hike, so we’ve listed some of our favorite Arizona hikes.

sale price: $17.00 Buy Now

RV Links:

Own a motorhome?
Membership in FMCA brings with it a wealth of benefits and services

— all specially designed to meet the needs of motorhome owners.
The value of these benefits and services far exceeds the cost of the annual dues.
Benefit highlights

A product that Mark personally uses:
Camping/RV Battery Chargers- BatteryMINDers® are the new generation of SMART, pulse type “computer-on-a-chip” chargers, that safely charge and maintain all size / type / brands of batteries including starter, deep cycle and sealed types including AGM “dry” made by OPTIMA, ODYSSEY, EXIDE, INTERSTATE, et al. They do all of this without ever overcharging, no matter how long they are left on charge – days-weeks-or even months. Dubbed the chargers with “brains,” they are the first to fully-automatically reverse the primary cause of early battery failure known as “sulfation”. Sulfated batteries once considered beyond recovery can now be brought back to long-term useful condition. Certain models of BatteryMINDers® can more than double the useful life of new batteries.