Rv Maintenance Tips And Information For The Diy

In Episode 110 of The Smart RVer Podcast Eric Stark digs into RV Storage/Organization and then delves into Trailer Tires and maintaining them and why that is important now.  Living the RV Life: Title- Keeping Your RV Organized Here are some tips on how to organize your RV: – Create a storage plan. Decide what you need to store, and where you will store it. – Get rid of clutter. Donate or sell items that you no longer need. – Make use of vertical space. Install shelves, hooks, and other organizers to maximize space. – Use storage bins and boxes. Or Tupperware.  Label them so you can easily find what you need. – Keep the floor clear. Put away items when you’re not using them. – Organize the exterior. Store items in the compartments or in a storage shed. By following these tips, you’ll be able to keep your RV organized and tidy whether you’ll a full-timer or a weekend warrior. Staying On The Road: Trailer Tires can be a real problem if they are not maintained. Eric has done other podcast episodes and Youtub

In Episode 109 Eric Stark highlights some of the great places to travel to in an RV. Such as Bristol, TN, or checking out the changing color of the leaves that happens in many parts of the country. It can be a great way for a family to spend some time together. Eric also talks about getting your RV winterized and the various ways to do it. There are also links to winterizing tips and products below. Living the RV Life: As the leaves begin to change color, many people feel the urge to get out and enjoy the beauty of nature. One great way to do this is by traveling in your RV. This gives you the flexibility to go where you want, when you want, and stay for as long as you like. Plus, it’s a great way to enjoy some quality time with family or friends. When planning your trip, be sure to check out websites that track the progress of the leaves turning color. This way, you can be sure to catch them at their peak. And don’t forget to pack your camera! After all, there’s nothing like a fall foliage photo to help you

In this episode, Eric Stark shares his thoughts on several topics for the Smart RVer to take advantage of. He covers the importance of friends and sharing the RV Lifestyle with them as well as the importance of maintaining the exterior of your RV. From trailers to motorhomes maintenance is important and should be thorough and done on a regular schedule. https://thesmartrver.com/making-friends-while-rving/ (More About Friends) Eric and Alexis visit White Fish Mt. and share why you should put Whitefish on your itinerary for your next RV adventure. Eric also encourages RVers to use and request by name Dinosaur Electronics circuit boards for The Smart RVers appliances. https://thesmartrver.com/add-whitefish-montana-to-your-must-see-list/ (More About Whitefish MT.) https://www.dinosaurelectronics.com/Company_Info.htm (More About Dinosaur Electronics) https://www.wheresafe.com/ (Whersafe RV GPS Tracking Systems) - Use Promo Code “SMARTRVER10” and SAVE 10% https://sunpromfg.com/rv-awning-fabrics/slide-out-awning

In Episode 107 Eric Stark gives you his spin on Building lasting memories in your and the importance of keeping the Exterior of the RV sealed up. Along with Alexis, they visit Glacier Park and then he gives some hints about catalytic heaters. Living the RV Life: Making Good Memories with Your Family While RVing. RVing is a great way to make memories that will last a lifetime! Eric shares some great ideas on ways to make lasting memories while traveling in your with the family. To make great memories The Smart Rver thinks outside the box and that is what Eric shares in this episode. https://thesmartrver.com/making-memories-in-your-rv/ (More Making Memories While Rving) Staying On The Road: Resealing the Exterior of an RV! The exterior of every RV needs attention to keep it watertight and free from expensive water damage. Eric goes through the steps that are needed to keep the RV exterior in great shape and sealed up the right way. The exterior is not something The Smart RVer ignores but instead takes on th

In Episode 106 Eric Stark reminds anyone who owns a motorhome to make sure they are maintaining the Engine and Chassis and not neglecting it because the focus has been on the house portion. Eric also points out that at least an hour a month is a good amount of time to set aside to maintain your RV. Then he and Alexis in The Next Stop highlight the activities for RV’ers in Hocking Hills Ohio.  Living the RV Life: How long should you spend on RV maintenance? RV ownership comes with many responsibilities, one of which is regularly maintaining your RV. How often you need to perform maintenance tasks will depend on how often you use your RV, but as a general rule, it is a good idea to dedicate at least one hour per month to RV maintenance. This will help to ensure that your RV stays in good condition and does not develop any serious problems. During your RV maintenance session, you should check all the fluid levels, test the batteries, inspect the tires, and clean the exterior and interior of the RV. By taking

In Episode 105 Eric Stark dives into ways to make a living while traveling and gives some great tips about RV Slide Out Maintenance. He also visits Pismo Beach nestled along the Pacific Coast in California.  Living the RV Life: RVing is a great way to travel and see the country, Traveling the country while working can be an awesome way to see the country as well. Traveling Nurses are the example to follow, although if you can apply what they do to your job and life you might be able to travel the U.S. Some will start a new career that revolves around RVing or an Internet-based business that affords them the time on the road. https://thesmartrver.com/enjoying-the-rv-lifestyle-as-a-traveling-nurse/ (More Bout Traveling Nurses)... Staying On The Road: The RV Slide Room should be on your list of items to maintain. It is critical to a great weekend getaway or a longer RV Vacation. Eric reminds the Smart RVers to keep the mechanics lubricated and the Slide out Seals coated with a slide-out seal treatment. The s

In Episode 104 Eric Stark Gives a shout Out to all of the DIY’s for the hard work they do.  He also promotes the “Come to Montana in July” promotion. This is a great opportunity to come by the store in Victor and meet all of us and see what we do. And while you are in Montana you can explore the awesome places there are to visit in your RV. Living the RV Life: RVing is a great way to travel and see the country. It's also a great way to take your hobbies on the road with you. Whether you enjoy fishing, biking, hiking, or just exploring new places, RVing can provide the perfect opportunity to do the things you love. And, because RVing is so convenient, you can often find yourself in places you never would have thought to visit otherwise. So, if you're looking for a way to combine your love of travel with your favorite hobby, RVing might be the perfect option for you. Staying On The Road: Mentally compartmentalizing your RV can make your life so much easier and keep your head from exploding. Eric shares some

In Episode 103 Eric Stark promotes the “Come to Montana in July” promotion. This is a great opportunity to come by the store in Victor and meet all of us and see what we do. And while you are in Montana you can explore the awesome places there are to visit in your RV. Living the RV Life: If you have pondered living in your RV after retirement there is a lot to think about and if done right it can be an excellent choice for retirement. It can also turn into a disaster if not planned carefully. Eric gives some straight forward advice about living out your retirement in an RV. Eric explains that it might not be as easy as it may appear to be. He advises talking to others who have and what they did to make it work for their set of circumstances. Staying On The Road: Mentally compartmentalizing your RV can make your life so much easier and keep your head from exploding. Eric shares some real-life experiences from his retail store to help you understand what he means by compartmentalizing your RV. The short vers

In Episode 102 Eric Stark promotes the “Come to Montana in July” promotion. This is a great opportunity to come by the store in Victor and meet all of us and see what we do. And while you are in Montana you can explore the awesome places there are to visit in your RV. Living the RV Life: This section dovetails off episode 101 about buying a new RV and not getting taken to the cleaners. Eric recommends having the RV inspected by a professional RV Inspector. The NRVTA trains RV Inspectors and can help you locate an RV Inspector to inspect any RV you are considering purchasing, new or used. NRVTA Promotional: This program prepares individuals to apply technical knowledge and skills to build, test, inspect, repair, service, and maintain recreational vehicles, systems, and interior and exterior components. Includes instruction in brake, hydraulic, and towing systems; electrical systems; propane systems and propane and electric appliances; carpentry; plumbing; welding; and structural frames. Upon completion, the

The Dodo bird is extinct and the perfect RV is impossible to find. This is where Eric jumps in and helps his audience to appreciate the Perfect RV is possible to create with some hard work and patience.  The perfect RV is what you make of your RV or build from a good, solid foundation. The foundation is an RV that meets or exceeds your expectations and one that is worth investing time and money into to create the perfect RV. The perfect RV is the best way to enjoy the RV Lifestyle! With some enthusiasm, Eric digs into the frustrations you might experience buying a New RV at a dealership. Eric is frustrated that too many people buying their first RV or an experienced RVer purchasing their next RV run to block walls of deception and extremely poor customer service ending up with a problem-ridden bad experience. He wants you, The Smart RVer to make a purchase you are proud of and know that you didn't get taken to the cleaners with a piece of junk RV. This episode is a must to listen to before you buy your firs

This si the 100th Episode of the Smart RVer Live on YouTube Thursday, May 26th @ 9am Mtn Time. https://youtu.be/-sjbTfnqj3k

In Episode 99 Eric Stark promotes the 100th Episode that will be hosted live on Youtube. He also promotes the “Come to Montana in July” promotion. This is a great opportunity to come by the store in Victor and meet all of us and see what we do. And while you are in Montana you can explore the awesome places there are to visit in your RV. Living the RV Life: Eric does some comparisons of the top 10 essential lists for RVing and shares his thoughts that each top ten list will depend on who the RVer is and what their needs and RVing habits are. He came to this conclusion because there are hundreds of top ten lists and no two are identical and only share a few similar items. Battle Born vs Expion 360 Conversion Continues? https://thesmartrver.com/whats-my-model-number/ (Click Here for a Complete List.) Staying On The Road: In this episode, Eric explains the problems of RV sidewall delamination and what the causes are. He then explains the various ways to take care of the problem whether you do it yourself or h

In Episode 98 Eric Stark promotes the 100th Episode that will be hosted live on Youtube. He also promotes the “Come to Montana in July” promotion. This is a great opportunity to come by the store in Victor and meet all of us and see what we do. And while you are in Montana you can explore the awesome places there are to visit in your RV. Living the RV Life: Eric asks the question is all of the new technology found in today's RVs Impressive or Unimpressive? With central command centers that look like an iPad and more electronics than ever before is it impressive? The RV industry doesn’t track like the automotive industry when it comes to getting electronics right the first time. It seems that it can be an expensive and time-consuming learning curve. Eric is passionate about technology but he expects it to work for years to come. Eric also hints at the new LifePo Battery that should take the RV Industry by storm. Battle Born?  Staying On The Road: Eric believes that RVers should carry spare parts for their R

In Episode 97 Eric Stark promotes the 100th Episode that will be hosted live on Youtube. He also promotes the “Come to Montana in July” promotion. This is a great opportunity to come by the store in Victor and meet all of us and see what we do. And while you are in Montana you can explore the awesome places there are to visit in your RV. Living the RV Life: Eric explains the best practice if you need to replace certain parts on your RV such as appliance parts. He breaks down ways to help the DIY to get good service and the correct part on the first trip to the RV Parts Store. He mentions some of the many appliances and parts on an RV that require either Model Numbers or Pictures to be sure of getting the right part. https://thesmartrver.com/whats-my-model-number/ (Click Here for a Complete List.) Staying On The Road: Eric explains in detail how trailers with drum brakes are technology from 1920 and how drum brakes haven’t changed in 100 years. He also notes how ineffective drum brakes are compared to Disc

In Episode 96 Eric Stark helps his audience to appreciate that while RVing there will be good days and bad days. Some days will be perfect and some days will be like any other day and some days will seem to last forever because they are so bad. The big picture of making memories and enjoying time spent with family is what is important, those are the moments that last a lifetime and make RVing worth the ups and downs. https://thesmartrver.com/rv-battery-wiring/ ()               Eric also gets into his groove explaining the differences between wiring batteries in series or parallel and why you should know the difference. He also explains using 12-volt batteries and 6-volt batteries and what the big differences are. This coming July is the month to spend time in Montana come by our store in the Bitterroot Valley and meet us. We certainly want to meet our listeners and give away some free stuff for those that are willing to make the trek to Victor, MT to visit us. Mont

Out with the old and in with the new, it might be time to put new flooring in your RV. This is Eric Stark with the smart RV or podcast, delivering the smarts. You need to enjoy the freedom of the RV lifestyle without the fear of breaking down.  

In Episode 95 Eric is making up for lost time after being sick and not being able to work on his podcasts. He is glad to be back doing what he loves, helping others solve RV-related problems. Rather than cover the RV life Style segment in a traditional sense he dives into raising fuel prices and RVers can crunch the numbers to estimate a "real" estimate of what the actual fuel cost will be for a great trip in the RV. After all, the memories need to be made, the family loves a great getaway. As always Eric uses his experience from talking with RVers about how much future trips could cost in regards to fuel. It is an eye-opener because quite often the cost is exaggerated because real numbers aren't being used. Depending on where you are going and what your mileage is the cost might be a lot more affordable than previously thought. In many scenarios, it may only require cutting back on some other expenses to offset the higher fuel cost. Camping closer to home might be an option as well. https://thesmartrver.com

Where has Eric Been? Eric hasn't ditched the show! He has been sick for 4 weeks and is back on his feet as of 2-24-2022. New Episodes will be coming in the next few weeks along with a couple of big announcements.

In Episode 93 Eric Stark covers some ground from enjoying the outdoors on a bicycle to checking 12-volt relays with an awesome relay testing tool. Eric also explains what he meant by the title "Do you replace one shoelace or both?" Quite often when one part fails such as an LP Hose on an auto changeover regulator only one hose gets replaced when in reality it should be both LP Hoses. The same holds true for RV Deep Cycle batteries, if there are two batteries and they are the same age and one battery dies the other should be replaced as well. The older battery will suck the life out of the new battery. Quite often there are repairs that should be done in pairs even if it costs a few more bucks. The goal is to keep your RV on the road and experience as few problems as possible. If you haven't been to Georgia in your RV, this is a must-do trip! Eric gives just enough information about the Southern Coast of Georgia to whet your appetite to add Georgia to your RV Trip bucket list. Of course, you can listen to th

In Episode 92 Eric Stark Explains how to diagnose your RV Converter if it is not working. Eric also shares why it is also good to test the RV Batteries at the same time. There is nothing worse than wondering if the RV Batteries are good, bad, or almost dead. He also explains the difference between Deck Mount Converters and Power Centers with built-in converters. Converters are a very simple DIY project for just about any RVer who has a few tools and a voltmeter. Below are the manuals for Progressive Dynamics and WFCO RV Power Converters. These documents will help you diagnose your converter when it malfunctions.  You can probably diagnose any brand or style of RV Power Converter with these instructions, although you can also check the manufacturer's website if needed. Along with Keeping Your Rv on the Road, Eric gives a quick overview of Carlsbad Caverns and Roswell New Mexico. If you are going to visit one place you might as well visit the other place. Both destinations are awesome places to visit and enjo