America’s largest RV Rally set for April in Albuquerque, New Mexico
The largest RV rally held each year in the USA is coming to Albuquerque, NM April 17-20. Visitors to The Rally can check out the latest in recreational vehicles and accessories, enjoy live entertainment and participate in family friendly activities and educational seminars.
New to The Rally, which will celebrate its 10th year, are two eco-focused initiatives, providing RVers the opportunity to celebrate and explore Green RVing. Attendees will be able to tune into “Reality RV” to watch and learn as conservation expert Brian Brawdy is challenged to show how many resources can be conserved in an RV. Additionally, the inaugural “Going Green” ideas contest invites Rally participants to submit green ideas to make RVs more environmentally friendly.
Many charity events are planned. The Rally’s hosts will adopt the Rio Grande Community Farm in Albuquerque with a day of volunteer work planned for April 15. On April 18 and 19, The Rally will host dog and cat adoptions courtesy of Albuquerque Mayor, Martin Chavez. The Rally’s official charity is the Association of Hole in the Wall Camps (http://www.holeinthewallcamps.org/). Activities are planned to raise funds for the organization.
Rally-goers can learn more about the RV lifestyle by getting a close up look at the latest model RVs. Vehicles ranging from entry-level trailers to million-dollar motor homes will be available for test drives or immediate purchase. Additionally, The Rally’s indoor exhibit will showcase hundreds of travel products and the latest high-tech RV accessories and gadgets. For additional information about entertainment and costs, read the rest of this article on RV Travel.
How to clean your RV water system after a trip, by Mark J. Polk
When you return from a trip and you won’t be using the RV for awhile you need to drain the entire water system to prevent it from getting stale and musty.
Start by draining the water heater. Go to the outside compartment where the water heater is located. The drain plug, or petcock is located in the bottom left hand corner. Remove the plug and open the pressure relief valve on top of the water heater to assist in draining. CAUTION: NEVER drain the water heater when it’s hot or under pressure.
Next, you need to locate the low point water line drains. It may take a while to find them, but I assure you they are there. There will be one for the hot and one for the cold water lines. This is the lowest point in the water system. Open these and let the water drain out. There’s one more thing left to do, find the drain for the fresh water holding tank and drain all of the water from it. At this point you can turn the water pump on for a moment to force any remaining water out. Do not let the pump continue to run once the water stops draining. Close all the drains.
Now, do not make the mistake that this is how you winterize the RV water system. If you do, it can be a very costly mistake next spring. All we have accomplished so far was to evacuate the majority of water from the system. If by accident you forget to drain the water system and you get that notorious stale odor all is not lost. You just need to sanitize the water system.
•Start by draining all of the old water out, and then close all of the drains.
•Take a quarter cup of house hold bleach for every fifteen gallons of water that your fresh water tank holds.
•Mix the bleach, with water, into a one-gallon container and pour it into the fresh water holding tank.
•Fill the fresh water tank completely full of water.
•Turn the water pump on, open all hot and cold faucets and run the water until you smell the bleach at each faucet.
•Close the faucets and let it sit for twelve hours.
•Drain the entire system and re-fill the fresh water tank with water.
•Open all of the faucets and run the water until you no longer smell any bleach. Once this is done it is safe to use your water system. It’s also a good idea to use a water filter at campgrounds and to keep bottled water on hand for drinking
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Mark Polk, owner of RV Education 101, produces professional RV how-to instruction training videos and DVD’s, books and e-books on using and maintaining your Recreation Vehicle (RV).
Saving space and weight in your RV, by Adrienne Kristine
Ms. Kristine shares with us the top ten list for saving space and weight:
First, think square and rectangular. Your cabinets and drawers are square and rectangular so you want to take advantage of all the nooks and crannies.
Second, think plastic instead of aluminum, steel or glass. You can save weight by using square or rectangular plastic containers.
Third, think bags instead of boxes. A box of cereal has the notice “This package is processed by weight, not volume. Contents may have settled during shipment.” Open the box, pour the cereal into a quart- or gallon-size zipping plastic bag, remove the air and stack the bag on top of other items in your cabinet or drawer.
Fourth, think folding instead of hanging. Most items hanging in your closet can be folded and placed in stacking plastic tubs.
Fifth, think soft instead of rigid. Dirty laundry can be placed in a pillowcase with a shoelace threaded through the top as a drawstring.
Sixth, think individual instead of bulk packaging. Take the individual rolls of toilet paper or paper towels out of the package and stack them in available space.
Seventh, think multiple instead of single use. White vinegar can be used to clean windows, mirrors, chrome, counter tops, toilets, etc.
Eighth, think usage instead of volume. You don’t need more dishes, glasses, cups, flatware or placemats than you have space at your table.
Ninth, think filler instead of folded. Place extra washcloths and towels between and around glasses, cups or breakable items.
Tenth, think dehydrated and freeze dried instead of liquid or canned. Many of the canned food items can be found dehydrated or freeze dried and just need water.
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