Common Bad RV Information! 

Hey Jared, I've been RVing for over 30 years and still learn tips from you. Thank you for all your time. You do a great job with information and get right to the point. You should be proud, I believe you have 1 of the best youTubes for Rv's out there. Keep up the great work.

"Yes, I'll take the 30 footer please. Oh I have a Golf GTI. It's a diesel so I'm good right!?" ;-) Thank you for sharing. Good stuff.

1 side note on the p-trap portion. When you are driving, the water in the trap could leach into your tank depending on the driving conditions. When you get to your destination, you could potentially have no water in the trap until you use the sink or shower the 1st time. You might want to get in the habit of running the water briefly once you are set up. Just an FYI

I bought my 2006 5th wheeler when it was ten years old and appeared to have been used very little. One of the first things my wife noticed after our first trip was there was lingering sewer smell and I made a point of filling all the 'P' traps. After a couple of weeks, we were to go out again and there was that 'smell' again. With use, the smell seemed to go away, till the trailer was parked for a time. I thought it may have been a dead animal but it should not have persisted. After our third year, I was doing a reno of the bathroom and discovered the source of the 'smell'. The manufacturer of our unit had not extended the sewer vent through the roof! but left the open pipe in the wall.

Great information! Aside from your channel, I also get good info from Big Truck Big RV, Long Long Honeymoon, Haylett RV & Changing Lanes.

I was told the same thing about my battery disconnect switch. I disconnected our batteries when we hooked up to shore power and a few days later I went to put out one of the awnings and it didn’t work. After trying several troubleshooting ideas I ended up calling the manufacturer and he asked me if the batteries were disconnected and he said that the batteries need to stay connected so that the slides and awnings work. I reconnected the batteries and everything went back to normal. I thought shore power would work everything but alas I was wrong. Thanks for all your hard work!

Jared, Great videos all the time! 1/4 cup of vegetable oil in each drain will create a seal on top of the water in the P trap to prevent evaporation during long term storage to prevent the sewer gases coming into the coach.

Good info. I’ve overheard conversations like what you just mentioned. Side note: if you haven’t heard about “self-fusing silicone tape” you should check it out. We used it in aircraft in the military. Sticks to itself not what you put it on. Expands to form a pressurized seal in things like water pipes and engine radiator hoses, heat resistant to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, electrical isolation, anti-chafing, and doesn’t unwrap itself like electrical tape. RVer’s essential tool.

My advice is to listen to this video and JD’s videos for all the towing information you need! Another straight to the point video, thank you!!

Unfortunately, most dealerships are more interested in closing the deal rather than working the (towing) numbers with the customer. My suggestion to anyone who has an existing tow vehicle and is shopping for a RV is to get ALL the numbers from the tow vehicle and plug them into a weight spreadsheet (like Bob's). For the RV weights, DO NOT USE DRY WEIGHT; use the TT's GVWR for it's weight and use ~12.5 percent of the GVWR for the tongue weight. It's often the case that the buyer will blow the payload rating of the tow vehicle if the numbers are not carefully calculated. BTW, pay no attention to the "tow rating" of the vehicle...this can be very misleading. Crunch the numbers! Remember, if an accident happens to you while towing, the insurance company will do the weight forensics. They can deny payment based on their accident investigation using the "sticker" ratings and weight of your rig at the time of the accident. If you have blown any weight limits/ratings, that will give them a legitimate excuse to not pay.

Great video. Definitely do your home work on towing capacity and pay load capacity. I hear so many people talk about towing capacity and never talk about payload capacity. It is so easy to overload your truck especially if your towing a 5th wheel.

There are some beautiful pick ups out there fully capable of hauling any rv a person owns...however we are not in any way concerned with towing, we ARE concerned with stopping on a steep mountain/hill with a 40' 20k rv behind us....got an HDT, just because.

When I was looking at trucks the salesman pulled up some forum on how much the truck I was interested could tow. I showed him the door sticker and it was like 4K less than he was quoting. He brought his manager over and they were telling me the sticker is wrong and they always go off of these forums online… I left and went somewhere else.

Always solid information. You are correct, I have heard each of these and so many more. Truck capacity is probably the one that gets most people in the biggest trouble.

On the reverse view... If u leave with only fresh tank full... Water heater empty... U lose 10 gallons of usable water in your example. So it's also good advice if you're going boondocking to make sure that water heater is full before quit filling your fresh tank.

I have a 2019 Keystone cougar that has a sidewall vent for the kitchen sink. This event is about head high outside and under my awning. I noticed that sewer smells are coming from that when I left the gray tank valve open. Putting a P trap in the drain hose is a brilliant idea to stop that. Thanks for the advice.

I’ve learned something from every one of these “All About RVing” videos. Like in the next one, a simple tip , something every RVer should have! Thanks, these have really saved me some time and money!

Good video Jared. I'm surprised, apparently there is 1 dealership (Lazy Days of Tucson) that knows what they're doing when selling people RVs. I learned the hard way. I would add the saying, "just add airbags..." to misinformation. Overloaded is overloaded. Airbags are not going to fix that.

All good advice in this video. Most importantly, the concept of being informed. When I went to get tire codes off my new trailer to register the warranty, I discovered the manufacturer had put the wrong load range tires on the right side of the trailer! Could have turned out badly if undetected! Similarly, I had a trailer once with the wrong size wheel and tire for the spare, tucked away underneath!

That valve you were talking about that allows the drain to vent and work is called a Studor valve.

I have so many people ask about whether they should buy a converter or inverter for the 12v system. I was a tad surprised at how many do not know that upfront. It is good to have some common basic knowledge about all of the items in your videos so that anyone can make smart decisions no matter what their skill levels are. Good job and direct to the point.

One tip I would give is to join a FB group that related to the RV you have or want to buy. Lots of great information from owners. We joined Grand Designs page before we bought our Imagine and it is extremely helpful.

Good job 👍. We have a 2014 GD 303 and a 2014 Ram 2500 Laramie diesel that I’ve told my wife is a perfect match for weight and towing. We just looked at a new Alliance 310 at a dealership and my wife asked me if we could tow it. I said no, the pin weight is too much. The sales guy said, you have a diesel, you’ll be fine! 🙅🙅

Another good RU-vid channel for towing tips is JB reviews. Does a great job with weights and understanding them.

No matter what towing capacity truck you used to tow your RV (currently used a 2020 1 Ton truck) to pull my 7200 pound (fully loaded) travel trailer. When driving in wind gust, your truck weight is not the only deciding factor, but your RV type and size must be accounted for. For us, we drive at 65 mph in winds 20 mph and below. When winds are 20-25 mph gusts we reduce to 55 mph. Above 25 mph wind gust we find a spot to sit and wait it out with the RV pointed nose first into the wind connected to the truck when possible. Takes the white knuckle experience out when moving locations.

Good advice on the battery disconnect.

For the hot water tank , my dealer suggested i don’t travel with water on board and fill up once I arrive at the campground , he also showed me how to empty the hot water tank for travel to save on the weight as well. I fill my fresh water tank on arriving to camp and also remembered the sales man said I needed to turn on the hot water taps to fill my hot water tank at the fill up station so I would get the “extra 10 gal” or capacity fill, and then top up my fresh water tank again so I was completely full. Maybe that was the “extra water talked about”? I also have a great idea, to stop waking the person sleeping near the water pump, at night turn off the electric pump, keeps water bottle handy to wash your hands and to flush the toilet, it will be a quieter night. Another tip to save additional trips to the fill/dump station, I do dishes in the plastic rubber made container, you don’t use as much water, them when time to dump,if I’m near a bathroom I take the water there to get rid of it, i did not have to dump any black or grey water for 3 weeks. Another sensor saving tip, never put toilet paper in your tank, toss it in the trash, use doggy bio bags to toss #2 paper in and toss in your garbage sling with #1 paper. To save yourself a stink problem if you are at a campground that has the hookups for black and grey water, keep your valves closed until you need to actually dump, especially black water, to keep your RV from stink keep the black valve closed till you dump or you will get fumes come in during a toilet flush. Hope you like my extra tips

Excellent presentation, clear consise, understandable and most of all pleasant to listen to. TY.

Additional comments about disconnecting the battery while connected to AC. Unknown to most people, the filters in the converter are pretty basic. Rectifiers have three major parts, transformer to drop the voltage, diodes to convert AC to DC and capacitors to smooth out the DC. The battery is actually part of this final filter as it helps smooth out the increases and decreases of the output voltage caused by the AC sign wave. Also the statement about the refrigerator switching to propane if a power failure happens will not happen without the battery connected. The refer needs the 12 volt from the battery to power the control board and also the ignite the flame for propane operation.

Here's one important problem with leaving the gray dump valve open all the time. Both the black and gray tanks are designed and engineered as (Holding Tanks) They are meant to hold solid waste and water. They have a relatively flat bottom and work best with volume and flow when dumping, Ever had to unplug a bathroom or kitchen P-trap or drain pipe, that same solid build up i.e. grease, hair, food, oils, etc. that tends to built up on the bottom of the gray tank. Leaving the dump open just sheds off the water and leaves the solids behind. I'm just a nerd of a mechanical design and release engineer.

Love watching the videos over the years and its funny to have the grey water smell topic come up as we have dealt with it at Lazy Days RV Resort in Tampa last week! I could not figure out what the heck was stinking as I am always on top of things and am no noobie to this stuff. We moved to the next park in St. Pete and wala, stink again when grey is open. I have a vent and valve that only runs up into the refrigerator vent and I figure that the valve must be stuck or failed. Will look at it next month when I get home! I love the idea with moving the "stinky slinky" and creating my own trap. That should work great!

If you Don’t have one of those newfangled multi stage converter chargers and you don’t disconnect it once your batteries are charged they will boil dry. Just saying there’s several “ifs” you need to be aware of.

I administer a Facebook page answering questions from newbie RV owners and I cannot believe the misinformation out there! Owners who can’t figure out why their outlets don’t work on battery....🤨...to why two AC’s won’t work on 30 amps!! I do refer folks to your YT videos for assistance.

Use those sink screens you can get at wal mart to keep food particles out of your grey (gray) tank!

Payload capacity is also important . Even more than the towing capacity . A lit of folks overlook that important criteria of a tow vehicle .

Thanks for giving a shout-out to JD at btbrv. He gives great advice on towing.

I once had a RV salesman tell me weight capacity was “just a guide, and you can safely exceed it by 2000 pounds”. Beware out there. Some will tell you anything for a commission.

This type of video is great for weekend warriors like us, Thanks!

I just wanted to say thank you for your videos as they are always straightforward and easy to follow. Very helpful for a newer RV owner! I do have one follow-up question for you if you don't mind In regards to alternator charging. I hear this topic brought up a lot but I can't determine exactly what set up they are referring to. I have a tow behind trailer which is connected via a standard 7 pin. Is that considered alternator charging while in tow? I just purchased a battleborn battery and had seen that topic come up quite a bit and just want to make sure I'm not going to ruin anything!

Another great video! Always appreciate your content.

Great advice. We find one around here is that people are not away they need an upgraded license when they are pulling over 10k lbs. If might be different in different places but that’s the rules here.

Just started watching your channel. Some good stuff there. Many 5th wheel dealers will tell you their trailer can be pulled by a 1/2 ton but fail to mention the pin weight of the truck and or camper. Learn your trucks limitations and capacities before you go shopping.

Nice job!! I find your content informative and very professional. Well done.

Another great video. I am new to this RV world, and didn't know what I was going to pull. I knew it was going to be a 5er, but their weights vary significantly. Bought a 2020 F350 6.7PSD DRW w/ 4.10 gearing. I kinda went overkill, because the rig I am buying has a gross weight of 16K. Got the DRW mostly for safety while towing.

Towing capacity for your truck also has some assumptions baked in. My truck assumes 4 passengers and 200lbs of cargo in the max towing capacity. The person who sold me my camper tried to show me things that were way too close to my limit. I ended up 1000lbs off my limit.

Some RV dealers don’t care what vehicle you have they will tell you you can tow this trailer even though it’s to close to the actual weigh you should tow . Thank you for your information ❤️❤️

Very good video! If you get a HDT then you can pull any 5th wheel.

Great video. Owning a dually means never using a car wash😀. Never found one for my 92 F350 Dually that I bought new.

I was always told, it doesn't matter what your truck can tow, it's what your truck can stop. Dont want a 15 thousand pound trailer pushing a half ton truck down the road when you need to stop suddenly.

You do a great job of getting your point across.

Wouldn’t I love to spend an hour with you going over things!

Short version = Ditto! Long version = From now on, I will just comment Ditto! 😁 Every week you provide excellent info in a concise and professional way. For this "soon to be" weekend newbie your channel has provided me with so much help and hopefully keep me from making so many mistakes. We will be taking delivery in about 3 weeks of our Class A. FYI...we quickly met you and your wife (with your camera in hand) at the Tampa RV Show were we ordered our 1st RV.

thanks for the content! regarding the gray tank being open, I create the trap in my hose, and see very few others that do this, its OK to have the Gray open, but if you do and dont have a trap in your hose, you are venting the parks septic through your gray tank vent, so it can get stinky outside your RV and affect other campers enjoyment, So please if you are going to leave your gray tank open, just form a trap in your waste hose.

I have a 21 Grand Design 310 GK that has a second disconnect switch in front compartment above the batteries on back wall. It almost like there is one on each side of the wall (front compartment and pass-thru storage [curbside]). Don’t see many mentioning the two disconnects.

Love your videos they are so informative and down to earth. Keep them coming. In other words More.

Another one I heard when we bought our Class A, it has an 8,000 lb hitch so you can tow 8,000 lbs....not true. The motorhome is not rated to pull that much after it has been loaded.

Just a heads up: not all RVs use a P trap on their sink or shower drains. They use a trap called a HepVo trap. They work well, but may need occasional cleaning to eliminate odors.

Love your vids Jared. Always precise, informative and and to the point.

Thanks for everything you do!

GCVWR is not something that Trailer salesmen talk about. When I did the math it was much more limiting than towing capacity.

Thank you sir👍

Whenever I'm at an full hook up I only hook up the electric and water until it's time to leave. Then I dump. I'm only there for a weekend most times

Left the gray water valve opened one time and one time only!!! Perfectly working system, but it stunk like hell!!! Never again!!!

You doa great job explaining I didn’t need it broken down so that a dum could understand it but I understand why you have too I had to show and explain things to some people like that so great job !

Excellent info, Jared! (as usual!)

Great video. Lots of urban legends out there. I love the one where people take off a hose or belt because they don't trust it or it is to detreated worn. Then after putting on the new one they "save the old one for emergences. Seriously you don't trust it enough to use it but will save it for a time you realey realey need one to work???? Just buy a new part to carry as a backup.

While your assessment of the freshwater capacity is 100% accurate... Almost all RV manufacturers list total system capacity with an **note that state **includes water heater capacity.

Hi, enjoy all your videos! Where do I find the references for measuring and managing tow vehicle and 5th wheel weights! Thanks!

Most vehicle dealerships will claim that the trucks they sell have great towing capabilities but that's b.s. Never listen to what they say always check the ratings and also other options like trans coolers and heavy duty suspension and axles etc.

What about the rumor that RV tires are only good for 2 years no matter the amount of mileage, or physical appearance. I go by proper weight management, physical inspection and proper air pressure, not age.

I feel like you may have missed a potential issue with leaving the grey valve open with regard to odors entering. If the RV is relatively well sealed, and one were to open their vent and run the exhaust fan, without opening a window, air has to come from somewhere. It certainly can be pulled out of the sewer system (which is vented) and that smelly air would pass through the water in the P traps entering the RV. While I'm not a marijuana user, I have seen water bongs in use and the physics would be pretty much the same right?

I would say that just because a trailer says it is half ton towable, does not mean you should tow it with a half ton truck/suv. I try to now max out our truck. We have a towing capacity of 17,000 lbs, but have a fifth wheel trailer that grosses at 12,995. It works for my wife and I.

Cheater valve? Mechanical air admittance valve. If they are letting a smell out, replace them. They have 1.5” thread and should have Teflon tape on the thread.

Another thing about fresh water. Many tanks feed from the side at the bottom. If the tank is long and flat you can have 50-80L of water below this fitting making it useless. Some fresh water tanks also have a roof that sags a bit and so the 300L tank has really only 200L useable. Hard to know ahead of time unless you really look. Some of these have an overflow hose that will begin to flow when the tank is full, but since the top of the tank is flexible, it causes a siphon effect that will drain about 2/3 of the tank for it releases. Just saying. Travel safe. RVing with Henri.

Thanks

On board with the 10 gallon water heater, except for total weight calculation, it exists........

Well presented.. I know I subbed for a reason. I would add.. insurance may not cover accident if you were overtowing.. like I see most do! From a loaded down 40 ft. prepper with years of food ect.. and a 2016 srw 3500 4x4 dodge. Just warn others if u would...

Other potential issues with battery disconnect switch are if off while towing breakaway brakes won't work, and battery will not be charged by TV.

I am amazed, in forums, how many people ask the question, "Is anyone towing a Pick Your Trailer, with a Pick Your Undersized Tow Vehicle?" My response is, "Please don't ask that question... you will ALWAYS find someone who says they are doing it... and they are probably doing it wrong. There are too many vehicle models and trims and everyone camps differently... do your own math!"

Jared, isn’t the black tank a pee trap too? Great video as usual. As always.....trustworthy info. Thanks!

Listening from New Zealand. Great video

You could drive in with a 1.7L Yugo and many RV sales people will say, "No problem!"

Awesome information thank you..

We have traps on all grey water lines into our tanks except for the toilet into the black tank but I always arrange my dump hoses the have a trap in them so no odors can back up into the rig. When we were shopping for our 2019 28bh all of the dealers told me the my 2018 Ram tradesman 2500 Cummins could tow anything with 2 axles. Wrong wrong wrong. They won’t be there after an accident when you are in court being sued into oblivion for towing overweight.

Nice Job, need more of the TRUTH out there.

Thanks for the misinformation information! I always leave my battery connected when shore power is hooked up to ensure my battery stays charged and ready!! The link for the tow calculations wasn't listed as mentioned. Can we get a copy another way??

Oh my goodness. I can’t believe you said that one thing you said about that one thing that one time. 😉😂

Excellent presentation! Where can I get one or 2 of the coffee mugs in the closing shot??

Your information is always helpful thanks for doing this video’s

About what year did RV manufacturers quit installing single stage converters and go to multi-stage converters? I had a 2003 Tahoe, and it DEFINITELY killed a battery if it was left plugged in indefinitely.

Someone needs to tell Grand Design about not including the water heater in the fresh water capacity numbers .. they do!

thanks. do the research. don't be in a hurry. don't take your checkbook to the dealership while looking. more research.

Good Thanks for all the good info. I don't see the link to Bob's spreadsheet.

Carry a 12 v battery charger in rig. If you lose shore power you will run down 12 volt power and then won't have any lights, etc. Hook up charger to battery to keep fridge and lights on

Would love a link to Bob's spreadsheet. Great video!!

I have only had smelled the gases on windy day’s.

Advice: Don't trust the caps on the sewer hose tubes to stay without a zip tie or other locking mechanism

Great advise as usual!

Appreciate you Jared. Thanks man!

Rv fridges: Smartest thing in my Rv!v I'm embarrassed to report...