Over the past week as we got pummeled by a desperately needed snowstorm, we watched the fluff pile up on our rooftop.

It seemed like common sense to me that a heap of snow would add too much weight to our Northwood Arctic Fox.

On the other hand, I wondered: what happens to all those RV stored outside all winter long in places like Denver or De Moines? Or RVs belonging to crazy families like Jema’s, who spends winters in Breckenridge?

Obviously those people aren’t going and scraping off snow every few days. Or are they?

Jim thought I was wasting time being worried about it, but after all these years he knows that worry is my middle name. I’m trying to get over that, so this time instead of worrying I just went to the source to get an answer.

I called Northwood Manufacturing and asked one of their fabulous technical support reps:

“How much snow can pile on top of my 24′ Arctic Fox fifth wheel before it starts to present a hazard to my rig?”

“Two feet,” the helpful tech answered.

Whenever neurotic people like me think to ask this question, Northwood will tell them that 2′ is an acceptable load for the roof of any RV, including theirs. After that, you’re on your own and had better start checking for leaks when things thaw out.

Scraping snow off the RV roof is a headache, but not as much as an interior leak. I’m happy to report that so far, there are no signs of water damage inside the rig.

Now, if only we knew for sure that our frozen water pump and plumbing still works.

There I go, worrying again  . . .

Ever since we had our first RV water leak, back when we first hit the road, I have been paranoid about water damage from burst pipes or leaky plumbing. I have always made a point of turning off the water pump at night or while away from the rig while boondocking. But I would usually forget to turn off the water when hooked up to park water.

Then one day, while working at our favorite RV park near Gonzales, TX we were out for a walk and noticed the nightmare I always dreaded. Water was pouring out from under the door of a trailer next to us. It had clearly been flowing a while and was dripping from various points under the rig. Nobody was home.

We quickly turned off the water and notified the management. I then made a mental note to immediately get a shut-off valve for our hose.

We produced this quick video tip for the RV Travel newsletter to show a simple, inexpensive way that will help ensure you don’t experience costly water damage should you have a leak in your RV.

By installing a garden hose shutoff valve at the RV end of your freshwater hose, it is quick and easy to turn off the water whenever you leave your rig for the day. Sure, you can turn off the hose at the source but this may take extra effort. Simply having the shut-off valve in place also serves as a reminder to to use it!

Below are a few more tips for how to avoid RV water damage from plumbing leaks. Please leave a comment with any questions or tips of your own!

Always use a water pressure regulator when hooked up to RV park water supply. Water pressure can vary greatly, and high pressure can cause burst pipes in RV plumbing.

Turn off your water pump at night or when away from your rig for extended periods if not hooked up to RV park water.

Use a garden hose shut-off valve to quickly and easily turn off water at RV parks when away from your rig.

Listen for frequent cycling of your water pump which may indicate a plumbing leak.

Always insulate your hose and/or water pump in freezing weather to avoid frozen pipes.

Frequently inspect under cabinets and around your water heater.

Never pack cabinets with plumbing so full that items might bend hoses or interfere with plumbing.

Periodically inspect hose clamps and fittings on all RV plumbing.

Protect your lifestyle investment with a quality RV insurance policy!

Returning to Borrego Springs was a breath of fresh air. Make that sandy air.

Our annual homecoming at Anza Borrego State Park was tranquil and idyllic — until a warm air windstorm rolled across the desert and plowed into us non-stop for three solid days and nights.

As you can see in this sandstorm pic, the powerful winds on this side of the San Diego mountains are relentless when they get going.

Whether it’s hot or cold outside, they can blast into your rig so hard that even with the windows closed up tight you’ll spend the day wiping up layers of grit from the floors and countertops while trying to keep it out of your food.

When the wind is blowing, there’s not a thing you can do about it. With rain, you can put gear on and go outside, but with wind, you can’t escape it, especially when sand is constantly swirling all around you the moment you head outdoors.

Temperatures were in the high 90s but the winds didn’t do much to cool things off. When the wind blows this hard we can’t even put up the satellite dish, but at least we had our portable Verizon MiFi card to help us get some work done.

Wyatt, meanwhile, was stuck inside all day long and so bored he almost chewed one of his last three legs off.

After the third night of winds that were so loud even earplugs couldn’t muffle the roar, we decided we’d had enough and packed it in before the next cyclone came in.

This isn’t unusual at Borrego Springs, we’ve been through that kind of wind before and overall it’s a small price to pay for the freedom of free camping in the west.  Weather conditions like this are of the few times that not having a stick house can be annoying, but at least with a RV you have the option to move, which we always do our best to take advantage of.

Today we’re less than 1 hour east of Borrego and couldn’t ask for better weather. The hot sun, the calm winds and the quirky character of the Slabs makes for a grand sendoff into our eastward journey back to Colorado.

The cost of converting all the RV lights in our fifth wheel to LED lighting was the primary reason we waited so long.

Funny how frugality kept us from being frugal. Sure, we can save big on rent by camping off the grid, but no formal cost benefit analysis is required to determine that it could take quite a while to recoup the costs of installing all new LED lights. It’s more of a comfort level investment. LED lighting will allow us to enjoy boondocking more without having to run the generator as often or walk around with our Petzl headlamps on just to do the dishes.

LED RV Lighting, Big Expense or Business Opportunity?

Changing all the lights in an RV to LED bulbs can be very expensive, unless you know where to look. Once I discovered there are plenty of RV LED lighting deals to be had on Amazon and eBay, I had one decision to make. Was I willing to wait weeks for delivery and prepare for the uncertainty of ordering directly from China. Sure!

As a location independent entrepreneur, the next question came naturally. Was this a potential business opportunity? Indeed, the keyword being potential.

I had to test the products first. I’ve always held a firm belief in only representing products I believe in. Oh, and products with high profit margin. On that front, LED RV lights could clearly make us some money if we:

• Worked directly with a manufacturer,
• Bought in bulk,
• And carried a narrow product line.

There are many Chinese eBay stores to choose from for sourcing cheap LED bulbs for RV fixtures. But there are clearly a number of others out there that know this already. That’s why you’ll find single LED bulbs at the big Quartzsite RV show for as much as $15.00 each, and most distributors pushing new LED RV light fixtures which are completely unnecessary.

Seriously, why pay as much as $42.00 for an LED replacement tube for your RV light fixture when it can be easily rewired for less than ten bucks? Thus began my product testing.

I purchased a selection of various LED replacement bulbs to determine which would work best. I was able to outfit our entire rig for less than $60 including shipping. Yes, I had to wait a few weeks, but it was worth it to save the money and determine whether or not I wanted to open another online store.

From all of the LED panels and bulbs I bought, only one of the bayonet style lights was faulty. The manufacturer has a money back guarantee, but I wasn’t about to mess with returning a single bulb to China for three bucks. That’s right, all the lights I bought were in the three dollar price range, $6.99 for a pair at most.

With $3.00 unit costs I could easily double my money while steeply undercutting the only competition I found. I would clearly need to compensate with some serious volume though. By focusing on only two or three of the most common RV interior light bulb sizes, not selling expensive replacement fixtures, and promoting package deals, this might just be worth pursuing.

The only thing stopping me so far is the attention I need to pay to our various current business endeavors. Further research has also led me to ask, why is nobody else doing this? I clearly need to spend more time thinking this over, preferably somewhere in the desert where I can enjoy my new LED lighting.

How to Replace RV Fluorescent Tubes with LED Lights

In the meantime, check out how easy it is to save yourself some money by rewiring a fluorescent RV light fixture with 12v LED panels.

1. Remove fluorescent tubes.
2. Snip positive and negative wires to bypass ballast.*
3. Re-wire circuit using enough LED panels to achieve desired brightness.

*Traditional fluorescent light tubes require additional power during startup to quickly achieve full brightness. This surge and subsequent reduction in voltage is controlled by the ballast which can damage sensitive LED electronics.

When sourcing LED panels, note that some include adhesive foam backing. Depending on the manufacturer this may or may not withstand the heat generated by the light. Yes, heat – and the related power loss – of LED bulbs is much less than incandescent bulbs, but panels can still fall and potentially melt plastic light covers if not secured properly. One site I found suggests using high-temp silicone to hold the panels in place.

Conclusion

As expected, the brightness (lumens) of LED bulbs is not quite that of incandescent lights but personally I feel the benefits of less power consumption make up for that. When checking our amperage use now if not plugged in to shore power, turning on all lights in the rig measures no drop whatsoever on the remote meter for our charge controller.

I did not find any bayonet style bulbs which provide the brightness that larger LED panels did for overhead lighting in our main living area, while the 28 LED T-10 bulbs I found provide more than sufficient light for bedside reading. The LED panels get warmer than expected so sufficient adhesive is required to keep them attached to the fixture. The color of light from LED panels varies from a sterile blue hue to warm white. Different RVs have a wide variety of light fixtures but the most common seem to use 1156 and T-10 bayonet style bulbs or mini fluorescent tubes. Bulk LED panels can be sourced inexpensively from the manufacturer but it will take increased volume to compensate for lower unit costs when competing against the current selection of more expensive distributors. Many RVers may just be willing to pay more for the perceived value of retail packaging and higher cost.

With all of these considerations, more research is necessary before investing the time and money to open my Cheap RV LED Light Store. Time to get back to boondocking somewhere soon!

What say you?

Have you converted your RV lights to LED bulbs? If so, did you pay extra to replace the fixtures? If not, what’s keeping you?

Will you pay up to $15 per bulb just for retail packaging, or consider buying enough bulbs for the entire rig at about $7 each? Or, would you be cheap like me and just buy them from China yourself at three bucks a pop?

Snowbirds are supposed to go south for winter, not head right into it. But this season I was fascinated by the number of full-timers who decided to RV in the coldest parts of the country, including Advanture Trek, artist Jema and her family and a few other Full-time Families who traded flip flops for ski boots.

These RVers are snowbirds in the truest sense of the word. I’m not as hearty and there’s no way you could pay me to head north for winter in my Arctic Fox fifth wheel, even though it’s one of the best 4-season models available.

Have you ever RV’d for an extended time in the snow? If so, what was it like?

Whistler Mountain is one sweet sounding destination that could possibly tempt us into a trip north to spend one winter season. But you’d be more likely to find us working at a resort from the comfort of a fireplace-warmed cabin! How about you?

Via: Expedia