Emergency RV Repairs

If you go RV-ing, you can count on having some technical problems sooner or later. If you only camp in commercial campgrounds with full hookups and near civilization you may have mobile RV services readily available to assist you. Sometimes there are mechanics on staff at large resorts and sometimes the manager or other member of the staff may have some helpful skills.  If you do a lot of “boondocking” – camping in primitive campgrounds in remote locations, you will likely have to fend for yourself – at least for a time. Some mobile RV repair services are able to come to remote locations, but don’t count on it and expect to pay a premium for the service if you can get it. Check your Emergency Road Service (ERS) too. Some will not provide service in remote locations or even off paved highways.  And ERS programs are typically designed to provide assistance with mechanical problems with your vehicle, such as a dead starting battery, flat tire, or out of gas.  Problems with other RV systems are usually beyond the scope of ERS policies.

Mechanical problems: consider this: a motorhome has all the same systems as both your car and your house and more so think about the problems you have with them and figure sooner or later you're going to have all the same problems -- and more -- that you have with them. Your motor home – or the vehicle you tow your trailer with, are subject to the same mechanical failures as any other motor vehicle. Your best defense against failure is proper maintenance. Rubber components such as tires, belts, and hoses, are among the most common points of failure if not properly maintained and should be checked frequently and replaced if showing signs of wear or deterioration. Other typical problems may include running out of fuel, dead batteries, and flat tires. Not all RVs come with spare tires. If yours did, make sure you check it regularly to ensure it is usable. If yours did not come with one, look into get getting one. A common reason some RVs don't have spare tires is a lack of anyplace to carry them.  You may have to get creative to find a place in yours.  I've heard of guys putting them on the luggage rack on the roof, but that is NOT a good idea.  Getting a heavy spare and and down from the rack will be difficult and you'll risk injury to yourself trying to manhandle it it up and down or damaging the tire if you drop it off the roof.  The added weight (usually around 100 lbs or so) at that height can affect handling.  Furthermore, leaving a tire exposed to sunlight on the roof will greatly shorten its useful life.  One of the major tire companies uses the the roof of their warehouse in southern California as an extreme UV testing facility.  Having a spare is just the beginning. Unless you are along a highway where auto club type tire service is readily available, you may have to change the tire yourself. For that you will need a jack that will fit under the frame and is large enough to lift the unit and lug wrenches that both fit the lug nuts and provide sufficient torque to remove them. Keep in mind, on large RVs, the lug nuts were likely tightened by very high-torque air impact wrenches and may be VERY difficult to break loose. I had a flat on the freeway and the auto club driver had to tow my RV back to his shop where he had a 3/4" air impact wrench to get the lugs loose. Always make sure you have adequately blocked the vehicle before attempting to jack up the corner with the damaged tire. And NEVER crawl under a vehicle that is supported on a jack alone! Keep people out of the vehicle while it is up in the air. Movement inside can cause it to fall off the jack, with potentially dire consequences to the vehicle and to anyone nearby! Hydraulic leveling jacks, if you are lucky enough to have them, can sometimes be used to safely lift the damaged tire off the ground for changing, saving a lot of effort.

If you do a lot of boondocking it is a good idea to carry spare fan belts and heater and radiator hoses. These are usually fairly easy to replace by the DIY mechanic and will quickly get you back on the road, but you will need some basic tools and at last some mechanic skill.  Sometimes you can affect temporary radiator hose or heater hose repairs using duct tape or electrical tape. There are special tapes made for radiator hose repairs that will stick even when wet, which is even better. Having a roll of this type of tape in your tool box may save you a lot of frustration and wasted time. If you are already a fair DIY mechanic, you can probably diagnose and repair many of the problems you may encounter – if you have brought along some basic tools and supplies. If you aren’t mechanically inclined, it may be worth your time to take a basic mechanics course at your local adult education school or community college. The modest fee and time spent will be a good investment that you may find helpful beyond your camping needs. You may be able to make very temporary emergency repairs to radiator hoses and heater hoses using duct tape. A special radiator hose tape that sticks when wet is even better. Heater hose damage often occurs near the ends where it has been stressed over the connections or is bent sharply. Quite often there is enough slack in the hose to simply cut off the damaged section and stretch the hose to reconnect it to temporarily get you back on the road.  You will want  to replace the hose as soon as it is practical to ensure reliability and avoid more problems in the near future.  Be sure to include some slack when you buy a new  hose so you'll have room for emergency repairs if needed later.

Battery problems: in many cases, battery problems can be traced to poor connections at the battery or at the other end of the cables where they connect to the vehicle components. Typically, RVs use a negative ground configuration, with the negative battery terminal connected to the vehicle chassis. The positive battery terminal is typically connected to the starter. Negative cables are usually, but not always, black; positive cables are usually, but not always, red. One of the first things to check if you are having battery problems are the connections at the battery. If they are corroded, you need to remove them, clean the battery terminals and the cable ends, then reconnect the cables. There are special battery cleaner sprays that help remove the corrosion but ordinary baking soda can also be used to nullify the acid causing the corrosion. Sprinkle a little baking soda on the corroded parts, then dribble a little water onto the soda. Wait a few minutes, then brush and rinse the corrosion away. Be sure to check the connection of the ground to the frame and engine too.  Corroded connections will prevent your vehicle charging system from doing its job to maintain the batteries so you may still have to jump start the vehicle from another battery in order to get it going. Some RVs have emergency starting switches that connect the coach batteries to the vehicle starting batteries temporarily to assist in starting the vehicle or the generator. In an emergency, you could remove the coach batteries and move them to where you could attach jumper cables in order to get your vehicle started. If the vehicle batteries have not been properly maintained, there is a good chance that the coach batteries are also in trouble and you may have to clean the terminals there as well. Once the vehicle is started it should charge both the starting batteries and the coach batteries using the engine alternator. Some late model motorhomes will only charge the coach batteries after the starting battery has been fully charged, so you'll need to carefully monitor the charge status. The engine alternator will provide a higher charging rate and faster charging than attempting to recharge low batteries running the generator and using the charger in the 12 volt converter. The charger circuits in most converters are only designed to maintain the charge while the unit is in storage. They are not intended to recharge discharged batteries. Some inverter/charger systems are designed to charge batteries. A fairly inexpensive solution is to purchase an automatic automotive battery charger you can run off the generator or shore power.  Automatic chargers sense the state of charge and adjust the voltage to prevent overcharging, which can damage the battery.  The better quality chargers will also have a “START” mode that can sometimes be used to assist in jump starting the vehicle. If all of your batteries are low, you may want to try connecting the starting battery to the coach batteries, then start the generator. It may take less power than trying to start the vehicle engine. Then hook your automotive battery charger to the starting batteries and run the generator for at least an hour or two with charger set on HIGH.  A friend of mine once ran down the starting battery in the truck hauling his camper.  It was a simple process to swap the coach and starting batteries, which were both under the hood so he could get it started to drive home.  He was somewhat mechanically challenged and had no idea the batteries could be swapped.  While it is NOT a good idea to permanently use a deep cycle battery as a starting battery or a starting battery as a deep cycle battery, there is nothing wrong with switching them to get home!

Out of fuel: it is all too easy to run out of fuel, especially if you are running your generator for extended periods of time during remote camping. Most RVs have the generator fuel pickup designed so the generator will run out of gas before completely emptying the vehicle gas tank, leaving you fuel to get to a service station -- hopefully. If you are in a remote location, monitor your fuel usage. The amount left in the tank when the generator runs out may not be enough to get you back to civilization! The generator fuel pickup will usually leave you about a quarter of a tank for the engine.  If you are doing a lot of remote camping, you should consider carrying extra fuel. If you have a gasoline powered vehicle and gasoline powered “toys”, you may be able to borrow fuel from your “toys” to get you to the nearest gas station. Even if your “toys” have 2-stroke engines and use mixed gasoline, you can use the mixed gasoline in your gasoline powered vehicle in an emergency. It may blow a little smoke and if too much is used for too long a time may foul spark plugs and plug catalytic converters, but it usually works well enough to get you to a gas station to save the day. 2-stroke engines are common on dirt bikes, ATVs, snowmobiles, chain saws, personal watercraft, and outboard motors.

Some diesel powered motor homes have propane powered generators. In this case you won't run the risk of using up all the fuel to run your vehicle, but excessive generator usage may leave you without propane for cooking, heating, and running the refrigerator and water heater. There are external tank kits ("Extend-a-stay") that can augment your on-board tanks for motor homes. For travel trailers, you may want to carry one or more extra propane tanks to make sure you don't run out prematurely. Note: generators tap into the liquid fuel in the propane tank. Extend-a-stay kits don't deliver liquid fuel into the RV system, only vapor. Monitor your propane usage and connect the Extend-a-stay long before you run out of fuel if your generator is propane powered. This will allow other appliances to use the vaporized fuel and conserve liquid fuel for use by the generator.
 
Coach Problems your coach (motor home, camper, or trailer) consists of many systems, any one or more of which have problems from time to time. The coach body itself is a “shelter system”. A common problem is water leakage. Leaks typically occur on the roof, especially around vents, antennas, or other roof-mounted components and around windows and doors. Once again, the best defense against leaks is proper maintenance. Periodically inspect the caulking around the windows and doors and all body seams and around components installed on the roof. If the caulking is missing or severely dried out, it should be completely removed and replaced BEFORE a noticeable leak shows up inside. Check your roof after any storm, especially if you've been parked under trees. Falling debris can puncture the roof with nasty results. By the time you notice a leak inside, there is already a lot of water soaking the ceiling and/or into wall panels and this will eventually lead to serious and expensive dry rot problems and unpleasant odors. If you do encounter a leak while on an outing, try to repair it as quickly as possible. There are a number of commercial products available including special repair tape (Eternabond is one popular brand) that will stick even underwater and sealants that typically come in tubes and can be squeezed out to seal the leak. In choosing a sealant, make sure you get one that is compatible with the roof material on your RV. Many sealants that are used for home applications contain petroleum distillates that can harm the rubber roofs on some RVs. On one of my motor homes I had a commercial roof coating installed to repair existing leaks and prevent new ones. It came with a 10 year guarantee and a real life-expectancy of 20 years. The cost was about the same as about 2 or 3 years worth of having an RV shop re-caulk the roof and I never had to worry about leaks as long as I owned the motorhome. The coating is pure white and both the color and the insulation value of the coating helps keep the RV cooler in hot summer months. The coating also helps avoid heat loss in cooler weather.  It even helped soften the noise of rain or hail or wind on the roof.

External panel separation: sometimes the “skin” of an RV will come loose. In many cases the ends of a panel are held in place where they extend into a shallow channel in the trim. Twisting of the body of the coach sometimes pulls the panels out of their channels, allowing wind and water to get behind the panel and pull it away from the underlying wall. Temporary repairs can often be made using duct tape to secure and seal the damaged seam until permanent repairs can be made. Catching and correction problems of this type early can prevent more extensive damage and expensive repairs. If you see a panel starting to separate, tape up the seam as soon as possible, before moisture or wind can cause further damage. An open seam may catch enough wind on the highway to rip the whole panel off, greatly increasing the damage and the expense of repairing it. I have had major structural problems with two travel trailers that required me to remove inside wall panels and replace broken or damaged structural components. It can be done by a dedicated do-it-yourself-er, but most such repairs are best left to professionals. In my own defense, I did have the advice of a professional motor home engineer to guide my efforts.  These were definitely not emergency repairs that could be done in camp, but I did use duct tape to hold things together until I could get the trailer home.  You may notice places where the skin of  your RV seems to be bubbling.  This is called "delamination" and happens when the glue that holds the skin to the underlying paneling deteriorates, usually due to water intervention.  As long as the skin is still secured adequately around the bubble this doesn't pose an immediate emergency, but it is something you should take care of as soon as possible.  An RV repair shop may be able to fix it for you or, if you want to try it yourself, you may be able to inject glue into the bubble to reattach the skin.  Be sure to seal the hole(s) you make to do the injection using a suitable silicone or RTV sealer.  If you can't find some that matches the color, use a clear sealer.

Some minor damage to exterior panels can be inexpensively disguised by covering them with a false vent. I found it would cost hundreds of dollars to replace a damaged panel on one of my coaches, even though the damage was purely cosmetic. At the suggestion of an "old timer", I sealed the cut in the RV skin with a permanent repair tape, then covered the whole thing with a residential furnace vent grill. You can find quite an assortment of sizes at most home supply stores. Often you can obtain a white or off-white one that can be used as is -- or can easily be painted to match the color scheme of your RV. It may not be the most elegant repair, but it is cost effective and, done right, doesn't look too bad. It prevents further damage and provides a fairly pleasing cosmetic appearance. When I found I could not match the skin on my custom-made enclosed motorcycle trailer, I sealed up the damaged surface with tape and silicone and installed a 2'x2' vent painted to match the trailer siding to disguise and protect the torn surface.

Broken windows can result from wind blown debris, accidents in camp, or even from twisting of the vehicle over uneven terrain. Tape up any cracks as soon as possible to prevent further deterioration and reduce the possibility of injuries from flying glass shards. A clear plastic shipping tape works well and doesn't interfere with the view as much as duct tape will, but duct tape works well in an emergency. You want to prevent dust or moisture from entering you vehicle and keep the broken glass from creating a hazard. Broken glass can damage upholstery and injure occupants.  Unless you carry spare windows (highly unlikely and impractical) any repairs you make will be temporary at best. You will need to get the windows replaced as soon as you can when you return home.  Windshield glass is laminated so it won't shatter.  Tempered glass, like those on automobiles, will shatter and crumble into chunks.  Some untempered RV windows may be more like residential windows and can break into jagged shards when broken, creating possible projectiles like dozens of knives or arrow heads.  RV windows should be tempered, but if you have a used coach you never know if a previous owner, being either ignorant or just cheap, replaced a broken window with ordinary glass.

Water system problems: your RV will typically have 2 or 3 water systems: a city water system, for use when connected to campground water supply, 12-volt water system (fresh water tank and 12 volt pump for dry camping), and a sewer system. Most RVs have two different sewer holding tanks: gray water (sinks and shower) and black water (toilet). A few older, smaller units may have only one.   Like any plumbing system, those on your RV can be subject to leaks. In fact, the vibration and twisting of RV bodies subjects these plumbing systems to greater stresses than your home plumbing would normally encounter unless you live on top of an extremely active earthquake fault. For that reason most of the piping used in RV freshwater systems consists of flexible tubing. Although most of these systems have a very long life, failures can and do occur. One significant source of RV plumbing failures is damage due to freezing in cold climates. If you live in an area where it stays below freezing for more than a few hours at a time, you will need to “winterize” your RV plumbing systems. This consists of removing all the water from your holding tanks and water heater and either blowing all the water out of the lines and fixtures or filling the lines and fixtures with special RV antifreeze. DO NOT use regular automotive antifreeze as these solutions are poisonous! RV antifreeze is pink in color and is non-toxic. Be sure to empty the holding thanks, then add a cup or so of antifreeze through the toilet and into each drain to protect the P-traps in the drains and the dump valves in the holding tanks. Even though RV antifreeze isn't poisonous, it doesn't taste good, so you need to flush and sanitize the fresh water system completely before using it again

If you notice your water pump cycling when no water is being used, you probably have a leak somewhere -- or someone didn't turn a faucet off completely. If all the faucets are shut off you need to trace the water lines from the pump to each fixture (as best you can – a lot of the lines will be out of sight  in walls or floors). Also look for damp spots on the floor or walls or underneath your RV that would indicate the location of the leak. If the only sign you can see is water dripping underneath your RV you may have to open outside cabinets to trace where the water is coming from.  If you can locate the leak, you may be able to repair it if it is a loose connection. Carefully tighten any loose connections until the leak stops. DO NOT over-tighten as this can damage the seals and threads permanently and make the problem worse! If the leak is a damaged line, the only long term solution is to replace the damaged section, which, unless you are proficient in plumbing repairs, is best left to professionals who have the knowledge and the proper tools to do the job. Note: the plastic pipe used in most motorhomes uses crimp fittings that do require special tools. Sometimes you can purchase twist-on fittings to replace broken or damaged connectors or repair damaged pipes. I try to carry an assortment of elbows and in-line  twist-on connectors that fit my RV plumbing if I need to make on site repairs.  You might be able to make emergency repairs to get you through the weekend and back home by tightly wrapping the damaged line with tape. Waterproof repair tape would be best, but you might get lucky by turning off the water pump and drying the damaged section, then wrapping it tightly with plastic tape or electrical tape. If you can’t stop the leak entirely, try to place a container underneath it to capture the escaping water to prevent further damage to cabinets, walls, floors, and contents.  Also turn off your pump or turn off the city water faucet when you aren't actually using water to minimize the damage the leak may cause.

The 12-volt water system and the city water system usually share most of the plumbing in your RV. The only difference, being the source. City water is supplied from a hose fastened to a special connector on the side of your RV.  The source of water for your 12-volt water system is the fresh water tank through the 12-volt water pump. If you are using city water, the only indicators you may have of a leak are a hissing sound or the appearance of moisture on the floor or walls or inside cabinets.  Or you might hear water running at the outside faucet when no water is being used inside the RV.  The city water connector on your RV includes a one-way back flow valve (unless it is broken or someone  has removed it) that lets water in but not out.  There is a similar valve to prevent pressure from city water from entering and possibly damaging the 12-volt water pump.

Water pumps: Another common failure of on-board water systems is the water pump itself. Like any other mechanical device, they are subject to wear and tear (and freezing if not properly winterized). If you get no water to your fixtures, first check to make sure you have not run out of water. Most RVs have electric indicators showing E, ¼, ½, ¾, F. However, the sensors can give false readings if sediment or hard water residue has collected on them so always try to verify the water level visually or by pushing a length of hose or tubing into the gravity feed water fill opening. If you have water in the tank and still get no water at the fixtures, check to make sure the pump is turned on and that the fuse has not blown. Most RV water pumps have their own dedicated fuse on the 12 volt fuse block near the converter or in-line, near the switch or near the pump. Also check the connections, both 12-volt supply and ground. Sometimes there is a shutoff valve in the line between the tank the pump, so make sure that valve is open. That covers the most common causes of most on-board water supply failures. If the pump is found to be defective, the only real solution is to replace it. It is not a particularly difficult task, but is unlikely you’ll have a spare pump on board. Most RV water pumps can also be rebuilt or repaired. It might make sense to carry a repair kit for your particular make and model.

If you have water at some fixtures, but not others, the problem may be as simple as a clogged screen in the faucet at the offending fixtures. Gently unscrew the “difusser” screen from the end of the faucet. Inside you will usually find a screen or a plastic piece with many small holes in it. These holes sometimes get clogged by accumulations of small particles in the water. Remove the debris clogging the holes and re-install the diffuser. You might also want to try the faucet before reinstalling the diffuser to make sure that is the problem. If the faucet does not work at all with the diffuser removed, the problem could be a kinked or crushed line between the water source and the faucet or it could be debris or damaged seals clogging inside of the faucet itself. While you may be able to remove and clear a problem inside the faucet other than a clogged diffuser, there is just as good a chance that once you have taken it apart, the damage cannot be repaired on site. If the problem is a damaged internal seal, when you put the faucet back together you might not be able to turn it off, just making the situation worse. You might carry an assortment of faucet washers, available at any home center or hardware store, but RV faucets are often unique and many ordinary home faucet repair kits may not fit. If you REALLY want to be prepared, check with your local RV supply store to see if you can buy faucet repair kits specific the make and model of the fixtures in your RV.

City water systems are subject to variations in pressure and flow from the campground faucet.   High pressure can damage RV plumbing.  ALWAYS use a pressure regulator between the campground faucet and your potable water hose.  Delivery problems can often be traced to a kinked or flattened hose.  I've seen more than one RVer park his rig on his water hose and then complain he couldn't get any water.  Some remote locations are on private wells that may frequently pump up sediment that can clog screens in faucets, filters, and hoses.  If you aren't getting any water, first check to make sure the faucet is still turned on.  Vandals or pranksters have been known to turn them off just for kicks. Then turn off the faucet and disconnect the hose from the RV.  If water flows through the hose when you turn it back on, the problem is within the RV, perhaps a clogged inlet screen or a filter that needs replacing.  It could also be a clogged screen or aereator on the outlet side at each sink.  A clogged inlet screen can usually be pried out can cleaned.  Clogged screens or aereators on the faucets need to be unscrewed to be cleaned.  If you get no water through the hose, trace the hose and make sure it isn't kinked, flattened, or cut.  Disconnect the hose from the faucet.  If no water comes from the faucet, contact the campground manager.  If you have water at the faucet but not out of the hose and the hose isn't kinked or flattened, something must be lodged inside the hose that is blocking the water flow.  Clearing a blocked hose can be tricky and sometimes the best solution is to simply replace the hose.  If  you're using a pressure regulator (and you always should), make sure you are getting water through the regulator as they can also get clogged.  Sometimes incects build nests inside hoses while they are in storage.  You can usually blow them out just using the pressure from the faucet.  You might have to remove your pressure regulator temporarily to blow out the line.  I always like to run water through my hose for a few seconds after hooking it to the faucet via a pressure regulator but before connecting it to my RV to flush out any debris or stale water before hooking it up.

Sewer problems, thank goodness, are usually limited to odor problems but sometimes there are moer serious issues such as either backup (over-filling holding tanks) or leaking dump valves. Odors are usually due to inadequate or improper use of holding tank chemicals.  If you thoroughly flush your holding tanks each time you dump them and then add the right amount of the right chemicals you shouldn't have problems with excessive odors.  You may need to add extras chemicals during hot weather as the heats the chemicals to break down quicker.  Backups should always be avoided but sometimes occur unexpectedly. We once had a young relative who was unfamiliar with RV fixtures camping with us. He somehow left the toilet jammed partway open. As a result, the pump kept running, steadily converting our fresh water to sewage until the black water tank overflowed through the toilet into the interior of our motor home. Yccch! What a mess! There is little you can do to fix leaking dump valves until the tanks have been dumped. The first thing to check is to make sure the valves are completely closed. DO NOT attempt to pull them out and push them back in. You will get a very unpleasant burst of sewage. Simply push or tap on the handles to try to seat the valves more fully. If that doesn’t solve the problem, putting something under the valves to contain the drip may the best you can do until you can get somewhere to dump the tanks and rebuild or replace the valves. Make sure the cap is tight. Once again, maintenance is your best friend. Make sure the valves are clear before closing them after dumping the holding tanks. It is not uncommon for un-dissolved toilet tissue or other debris to get caught during dumping in the slot where the valve seats, preventing the valve from sealing. Inspect the valves before closing them. Any debris in the groove can be removed with a piece of stiff wire or a pointed instrument, but be gentle so you don't put deep gouges in the plastic or damage the seals which will cause the valves to leak. While we're on the subject of sewer systems, avoid putting things in the system that can't be easily broken down and flushed away. RV toilet tissue is specially designed to break down easily. Normal household tissue, and especially facial tissues, do not break down well and may cause holding tank problems. Do not put trash, paper towels, sanitary napkins, or disposable diapers down an RV toilet. You can limit foul odors from your gray water tank by wiping leftovers from dishes using paper towels instead of rinsing the yucky stuff down the drain -- and you'll save water and reduce filling your holding tank. You may able to reduce odors by adding some holding tank chemicals. Put maybe a half a cup of chemicals down one of the drains. Use the one where the odor is strongest. The odor may be coming from residue in the pipes themselves. If all the drains are uniformly smelly, use the one closest to the holding tanks to get as much of the chemicals as possible into the tanks. Add at least a quart of water to flush the chemicals out of the P-traps and through the pipes. There are gray water chemicals that are designed to freshen the gray water tank. In a pinch you might just add some diluted household bleach or vinegar down each drain. I like to use bleach with a "rain-fresh" scent to avoid the harsh chlorine smell. Do NOT use bleach in the black water tank. In some units the shower drains into the black water tank to distribute the loading and increase liquid in the black water tank to assist breaking down waste and dumping, so be cautious about using bleach in the shower drain. At best, bleach will interfere with the regular holding tank chemicals, at worst it may create a chemical reaction that could produce foul, possibly dangerous, even fatal fumes.

A common black water problem among novices is not using enough water when flushing the toilet.  We all try to conserve water, especially when boondocking, but not using enough water when flushing solids causes them to pile up below the toilet, making it difficult to flush it out and sometimes even piling up high enough to clog the toilet.   A residential toilet typically uses about 3.5 gallons of water for each flush so it carries the solid waste down into the sewer system.  RV toilets use a fraction of that amount.  I suggest that, after flush the solid wastes, let the valve close but keep your foot on the lever enough for the water to continue flowing until it fills the little well in the bottom of the toilet, then depress the foot valve all the way to let the water flush into the holding tank.   It is also recommended that you put about 1" of water in the bottom of the black water holding tank after emptying your holding tanks it to provide a buffer and some liquid so the chemicals can break down the solids to avoid buildup.

Another sewer-related problem is unpleasant odors seeping into the coach. The holding tanks are vented through the roof and normally odors are carried up and away. However, driving on the highway with windows open, can sometimes create low pressure inside the RV which sucks in vapors from the sewer vents or up through drains. Closing the windows may avoid this problem. There are a couple of styles of aftermarket roof vents that provide more positive venting and will often help dispel odors both on the road and in camp. On rare occasions a vent pipe may become dislodged from the top of the holding tank or otherwise damaged, allowing odors into the coach. These kinds of problems will likely require professional repairs and there is little you can do about them away from home. Sometimes installation of accessories will drill into a vent pipe. Take care when installing accessories and avoid areas below the roof plumbing vents if possible and always use the shortest fasteners that will do the job. Should you penetrate a vent pipe, remove the offending fastener and fill the hole with silicone or another sealant that is compatible with the ABS or PVC vent pipe. Sometimes you may get lucky and a broken vent pipe may be accessible through a cabinet. In this case, you may be able to affect temporary emergency repairs by duct-taping the damaged section. This should only be used as a temporary repair to get you through the outing until you can properly replace the broken section. Unfortunately, most vent pipes are routed up through interior walls where they are not accessible. If they become damaged, they may have to be removed through the roof and completely replaced, which may also entail dropping the holding tank to secure the bottom of the vent pipe to the top of the tank.

There is often (usually) a vacuum breaker device on the plumbing for the drains inside one or more cabinets. If the odors seem to be stronger inside a cabinet, this device may be stuck or broken. Its purpose is prevent the water in the P-traps in the drains from being siphoned into the holding tanks by normal drainage. If that that happens, holding tank odors can waft up through the open drains into the interior of the coach. Or, if the device itself is stuck open, it can become the source of odors. Tapping on the device might un-stick it, but take care. It is made of plastic and you DON'T want to crack it. If the device is faulty, it will ultimately have to be replaced. Though unpleasant, a sticking vacuum breaker is not likely to lead to further complications or damage, unless the holding tanks are over-filled enough to allow sewage to leak out into the cabinet. Fortunately, these devices are limited to sink drains and are not normally found on toilets and black water systems. However, if your RV has a single holding tank (very uncommon), the gray water is deposited into the same tank as raw sewage and there is the potential for really foul odors to escape through the vacuum breaker or seep up through the drains if it isn't doing its job.  Dry or empty "P" traps at sinks will allow odors from holding tanks into the living area through drains.  P-traps may dry out while an RV is in storage for an extended period or may have drained out during sharp turns.  To solve this problem simply run a cup or two of water in each offending drain. 

Proper use of holding tank chemicals will also help prevent odors. Follow the manufacturer's recommendations for how much and often to use them. Chemicals are always used in black water tanks but are usually optional in gray water tanks. The waste water from sinks and showers goes into the gray water tank and, usually, only sewage from the toilet goes into the black water tank. Chemicals help both to control odors and to break down and liquify the sewage so it can be flushed when dumping the tank. Inadequate or inappropriate chemicals will result in intensified odors and may cause solid wastes to remain in the holding tank causing further problems. Use the right amount of chemicals. Too little will be ineffective; too much just wastes chemicals (and money) and probably won't help anyway and sometimes creates their own problems with chemical odors. If the holding tank has been given the correct dosage you shouldn't need to add extra chemicals between dumpings. Usually doing so is like pouring perfume on a pig. Sometimes, in hot weather, extra chemicals are needed between dumpings, but premature odor problems are usually a symptom of poor or inadequate holding tank maintenance.

Furnace problems: waking up in the middle of the night in a cold RV is, at the very least, uncomfortable and disappointing and could cause you or your family to become ill. If your furnace was working when you went to bed and in the middle of the night the fan is running and the furnace is blowing cold air, you may have run out of propane or it may be that your batteries are low. This is a fairly common problem. Shut off the furnace immediately so it doesn't continue to blow cold air and further drain the batteries.  If you are out of propane you'll need to refill your propane tank or connect an external tank using an "Extend-a-flow" system.   If the batteries are run down, you will need to recharge the batteries, run your generator, or connect to external power before your furnace will operate properly again. If your furnace cycles on and off without warming the coach, you may have one or more vents blocked. Check to make sure blankets or clothing or bags or boxes are not inadvertently blocking the furnace vents and make sure furnace ducts inside cabinets or under furniture have not been crushed or kinked. Blocked vents can cause air-flow problems that let hot air back up and shut down the furnace to avoid potential problems with fire. If the furnace has difficulty lighting or staying lit, check the outside vents to make sure the fresh air intake for the furnace and its exhaust ports are clear and protected from direct wind. These openings often attract insects or rodents during vehicle storage. If the fan doesn’t turn on, check the thermostat and any fuses for the furnace. Once again, the fuse may be on the fuse block or in-line near the furnace. Also check both 12-volt power and ground connections at the furnace. If the fan turns on but the furnace never ignites, the problem could be lack of fuel (check your propane level and make sure the propane supply valve is turned on), a damaged propane regulator, or a defective computer board. There is really nothing you can do about these kinds of problems while remote camping unless you have spare parts on board and the expertise and necessary tools to complete a correct diagnoses and make repairs. That is, of course, unless the problem is that your propane is turned off. To avoid embarrassment, ALWAYS check this before calling a technician or asking your fellow campers for help! Some older units may have convection furnaces that don't have fans. These usually have a pilot light that must be lit manually. Check inside the furnace compartment for a label with lighting instructions. Read and follow the instructions carefully to ensure success and avoid a fire or explosion! Convection furnaces won't run the battery down. The most common problems are loss of the pilot light, usually due to wind blowing in from outside. Try to block the wind but do not close up the vent. Low propane or a faulty regulator or a failed thermocouple can also cause the pilot light to go out. Thermocouples are inexpensive and easy to replace. I've saved more than one outing by having a spare thermocouple on board and replacing the faulty one. You can usually buy a universal thermocouple at your RV store and even a hardware store. The same thermocouple will often fit the furnace, hot water heater, and even the refrigerator, so having at least one spare on hand is a good idea.  More modern, computer controlled appliances use a sensor in conjunction with a computerized control board instead of a thermocouple.

Sometimes, if you are camping in unusually cold weather, your furnace may simply not be enough to keep your unit warm even if it is working properly. First, make sure you have eliminated any drafts around windows, doors, plumbing, etc. Spray foam insulation is a convenient way to seal many cracks and small openings around pipes or wires. If your unit does not have double-paned windows, storm window kits may help. These are plastic sheets than can be stretched over the windows and tightened using a hair dryer. The air gap between the plastic and the glass enhances the "R-value" to prevent heat loss. Another easy and effective alternative is to put foam window covers on the inside. Similar to the reflective windshield covers used in automobiles (and often adapted from them), these panels are light weight, easy to install and remove, and help keep the coach cooler in summer as well as warmer in winter. Ultimately. if all else fails, you may need auxiliary heat. There are a number of portable, catalytic heaters that can be used for this purpose. Be sure to read and follow the manufacturers instructions. Although catalytic heaters don't usually give off toxic fumes, they do consume oxygen, so proper ventilation is an absolute necessity. With proper furnace maintenance, adequate batteries, and careful protection against heat loss, you should be able to keep your RV warm and comfortable in the coldest weather. Electric heaters may be an option if you are camping with hook-ups or can run your generator, but remember, you shouldn't run the generator while you're sleeping because of the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning from the exhaust. The danger might be reduced by using an generator exhaust extension kit such as Genturi, that carries the exhaust above the roof of the RV. However, breezes could still blow dangerous levels of CO into your coach, so be very cautious. These systems, in order to be portable, often have slip joints that can leak, allowing CO to escape where it could enter the coach before it can exit above the roof as intended.

120 Volt generator: your on-board 120-volt generator consists of two major components: an engine and the electrical generator. Problems with either one can seriously affect performance. If the generator has been running for some time and shuts down by itself, it may have simply run out of fuel. Motorhome generators are usually tapped high into the fuel tank so you won’t use up all your vehicle fuel running the generator. Another common problem is low oil. Like any internal combustion engine, the motor that runs your generator requires lubrication. Most are equipped with a low oil pressure shut off. If your generator shuts off, check the oil and add oil if necessary. A less common, but possible problem, is shutdown due to over-heating. This might occur you have been running multiple air conditioners on a hot day. It can also occur to due to excessive wear on the engine or the generator itself or a short in the 120 volt wiring. As always, proper maintenance is the most important factor in getting long and reliable service from your gen-set. Change the oil at the manufacturer-recommend intervals. Perform regular tune-ups. Frequently check the air filter and replace it as needed. Check and replace fuel filters. The generator is subject to almost constant vibration, either from movement of the coach or from its own operation, so connections are prone to work loose over time. Check all 12-volt and 120-volt electrical connections and tighten them as necessary. The 12 volt connections are required to start and stop your gen-set, the 120 volt connects are required to deliver power to your coach. Most gasoline or diesel powered generators use an electric fuel pump to deliver fuel to the engine. The fuel for propane powered units is delivered by pressure from the propane tank. OEM fuel pumps can be expensive and difficult to come by, especially for older units. In a pinch you can use a universal auto electric fuel pump until you can get an OEM replacement. Be sure to check the specs to make sure the pressure and delivery is within the range required by your generator. Too little and it won't work, too much and it may damage the fuel system or flood the engine.

An all too common problem occurs on units not equipped with automatic transfer switches. Automatic transfer switches control whether AC power is taken from the shore power line or from the generator. The normal default is for power to come from the shore power line. Then, when the generator is activated, the transfer switch switches to route power from the generator. Note that most transfer switches include a time-delay to allow the generator engine to warm up and stabilize for about a half a minute before activating the transfer. On units not equipped with automatic transfer switches, the user must plug the shore power cord into a receptacle powered by the generator. This is often over looked, especially by new users, leaving them vulnerable to amuse their fellow campers when seeking assistance. So, always make sure your power cord is properly connected to the receptacle if you don't have an automatic transfer switch. Before I had an automatic transfer switch I made it a habit to immediately plug the power cord into the generator receptacle when storing the power cord after disconnecting it from shore power. The generator receptacle is usually located in the storage compartment for the shore power cord.  Checking to make sure you are properly connected before calling for help will save you time, money, and embarrassment.

Most generators have built-in circuit breakers. If you lose 120-volt power but the motor continues to run, check the circuit breakers, both on the unit and at the circuit breaker panel inside the coach. This panel is usually, but not always, located near the 12-volt converter and coach fuse panel. A tripped circuit breaker may indicate an overload or a short somewhere. Shut down all 120 volt appliances, including roof air conditioners, microwave overs, and, if so equipped, electric water heaters before resetting the circuit breakers. Then turn appliances back on one at a time. This should help you discover what appliance or combination of appliances is overloading the circuit. You may find that you have to shut down one of the air conditioners or disable the ice maker while using the microwave. Keep in mind that many RV refrigerators have an automatic mode that switches them to electric whenever there is 120-volt power available. If the fridge is involved in the overload, you might solve the problem temporarily by manually switching the refrigerator controls to “gas”. If you don't find an overload problem, be extra alert for any clues of an impending electrical fire -- smoldering insulation gives off pungent fumes that may alert you to developing problems before they become more serious.  When shutting down 120-volt systems, shut down the individual appliances and breakers first, then shut down the main breaker.  When restoring power, use the reverse procedure:  turn on the main breaker first, then turn on each individual breaker and appliance.  If you blow circuit breaker when you turn on a specific breaker or appliance you have most likely identified, at least somewhat, where the problem is and can then trouble shoot that circuit for loose connections, damaged wiring, a faulty appliance or an excessive load caused by too many devices plugged in to the same circuit.

12-volt electrical system: your 12 volt electrical system powers your lights, fans, and, sometimes, entertainment systems. 12-volt power comes from your converter when hooked to outside power or when running the generator, from the vehicle alternator when the motor is running, and from your coach batteries at other times. The most common problems in 12-volt systems are very simple and easy to fix. Most problems are burned out bulbs or blown fuses. If a light doesn’t work, first check the bulb. If it is blackened or excessively cloudy inside, it is probably burned out. Try replacing the bulb with one known to be good. You can check the continuity of the bulb with a multimeter and you can confirm power to the fixture using a voltmeter or a simple test light. Connect the ground clamp of the test light to a good ground and touch the positive terminals or the contact in the center of the socket with the point of the test light. If you don’t have any power at the fixture, it is likely there is a blown fuse or a loose connection. Check all the fuses in the 12 volt fuse block, usually located on or near the 12-volt converter. If you find yourself frequently running out of battery power while boondocking, you may want to upgrade your batteries. Some motor homes and trailers have only a single 12-volt deep cycle battery to supply power to the coach. Note that these deep cycle batteries are different than the normal staring batteries used in cars and trucks. A deep cycle battery is designed to withstand frequent discharges and recharging. An automotive type battery can be used in pinch, but such batteries will not last as long nor deliver as good as performance. Adding more coach batteries is one way to increase battery capacity – and keep the darn furnace running all night long on cold nights! If there is room for extra coach batteries, an alternate and often preferred solution is to use two 6-volt golf cart batteries wired in series instead of one or even two 12-volt deep cycle batteries. Two 6-volt golf cart batteries wired in series will provide more reserve power and longer life than two 12-volt deep cycle batteries. If you elect to use 2 12-volt deep cycle batteries, they must be wired in parallel. What is the difference? In wiring batteries in series, you hook the positive terminal of one to the negative terminal of the other, then connect the remaining negative terminal to the vehicle ground and the remaining positive terminal to the vehicle 12-volt power feed. When wiring batteries in parallel, connect the two batteries together, positive to positive and negative to negative, then connect the vehicle 12-volt power feed to either positive terminal and the ground to either negative terminal. Connecting batteries in series doubles the voltage. Hence, two 6-volt batteries connected in series deliver 12 volts. NEVER connect two 12-volt deep cycle batteries in series as this will generate 24 volts and fry your 12-volt system!

Most propane appliances utilize a thermocouple. This tube-like structure extends into the pilot light flame. As long as the flame is working, the thermocouple generates a small amount of electricity, which provides a signal that keeps the main gas valve open. If the pilot light goes out or the thermocouple fails, the main gas valve will shut off. Fortunately, thermocouples are pretty universal and easy to change. Purchase one or two and keep them in your tool box. They should fit older furnaces, hot water heaters, and refrigerators. Whenever working on propane appliances, close the main propane shutoff on the tank until you have everything safely reconnected. Leaking propane can create a serious explosion hazard. Test any new connections with soapy water before attempting to light the pilot. Many newer appliances with electronic ignition use a circuit board. If it fails, about the only way to fix it is to replace the board. A universal replacement, called a Dinosaur Board, can usually be used in furnaces, hot water heaters, and refrigerators. Because they cost upwards of $100 and are sometimes tricky to diagnose and install, I leave those repairs to the professionals. You sure don't want to hook up the new board wrong and fry $100 worth of new parts -- or waste a $100 board when it isn't even the source of the problem.

Fellow RVers are a valuable resource. It is very likely someone else in the camp ground has experienced the same problem you are having at some time in their RV careers or knows someone who has. They may provide invaluable insight into identifying the problem and devising a solution. Sometimes they may even have spare parts they are willing to share with you. Although you may be embarrassed by your apparent lack of expertise, you will find most RVers are non-judgmental and are happy and even anxious to share their own experience and expertise. One day you will be among the “sages” who help others. Even if no one has a solution, just knowing a problem will require a qualified RV technician can at least keep you from fretting over what you might be able to do.

Broken windows can allow weather inside your RV, which can create an uncomfortable climate and promote damage. Temporary repairs may be made using tape -- clear packing tape would be best since it would have minimal impact on being able to see out the window, but ordinary duct tape can also be used. Sealing up broken windows is especially important in bad weather -- rain or snow -- to prevent damage to interior components. In hot weather, a broken window allows cool air to escape, putting a greater load on the A/C unit.  If a window cannot be taped up, try cutting a piece of cardboard to fit the opening or tape plastic over the window until permanent repairs can be made.  Even an empty grocery bag or trash bag will do.

Awnings and tents can be easily damaged by winds, blowing embers, vermin, vandals, or falling debris. It is important to effect immediate temporary repairs to prevent further damage. Use duct tape to repair holes or tears in your awning or tent before wind can cause more damage. Apply long pieces of duct tape perpendicular to the tear to pull the edges together for extra strength before sealing the length of the tear with parallel strips. A severely damaged awning should be rolled up in travel mode until it can be permanently repaired. If your tent is your only shelter, you may have to find a way to "make do" until you can repair or replace the tent, but if you have an alternate shelter available, consider putting a damaged tent away until it can be properly repaired. If you find yourself in a situation with no tape for making repairs, you might be able to make small repairs using tree sap to secure a piece of material over the tear or puncture.

Gasoline stoves and lanterns depend on pressure for their fuel delivery. They usually have thumb-operated pumps to pressurize the fuel tanks. These usually use a leather "gasket" inside the pump to create an air-tight seal. When the gaskets get worn or dried out, they won't work right. If the pump doesn't work, try putting a few drop of oil down the pump shaft. There is usually a small hole in the cap around the shaft for this purpose. Any kind of oil can be used: motor oil, WD-40, even cooking oil. In a pinch, pull the dipstick from your generator or vehicle engine and drip a little oil into the pump opening. The goal is to soak the leather to make it soft and cause it to swell so it provides a better seal. Gasoline stoves and lanterns also rely on something called a "generator" to convert liquid fuel to vapor. There is really nothing you can do to repair these when they fail, but having a spare on board you can swap out, could save your outing.

You are going to need a pretty good tool kit if you're going to be able to handle your own repairs. You are also going to need some mechanic knowledge and skills. If you aren't comfortable diagnosing and repairing your own auto or home problems, you might want to seek some training at adult ed. It just might save your trip!

Keep it going!

Questions Anyone?

Anyone have any RV, OHV or camping questions I haven't addressed? I'll be happy to research and respond to any inquiries. Just post a comment on the blog or better yet email me at desertrat@desertrat.org.

If your question isn't something I have personal experience with I have a network of friends and associates I can draw on for additional assistance.

There is only one stupid question. And that is the one you don't ask -- and THAT'S what makes it stupid -- not asking!

So ask away!

Camp Clothing

The type of clothing you need for RVing, OHVing, camping, boating depends on the weather and type of activities you will be engaging in. Fortunately, an RV and even tent or car camping usually gives you enough room to have some latitude in your wardrobe. But the weight and space limitations, though generous compared to, say, hiking or back packing, are still limited and you need to make wise choices in order to be sufficiently prepared for various activities and weather conditions. For summer camping, don't forget your swimsuits. There may be opportunities to cool off in lakes and streams or visit water parks along the way.   Or just enjoy and old fashioned squirt gun fight.  It is also a good idea to keep at least one set of "work clothes" in case you need to do repairs on your vehicle or get involved in some kind of volunteer service project. I've seen travelers conscripted onto fire fighting crews during wildfires. Even some camp chores, like chopping wood, building fires, cleaning out the fire pit, or just taking out the trash might warrant wearing work clothes. Keep in mind just about any kind of camping and associated activities are going to be more demanding than your normal day-to-day lifestyle, so choose clothing that is durable and comfortable. Warm weather may suggest shorts and tank tops, but you'll actually be more comfortable -- and safer from sunburn and insects and, believe it or not, cooler  -- if you wear loose fitting long sleeved shirts and full length trousers. Even though they may be hotter in warm weather, dark jeans are usually better choices than khakis or other light colored items that will show dirt easily. Flowered prints and some bright colors may attract flying insects so if you find yourself the target of repeated air raids, consider changing into something less flamboyant. By the way, some perfumes, colognes, and after shave lotions also attract insects.  If you look or smell like a flower, you'll probably be the target of pollinating bugs!  And, yes, if you feel you are especially targeted by bugs, it might be true!  Some people give off a scent (usually undetectable to humans) that does attract insects.  Sometimes it is a function of diet or medications so, if you are one of those people, you might want to do some research to see what  you can do to mitigate your situation.

For OHV activities, proper personal protective equipment (PPE) is essential (see previous post entitled Wear Appropriate Gear for details). For hiking, birdwatching, sightseeing, and similar activities, the clothing only need fit the weather -- and the wearer. Ill-fitting clothing can not only be uncomfortable and unattractive, it can often create unnecessary safety hazards. If rain is common where you're going, bring along a rain suit or at least a plastic poncho.  Plastic ponchos are inexpensive (I usually get mine at Dollar Tree) and take up only about as much room as a handkerchief.  If you plan for the climate and dress properly, you can be fairly comfortable in almost any kind of weather, but getting caught in the rain in ordinary summer clothes, even on a warm summer day, can be chilling, even to the point of dangerous hypothermia! Check the weather report before you go and frequently during your stay. There are inexpensive radios that operate on special NOAA weather channels that are very useful or just turn your vehicle radio on to a local station now and then. And keep an eye on the sky! No matter what the weatherman says, the sky will tell you what is really happening in your area right now! How often has the weatherman been right? You know, I suppose being a weatherman has certain advantages. Where else can you be wrong 70% of the time (or more!) and still keep your job? One of my favorite weather stories is the one about a fellow who called up his local radio station one December day to complain that he had just shoveled 18" of 10% chance off his driveway! Been there, done that, bought shirt, wore it out!

Organizing your wardrobe. In conjunction with picking your camping wardrobe you need to consider how you are going to organize -- what resources and how much room do you have? Simply packing a bunch of stuff in a cardboard box or a suitcase or duffle bag isn't going to make it very accessible and you might almost just as well leave it home. Note how much closet and drawer space you have in your RV -- or how much room you have in your suitcase, backpack, or duffle bag for tent camping. Store things in a logical manner so you can easily find what you need when you need it. Then adjust your wardrobe selections accordingly. That really warm, fluffy ski jacket may be very appealing as a backup for hiking in cold weather, but if it won't fit in your backpack, it has to go. RV closets are usually limited. There are some gadgets promoted to increase closet space. They don't really, but they may help you organize things to make better use of the space you have. Check out some of the hangers that hang multiple items (shirts, blouses, sweaters, etc) in a cascading fashion. This configuration takes up little room on the closet rod and makes pretty efficient use of the space below. Instead of cramming six shirts or blouses right next to each other and using up valuable rod space, they hang slightly below each other, taking advantage of otherwise wasted space beneath the bottom of shirts hung individually.  There can be many uses for a fabric back-of-the-door shoe other that storing shoes in the pockets.  It can be a good way to corral things like shampoo bottles and other bulky toiletries.   A couple of useful tricks for RV closets: 1) use plastic storage tubs in the bottom of the closet, in other cabinets, on shelves, or under the bed or dinette if your RV is short on drawer space. 2) use car-wash size sponges above the closet rod to prevent the hangers from bouncing off. Some RV closets use special hangers that attach securely to the rod. If you have one of these, you probably don't need the sponges, unless you are adding ordinary hangers. If the hangers aren't somehow controlled, any good bump is going to bounce them off the rod and you'll open the door to find everything in a pile on the closet floor, very effectively negating any benefits of hanging them in the closet. When tent camping, using several small bags or plastic tubs instead of one big one may make it easier to find things.  I learned to pack clothing in a duffle bag in basic training in the U.S. Army and the techniques are applicable to suitcases too and can do a remarkable job of keeping things orderly and wrinkle free.  One cool trick is to turn suit coats and similar garments inside-out, tucking the top of the sleeves back into the shoulders and folding them in on themselves

Some general guidelines. Use the K.I.S.S. principle: Keep It Simple Stupid! Unless you have extraordinary activities to attend (like a wedding or other formal affair), a simple wardrobe is best. Choose versatile items that can be easily combined to create various ensembles. Choose items that are easy to care for. Jeans are always a good bet for most camping trips. They're sturdy, comfortable, and easy to take care of. Also include items that will allow you to create layers for warmth if the temperature drops. You probably don't need your snow suits and ski gloves for summer outings in most parts of the country but bringing along a sweater, sweat shirt, and jacket is always a good idea. Summer nights can be surprisingly cool in desert and forest campgrounds. And don't forget dry socks, extra shoes, and extra underwear. Appropriate hats are almost always good to have. In hot summer weather they provide much needed shade and protection from the sun. In winter weather, they will help keep you warm. My grandmother used so say "If your feet are cold, put on your hat!" And guess what? It works! You can lose as much as 90% of your body heat through your head and a good hat can help keep it from escaping. Plastic ponchos are inexpensive and take up little room while providing pretty good protection against sudden rain. Keep one in your fanny pack or pocket.  I keep one in my dirt bike tool kit too.

About those snowsuits. If you are doing any winter camping and your activities include skiing, sledding, snowmobiling, or snowshoeing, you will definitely want to dress warm. Likewise if you ride your dirt bikes or ATVs in cold weather or are participating in some other snowy fun. Clothing that is comfortable when standing around camp may not provide adequate protection against the wind chill factor introduced by sliding down steep slopes or speeding along on a snowmobile. Interestingly enough though, you should feel a little cool (not chilled) just standing around if you are going to be involved in activities that will cause you to warm up. Even riding a dirt bike, ATV, or snowmobile, can be strenuous enough to make you sweat even in cold weather. Some areas are prone to freezing rain during winter storms. If you are in such an area, make sure your snowsuits are at least water repellent if not waterproof or wear a rain suit or poncho. Winter gear designed for snow will not necessarily protect you against rain or melted snow, even though it may protect you against snow and extremely low temperatures -- as long as you keep it dry. Once it gets wet, you're going to get cold, perhaps lethally so. Best to dress in layers so you can easily adjust as you -- or the outside air temperature -- changes. Be prepared for wet weather with rain suits, ponchos, or other water resistant or water proof clothing. Or be smart enough to get in out of the rain if you have to! If you do get wet, retreat to your tent or RV as soon as possible and get out of your wet clothes and into dry ones. Arrange your wet clothing where it will dry, taking care not to get it too close to fires or heaters. If you run out of dry clothes, hang the wet ones up to dry and crawl into your bed or sleeping bag or wrap up in a blanket until you have dry clothes to put on. Never sit around in wet clothes!  It is an invitation to hypothermia and other distressing conditions.

An unexpected winter danger: dehydration. We're all pretty much aware of the dangers of becoming dehydrated in hot weather as the sweat drips off our bodies but did you know you sweat in cold weather too? And, of course, you lose moisture through simply breathing. Those little clouds of breath are your vital body fluids wisping away into the cold air. If you are involved in any kind of physical activities, skiing, snowboarding, hiking, chopping wood, etc you are likely to sweat under your warm clothing. This presents two dangers: dehydration and hypothermia. Dehydration happens when you lose too much of your body fluids, mostly water, through sweat and breathing. Loss of body fluids can be compensated for by drinking sufficient water and electrolytes. Hypothermia occurs when your body temperature drops below normal. This is a very dangerous situation and if not treated quickly, can be fatal. To guard against hypothermia you must be aware of how much you are sweating and the effect it is having on the ability of your clothing to retain body heat. You may need to shed some outer layers or open zippers during strenuous activities to avoid excessive sweating and moisture buildup. If your inner clothing gets sweaty and damp, change it for dry clothing before you become chilled.

Technology aids: modern technology gives us many ways to increase our level of comfort in extreme weather conditions. A simple aid to keeping cool in very hot weather is a spray bottle. A cool spritz of water now and then supplements our own sweat, reduces skin temperature, and makes us feel more comfortable. For cold weather, there are battery operated socks and gloves to help keep our extremities from freezing. Also consider the "Hot Hands" heating pads. These are chemical-based heating pads that, when exposed to air, create heat. One of these tucked into each glove -- or in each boot -- work wonders to keep the chill off. There are larger "body pads" for use under your shirt too. These are also a good way to help warm someone suffering from hypothermia. Tuck one in each armpit, one on the inside of each upper thigh, and one on the inside of each ankle. One on either side of the neck also helps warm the blood (and therefore vital organs). Well-insulated pants and coats together with thermal underwear will generally provide sufficient protection against the cold except in really extreme conditions, such as north of the Arctic circle! But you probably won't be doing a lot of winter RVing or camping there. For cold weather dirt biking, I found wearing a "Windchill" jersey under my Enduro jacket and "Windchill" gloves a lot more comfortable than ordinary jerseys and gloves and they kept us warm without the bulkiness of multiple layers of thermal underwear and sweatshirts. Thick motocross socks inside my riding boots kept my toes from freezing. Plain old "long johns" are always a good foundation for just about any cold weather activities, but are sometimes kind of bulky. Even a pair of women's panty hose will help keep anyone's legs and bottom a little bit warmer as well as being a guard against the chafing known as "monkey butt" from straddling a saddle or seat . Interestingly enough, they can be worn comfortably in hot weather without much discomfort too. If you will be involved in outdoor activities in cold weather, check out the "systems" of insulating underwear and socks available these days. Technology has given us light weight fabrics that have extraordinary thermal properties. There are various options for different layers of socks and underwear, depending on your level of activity and personal body heat parameters.  Some materials, such as wool, retain their insulating properties even when wet.  Some new synthetics are specially designed to wick perspiration away from your skin.  Proper layering of socks can help prevent blisters as well as keeping your feet warm.

Your head has a surprisingly dis-proportionate effect on body temperature. In cold weather you can lose up to 90% of your body heat through your head, so wear a warm hat. In hot weather, keeping your head cool can help regulate your whole body temperature. Over-exposing your head to the sun will make you much hotter, so wear a light weight, broad-brimmed hat to protect your skin from sunburn and help keep you cool. Blood vessels in the neck are fairly close to the surface, so keeping your neck cool (or warm) helps cool (or warm) your blood and keep your whole body more comfortable.  My favorite cold weather hat is a Russian "ushanka" (which means "ear hat").  These are often furry and have large flaps that cover your ears and part of your cheeks and pretty far down your neck.  They are VERY good for cold weather.  My favorite summer hat is a wide-brimmed straw hat.  They shade my face and eyes and can be easily soaked with water for extra cooling.

Extremities are difficult to keep warm in cold weather. Fingers, toes, ears and nose can quickly become uncomfortably cool or even frozen if not adequately protected. Mittens will keep your fingers warmer than gloves, but you sacrifice some dexterity. Chemical heat pads can be used to warm your fingers and toes. Even a thin nylon face mask will provide a surprising amount of protection for your nose, cheeks, and chin. A nice thick fleece or knit mask will do even better. Feet will require warm socks and, if possible, insulated boots. And keep everything dry! Wet clothing will cause you to loose your body heat something like 25 times faster than dry.  Your extremities get cold quicker because your body naturally begins shutting down blood flow to preserve your core temperature where your organs are, which is critical to survival.  Exercising your fingers and toes can help stimulate blood flow and help keep them warmer.  Things like clapping your hands or stomping your feet may also help.  Avoid tight-fitting gloves or footwear as that restricts circulation and speeds cooling.

Proper clothing for cooking. For the most part you probably don't need any special clothing for cooking. However, you might find an apron a good addition to protect your regular clothing. BBQ aprons are usually heavy enough to provide some protection against errant embers in addition to shielding you clothing from grease, smoke, and spills. A toque (chef's hat) is probably going overboard, but it might be fun and a nice gesture if you are preparing food for a large group and it will help keep your hair under control and out of your food. An inexpensive and compact alternate solution is a hair net. You may look kind of funny, but your guests will appreciate not having your hair in their food. A "do rag" or bandanna tied around your head is another way keep your hair under control when cooking.  No one wants your hair in their food and it is unlikely that you want food in your hair!

Night wear is seldom give any special consideration when camping. A lot of people just sleep in their clothes but, to be more comfortable, for the most part you will want to try to dress (or undress) for sleeping the same as you do at home to maintain as much familiarity and comfort as possible in order to sleep well. However, in extreme temperatures you may have to make some adjustments. If you find you are always cold in your RV bed or sleeping in your tent, look into warmer bedding or consider wearing warm pajamas, maybe even ones with feet. You might try putting on some clean dry socks at bedtime unless you're one of those people who feel claustrophobic if your feet are confined.  Wearing the same socks to bed you've been wearing all day will make your feet cold as the moisture in them evaporates.  On very hot nights you may want to reduce the amount of clothing you wear to bed and even then you may need to start out sleeping on top of your bedding or sleeping bag. Of course, the degree of privacy you have in your tent or RV may affect what you wear to bed and whether you can sleep outside the covers.  Overnight temperatures can often drop significantly so keep your regular blankets etc near by for when it cools down.  When hiking you may not want to sacrifice valuable pack space to carry pajamas.  If so, you'll have to make adjustments to your nighttime routine.  If you do sleep in your clothes, empty your pockets before you go to bed.  Sleeping  on your wallet, cell phone, or keys and be very painful by morning.  I once fell asleep in a lounge chair, sitting on my wallet.  When I awoke my leg had gone so numb my knee buckled when I tried to walk.  It took several hours to completely recover.

For basic camping, jeans, a long sleeved shirt and sturdy shoes are a recommended starting place.  Always bring plenty of extra socks and underwear.  You might think a T-shirt will be cooler in warm weather than long sleeved shirt.  That is not always the case.  A T-shirt leaves your arms exposed to direct sunlight.  Think about how Bedouins and other desert nomads dress.  They wear loose robes that shade them from the sun and allow perspiration to evaporate to keep them cool.  Long sleeved shirts also help protect your arms from noxious plants like stinging nettle and poison ivy.

For boating you might want to choose swimwear if you are going to be in and our of the water regularly.  However, if you don't plan on going in the water you would be most comfortable if you dress in a  loose-fitting, light weight long-sleeved shirt and pants to protect your arms and legs from excess sunlight while allowing enough ventilation to help evaporate perspiration to keep you cool.

Dress well!

Campfire Safety

One of the most enjoyable and iconic aspects of camping and RVing is the campfire. The warmth is comfortable on a chilly evening and the dancing flames are mesmerizing. There is even something alluring and comforting about a campfire on a warm evening.  Campfires have been the heart of human social activities for thousands of years. Campfires are traditional scenes of story-telling, song-singing and relationship building. They warm your spirit as well as your body.   Campfires are essential element in a survival situation.  Fires will warm your food and your body, dry your clothes, sterilize  your water, keep wild animals at bay, and warm your spirits.  They are often the apex of social life in a camp ground -- as long as you have control. If a fire gets out of control, it becomes the master and you become its prey. Campfire safety can mean the difference between a pleasant and enjoyable evening and a total disaster!  Minor violations of campfire safety can result in personal injuries and loss of personal gear and equipment.  Major problems may lead to a wildfire situation which could damage tens or even hundreds of thousands of acres of forest, jeopardize homes, and even kill people.  Any violation could result in expensive fines if you get cited by rangers or law enforcement, plus civil penalties if you are convicted of having started the fire!

Fire restrictions. You may encounter fire restrictions in many camping areas, especially in forested areas during the dry season. Look for the "fire danger" signs on your way in. When the fire danger is high, camp fires may be totally prohibited. This is NOT an arbitrary form of harassment! Pay strict attention to fire restrictions. Failure to do so can result in wild fires that are costly in terms of monetary damages, environmental impact, and loss of life! Fines for ignoring fire restrictions can run as high as $5000! And you may be liable for damages as well!  Even during some fire restrictions you may be able to have fires in approved fire pits in approved campgrounds -- but NOT open fires in primitive camping areas. Charcoal BBQs are usually considered open fires and subject to the same restrictions.  Gas stoves and BBQs may be allowed even when open fires are prohibited, but when the fire danger gets high enough, even they may be banned.  Expect fire restrictions in hot, dry weather.  Even a passing rain storm might not drop enough precipitation to relieve restrictions so don't assume its OK to build a fire without checking with the local ranger.

Site Preparation: one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of building a camp fire is the selection and preparation of the site. First, choose a location well away from trees, bushes, dry grass, buildings, tents, and vehicles.  If you are camping in a dense forest you may have to consider overhead clearance as well as proximity of the fire pit to tress or bushes.  Then clear the ground of combustible materials to a radius of at least 5' from your fire. If possible, create a fire pit to contain your fire by digging a hole or using a circle of rocks or an earth berm. If using rocks, avoid porous or wet rocks, which may explode in the heat of a fire as trapped moisture expands. If your camp site includes a fire ring or other fire pit, use the existing one, even in primitive camping areas. If you have to create your own fire pit, clear the ground around the camp fire of any combustible materials for at least 5' around the outside of the fire pit. This is one of the most common failures of novice campers. They build a fire on combustible materials and it gets away from them, burning along runners and roots and popping up in other places unexpectedly.  Just scraping away surface materials may not be enough.  Fire can and sometimes does make its way through plant roots, smouldering along until it gains access to air and pops out as flames, often far away from the original fire.  Using an existing fire pit in primitive campsites instead of making your own saves you time and labor and usually ensures the spot is fairly safe but you should always inspect the pit and the area around it to make sure it was properly created in the first place.   Campfires on snow will require special attention.  The snow pretty much already gives you  the necessary cleared area, but fires on snowpack will quickly melt the snow underneath and around them, sometimes drowning them out and also making the area near the fire wet and slushy.  If the snow isn't too deep, dig down to solid ground.  On deep snow use a large metal pan like an old car hood or build a base of green or wet logs to keep the fire out of the snow.

Build the right kind of fire. The biggest mistake most campers make is to build too big a fire. You only need a small fire to heat up a single serving meal or make a pot of coffee. Some experts call this a "snack fire". Start with a small teepee structure, about 8-10" across, let it burn down, then put your pot on top of the coals and add fuel around the pot until you're through cooking. The next step up is a cooking fire. Start it the same way, only keep building it until you have enough fire to cook your meal. Put a green log on each side of the fire, with about 4" between them on one end and 7" between them on the other end. Spread the fire in between the logs. Your coffee pot should fit nicely at the narrow end, your frypan or cook pot on the wider end. Cooking is best done over coals, not active flames so only feed the fire as needed to support your cooking. The next step up is a comfort fire. The best way to build a comfort fire is to give it a reflector to reflect heat back toward you. A natural reflector is easiest to use -- a cliff, an embankment, or a big rock or large tree, but you can build one out of logs too. If you have a large number of people and need to surround the fire, a reflector won't be useful, but it is really helpful if you are alone, have just a few people to keep warm, or need to reflect heat into a shelter. Build the fire large enough to generate enough heat to keep everyone warm.  A fire pit about 3' in diameter is usually large enough for a family or small group.  If you have a large group you may need a larger fire.  You normally don't need and shouldn't build a huge bonfire. That just wastes fuel and unnecessarily pollutes the atmosphere. It also makes more work for you to put it out at the end of the night and clean it up before you leave the site. For detailed instructions on fire building and some other helpful campfire tips see Three Essential Campfires.

Camp fires are not difficult nor dangerous if handled properly. Undoubtedly you will see people start campfires using various volatile fluids such as gasoline and charcoal lighter fluid. Although many people do this successfully, it is not a recommended practice and is illegal in many places. You can be seriously injured if you accidentally spill any of the fluid on your hands or clothes and it catches fire. The sudden blast when the fire lights can scatter burning debris that can ignite unwanted fires elsewhere -- like your's or your neighbor's clothing, your tent or under your car, OHV, or RV! If you insist on using flammable liquids, NEVER pour a flammable liquid on an existing fire or smoldering fire pit.  Only use it to get a new fire going and then use it carefully and cautiously.  If there is already heat or flames present it can instantly vaporize the fuel and create a highly explosive situation.  Take care not to spill any of the liquid on your clothes or your body. If you do, wash it off your hands and change contaminated clothes BEFORE lighting the fire. Otherwise fumes will bring the fire to you when you strike a match or lighter and you won't like the results. Since it is the fumes that burn, it isn't necessary for your contaminated clothing to come in contact with fire for it to burst into flames! I read of a jet mechanic who, after being doused with jet fuel (kerosene) went into a flight line shack to change clothes.  He got distracted before changing and the fumes from his clothing filled the shack.  When they reached the flash point, the pilot light in the shack heater ignited the fumes and the whole place blew up!  When lighting a fire using accellerants, stand back. Use a match on the end of a hot-dog cooker or similar wire or light the end of a long stick. You will see some people toss a lighted match into a gasoline soaked pile of wood. It creates an impressive flash but is a very dangerous practice. I've seen more than one such fire starter lose his eye lashes and eye brows and all the hair on his arm this way. It often sends flaming sticks flying in all directions as the fumes literally explode. Starting fires with flammable liquids also creates unpleasant and possibly dangerous fumes. No one wants their marshmallows or hot dogs to taste like gasoline or charcoal starter and the smell of burning petroleum products is far from the pleasant fragrance of pine boughs, cedar, or hickory. I read of a camper who prepared to start his fire with gasoline, but had left his matches in his vehicle. His fire pit was slightly uphill from another campsite. While he was retrieving his matches, the gasoline fumes from his soaked wood (which are heavier than air), drifted downhill along the ground to the other fire. About the time he returned to light his fire, it "auto lighted" as the fumes reached the other fire and flames snaked back up the fume trail and lit his fire! An impressive and exciting, almost magical display, no doubt, but one that illustrates just how dangerous and unpredictable using gasoline to start fires can be.  Just think.  If those fumes had crossed over or had been from a spill under his vehicle, it would have been disastrous!

The best way to start is fire, is to build it properly instead of cheating with flammable liquids. Start with tinder -- paper, lint, wood shavings, pine needles, dry grass or weeds, strips of dry bark. I cut all the branches off my old Christmas trees and keep them for tinder for lighting fires in my fireplace at home.   You can often find dry pine needles on the ground in a forested area.   Add kindling -- small pieces of wood or twigs about the diameter of your fingers or smaller. Split kindling ignites more easily than whole twigs so you may want to split your own from larger pieces of firewood. Next a layer of slightly larger pieces of wood -- about 1-2" across. Then some 3-4" across and finally your "logs": larger pieces of fire wood 6-9" in diameter. Good old-fashioned wooden matches are a kind of standard way to start campfires. I prefer the "strike anywhere" variety over the "strike on box" but they are a little more dangerous if you have children around. Butane lighters are also a convenient choice, especially the long ones built for lighting fireplaces instead of the pocket sized units designed primarily for lighting cigarettes. The longer reach lets you get into the center of your fire and keeps your fingers away from the flames. I've started my share of desert campfires using flammable liquids but when I light a fire in my fireplace, I build it from the ground up, with tinder and kindling. I've found it works just as well as gasoline and produces a much better smelling fire -- without the risks or contaminating the flue or burning the house down!  If for any reason you think you MUST use flammable liquids to get your fire going (if, for instance, your wood is wet or there is an urgent need to get a fire going quickly), prepare the structure of the fire first, then pour a controlled amount of fluid over the wood, taking care not to spill it on your hands, boots or other parts of your body or leaving a trail outside the fire pit. Then light a long stick or attach a match to one so you can ignite the fire from a safe distance. And make sure everyone around you is at a safe distance before lighting the fire. Exercise extra caution when starting a fire in a contained space such as an incinerator or metal fire barrel.  Fumes will accumulate in the container and will explode when you light it, so keep your distance.  Tossing a lighted match or stick into a pile of gasoline soaked wood creates a spectacular ignition but sometimes the explosive force is enough to send flaming debris some distance, perhaps setting you, your tent, your vehicle, or your companions on fire.

Using matches or a lighter is the easiest way to start your fire. If you have prepared your fire properly, you can carefully light the tinder in the middle of the fire and you should soon be enjoying the blaze. If you gave in to the urge to dump some gasoline or other accelerant onto your firewood, DO NOT strike your match near the fire pit. Light it some distance away and use a long stick to carry the flame to the fire. Otherwise you'll be losing your eyebrows and possibly setting your hair on fire! That sudden "WHOMP!" when you toss a match into your fire pit and the gasoline lights is exciting, but it can also wreak havoc with the structure of your wood and has the potential to make you and any bystanders part of the conflagration. Not a good way to tell your friends "You Light Up My Life!" The long "log lighter" devices designed for igniting fireplaces and campfires are helpful, but if you're using an accellerant, you'll be too close for safety. With those can place the flame precisely where it needs to go in your tinder when building a proper fire. A small pocket sized Bic lighter is a convenient choice for camping. It takes up little room, about as much as a dozen wooden matches, and will light hundreds of fires. Take care using it to light your campfire. You might use your lighter to light a stick, then use the stick to light your fire, keeping your hands away from the tinder and kindling.  If you try to put your hand deep into a prepared fire structure you run the risk of dropping the lighter when it gets too hot to hold and that could lead to a dangerous explosion if the lighter itself catches fire.

Fire starters are a good way to make it easier to get your fire going. You can buy them commercially or make your own from paper egg cartons, sawdust, and wax.  They will be helpful but they are no substitute for using proper fire building procedures.  I've seen ignorant campers use up a whole box of excellent commercial fire starters without ever getting a fire going.  You still need to build a proper fire.  Build your fire structure with a fire starter in the center of the tinder, surrounded by kindling, then progressively larger pieces of wood.  Then ignite the fire starter.  It should burn long enough to ignite the tinder and the kindling.

Starting fires without matches. For the more adventurous or those who wish to practice survival methods, try a flint style fire starter or a fire piston. Flint style fire starters and fire pistons work best with prepared tinder. Char cloth or charred punky wood ignites easily using a flint fire starter. Another good tinder, which is readily available and inexpensive, is cotton balls. Be sure they are real cotton, and not synthetic cosmetic puffs. Real cotton balls ignite easily from sparks from a flint/steel strike. Sparks simple melt through synthetics without igniting them. You may hear dryer lint recommended for use as a fire starter, but since so many of today's clothes are made of synthetic fabrics, you'd be better off with cotton balls. However, dryer lint from pure cotton is good. That nice blue lint from washing your denim jeans or clean white stuff from T-shirts or towels should work just fine, but the bright red stuff from a nylon sweater will have you getting hot under the collar trying to use it instead of getting a nice campfire going. To use a flint and steel fire starter, hold the flint close to the tinder and strike it forcefully with a knife or other piece of steel -- kind of like you are trying to quickly whittle pieces off the flint. If you do it right it will shower the tinder with sparks. To use a fire piston you place a tiny piece of tinder inside the cylinder, insert the piston, and strike the end of the piston forcefully. The compression works like a diesel engine to generate heat inside the cylinder to ignite the tinder. At best you'll get a tiny ember you will need to nurture to get your fire going. Many wilderness survival sources will tout starting a fire by rubbing two sticks together. While this is theoretically possible, it is unlikely you will succeed, even with practice, and it takes a LOT of work. I would only use it as a last resort in a survival situation. Better to carry a Bic lighter and/or flint and steel in your survival kit. If you get caught somewhere without it, knowing how to use a bow-drill or fire plow could save your life, or, at least add to your comfort.  As I often say, the only way I want to start a fire by rubbing two sticks together is if one of them is a match!

Campfire styles: there are two basic styles of stacking wood for a camp fire: 1) the tipi and 2) the log cabin. Intipi  style fire, pieces of wood are leaned together to form a cone (small end up). In the log cabin style fire, pieces of wood are stacked in a square. I have found no particular advantage to either approach, except that a log cabin is usually more stable than the tipi. When starting the fire you may build all the recommended layers at once, then light the tinder at the bottom or start with just the tinder and carefully adding kindling and larger pieces of wood until you achieve the desired size of fire.    

How big a fire do you need? If you have a large group of people you may want a large fire -- even a bonfire. Bonfires are impressive and throw off a lot of heat and light, but much of that heat is wasted. Bonfires are more for dramatic effect than for comfort.    In most cases a fire with a diameter of about 3' is sufficient for a family or a small group.   If you have a large group of people, you may need a larger fire pit and a larger fire so there is room for everyone around the fire. If you are creating a cooking fire, you only want enough fire to do the job. There is a tendency among recreational campers to build a "white man's fire". "White man build big fire, stand way back; Indian build small fire, get up close." Obviously the Indian fire is a more efficient use of fuel and is actually more effective in cooking food and warming its builder. You may need to build a bigger fire when it is raining or snowing so the rain or snow doesn't put it out as well as for increased heat. Building a large fire to "get you through the night" is a mixed bag. It may waste a lot of fire wood, but it may let you sleep through the night. A large, unattended fire while you're sleeping could pose a hazard. Just a slight change in wind direction could blow embers into your shelter or onto your sleeping bag. The bigger the fire, the more embers it can produce.  Getting up periodically throughout the night to stoke the fire is a nuisance, but it is safer and more dependable than relying on a big fire to last the night and you might actually get more sleep!  I have seen clever ways of stacking wood so it rolls down into the fire as it burns but you really need to know what you are doing to build such a setup safely.

Dakota fire pit. A unique variation of an "Indian fire" is one commonly known as a Dakota fire pit. They make very good cooking fires and are less noticeable if you're in a situation where a certain amount of discretion is required. Dig a hole about a foot or so deep and foot across. Then dig an "air hole" -- a tunnel on one side (the windward side) extending from the surface few inches from the edge of the pit down to the bottom of the pit. This little tunnel will allow air to be drawn down to the base of the fire. Fires of this type are very efficient and produce more concentrated heat for cooking from less wood. Because they burn hot, they have less smoke than open fires. You wouldn't build a Dakota fire pit as a signal fire, but it makes an excellent cooking fire.

Choosing firewood: there are few places left where you are able to gather wood around camp grounds so plan to bring your own to most camp sites. This also lets you prepare your tinder and kindling in advance, which can be of great advantage if you need to get a fire going in inclement weather. Avoid wood with metal hardware still attached or treated or painted wood and composites such as particle board and plywood. Treated or painted wood and composites may give off toxic fumes when they burn. When choosing firewood, it is useful to know the difference between hardwoods and softwoods. Hardwoods burn longer and give off more heat. Softwoods are usually lighter to carry, easier to split and easier to light, but burn faster and give less heat for the same amount of wood. Some typical hardwoods are Oak, walnut, and hickory. Typical softwoods are pine, cottonwood, elm and poplar. Softwoods make excellent kindling. They are easy to split, and easy to light. Just avoid trying to split pieces with big knots in them. BTW, splitting larger pieces of wood is much easier and safer using a wedge than trying to split it with an axe. Wedges are inexpensive and durable and are good addition for anyone who plans to build many camp fires.   Lacking wedges, you might be able to use wooden glut instead.  A glut is essentially a wooden wedge.  Try to use a harder wood for your glut than the wood you want to split.

Safety tips for splitting firewood: don't hold the wood you are splitting with your fingers while swinging the axe or hatchet! This is a very good way to quickly shorten or remove your fingers and give your companions an unwanted opportunity to practice their first aid skills. Instead, use a small stick to stabilize the piece of wood. If you miss your mark and take off the end of the stick, get another stick -- no big loss! Unlike your fingers, the stick is easily replaced and does not create a blood-born pathogen hazard for by standers -- and, as far as we know, the stick will feel no pain. Also take care to keep on-lookers away from where you are swinging your axe or hatchet. A standard method of ensuring a safe distance is to grasp the axe by the head and swing the handle 360 degrees to make sure no one -- or no thing -- is in the way. Also be sure to look overhead to make sure you won't hit branches or (God forbid!) wires that might deflect your swing and cause an accident. Though it might seem tempting to stay under your RV awning or canopy to cut firewood if it is raining, DON'T DO IT! The potential to damage an expensive awning from flying wood or a misdirected swing isn't worth it and the risk of a deflected blow splitting your chin or your shin instead of the wood is too great. You want to have plenty of clear space around you when swinging an axe! When chopping firewood, stand with your legs apart so a missed swing passes between them instead of embedding the axe into your shins.

Here is a tip for splitting large logs.  Ordinarily the pieces fall off the chopping block and you have to keep picking them up an putting them back on to split them into smaller pieces.  Here is a video that shows you how to make and use a simple rig to keep the pieces together until you are finished splitting them.  He calls it the Split-o-nator.  It saves time and a lot of bending and reaching.

Portable Fire Pits: there are a number of attractive portable camp fire pits on the market, but what I've found works best is the tub from an old washing machine -- and they're often free! You may be able to obtain one from an appliance repair shop or recycling center. We've used them for years in desert, beach, forest, and back yard settings. They are inexpensive and the porcelain coating is easy to clean and prevents rust. The squat, round shape and twinkling of the fire through the perforations in the tub caused the first one we saw to be dubbed "R2D2" by its owner. Some tubs have tubes that rise up through the center, where the agitator formerly resided. While these tubes sometimes get in the way of adding wood to the fire or limit the size of fuel, they also lend themselves to a couple of useful adaptions: legs and a cooking grill. I used the same tripod that holds an RV table when you want to use it outside and cut a spare RV table leg to put the R2D2 at the desired height. I made ours so it was about right to slip your toes under on particularly cold evenings but you may want to make yours higher and add a grill to the top and use it for cooking. I found a wire cooking grate from an old charcoal grill that fit mine perfectly. I bolted a pipe floor flange to the grill and screwed in a piece of 2" pipe that drops into the top of the center tube of the tub to provide a very stable grilling surface. A metal garbage can lid is an effective way of containing any stubborn embers if you find yourself ready to retire before your fire is out. R2D2 is generally safe to use in windy conditions and is sometimes acceptable in forest service campgrounds when open flames are prohibited. Be sure to check with rangers first. We've even had forest rangers borrow our R2D2 for their own campfires. There are collapsible fire pits and campfire grills made of wire panels similar to those in your oven. These are light weight, easy to transport, and assemble, but are sometimes a little unstable because they are so light weight. Be sure to follow set-up and use instructions carefully to ensure as much stability as possible. These foldable fire pits are usually not approved for use during fire restrictions.  Portable metal fire rings are another option, but unless they are heavy and bulky, they may be easily damaged and they take up quite a bit of room in transit.  Portable gas-powered campfires are becoming more popular because of their convenience and sometimes an immunity to fire restrictions.

Campfire tools. The most basic tool is an axe or hatchet. Keep them sharp. A sharp axe will work a lot better and is actually safer than a dull one. A dull axe is more likely to bounce and cause an injury. Before using an axe or hammer, grip the tool by the head and swing it 360 degrees to make sure there are no obstacles or people within range of your swing. Keep a close eye to make sure no one wanders into your active work area. Another inexpensive and handy tool is a splitting wedge. You can use the back or your axe or a large hammer to drive the wedge into the end of a piece of wood to split it into smaller pieces. A saw can be very helpful for cutting wood to fireplace lengths. A sharp chain saw makes very quick work of this task but even a one- or two-person tree saw will be easier than chopping with an axe. For your fireplace at home your tool set probably includes a poker and perhaps a set of tongs. These tools are usually not practical to carry along for camping trips. A sturdy green stick can serve as a temporary poker. Or use your shovel to stir things up and shift wood and coals as needed.  Once you get your fire going you may need special utensils for cooking on the campfire.  Those with long, heat resistant handles are best.  Stainless steel utensils are sturdy but be sure to use pot holders or gloves to prevent burning your hands as the steel is a pretty good conductor of heat.

A few additional notes: be careful what you throw into your campfires. You will see people burning their garbage in their campfires. Sometimes that's OK, but too often garbage contains undesirable elements, such as glass bottles, pressurized containers, tin cans, and batteries. These remain in the ashes and can present future hazards. Pressurized cans, and not just flammables like paint, but even things like whipped cream, cooking spray, and shaving cream are dangerous to put into a fire. As the can heats up the remaining propellant and product expand and can explode, sending shrapnel into anyone or anything nearby. Sometimes even sealed plastic water or soda bottles can explode with surprising force when the trapped air is overheated.  Some elements tossed into trash cans without a second thought may produce toxic fumes or may simply generate unpleasant odors. It is a good idea to keep separate trash bags or trash cans for combustibles and non-combustibles. This will allow you to incinerate much of your trash and reduce what you have to retain in your RV or car until you get home. Most paper plates can be safely burned. Styrofoam and plastic coated items, on the other hand, may give off toxic fumes and you might want to avoid burning them, especially in large volumes. Burning  a few at  time where there is good ventilation shouldn't be a problem.  The main components of styrene (what we call Styrofoam) are hydrogen and carbon, so they mostly give off water vapor can carbon dioxide when they burn but they sometimes contain other elements which could be toxic, especially if they have been dyed or decorated..  Incinerating food scraps in a campfire can avoid foul smells in your RV as rubbish rots in trash cans.  If you are sharing a campfire with other campers, always get their permission before burning trash.  Depending on what is in the trash, it could produce very offensive odors.  Always stand upwind when adding trash to a fire.

Never leave a campfire unattended. It only takes a few seconds for an errant breeze to scatter embers that can result in a wildfire. Proper preparation and care of your fire pit will minimize the potential for problems, but you must still keep an eye on things to avoid serious consequences. If an errant gust sends sparks flying, track them down and stomp them out before they can start more fires. If the wind is persistent, put your fire out.

When you are done, make sure your campfire is out -- dead out! Douse it with water or cover it with sand or dirt. I've often seen coals embedded in ash still hot enough to restart a fire 10 or 12 hours after it had burned down. I've even seen buried campfires come to life in the middle of the night, so be careful. By the way, do NOT urinate on a campfire to put it out. Boy scouts seem to find it amusing but the results are not pleasant. It may help douse the fire but unless you have a bladder the size of a draft horse, it isn't going to have much affect, however it will create a really obnoxious smell that will definitely not improve your popularity with fellow campers!  On the other hand, using a bucket of gray water from your RV holding tank is a good way to put out the fire and make more room in your holding tank.  Unless the gray water is unusually contaminated it will be mostly soapy water and will most likely not produce obnoxious odors.  DO NOT even think of trying it with waste from black water tanks!  Always put your folding chairs away or at least collapse them and lay them down.  I've seen a lot of chairs destroyed when a breeze blew them into an unattended desert campfire after everyone had gone to bed.  Of course the last person should have put the fire out.  Just because there is low risk of the fire spreading in the desert is no excuse.  But, if you're not the last to leave and you don't take your chairs with you, at least lay them down.  There is much less chance of them being blown into the fire that way.

Windy conditions. Campfires and wind are not particularly good companions. While a warm fire is nice on a cold, windy night, there is always a potential for the wind to spread sparks or embers and ignite unwanted and uncontrolled fires, often some distance from the fire. And there is always the problem of smoke blowing in your face.  Sometimes it seems that no matter where you stand, the smoke still finds your.  Besides that, unless you are constantly rotating your body, one side will cook and the other will freeze! You may be able to mitigate wind if you can find a spot on the leeward side of a large rock or other windbreak. But, unless the wind is consistently from one direction, your windbreak could quickly become a liability that traps the smoke from your fire instead of the asset you intended it to be to keep the wind off. Using a portable fireplace with a wind screen, or an "R2D2" will help reduce the risk of uncontrolled sparks and embers. I have seen devices that attach to camp chairs that reflect heat from the campfire under the chair and up the back. The heavy vinyl construction of the reflectors also acts as a good windbreak. Still, the best bet for windy nights may be to snuggle up inside your RV or tent and pursue pleasurable indoor activities and save the campfire for another night when conditions are more favorable. I can think of lots of better things to do than fight smoke blowing in my eyes and face and the wind blowing up my coat and down the back of my neck! Constantly changing winds make it impossible to keep the smoke out of your eyes, significantly reducing the enjoyment of a campfire. When the wind picks up, bank the fires or put them out and head inside for some more intimate indoor recreation.   Wind will also make your campfires burn up fuel more quickly, so expect to add logs more frequently on windy nights.

Campfires in the rain will be more difficult to light and keep going in rain but it can be done, with or without flammable liquids. You will probably need a bigger fire in the rain than you would normally use, both for comfort and to overcome the effects of the rain on the fuel.  A strong fire will stand up to all but the most powerful downpours. You will need to keep it roaring. If it begins to die down, the rain may soon overcome it and you'll be left with a soggy mess of ashes and half-burned sticks. Plan ahead if there is a chance of rain. Keep some tinder and kindling dry so you can get your fire going in the first place. Once it is going strong it will quickly dry damp wood. Wood that has been rained or snowed on will probably dry out and burn. Wood that has been soaking and is water logged might let your fire go out before it dries out enough to burn.  Brush snow off of any wood you add to your fire to minimize the prospect of dousing it.  

Standing around a campfire in the rain will probably not be a very pleasant experience.  Sure, the fire may feel nice on your face, but you will likely get soaked anyway unless you are under a poncho, canopy, or umbrella.  You will lose heat 25 faster in wet clothes and being cold and wet is NEVER a good thing and can even be life threatening.  You can get seriously hypthermic even on a fairly warm summer day in wet clothes.

For additional information about fire safety, please see Fire Safety Articles by Mac The Fire Guy.

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