RV Things That Work for Us - Safety Gear

Stocking the RV rig with safety gear lends peace of mind for short trip travel and long journeys.

VHF Radio
A must for us is a small VHF radio (Raytheon Ray 102) with a weather channel. It is extremely handy near the coast (anywhere, not just the U.S. coast) for listening to weather reports or making emergency communication.


Signal Mirror
One item we keep on board is a small signal mirror. It is low tech, weighs next to nothing and takes up virtually no space. If we were ever stuck in a remote location and had no reception for any other form of communication, we could at least hope to capture the attention of a motorist, cyclist, plane or boat. If one were stuck on a road or byway, even if no auto traffic came by, it is possible that air traffic might appear overhead. A signal mirror, even one as small as an empty make-up compact, might capture potentially life-saving attention.


Sailing Gloves
Another of the tools for set up and take down is a pair of sailing gloves. These gloves have a soft leather palm. The fingertips are open and the knuckles are covered. Since set-ups and take-downs are times when we are handling heavy chains, jacks, chocks and blocks, the gloves are a real hand-saver. We have maximum dexterity with minimal exposure to potential bumps and scrapes.


Personal Two-Way Radios
When we’re backing, hooking up or pulling out, we use hand signals, but there’s sometimes a need for verbal communication between the spotter and the driver. We’ve carried this technique over to RVing from boating. The radios help prevent misunderstanding of important time-sensitive cues. And, given that we are sometimes in close proximity to neighbors, they help us be clear with each other while being quiet.


CB Radio
A citizen’s band radio alerts us to accidents or traffic tie-ups. If we’re going to a park that has a CB, they can guide us in with it. The CB has also helped us stay awake with its lively, colorful conversation.


Flashlights
We keep several in various places, both in the trailer and in the truck. One technique for use in full darkness is to have a flashlight with a red film-covered lens to help you retain night vision.

Spare Batteries
In all sizes to accommodate any battery powered mechanisms you have.


First Aid
After we stock the medicine chest as anyone would at home, we stop and consider what else we might need, what we are almost certain to need at some point and what it would be lovely to have if we managed to be on the road for, say, a year.

On the road, unfamiliar foods and beverages can make you glad you have something to settle the stomach in the first aid kit

Accommodating for first aid situations is a priority. So much so, we keep two fully stocked first aid kits. One remains in the travel trailer in a cabinet near the most-used entrance door. The other we keep under a seat in the truck. Additionally, we keep a first aid kit for our dog. It has medications our pet has needed in the past, and other tools that could be useful in case of illness or injury.


Fire Extinguishers
In addition to the factory supplied fire extinguishers we also carry a larger fire extinguisher in the bed of the truck.

RV Things That Work for Us - Inverter

     An inverter can power some household appliances when RV hookups are not available.
     We also carry along a small 400 watt modified sign wave inverter. On those occasions when we are not hooked up to power and we don’t want to fire up the generator, we can still watch television or a movie on DVD, or power a laptop computer.
     Here are some examples of what various inverter wattages can power:
     A 300 watt inverter is usually used to power household appliances such as a TV (up to about 27"), a DVD player, a computers, small printer, etc. These commonly connect with a 12-Volt plug.
     A 600 watt inverter costs a little more and powers a little more. One like this could be expected to power household appliances such as a large screen TV, a 5-amp power tool or a bread machine. This type inverter would be connected directly to the 12-volt battery and have three or more grounded outlets for powering several products at the same time.

An inverter gives you quiet power
when a generator would disturb your neighbors

     A 1750 watt inverter powers yet more: household appliances, larger power tools, microwave ovens, toasters, and hair dryers. These inverters connect directly to the battery network. They can generally supply 1500 watts of continuous power.
     A 3000 watt inverter generally has output power rated at 2500 watts for a continuous load. An inverter such as this can power nearly all household appliances and office equipment. For significant loads such as this, it is likely that special wiring and battery banks would be necessary.

RV Things That Work for Us - Generator



A generator that can power AC in the tropics
is a "thing that works" for us

     After much research a few years back, we settled on a Yamaha ef2400is. As far as we could tell, this was the only inverter type generator that covered everything we wanted.
     It is small, lightweight, quiet and capable of running an RV A/C unit. When we saw these Yamaha generators available at a Good Sam Rally, we scooped one up and remain glad we did.
     This generator is remarkably quiet. In measuring sound, every three decibels (dB) doubles the sound energy. At every 10 dB, the human ear perceives a doubling of the noise level.
     The Yamaha 2400 is rated at 53-58 dB, a modest level of noise especially when it is compared with other generators of similar power.
     The Yamaha is lightweight for its power at 70 lbs. We can lift it and move it without much effort. It is compact at 20.7 L x 15.5 W x 18.1 H. It is also thrifty on fuel consumption, which never hurts, and has a fuel capacity of 1.6 gallons. The frequency is not RPM dependent, and it runs at idle until the load requires more power. The RPMs increase incrementally, to meet the load demand. It'll put out 16.7 Amps continuous, or a 20 Amp surge. Its peak power is 24000 watts and its rated power is 2000 watts.
     We had read reviews and comparisons between the Honda 2KW generator and the Yamaha. We understood that we could bridge two Honda 2KW generators together (with an additional piece of hardware), to sync the frequencies and combine their power output. This Yamaha can do that, too, and with no additional hardware required.
     But the main attraction for us to the Yamaha generator is that is can start and run a 13,500 BTU air conditioner (A/C) unit all by itself. Two Honda 2KW generators are required to do this. We could, of course, have bought a bigger generator to do the same function, but then drawbacks appear. First there’s the bigger noise. Next is the heavier weight. And another issue is price. The prices climb rapidly with larger units.