Today we are testing a no-wipe tire foam cleaner and treatment.
This particular one is by armor all and you can just spray it on and let it sit. On the packages says roughly 8 to 12 minutes for it to do its cleaning and treatment and no wiping is necessary. However, it was over 45 minutes and it was still wet spots on the tire. The other issue is if you not wiping it where is the dirt going, yes the tire looks much better in the end but it seems to me the moisture is evaporating leaving some dirt residue behind. In the end, I do like to look at the tire and it does appear to have applied some sort of protected coating. Not sure how effective it is over the long-term but time will tell.
The procedure for this was pretty straightforward one clean off any heavy dirt or grime from the tire. If you use water then allow the tire to completely dry. After that then you can apply the spray foam to let it do the finishing touches for you. As far as ease-of-use I like this product very much. The question is where did the dirt go and how will hold up long-term. Only time will tell.
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Today, we are putting two windshield treatments to the test rain X original versus rain clear by glass science. The first thing you need to do is make sure the window is clean and we did that in the previous video so don’t forget to check that out. Once the windshield is thoroughly cleaned you want to apply the product as instructed on the packaging which we did and in this case we put rain X original on the passenger side and rain clear on the driver side.
Instructions are very similar the one difference being rain X needs to be allowed to dry and then wiped off where rain clear you just continue buffing it into the windshield until it is clear. Once we applied the product and removed it as instructed we then put it to the test with a garden hose in this video it might be a little difficult to see but there was a clear winner. And that was the rain clear gel. The water shed off of the window much faster, giving you a clearer vision through the windshield. Rain X, however, did do a great job it just did not shed the water as quickly leaving lots of droplets behind which was distorting the vision.
The other difference I noticed was in the instructions and rain clear gel says it should be applied every few months where rain X did not give an indication of how often to apply it which to me means it may last longer as it is applied more like a wax. Only time will tell which one holds up longer but for our test here today rain clear gel definitely would be my choice. At any rate when you’re driving especially if you towing a camper or driving a big rig such as this bus you want to make sure you have a clear vision through your windshield to make sure you know where you’re going and you can see the road ahead.
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Today we are going to super clean this windshield and prepare it for future brain treatment. The first thing you want to do is get the heavy big stuff off by spraying the windshield with window cleaner and wiping them clean with either paper towel or newspaper. After that, you want to give it a thorough cleaning with window cleaner and 0000 steel wool. This would be a super fine steel will and it will do a great job getting off stuck bug particles and other debris sticking to your windshield.
It’s a relatively easy process but often not done when people clean the windshield however if done properly you’ll build to see more clearly for a longer period of time between cleanings. When you head out on a trip or anywhere for that matter it’s very important to have a clean windshield in this process will make that possible.
Now the steel wool is a secret for getting the windshield superclean however another commonly overlooked item is the windshield wipers themselves. Most people don’t bother doing anything with them however they are going back and forth over a dirty windshield and bugs and other residues are sticking to them as well, so it’s important to take the time to clean the blades of the windshield wipers. This will ensure proper contact between the wiper blades and the windshield surface which in turn will do a much better job wiping away rain and water and give you a much better vision through your windshield.
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Today we are talking about trailer hitch sizes and what they can carry as far as capacity. If you towing just a small utility trailer you can get by with a class one hitch this size can tow trailers up to 2000 pounds. If you need to go a little bit bigger a class two hitch carry trailers from 2001 pound to 3500 pounds. This is most likely still a little too small for most travel trailers except for possibly the smallest are pod or teardrop style travel trailers.
Now the class III hitch can tow trailers from 3501 pounds to 5000 pounds this is the particular hitch you are looking at in this video. It can handle up to 5000 pounds and that is also the towing capacity of this car as well. That’s another thing you need to keep in mind, the towing capacity of your tow vehicle as well as the weight of your travel trailer.
If things get bigger you’ll certainly need to move into a larger tow vehicle as well as going up in size in hitch classes, for example, a class for hitch can carry trailers from 5001 pounds to 10,000 pounds. Most likely at this point, you are into a truck or a very large SUV. In the last, one we will talk about today is the class V hitch and that’s for trailers from 10,001 pounds to 14,000 pounds.
Keep in mind that class one and two hitches are just weight carrying hitches and class 3, 4 and five are weight distributing hitches. They are mounted on the vehicle differently and more securely to the frame. Another thing to keep in mind the manufacturer of the hitch will give you the exact capacity for their particular hitch as they do vary slightly from manufacturer to manufacturer so this is something to keep in mind. But as a general rule of thumb, this is the approximate capacity of each of these weight classes. Remember before you tow anything to make sure you know the total capacity of your tow vehicle as well as the gross vehicle weight rating, you’ll also need this information from the travel trailer as well so you can get the proper equipment for your particular situation.
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Here are 12 items I consider emergency response items you should have with you whether your camping with a car and travel trailer class CRV a big rig or anything else for that matter.
The first one on the list is a cell phone if you end up in a situation where you need to get a hold of somebody obviously this is something that you should have. Along with the cell phone make sure you have up-to-date contact numbers as well as while traveling in new areas make sure you find out the numbers to local emergency facilities.
Another very important item on the emergency list is a fire extinguisher even if you’re traveling in a car it’s good to have a small version with you just in case and the bigger the rig the more you should have. I would have one located at least at each entrance to your RV and a kitchen version in your cooking area.
Now unfortunately from time to time, we do lose our keys, for this reason, it’s a great idea to have a spare set with you, there is always a way you can hide them on your rig so when they’re needed they are there. Now I’ve mentioned this next item and other videos but that is some sort of roadside flares triangles or lighted safety beacons that you could put out if you happen to have a breakdown on the side of the road this will make it much easier for oncoming traffic to see you or to know if you are broke down around the corner or over a hill.
Smoke detector and carbon monoxide detectors should already be in your RV if you buy a new one however check to make sure they are you working properly and if you are converting a bus such as the one we make sure you include them in the build process hopefully we never hear them go off but they could very well save your life. I shouldn’t even have to mention this but I will because there have been times where I’ve handed out Band-Aids while traveling and that is a first-aid kit make sure it’s up to date and has the proper items for the areas you’re traveling in such as snakebite items and things along that nature was a large gash but just need to remove a splinter from firewood.
Before you head out on your next trip you want to make sure you don’t have any gas leaks you can pick up a fancy combustible fuel detector such as the one I’m showing you in this video or you can mix up some dish soap and water use that to spray the connections in different areas around your propane system to check for leaks. You can also buy a leak detector in a spray bottle to help with this. It’s a good idea to make sure everything is tight and secure and are no leaks before you head out.
You also need a small toolkit and again I’ve mentioned this in previous videos nothing fancy here just basic wrenches and a small socket set but to be sure to include screwdriver pliers and a small hammer you never know when you need to make a small repair or fix something that has come loose on your rig remember these things are shaking rattling and bouncing around as you travel across the country. Sometimes we travel in the dark or we need to move before sunrise so good flashlight is a must-have again this is something I would have multiple of on my rig just in case you’re in a situation where you need to see and you either don’t have power for whatever reason or good disconnecting in the dark we can also help protect you from tripping over things as you move around your campsite or camper.
Now if you forget and leave your radio on or some other device you are using that’s connected to your vehicle battery you could run that thing dead so a good set of jumper cables is good to have with you so you can get help from another motorist to get a jump start better yet have a booster pack with you such as the one I show you here these things are fantastic to keep them charged and ready to go so when you need him you have them.
Another thing to check and I also consider an emergency item is a spare tire if you have a flat that is an emergency situation without a good spare you’re stuck until somebody comes along so make sure before you head out your spare tire is in good order and still holding air. Also, make sure you have the proper tools to change the tire including a Jack. Now my case of the bus is a good chance I’ll be using a roadside service for this task if it were to happen but many of you traveling much smaller rigs and a spare tire is a great item to have with you. So that is 12 but I realized it was one other item that I consider an emergency response item and that is duct tape you can use this for so many different things definitely have some with you when traveling in an RV or camper.
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Determining what can I tow with my car. If you plan on towing a travel trailer or any type of trailer for that matter it’s very important to know what your vehicle is capable of. There are many factors that seem to be a mystery however was a little research and getting the numbers you can find out just how much your vehicle can hold and toe safely.
The majority of this information can be found on the doorjamb of the driver’s side door of your car. This can it tell you the total capacity of the weight or gross vehicle weight rating or GVWR it will also give you the capacity of the front and rear axles individually this way you won’t overload the rear axle by adding too much tongue weight from your travel trailer.
Other numbers you need to gather is the gross vehicle weight rating of your camper and this is typically the dry weight which means it does not include any of your belongings or any water in the tanks. Once you have all of the important numbers you can then determine what you can safely toe. One number you may not find on the doorjamb is the actual towing capacity of the car but this typically can be found in your owners manual. If you don’t find it there then contact the manufacturer or dealership to get the information needed.
In my opinion, one of the biggest dangers of overloading or improperly loading your tow vehicle and travel trailer is the ability to stop or keep the vehicle under control. If you overload the front of the travel trailer or the rear of your tow vehicle to put tremendous pressure on your rear axles making it difficult to control. The same is true if you overweight the rear of your travel trailer this can potentially create negative weight on your tongue which will definitely cause your travel trailer to sway back and forth and if you’ve watched any YouTube videos seeing this happen it typically results into a bad crash totaling both the car and travel trailer. Once you have all the important information annual loaded up I strongly urge that you take your vehicle to a scale to get the actual weight and the weight on each of the axles you know exactly how your load is distributed and whether or not you need to make adjustments.
There is one additional sticker on this particular vehicle which I don’t think is common however it’s something to look for, in this case the gross vehicle weight rating was adjusted by the manufacturer sometime after production now on this Toyota Highlander it was only about 15 pounds but it may be a lot more or less on your vehicle so it’s important to know look for that sticker and if you buy a secondhand vehicle I would still reach out to the manufacturer to confirm the actual capacity and tow rating.
Also you’ll hear me mention in this video several times about not loading a vehicle to the max even if it says it safe to do so I realized the manufacturer certainly has factored in a safety margin but it would not hurt for you to factor in some as well loading these vehicles to the maximum capacity will make them work harder and potentially be unsafe if not loaded correctly. So do your research get your numbers and find out ahead of time what you can toe safely. Also don’t forget to download my free e-book and pretrip checklist to make sure you and your vehicle are ready to hit the road and can be as safe as possible.
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If you’re thinking of going camping and plan on doing any cooking or grilling outside in this camp table is for you. We’ve had this folding camp table now for over 15 years I believe and it has worked flawlessly every time we take it out. it folds down to a flat compact design easy to store in underbelly compartments of your RV or travel trailer.
It’s quick to set up with this scissor-like design you only have to pop on the top and a small great underneath and you have yourself a workstation for cooking grilling doing dishes or whatever other outside activity that you may need a table for. Like I said we’ve had this table for many years and it’s held up just fine and is almost like new. It stores quickly and opens up quickly see you not spending your time messing around with clumsy gadgets that take half of your day just to set up there are no screws bolts hooks or latches it’s just a matter of popping the top on just like you would a TV tray in your house as well as a small grate in a similar fashion and then you’re ready to go. So if you’re looking to cook outside swing over to Amazon and pick up one of these must-have compact outdoor camping grilled tables before you head out on your next trip. I could not find the exact brand so I put a link into the description here to the closest one.
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If you’re considering buying a used RV in these four areas are quick spots that you can check right away to see if it is a potential water problem for the leak. I highly recommend checking these right off as soon as you enter a used RV that you are considering purchasing.
There are many additional areas that you should check however these first four spots are quick and easy and will give you an idea right off the bat what you may be dealing with. The first area I would check is around the air-conditioning unit this is typically a spot where RVs start the leak when the sealant and caulking starts to break down on the roof. If there has been a leak in the past you will usually see some sort of yellow staining for where water has seeped in the camper and onto the ceiling. Another important area to check is in cabinets more poorly check any cabinet that’s in the corner of the RVs this again is another typical area where you will see leaks before other spots.
You can see in this particular unit in the back you can see that the ceiling panel is actually wavy indicating that there has been moisture present at some time causing it to delaminate. And if you look closely you can see staining as well. Another important area to check is around any roof vent just like air-conditioners these are also areas that typically will start to leak earlier than other spots on the roof. Again it’s due to the breakdown of the sealant and caulking around the roof fence that are exposed to the sun and eventually will allow water to penetrate and causing damage to the internal structure of your RV. And last but not least in this particular example is looking where the camper unit meets the vehicle itself in this case specifically around the cabin area. You can see when I step outside the deterioration of the caulking and sealant around this area and if it’s not leaking yet it certainly will soon if not dealt with appropriately.
Now in other units, you may not have this area to check but whenever possible look at all seems that are exposed. Like I said earlier there are many other areas that you should check however these are four spots that you can check pretty much right away without any problem to see if there is a potential issue due to water leaking into the RV. And just because you find leak or signs of a leak at one time does not mean you would not purchase the RV however you want to have an idea of what the repair costs could be before you make an offer or actually purchase it. If this is a project you do not plan on doing yourself or not capable of make sure you get professional advice as to how much they think the repair could cost. Hopefully, you found this video helpful and hopefully it will help prevent you from getting a unit that could be very costly to fix. Don’t forget to download your free e-book in pre-trip checklist if you haven’t done so already and swing over to my website at www.2campinggurus.com.
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If you plan on covering your RV for the winter take a few minutes and watch this video first. This particular RV is from the 1970s so it’s not so important but it’s a good example you can use as to how not to cover your RV or travel trailer for off-season or the winter months. You can clearly see in this case that there are lots of ropes and straps directly against the RV.
This will result in damaging the finish of the RV as they will rub back and forth throughout the season anytime there’s a wind blowing or inclement weather causing the tarp and ropes to shift. Ideally, it would be best if you had an actual RV cover as they are made out of material that will drastically reduce the possibility of damage to your RV. With that said if you going to use a tarp or anything to cover your RV should cover completely down to the bottom edge but not to the ground. The reason for leaving the space between the bottom of the RV and the ground is to allow for adequate airflow underneath the RV. This will help prevent moisture buildup and decrease the chance of accelerated rusting.
If you are going to use a tarp make sure covers the whole thing so that you can use either bungee’s rope or ratchet straps to secure the tarp underneath the RV so none of those ties down items are against the sides of your travel trailer. By doing this once again you will drastically reduce the chance of damaging the finish of your RV because they will not be there to rub the clearcoat off. In the end, I think it’s a great idea to cover your RV or travel trailer for off-season storage is laws is done properly. Covering it completely on the top so no moisture can penetrate through the roof as well as reducing damage from the sun while at staying in one location for extended lengths of time.
The other thing you see wrong with this particular situation is this RV is parked on the loom. Now loom holds moisture a lot more than gravel or of course a paved driveway so where this RV is parked will definitely cause more moisture buildup underneath the RV on the frame structure and other metal components causing accelerated an early rusting of these materials. This is once again why it’s good to leave space between the tarp and the ground to allow for adequate airflow but any rate it’s still not a good idea to store or park any vehicle on the loom as like I said earlier it holds the moisture a lot longer. Hopefully, you found this video helpful.
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Finally, in today’s video, I finish up the composting toilet. There is only minimal fine tuning to do otherwise this project is complete. We painted it up put on some hardware that I attached the seat. Everything seems to work perfectly fine.
So if you decide you want to buy a compost toilet such as the sea head or the natures had this is a great alternative if you have a little bit of time to build one yourself. It ended up being a little bit bigger for the bathroom size that I built on the bus but nonetheless it will work and be just fine. In the end, I saved well over $500 building this toilet myself using stuff I had around here. I believe the total cost was under $60 and most of that was the toilet seat. So before you run out and spend $600-$1200 on a composting toilet watch some YouTube videos including this one and consider building your own and saving yourself a lot of money.
By having this composting toilet in the bus will be able to boondocks for a much longer time as well as not have to deal with sewerage waste and we will not have a black water tank. That’s a huge plus because that also cuts down on the terrible odor you get when you mix solid waste with urine. These toilets typically as well as the one I built separate the liquids from the solids thus not producing sewer and in the end, there is very little older at all. As you know we will be using this composting toilet on our bus build but it can be used to swap out any RV Toilet such as what is used in a travel trailer or camper.
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