Can you teach older dogs new tricks?  Why yes, you can!  We are growing dendrites!

Well here are just some of the adventurous learning lessons we’ve had so far.  Laugh along with us.  We are sharing so that you will be more knowledgeable and learn from our mistakes.

• Know where your fire extinguisher is.

This one happened in the “big house” but the lesson is the same.  The washer was acting up and I absentmindedly grabbed the dryer plug, attempted to unplug it but the housing fell apart causing a giant spark which somehow arched over to the back of the dryer which immediately began to flame up the wall!  This happened in an instant and I called to my son-in-law, James, who immediately grabbed the nearby fire extinguisher and put the fire out.  I flipped the breaker off.  We evacuated the children to Ruff Road and waited for the fire department.  They were most impressed with our fast action and knowing where the fire extinguisher was and how to use it.  The outcome of this little mishap was that there was no damage, the washer works and the dryer works and I will never touch a 220 plug again!

• Know your amps!

Make sure that you learn about amps and what your RV needs.  Make sure you know how many amps your electrical appliances use.  Remember this:  Amps = Watts divided by Volts.  For example,  a sandwich maker uses 1200 watts.  We are running 120 volts in our system.  So we divide 120 volts into 1200 watts and we find that the sandwich maker draws 10 amps, which is one third of what we have access to with our 30 amp hook up here at Happy Acre.  So this device will go in to the use with generator or 50 amp only pile.  How did we learn this?  We discovered that our little electric pot that heats water for tea draws too many amps to use if the AC is running.  We learned that we can only run one AC at a time.  Also, we learned that we can’t run our on board vacuum cleaner while AC is on.  So, as long as we are connected to 30 amp service, we must be mindful of our amp usage.

• Do you know how your electric AC and Heat work?

We learned this the hard way on a trip to North Georgia this year.  There was snow and wind and rain and freezing temps.  No problem.  We have two heaters and we are connected to 50 amp service.  So we thought… As the temps dropped, our units did not heat Ruff Road.  Furthermore, the system kept switching to propane.  We stayed toasty warm with our propane, until it ran out.  Nothing about the AC/ Heat was covered in our walk-through or in the massive, generic owner’s manual in our coach.  So we turned to the internet.  Here is what we learned.  Only one AC unit has heat strips and this doesn’t work if the temperature is below 40 degrees.  Then the propane heat kicks on and that will use your propane reserves in a matter of days.  We also learned that our propane gauge was faulty.  It continued to show that we had propane but sadly we ran out.  Now we are more knowledgeable about our heating and cooling systems.  The propane gauge is fixed.  Lesson learned.

• Know how your awning works

So on that same freezing North Georgia trip, we were sitting in our cozy, propane heated Ruff Road and suddenly heard what sounded like a loud bang, thud noise from outside.  It was night, blowing wind and sleet.  We knew our awning would retract in high winds but we didn’t think the wind was blowing at that speed.  I went to the door, opened it up, and did not see our awning.  My first thought was it had blown away, ripped from its mounts.  On further investigation, we saw it had rolled up by itself.  Why?  We turned to the manual this time and learned that when the temperature drops below 32 degrees, it retracts.  Good to know!

• Tire center cap disappeared

On one of our first outings we returned to find that our front right tire center cap was gone.  It really affected the look of our Ruff Road.  It made her look a little rough.  Did someone steal it?  We had overnighted at a truck stop.  We didn’t know.  Gary started looking for tire center caps online and stumbled across some discussion of missing center caps.  Apparently, this happens so don’t be alarmed if it happens to you.  We went to Freightliner and bought another one.  Problem solved.

• Replacing Halogen lights with LED lights- the experts don’t always know

We were told by someone at our local RV dealership that we would have to replace each individual puck (fixture).  We even started shopping for puck light replacements.  Fortunately, this was false.  In our unit, all we needed was the bulbs.  Gary read several great reviews on LED lights sold on Amazon for a fraction of the cost that RV Stores charged.  For about $70 we were able to replace all of our ceiling lights with LED lights.  So far, so good.  LEDs are much cooler and use a fraction of the watts that the hot halogen lights use.  If you are thinking of making the switch, we recommend it.

(add amazon link)

• Beware of what and how you store in basement compartments

There is nothing funny about this one.  I allocated one of the basement bins to backpacking and camping supplies.  Some items were stored in a tote but the backpacks and tents were stored in large garbage bags.  As we adjusted to RV living, we found the need to rearrange things.  It was during one of these rearranging sessions that I discovered that my backpack was covered in mildew, not the spare one but the one I use.  The same thing happened to my good Big Agnes tent.  I was devastated.  Yes we live in Florida.  Yes it is humid and wet here.  Lesson learned, I removed my good gear and it now lives in my bedroom.  All other gear is stored in storage containers but I know now to check things regularly.  If I hadn’t gone into this bin, there would have been more damage to my gear.

• Have a schedule

This may be a no brainer to many of you but when you retire, it’s easy to flounder going from highly scheduled days to being left to your own devices.  We set a schedule to keep ourselves sane and to keep us on track with the tasks of downsizing.  We also have set routines to provide structure to our day.  Of course, we are retired so we are flexible.  But knowing that Monday is always dump day and laundry day helps keep us on track.

• Tips

You will bang your head.  Keep cabinets closed to avoid injury.  Be aware of low hanging cabinets.  I think I had knots and even broken skin the first month in Ruff Road.  I’m better now!

Put wheel covers on before dropping the airbags to save your knuckles.

Small humidifiers work.  Ours did.  Don’t assume it won’t go flying.  Ours did after weeks of no problems and now we have to buy another one.

Sweep everyday.  Ev-er-y day.

You will constantly be rearranging to make things fit the best and to make the best use of space.  Embrace it.  Also, you will take things out.  You’ll be ready to do it after you’ve moved something 50 times.  It will suddenly lose its preciousness.

Weekly dump day is thorough cleaning day.

What are some of your lessons learned?  Do you have any funny stories?  I’m sure we’ll “learn” more as we move into this nomadic lifestyle.  I can’t wait!