Archive for April, 2009

DO yourself a favor and gather some information. Flea markets are littered with useless, inverters that people thought were bargains. Read: RV Power Inverter Comparison Tips

DO read the instructions carefully, more than once, and highlight the critical steps before attempting to connect an inverter. Some have elaborate instructions (good), but critical safety precautions are buried in the text and easily overlooked.

DO locate the power inverter as close to the batteries as possible. Use as heavy a cable as possible (read the instructions).

DO ventilate the power inverter well. They can get very warm. They need fresh air, just like a stereo or computer. Inverters do well in outside RV compartments as long as they are protected from the elements.

DO consider a small power inverter if it suites you need. Unless your wiring is inadequate, you can plug small inverters into standard 12VDC receptacles. This avoids installation issues and save money.

DO consider load transfer switches for larger power inverters even though they may cost more. if you also have a generator, make sure the transfer switch will handle three sources of power. Commercial power, generator power and inverter power.

DO make sure you know what you’re doing when wiring an RV power inverter or get help from someone who does. Even if you use a professional electrician, make sure he understands that neutral and ground wires in an RV are NOT bonded together.

DO consider a power inverter a for your RV a priority item if medical appliances keep you tied to commercial power. (You can even plug the small ones into wheel chair batteries in many cases.)

DO buy a power inverter from a dealer who can advise you before you purchase.

DO buy a power inverter from a company that will let you return it for full (or nearly full) credit if it’s in like new condition, original box, etc. Some inverters will cause radio/TV interference. Some will cause interference only on certain brands or models within brands. Good dealers will allow you to bring your RV to their place of business so inverters can be temporarily connected to test interference problems.

DON’T be afraid of RV power inverters. They’re perfectly safe if used properly. They’re not difficult to install if you follow the instructions. They can just about pay for themselves depending on what you use them for.

DON’T ever attempt to connect the power inverter to your electrical system with a simple jumper cord using a male connector (plug) at each end. The chance of shock or shorting the power invert is too great. And you will damage the inverter.

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With the way tips are shared across the internet and my pour memory I can’t give credit to who thought of this tip but I wish I could say I thought of it.

Do you have an older RV or vehicle with black plastic trim that is faded and gray? Try Kiwi shoe polish. When I first heard about it I was skeptical but I have tried so many other products to ‘restore’ the plastic trim on my truck that didn’t work I thought why not try it?

I do have to say that I had mixed results but overall I think shoe polish works pretty well. Much better that the other products.

The bumper trim on my 1996 truck was in bad shape, part of the trim was gray and the part that was still black was dull.

It took three applications over three evenings to get it looking reasonably good but it needs a couple more coats of polish to even out the shine… it’s an old truck.

I had much better results with the plastic trim around the taillight assembly. I think because that plastic is different… harder… it only took one application of the shoe polish to bring it back to like new condition.

I believe the shoe polish works so well compaired to the other products I’ve used is because it has pigment as well as polishing agents.
It’s been several days now and the plastic doesn’t show signs of fading but I’ll try to remember to let you know later how it’s holding up.

Special Note: This post marks the first from the new WordPress website. I’ve already had a couple of glitches in the transition and no doubt I’ll have more in the next few days as I work out the bugs and learn to use the new posting system. I want to thank you in advance for your patients.

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