Love Your RV - Newsletter August 2017

August 2017 "Love Your RV" Newsletter

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Hello, and Welcome to the August Newsletter. Happy dog days of summer. :)

Thanks everyone for subscribing to and reading my monthly newsletters. If you're new or missed any editions, you can always catch up by visiting the Archive Page.

What's New With Us

Spent the first week and half of August away from the RV visiting family here on Vancouver Island and a short trip to Vancouver to attend my mom's 75th birthday party. Turned out to be a good time to be away from the campsite. Smoke from major forest fires in the BC interior had drifted west covering the coast. The smoke was so thick the sun was seen as a dark red ball at sunrise and sunset, very eery.

Thankfully, the winds shifted back to the regular BC coastal west to east pattern, and we got a day or so of rain. The smoky air was gone, and we've enjoyed some fantastic weather for the last half of the month.

When not soaking in the sunshine and warm temps I've of course been puttering around the RV with my summer repairs and upgrades. With a 1994 vintage truck and the now over 6-year-old trailer, there is no shortage of minor repairs.

Luckily I've always enjoyed fixing things. It's fun for me. Anne laughs at me as I get so excited when something breaks, and I get to fix a problem. She's happy with the money we save, though. :)

Speaking of Anne, her sore knees are improving, and she is getting some more boat trips in again. She bought herself a slick new shock absorber unit for her boat seat called a Smooth Moves. Of course, yours truly was hired to do the installation. Paid off in hugs and kisses.

Over on her photography blog, Anne has been putting out a beautiful series of posts: Reasons to Love Vancouver Island in Summer. I sense she really loves the animals!

On the Love Your RV! product review front. A couple of weeks back I installed a product called EZ Snap Window Shades. Look for a full review article and video in the coming days.

We wanted to use this exterior mesh shade a while before deciding how we like it. So far I like the easy install, heat blocking capabilities, and daytime privacy. However, they are hard to see out of when in close proximity, and Anne doesn't like how much light the shades block. She prefers it as bright as possible in the mornings.

I can't believe how fast this summer has flown by. We only have one month left here in Campbell River before it will be time to pack up and get things ready for our snowbird trip south.

I love September. Has to be my favorite month here. Shoulder season. The kids head back to school, and the tourists fade away. I have a few day trips planned in the area so stay tuned...

Ray's Pick - Helpful RVing Website of the Month

https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov

I stumbled across this site when looking for a satellite view of the BC fires a few weeks ago. It puts out a new image of an area once a day. They have events bookmarked showing things like fires, storms, etc. There are many layers that can be added or subtracted. You can even put together a video on a sequence of days. Pretty cool! And could come in handy when RVing, especially during wild fire season.

"This tool from NASA's EOSDIS provides the capability to interactively browse global, full-resolution satellite imagery and then download the underlying data. Most of the 400+ available products are updated within three hours of observation, essentially showing the entire Earth as it looks "right now". This supports time-critical application areas such as wildfire management, air quality measurements, and flood monitoring. Arctic and Antarctic views of several products are also available for a "full globe" perspective. Browsing on tablet and smartphone devices is generally supported for mobile access to the imagery."

(Note: I'm not affiliated with this website in any way - Ray)

RVing Tip of the Month

With Snowbird season fast approaching for many, it's a good time to check our RV fire extinguisher, smoke, LP gas and CO alarms. I like to keep a large extinguisher at the entrance door near our kitchen. A second in the bedroom. A third in the RV basement storage and a fourth in the truck cab.

I used to have a commercial business and once a year a guy would come and certify the fire extinguishers. He would turn them upside down and bang the bottom with a rubber mallet to keep the contents from settling.

Fire Extinguisher Checklist found on AcmeFire.com

Monthly
- Check that the arrow in the gauge is pointing on the green which means it’s charged
- Check that that there is nothing blocking the nozzle
- Check that there are no changes (bulges, rust) to cylinder
- Check that it has not been dropped or damaged
Annually - It is recommended that you perform annual checks of your extinguisher(s) as follows: (when you test your smoke detectors)
- Perform you normal monthly inspection
- Remove extinguisher from the wall bracket
- Turn the extinguisher upside down and use a rubber mallet and tap the bottom of the extinguisher, this will prevent the powder from settling
- Return the extinguisher to the bracket

RVing Funny of the Month

Anne's massive yacht Snoopy in for new bottom paint.
They had to use the biggest sling, and it barely fit!!!

Many thanks to you for reading my monthly ramblings.

Cheers Ray - ray@loveyourrv.com

“Stuff your eyes with wonder. Live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds. see the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.”
– Ray Bradbury

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What's New With Us

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Ray's Pick - Helpful RVing Website of the Month

https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov

RVing Tip of the Month

Many thanks to you for reading my monthly ramblings.