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Two RV tips

Two RV tips I have picked up on my 30 plus years of RVing I want to share. One will save you money on a replacement lens. The other will keep your RV looking good for years and improve its resale value.

1. Superglue the running light lens to keep it from blowing away

You know the story. You spend a day driving to your camping spot.  Then you find the lens cover of a running light missing when you get there. Wait up, don’t go grabbing that bottle of super glue. What you will need is the absolute smallest drop of super glue that you can get. Use a cotton swab to apply the dot(one) of super glue. Cut off the swab and use the stick end to apply the superglue dot. After all, you will need to remove the lens at one point to replace any bulbs(old school to you LED’ers) should they go bad. I place the “drop” at the top center point where the lens snaps over the main body of the running light and only on the edge of the lens.

All Trailer Light Lens Covers – Amazon.com

Remember I said smallest possible dot. Don’t get wild with it or else you won’t be able to remove it without breaking off the entire running light body. Ok, before you super glue that lens make sure the inside of the lens is as clean you can get it. You will not be taking it apart to clean out a dirty lens.

Once the lens is “super glued” they will no longer fly off during towing. To remove the lens I use the smallest blade of my pocket knife and work it gently under the lens where the superglue dot is located and try to cut/pry the dot apart. A razor blade knife will also work well on this removal procedure.

2. Use rubberized paint on the frame in the front of the rig

This is an appearance thing. The front end of your towable RV rig is getting pelted with small stones, gravel, large sand particles anytime you are towing it. After a time the small dings will start to rust. Before you know it, the frame at the front of your rig will be looking very tired.

What I find is that a coat of rubberized paint will take the hits and not allow rust to form.  This is a one-time project that I do when I acquire an RV. I don’t have to worry about its appearance years down the road. The paint I use is a “truck bed paint” in an aerosol can. One can, a little taping off of the body and a little elbow grease with my angle grinder with a cup wire brush and some phosphoric acid used with an acid brush will have your rig ready to paint.

This paint job will last for the entire time you own your rig. It will even look good when you go to sell your precious RV baby. Unfortunately, at this time it only comes in black. So if you want another color this will have to be a two-step paint job. The rubberized paint is the first coat.  The second coat is the color of your choice. Of course, you will have to observe the proper drying time between coats.

The related article below explains the procedure for removing rust from steel.

Related Article: Tip removing rust from garden tools
Related Articles: More Articles about RVs

(By dave_7 from Lethbridge, Canada (1976 Bonair 1150 Tent Trailer) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)