Handy Hints, Gadgets, Products & Gizmos

Bobbo wrote:
The noise is not from the water pump. It is from the resonance that results from the pump being on solid surfaces. As a test, turn your phone to "vibrate only," then place it on a table and call it. You will be surprised how LOUD that vibrate only is.

You need to cushion your water pump from the floor with something soft, like rubber. If you have rigid water lines attached, you need to put flexible hose between the water pump and the rigid water line.

Thanks! Will be checking that out.

The noise is not from the water pump. It is from the resonance that results from the pump being on solid surfaces. As a test, turn your phone to "vibrate only," then place it on a table and call it. You will be surprised how LOUD that vibrate only is.

You need to cushion your water pump from the floor with something soft, like rubber. If you have rigid water lines attached, you need to put flexible hose between the water pump and the rigid water line.

Hoping someone can answer this ...

Is there such a thing as a quiet water pump? Ours is so noisy when we are dry camping. It's especially loud in the middle of the night when others are trying to sleep.

Shurflo claims to have one. Does anyone have experience with it?

Thanks!

Great Idea. Thanks for sharing

"wguss" thanks for the photos....and outstanding DIY project!!

Too long since last bump.

Lots of Hint & Tip lists refer to a whiteboard/dry-erase board for note-making. Our whiteboard solution is an unframed flexible magnetic whiteboard, the back of the whole thing being magnetic plastic or rubber. It fits the curve of the refrigerator freezer door and sticks like crazy. No more flat, framed whiteboard on the floor when we arrive at the campsite.

Many sizes & brands available at Amazon, Walmart, etc.

Wow! Nice work, AND solves a huge pain in the back.

I've been perusing this forum for over 15 years and this is the first time I've seen this post! Amazing amount of hints contained herein and I guess I'll add mine, if not just for the bump effect.

We have done a lot of mods to our motor home since we got it new 15 years ago. This is the latest one I just finished during our coronavirus lock down. No safer place than alone in the RV!

Our bed has a good amount of storage under it but it is not accessible unless the slide is rolled out. It snugs in against our closet and the lid can't be lifted evenly by the near corner.



To solve this problem and to just make it easier on our backs I installed a linear actuator to do the lifting. The bed has a false bottom which when lifted exposed the slide worm drive mechanism. I placed a block of wood the thickness between the slide and the false bottom. I bolted and screwed that into the frame of the slide.



The next job was wiring to control the actuator. Winnebago has a nice wiring diagram and all their wires are labeled. I was able to find a pair of wires on the floor of the slide that go to the sconces on either side of the bed. I simply spliced into those positive and negative 12 volt wires and then ran it to a switch. By mounting the switch to the lower corner of the foot of the bed I was able to keep all the wires hidden beneath the false bottom and hopefully out of the way of feet and vacuum cleaners.






A little tricky was locating the mounting brackets for the actuator. I found this Calculator to help me figure the size and placement. One problem was not being able to be inside the box to check the install location of the top bracket. I put a pillow under the actuator to hold it up and then closed the lid. I slid a tape measure in until it reached the bracket mount and measured the distance to the foot of the bed and then transcribed that for the placement so I could bolt it in when the lid was up. One thing I added to the top mounting bracket was a wood block. The bracket is bolted through the wood block and then the wood block is secured from the top of the lid using t-nuts to bolt into. This allows for the bracket to be unbolted from the top in case of failure of the actuator.

The finished product.



The actuators come in different lengths and weight lifting capabilities. They also come in different speeds. To get the most lifting ability some of them raise very slowly. The one I used has a 12" lift and a 225 lb lifting capability. Way more than I needed. The speed is about 1/2" per second. I found it on eBay for $43 and the switch on Amazon for $8. The switch is a DPDT on/off/on and came pre-wired for the reverse polarity needed for a DC motor.

It was a fairly easy mod and I'm hopeful it will let us make better use of the under bed space.

Bill

Veebyes wrote:

opnspaces wrote:
I have a battery powered magnetic LED that I bought at Home Depot. I had visions about finally having decent light when barbecuing. What I forgot was that RV's are mostly fiberglass and aluminum. Now I have to get creative in how I hang the light since the magnet is all but useless.

Best thing to use for grilling, & a whole bunch of other jobs where light is needed where you are looking, is a decent head lamp.

You turn your head, the light turns too. Genius!

Just don't look at someone else in the eye.

opnspaces wrote:
I have a battery powered magnetic LED that I bought at Home Depot. I had visions about finally having decent light when barbecuing. What I forgot was that RV's are mostly fiberglass and aluminum. Now I have to get creative in how I hang the light since the magnet is all but useless.

Best thing to use for grilling, & a whole bunch of other jobs where light is needed where you are looking, is a decent head lamp.

You turn your head, the light turns too. Genius!