Hi Tech - RV Safety Part 2

By Perry Mack

Last issue in Hi Tech! we explored part one of safety considerations to keep your vacations trouble and stress-free. Here is part two of the safety issues feature, some are RV specific, and others we take for granted at home but need to double check in our ‘home-away-from-home’.

Voltage & Surge

Steady, ‘clean’ power is one of those things that most of us take for granted at home. So much so, that we don’t even think about it when we plug in at a campground or RV park. Aside from the obvious danger of an electrical fire from an overloaded circuit or spark, many of us travel with a host of sensitive electronics from televisions and stereos, to satellite receivers and computers. Electrical issues might not even be apparent when you first plug in, but overtime they can wreck your appliances and electronics. Voltage protection units and surge protectors can prevent poor power from entering your RV when you initially plug in, and eliminate damage that could arise over time.

Smoke Alarms

As common as door handles and as easily taken for granted. But a broken door handle can’t kill you. Test your smoke alarms and replace the batteries every year or preferably every six months. That vintage RV, install smoke alarms in the ceiling.

Carbon monoxide detectors

Known as the silent killer because you can’t taste it, see it, smell it, or feel it; it’s a byproduct the exhaust of vehicles, generators, gas fireplaces and that comforting heater in your RV. Hemoglobin in your blood binds to oxygen via your lungs to keep your cells alive. Trouble is that hemoglobin binds to carbon monoxide faster than it does to oxygen – no oxygen, no you.

You might not even have a carbon monoxide detector in your home if it’s older – but you should. Mount them at home and in the RV close to where sleep. It’s a myth that they should be low on the wall – stand-alone units just often get plugged into an electrical outlet. Carbon monoxide is actually a bit lighter than air and mixes freely with it, so install them in the wall or ceiling, away from ceiling fans, cooking areas or high humidity (bathrooms) so you get accurate readings (and don’t disconnect it because it often goes off incorrectly).

Propane gas detectors 

Propane gas detectors are installed in all RV’s now, and have been for quite some time as propane is not only flammable but also explosive. Propane is also odorless like carbon monoxide but propane producers add a harmless chemical called mercaptan, which provides that wonderfully aromatic (yucky) rotten egg smell, so you can tell if there’s a leak, or if a pilot light has gone out but the propane is still flowing into your living space.

Your propane system suffers from the vibration of the road just like your back. It can get tired. It’s best to take your rig in annually and have a professional test your system.

Similarly your propane tanks should be checked for leaks and make a note as each tank has an ‘expiry date’. Propane distributors won’t filled expired tanks so don’t take off on your next trip with such a tank. They will probably be able to sell you one but it might not be at the price you want to pay.

Fire extinguishers 

In my teens I received some fatherly advice, well, from my father. He said, “Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.” At the time he was talking about a condom as I was heading out on a date, but the same advice applies to fire extinguishers.

It could be a grease fire in the kitchen or something gone awry in the engine, but either way, a fire extinguisher could be the difference between the charred wreckage of an RV with an accompanying forest fire, or a ‘holey crap was that ever close’ story beside the campfire.

Get a unit marked with ABC as it will douse any type of fire, check the gauge periodically to make sure it still has pressure (in the green), then turn it upside down occasionally and give it a shake. It’s not a fire hose with liquid inside; it’s a dry chemical powder that can become a solid useless block (and still show green on the gauge).

You’ll be tempted to save some dough on an inexpensive throw away unit (maybe you already have). But I would suggest you invest in a good one that can be recharged and professionally inspected so that when you really need it, you’ll not only have it, but it will work.

Roadside Safety Kit

You have undoubtedly walked past them at every auto and RV supply store – the roadside safety kit. I’m not talking about the windshield sun screen with the smiley face and sunglasses, but the one with flares, cones, flashing lights and warning triangles. With a little planning you can help prevent an accident (and potential injury) involving another vehicle when your RV is disabled on the highway.

Most of the kit will last forever but flares usually have a life expectancy of four years (and will be stamped with an expiry date). Many of us already have a kit jammed into the last place we’ll ever look. I suggest we all check the batteries in our flashing lights, expiry date on our flares, and keep the kit handy so that we don’t have to create a roadside RV garage sale to get to it.