Not to scare, but to be aware.

[Lakota Wolf]

Here is  subject that I havent come across in awhile. I was going thru my crayon scribbles on construction paper, The dangers of Carbon Monoxide poisoning. Most, (not all ) RV's use Gas appliances, Stove, water heater, Furnace ,Fridge. Thats a lot of flame if you think about it. Little candles burning 24/7 until a demand is needed,, then it becomes a Blow torch.

Now all of these appliances have (or supposed to ) have a clear exhaust vent to vent the poisonous gas outside. All it takes is a slight obstruction and things start getting bad real quick. It can as simple as a few leaves, pine needles dusty debri, wasps nests, that forgotten taped over vent to originally keep them out during off season,, etc.

NOT everyone thinks about Carbon Monoxide detectors,,, its not up there at the top of the list of things to do on a nice sunny weekend.

BTW, I was reminded of this from a news story released some time back.

Its Not rocket science to set up a schedule to do a walk around your rig, at least once a month, (if your a full timer), and a MUST if your rig is stored in off use months. Before ya venture out, take the extra few minutes to check ALL the intake and Exhaust vents for any obstruction,, NO EXCEPTIONS. Nothing is more tragic then someone becoming sick or worse on a family outing. Its just NOT worth the risk.

(Sorry, but no humor added to this,, cuz there is no humor to tragedy)

Im passing on my trademark smartassity.

Simple quick testing of appliance maintenance is a spray bottle with a little dish soap and water and spray the fittings and connections, Making sure nothing is obstructing the vents, 99% common sense.

While your under the cabinets and cubby holes,, turn your water on and check for leaks,, Your under there anyway, right,, I call that a 2 for 1 double check,, Better to find a problem now then 200 miles from home that will ruin any fun camping time. And for the NEW RV owners, Just because its brand new and has 3 miles on it,, If it CAN leak, IT WILL., (Look up Murphys Law).

Test your Appliance before you head out and be sure to TURN THEM OFF while traveling. YES, even Fridges. Turn you GAS OFF while the rig is in motion. (But I need to keep my fridge running and cold blah blah blah.). If you read your owners manual, or online manufactures warnings,, Rigs must be level when using the gas option on the fridge.

Rigs are NOT level when humming down the roadways,They tilt wobble and lean. If your worried about keeping things cold,, Run the fridge before you set off and get it frosty cold, and keep the dridge door closed while traveling.. Then when parked and level you can use the gas option for cooling. And to add another tid bit,, DONT have someone cooking while your driving, (Class A and C models) Example is on Youtube,, Class A, catches fire while wife is cooking and hubby drives,,, a simple spill of grease on the stove from a dip and turn,

If your hungry,, pull off and fix a meal.

And something, some FULL time RV'ers dont think about.

OVERSEALING the RV,, Making your RV air tight,, preserve all that precious heat.   Yes you CAN overseal your rig. (friendly reminder,, I wrote an article about leaving the roof vent cracked open in the bathroom while showering,, it lets the steam and moisture out, instead of soaking into the walls). This smae priciple applys to when sealing up your RV for those brrr cold nights. Yes you can insulate BUT remember,, everything now is Contained inside,, fresh and stagnant air,, even that fish smell from last nights fish fry,(ok, added some humor). Even if its cold,, a furnace will keep on cranking that trusty and cozy heat out,, and if you ever looked at return air systems on RV's,, they are the bare minimum,,, if even that. Its the cycle of life,, push something in,, something has to go out rule. I myself am simple and lazy at times,,, I crack open the roof vent in bathroom while showering,, and when cooking I dont use the vent fan over the stove in the winter,, cold air blows under the vent louvers), I crack open the roof vent in the kitchen to expell the heat and smells (fish fry? ). Basic science tells us heat rises,, right?  So remeber when sealing and insulating your rig,, think about adding some fresh air to compensate for the contained and trapped stale air. (another case in point,, think 3 week old gas station sushi left in the fridge when the power was out)

Ok, now that you have that smell visual burned into your brain,, Be safe and even safer with common sense,, remember Murphys law, and DONT SKIP ON GETTING A CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR.

We love all our online RV friends, and want to share many many future adventures and memories,

Be safe and never go faster then your angel can fly.

[Frances DeHart]

Thank you for posting this!! I have sealed some but not everything air tight. I didn't plug my roof vents like some people do. Do run the furnace and a electric heater at times. The co2 detector is definitely a must!! Thank you so much!! I love this site and all of you here!