The RV Furnace and Cold Weather Camping

With the end of summer many people either head south or put their RV in storage until spring. But for winter camping, or cool mornings in the spring and late fall, a well maintained RV furnace is the easiest, safest and most effective way to heat your RV.

The older your RV is the more important routine maintenance becomes. Furnaces more than 5 years old should be inspected yearly by a certified RV technician.

Routine monthly inspection is a simple process, and can be done by you. The following is a list of what to inspect, and how to do it:

• Check your exterior vent If you find soot, your furnace is experiencing improper combustion. This is a sign of a carbon monoxide problem. Take to a RV service center for inspection and repair before you use the furnace again.
• Check your interior return air vents. They should be free of dust and not obstructed.
• Look at the furnace case (remove the return air vent). Vacuum any dust and dirt you see. Dust build up here will work into the interior switches and furnace blower motor and will prevent your furnace running at top efficiency.
• Check the heating ducts. They should be clean with no obstructions. Pay special attention to the duct connections at the furnace and the condition of the ducting. Cracked or loose ducting will cause warm air leaks, and inefficient heating. Dried or cracked ducting should be replaced.
• Test your carbon monoxide detector. If your RV is not equipped with one, get one! It is a cheep life insurance policy.

Your RV furnace operates on the 12 volt system so you don't need to be hooked up to electric to use it. Remember to have a generator, a charger, or an extra battery available because the furnace will drain the battery. The furnace is the biggest user of LP of all the appliances in your RV, so make sure your tanks are full before leaving on your trip, and check your propane level often while your furnace is in use.

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Using Stuff Sacks For Your Sleeping Bag

When I was just starting out hiking and camping I used to pack my sleeping bag loose into the backpack or even tie it on the outside. It took me 3 trips before I started using stuff sacks to store my sleeping bag. These cylindrical shaped nylon, usually waterproof, enclosures protect your bag from unnecessary wear and tear and also from the rain.

Material

Most stuff sacks are made of newer fabrics like coated polyester and ultralight silicone-impregnated nylon.

While the material itself is waterproof, the drawstring closure in most stuff sacks is not so be careful about getting it into water and if you tie your sleeping bag to the outside of your backpack make sure you at least cover the drawstring closure with a waterproof material to protect against rain. A plastic bag will do in most cases.

Newer stuff sacks like the eVac Dry Sack from Sea To Summit don't use drawstring closures but instead you roll the sack down and then close the buckle. This accomplishes two things. First, when you roll the sack down air is pushed out of the base so water can't get in. Second, it allows you to save both space and weight. The weight saving though is not such a big deal. You only save a little bit of weight but the space saving is much appreciated.

The lightest stuff sacks are made of silicone-impregnated nylon parachute cloth. It can be as light as 0.5 oz or even less. GoLite employs this type of material and they made an improvement to the drawstring closure by adding a collar instead of just a drawstring and flap configuration. Outdoor Research on the other hand uses a good waterproof fabric called Hydroseal. This fabric is tough and can handle rough use but still limp enough to mold itself to the contents of the sack. This stuff sack is available in the drawstring-flap configuration as well as roll closure secured with Velcro bindings.

Compression and Size

Most stuff sack suppliers have some sort of compression model with straps, laces or double drawstrings that reduces the volume by up to half. You can also stuff in your down jacket or parka together with the sleeping bag into the sack. Make sure that yours is big enough for you to easily put in whatever you intend to put in.

Don't get a small stuff sack just because you think it would save you space because in most cases you'll just have unused, wasted space in your backpack as a result. Another problem is that even if you can cram your sleeping bag and other stuff into the sack when you're at home, doing so in less than ideal conditions on an empty stomach with the cold wind biting at you can turn it into a monstrous task. Get one that's big enough to take its load with extra room to spare, leaving it soft, malleable and easy to stuff. I use Outdoor Research Hydroseal DryComp Sacks but I'm thinking of getting the eVac Dry Sack from Sea to Summit for myself.

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Camping Water Filters - What To Look For In A Portable Water Filter

If you are travelling a lot around the world and never certain whether the local water will be safe to drink or not then getting a portable filter can be a great solution. Not only will you be able to drink the water safely but it'll also taste a lot better too!

If you are going to be camping around the world then even seemingly simple this like cleaning your teeth in the morning can become difficult without clean and safe water. Sometimes you won't be sure whether the water is safe, and sometimes you'll know it is definitely not. In either case it pays to be on the safe side by using some sort of water purification system.

What To Look For In A Portable Water Filter

Water filters are not all as good as each other. Some will simply make the water taste better, while others will purify it. You need to make sure exactly what the filter does and what it doesn't do. While a filter that makes the water tastes better might be handy, one that makes the water clean and safe to drink is much more useful if you are going to travel the world camping.

You'll also need to make sure that the filter is compact and easy to carry around. It needs to be convenient as you'll probably b taking it everywhere, you don't want it to become a hassle.

Another important point is how much water the filter will work with before it needs to be replaced. If you are going to be going away for a long time you may need to take a supply of them to last you the whole trip.

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