Extra things

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Ok, stuff on RVs break.

At times, I think half the fun of RV'ing is having things break and testing your patience ... and your ability to make do.

Over the years, I've learned ... and also accumulated a lot of extra parts for my trailers.

You probably have to.

Seems like stuff breaks at the most inopportune time ...

Like the time I pulled into a gas station and my water heater door swung open ... somehow the little twisty-hold-the-door-shut thingy either broke off or fell off.

I was able to wire it back up ... but had a hard time finding a place to purchase a replacement twisty-hold-the-door-shut thingy.

So now I carry an extra hold-the-door-shut thingy with me.

Let's see. If memory serves me right, I also carry an extra:

1. Twisty-hold-the-door-shut Converter door thingy.
2. A replacement cabinet latch and corresponding cabinet latch holding piece.
3. Extra anode rod
4. Extra refrigerator shelf
5. Extra cable tv connection cover.
6. Extra vent cap
7. Extra shower drain
8. Extra trailer door latch assembly

I'll think of more later.

No, not all this stuff has broke on me ... but in case it does, I want to have it with me ...

Some of the extra parts aren't cheap (like the door latch assembly) ... but if something like that goes bad in the middle of a long trip ... I want to be able to replace it ... and get on with being a happy camper.

So what extra, replacement parts do you keep on hand?

Also

What have you had break at the most inopportune time ... and how did you fix it?

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:wave Hi Charles
yes we are starting. bought two p traps for the shower drain and left the one on top of the tonneau cover...Lora drove off with it, never to be seen again,:red ...by us.:r
Charlie Harned lost his plastic hot water door thingy and it cost him $40. for a new door.. so bought two metal ones the other day...only come two at a time.
Michael Sanders showed me the bungy cord with the ball that you described some time ago. had never seen one before. now have several. works great.
read the other day that someone thinks your probly lurking on the old website.:spin
are'nt these smilies great?
cheers

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Hi Lou!

Ah, what would camping life be without bungy balls? (They don't qualify for extra thingies ... but they are still neat!)

I always carry a good supply of those too ... and enjoy handing them out to folks ...

You can buy them at Camping World, et all ... but bungy balls are now being sold at the big box home improvment stores.

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:banana Duct tape!

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Plastic cement/glue.;)

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What part of the chicken is this?

I don't know ... parts is parts.

Duct tape (never leave home without it) and super glue (ditto) are traveling companions, sure ... but I'm looking for spare parts you carry for your trailer.

And I'm also looking for tales of these little latches and hooks and handles that tend to break at the wrong time and how you fixed it.

The little-hold-the-converter-door-shut-thingie on my first trailer broke on the way home from the factory.

I used a little wire bread tie thingie to hold it shut for the remainder of the trip.

Those are the extra parts and things I'm looking for in this thread.

Come on, show me some of that good old fashion yankee ...ah, er, North American ... ingenuity.

What broke on your little fiberglass wonder and how did you keep it rolling down the road?

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The only thing I've broken on the tt so far, isn't a borken, but a falling off. brake line/wire hanging. those little tiny bungies tie up great. but wish I'd had some gray tape. that would have been easier.
On the MH the TV antenna fell off. I just picked it up and threw it away. didn't need a spare for that.

but I have a question, why do you need an extra shower drain?

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Charles, are you going to answer this, or shall I?

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New shower drain on Casitas is a rubber j-trap (used to be a hard plastic).

Given the angle of the dangle, it's possible to drag the j-trap on the ground, if you hit the right angled driveway, etc.

Now, I've only wrecked one ... but unfortunately, didn't notice the damaged trap until it started leaking while Pam was taking a shower on a concrete pad at a commercial campground.

>>tv antenna

I threw away the tv antenna on our second fiberglass wonder after a near-brush with a tornado in Kansas literally twisted the antenna off the top of the trailer, leaving it dangling by the wiring.

Casita replaced the antenna under warranty ... even though it was damaged by a tornado. Nice folks!

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To continue the story:

But Mary F. had told me about her beloved Skip fixing his damaged shower drain j-trap with duct tape.

So, since I couldn't find a replacement j-trap, I repaired my trap with duct tape and continued on our merry way.

I now travel with a spare ... and probably won't ever need it ... like Lou, will probably leave it out somewhere or on top of something and lose it before I need the replacement trap!

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Will replace the j-trap on our Casita, just as soon as the duct tape fix starts leaking again. (To be accurate, our duct tape fix also included a liberal dollop of silicone sealant!) So, yes, we carry a ''spare'' j-trap.

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I'm still mulling over the extra refrigerator shelf.
I just never thought about carrying one of those at all.
I was just picturing that extra heavy beer can that could collapse the thing at a moments notice.

However it could be used as an emergency barbecue grill I guess.
Or maybe something to press your potatoes through for mashed potatoes.

Or for an archeological dig where you needed to sift only large items.

I guess it's worth having one at that! I'll just have to order one up.

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On the 17 foot Casita, larger refrigerator ... the bottom shelf is large enough to hold 2 liter and half gallon bottles.

We usually have ours packed with 2-liters of pop and half-gallons of milk and juice.

An errant jar of pickles ... flying around inside the refrigerator, combined with the addition weight of the pop, juice and milk caused the plastic support nubbin on the end of shelf to break ... and collapse the shelf.

The "collapse" happened at the beginning of a 6-week trip ... which made more a catastrophy ... because we now had no place for the pop, milk and juice.

I called Dometic ... who shipped a replacement warranty shelf to my house ... even though I told them I overloaded the shelf, etc, etc, they replaced it under warranty. Nice people.

Anyway, with the replacement shelf sitting at home ... and us headed no where near home ... I fashioned a fix with white duct tape which is still holding ... more than a year and a half later.

So I carry the replacement warranty shelf in case my duct tape fix fails.

Don't laugh ... I've fashioned similar repairs for other molded fiberglass trailer owners. It's easy if you have the part that breaks off ... If you don't have the part, you have to carve a piece of stick ... then duct tape it all together.

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Yep, you got to love the stuff.:wub And duct tape comes in different colors also. I always keep a roll of gray, black snd camo on hand.
:ola

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This stuff is permanent unless you remove it. Double sided for sticking things together. Use in place of rivets or screws. Home Despot and Lowe's sell it in small rolls.

I had to move my cell phone antenna from the rear window to the windshield when I installed the okie box. Holds like a charm. I'm installing a wind baffle on the water heater door using VHB tape to attach.

3M VHB Tape.

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Charles, where did you find the cable cover? Ours broke several months ago, just need to replace it.

Thanks:wave

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Fuses for the battery! Learned that lesson the hard way...but I am learning!

And this came with the trailer when I bought it used. An extra black/grey water tank dump valve handle.

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Hi Whitfields!

Hey, older Casitas (and my first two) came with a chained stainless steel F-cable terminator cap on the cable tv connection... which you can get at any Radio Shack (cap, that is. No chain, but the chain rubbed the trailer anyway!).

Newer Casitas (which I and you have) come with a large rubber o-ringed and cap dealie that covers the plastic tv cable housing. My first one blew off enroute somewhere. So I purchased two from Casita ... only source I know for these is Casita (which is where I bought mine!).

Hi Jean!

Good tip on spare fuses. I carry some of those too!

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Hi Charles

items that we carry along with us that haven't been mentioned:
Spare bulbs ( stop light , running , exterior and interior )
Tube of electrical grease
s.s. hose clamps ( water line and larger ones for PVC pipe )
In line water shut off valve ( the kind you can splice into the line )
Extra 20amp to 30 amp adapter
All manuals with phone numbers for equipment

Really haven't had to uses many items in the year and half that we have had the our little casita. A little WB grease, lots of wax and air in the tires and your good to go but, nice to know if something breaks you have a shot at fixing it.

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Good extra stuff to carry Larry! Forgot about the hose clamps, assorted sizes! Say hi to Sherrin!