Our youngest daughter complained the other day that we hadn't blogged in a while, but what does one write about when one is stagnating in one spot in this oppressive Summer heat? Except for almost 1 week of record breaking triple digit temps, the temperature gauge has been hovering in the 90's. As of today, it has also been 43 days since we last saw any rain. Everything is brown; burn bans and water conservation laws are in effect.
So this brings us to----what?
Well, living in an rv full time even if we're not traveling has been a learning experience for us.
What have we learned?
We've learned that rv air conditioners & refrigerators do not operate as efficiently as those in stick & brick homes.
We've learned why a 5th wheel this size comes with 2 AC units. One will assist the other in keeping the rig at a consistent and comfortable temperature throughout. When we purchased the Suite Pea, we opted out of having 2 AC units since I am not a big fan of air conditioning. The recent hot weather and living with a "struggling" AC unit has changed my mind greatly. We are having a second air conditioner installed the first week of August.
Which brings us to the refrigerator.
Unlike a residential or commercial frig, rv refrigerators are Freon free. They operate by gravity with food becoming cold from the freezer downward. We've also learned that unlike a residential unit that runs more efficiently the better stocked it is, the rv frig runs best with less food stuff, allowing for greater air flow/circulation.
This has been difficult for me as I enjoy cooking and utilizing quite a large variety of ingredients. I am learning to prepare more simple and "basic" meals and less "gourmet" style.
We have also learned that the more frequently the freezer or frig doors are opened, the interior temperature rises, causing less cooling of the food. (Kind of hard staying out of the frig for ice, water and tea with this hot humid weather). We invested in a dorm-sized refrigerator for the pass-through to hold our drinks, thus eliminating the constant door opening of the rv frig.
Research and word of mouth, also taught us that, one, a small battery operated fan placed inside the frig on a low shelf aids the air inside to circulate, and two, a 12 volt fan installed behind the freezer will assist with the cooling. We did purchase and are using a small fan for the interior. We inquired into having the 12 volt fan installed at the same time as the 2nd AC unit is being installed. Hopefully all these changes will improve our living conditions.
What else have we learned?
We've learned that we can live quite comfortably and happily inside our 5th, making do with less. I am also enjoying the fact that instead of spending 3 days on housework and another on the yard, I now spend only a few hours tending to our living quarters. What a blessing that is!
Here's looking at you kid...............................................
