Category Archives: General Talk

Honda Generator Maintenance and Storage

Camper Upgrades, General Talk,

As we near the end of October, many campers are “winterizing” their campers and putting them into storage. Given our location and easy access to year round camping we “winterize” differently. 

This summer we bought a pair of Honda generators as I shared a while back. These were purchased only for use in summer when temperatures are in triple digits (meaning we won’t have any camping neighbors). They also can be used for backup electricity in case of a power outage. We won’t need them for at least 6 months, so it was time to winterize them – meaning to do any required maintenance and prep them for storage. Just in case you have Honda EU 2000 series generators and haven’t read the manual, other than the Quick Reference Guide, here is the maintenance schedule.

Continue reading Honda Generator Maintenance and Storage →

How the Post Office Can Help You When You Are Camping

General Talk

In the not so distance past, the US Postal Service was a very customer-unfriendly organization. We had to do things their way, seems someone removed the words “customer” and “convenience” from their dictionary. In the early days of Fax machines the post office tried to get Faxes classified as First Class mail, and since the USPS has a monopoly on First Class Mail, every Fax would have to be sent to them first and then hand delivered by a postal carrier. That idea didn’t work. I remember back in the ‘80s or early ‘90s the Postmaster General decided that Fax machines were competition and all these machines were removed from USPS facilities. Cooperation with UPS or FedEx? No way?

Today the USPS has a convenient presence on the internet; one can buy stamps at grocery stores, drug stores, and even Costco. You can print your own postage via private companies like Stamp.com. UPS and FedEx now deliver packages to the USPS for final deliver by the Postal Service – a benefit to everyone, including the public. You can communicate electronically with the USPS, track packages and even obtain special services via your computer for when you are away camping. Overall I think the USPS does a great job. The only time we have had problems is when we did something wrong, such as send a package to the wrong address. Here’s a couple of services we use a lot that folks might not be aware of. Continue reading How the Post Office Can Help You When You Are Camping →

Should I Replace the Air in My Trailer & Tow Vehicle Tires with Nitrogen?

General Talk, ,
Picture courtesy of Discount Tire

That was I question I received from a friend who reads this blog. Further he mentioned that he had been told that nitrogen would:

  • Not leak like compressed air does
  • His vehicle would get better gas mileage
  • Perform better because race cars use nitrogen
  • Be safer because airplanes use nitrogen
  • The tires and wheels would last longer

I’m not a scientist but was once considered a tire industry expert before I retired. So we need to first look at the difference between compressed air and compressed nitrogen, and then recognize who is advocating nitrogen filled tires. We will also explore the answers to the bullet points above. Continue reading Should I Replace the Air in My Trailer & Tow Vehicle Tires with Nitrogen? →