We now have all 8 - RV Maintenance Take Home Technician Series Courses available in our store for purchase in one bundle. These are the course title included in this bundle.

• RV Electrical
• RV Plumbing
• RV Propane
• RV Refrigerators
• RV Air Conditioners
• RV Water Heaters
• RV Furnace
• RV Exterior

Regular price for all these courses if you purchased separately would be  $576.00 but in this bundle you are receiving almost a 50% discount taking the sale price to $297.00  This is a set you will want for your library so you can do the work yourself.

We met you at the RV Show in Hershey, PA and we picked up – “Know Your RV – A Guided Tour” DVD.  For that we are extremely grateful!

“This is million dollar advice on a $19.99 DVD.  No matter what your RV skill level, you are going to learn something new or be reminded of something you have forgotten. Truly, this is something every travel trailer or 5th wheel owner will find useful and worthwhile.”

We very much enjoyed the short, easy-to-digest segments and the advice about the mud dauber screens is something no one has mentioned before.

Thanks again for sharing your knowledge with those of us who most need it!

Sincerely,

Graham and Jayme Mongeon of Virginia

I believe now – more than ever, that people are fascinated with the fact that folks can exist living the ‘good life’  in an RV. The freedom and adventure -  one would have doing this full-time or not full-time is certainly intriguing. Here are the topics that were covered in this article.

1. Massage therapist
2. Creative services
3. RV – Related sales
4. RV repairs
5. Teacher or trainer

Do you dream of buying an RV, traveling the country, and staying at beautiful campsites every night? You don’t have to retire — or wait until you’ve saved enough money to quit your job — to make that happen. Here are five portable businesses that you can operate completely from the road, no matter where you go. Read more of the articles by clicking HERE!

30 Amp vs. 50 Amp Power Cords – Which One is Yours?

Why is it you can only run one air conditioner at a time on the  30 Amp power cord but if you have the 50 Amp power cord you can operate both air conditioners?

Then we hear other RVers use the terms Amps? Volts? Watts? What does all this mean?  You just want to sit and enjoy the scenery but instead you are sitting in the dark?  How can you determine the limits of your RV electrical systems?

There are 3 electrical systems in your RV

• 12 Volt DC (direct current - automotive type battery) that runs the exterior running lights, stop lights and turn signals of your coach.  On a trailer they are powered through the 7 way pin connector from your tow vehicle. On a motorized unit they are powered by your chassis alternator and battery just like your car.
• 12 Volt DC (direct current - deep cycle battery type) that powers all the 12 volt lights, fresh water pump, circuit boards for your appliances, propane detector, room slide outs and powered leveling jacks. The converter (fancy battery charger) that takes 120 volts AC like we have at home wall receptacles and changes it to 12 volts DC for this deep cycle battery.
• 120 Volts AC (alternating current like we have at home) that powers the air conditioner, microwave, electric element in the water heater, ceiling fans and wall receptacles and the AC to DC converter.  This 120 Volts AC gets its power from the 30 or 50 amp power cord we plug into the pedestal shore power or generator.

Most electrical products have a label or plate on them that list voltage, amperage and sometimes the watts it will use.  What does all that mean?

Voltage – is the “push” that the electricity has.  Voltage is the same to electricity that water pressure is to a water system.  Voltage is either 12 volts DC (direct current) or 120 volts AC.

Amperage - is the flow of electricity.  Amperage is the same to electricity as gallons of water flow is to a water system.  The size and length of the wire carrying the amperage or current determines how much flow we can have.

Wattage or Watts – is the power of the work that can be done.  Watts is figured by taking the voltage and multiplying it by the amperage.

Every electrical device has a wattage or power rating.  For example: We rate our generators by the wattage they produce.

Recreational Vehicles come with one of two power cords.  The power cord is either rated at 30 amp or 50 amp at 120 volts AC.

50 amp & 30 amp Power Cord

So if you Rig has a 30 Amp power cord, you will have a 3,600 Watts or 3.6 KW (kilowatts) to run all your 120 volt AC appliances.

The 30 Amp power cord has a black wire as it power leg, white wire as its neutral leg and a green ground wire.

If you Rig has a 50 Amp power cord, you will have 12,000 Watts or 12 KW (kilowatts). Yes you read that correctly….12,000 Watts of Power available to use.

The 50 Amp power cord has 2 hot or power legs.  One is black and the other is red.  Each hot leg is capable of carrying 50 Amps.  One white wire is the neutral and the other wire is the green ground wire.

Typically, motor homes and 5th wheels will have the 50 amp power cord to handle their power requirements.  It is the ‘extra’ power that allows you to operate that 2nd air conditioner.

It is surprising how fast your AMPS add up which cause your circuit breaker to trip. Sometimes the individual circuit breaker for those powers appliances will trip other times it is the main circuit breaker that goes.  When you locate that tripped ciricuit breaker you flip it to the OFF position then back to the ON position.

Typical Power Requirements for your RV Devices

Air Condition – 15,000 BTU                       12.5 amps x 120 volts= 1,500 watts

(your air conditioner will somtimes pull 20 to 30 amps to get started)

Electric Water Heater – 6 gallon               12.5 amps x 120 volts= 1,500 watts

Microwave Oven                                             12.8 amps x 120 volts= 1,536 watts

Electric Coffee Pot                                                9 amps x 120 volts= 1,080 watts

Toaster                                                                   10 amps x 120 volts= 1,200 watts

Hair Dryer                                                             10 amps x 120 volts= 1,200 watts

TV                                                                               2 amps x 120 volts=     240 watts

Dirt Devil hand vacuum                                    2 amps x 120 volts=     240 watts

Electric Frying pan                                          10 amps x 120 volts=  1,200 watts

Iron                                                                        10 amps x 120 volts=1,200 watts

Food Processor                                                     6 amps x 120 volts=  720 watts

Crock Pot                                                              1.5 amps x 120 volts=   180 watts

Heating Pad                                                           .5 amps x 120 volts=      60 watts

Take a minute and  figure how much power you are using. It is suprising how fast it adds up. You can trip your breaker and be in the dark.

We must become good managers of our power usage so we can enjoy the RVing Lifestyle.

It’s our job to help you keep your wheels rolling…we’ll see you down the highway!!!

Order the 6 hour Electrical Course by clicking here!

But first – we arrived at 7a.m. at the IHOP in southwest Houston to have breakfast with our good friends – Ron & Sheila Howerter of League City, TX.  Ron and Sheila are the owners of RV Wooden Staircase.  We have travel along side these two wonderful people-  as we all have gone to one RV Show after another. As we have been building our relationship, the Howerter’s have been building their newly formed business. What great products they have!!  Sturdy, beautiful and safe – are the wooden staircases that they produce to fit on any size RV….and they are portable. If you are in the market for a great product, checkout Ron and Sheila’s RV Wooden Staircases .

By 10 a.m. the crowds at PPL Motor Homes were big.   When not one more person could fit inside that conference room…the Professor talked about RV Air Conditioning. With so many things to learn on how to keep this appliance up and running properly…we spent most of the day visiting with folks and answering their questions.

PPL Motor Home’s  top rated RV Parts Store generates thousands of orders per month for quality, brand-name RV parts, motorhome parts and RV accessories, from RV covers to RV awning and more, and process the majority of those orders almost instantaneously. In fact, most RV parts orders that are placed before noon CST leave the warehouse no later than the following business day.

After journeying back to our home in Somerville, TX  – on Sunday morning – we decided we would take a day and drive to our beautiful coast line.  Our first stop was of BIG interest to the Professor  …. the wind turbin parts yard in Freeport, TX.  He taught solar and alternative energy at the college in Waco, TX for a time so this was near and dear to his heart.   Here  are some great photos of the gigantic-ness of these wind turbine propellers.  The Professor is standing in front of this stack.  All of us have seen these babies going down the highway. In fact, when we lived in Waco, TX – we saw many of these going through on there way out to west Texas. Yes, we knew they were big but standing beside them like this was overwhelming.

This holding yard was less than 1/4 mile from the coast. It provided an inlet close by which  allowed  barges to come and unload here at this facility.  This is just a small amount of the parts that we saw that day. It truly is really something to see.

After spending sometime here ….we went on down to the sandy beach of Freeport (where everyone else was that day) and joined in on the fun.  With the wind really blowing I  elected to leave my camera in the car rather than taking it on our walk up and down the shoreline. Moe Joe (left) and Ginger (right) – our two dachshunds were with us …and what a great time they had exploring, letting the folks pat their heads….but it wasn’t long before we could see the tell-tell signs of fatigue on both of them. I brought towels to rub some of the sand off then we loaded up to go north toward Galveston, Tx. Here they are after getting back in the car and enjoying the drive.

It was fun being back in Galveston, TX. It was a beautiful day …the beaches were full. As we drove up, it was great to see all the rebuilding that had been done. Lots of new homes, businesses …all signs that Galveston is back after all the destruction of Hurricane Ike in 2008.  The Flag Ship Hotel now is completely gone….which is good. We saw very little reminders that the Island had gone through such devastation.  This was our first trip to our gulf shores after the Gulf Oil Spill of April through August of 2010.  Other than all the dead sea weed polluting the beaches…it looked fine. 

Next up….riding on the Galveston – Bolivar Ferry which opened in 1930.  This 13 minutes mini cruise, I thought,  was fun because of all the dolphins that were around us.  There are five ferry boats in the fleet. The two smaller ferries carry an average of sixty-nine cars. The larger boats, the Gibb Gilchrist, Robert Lanier, and Greer accommodate eighty-five cars.

Though the ride on the ferry was fun…nothing could have prepare me for the way  Bolivar Peninsula and all of it’s beauty had been destroyed – back in 2008 with Hurricane Ike.  It was surreal. Very little commerce is back.  But what we did see was RV parks sprouting all along the thirty mile long sandy strip of land separating the Gulf of Mexico from the waters of East Galveston Bay.  We believe these are construction workers. It would be the only way to keep the workers from having to cross back over into Galveston each morning and night. This was a very popular vacation spot for a lot of people..however, it has a long way to go before the peninsula to get back to that lifestyle of pre-Ike.

Here is where we stopped with our picnic lunch and sat out on the practically deserted beach- Crystal Beach.  There was only one other family that was out. It looked like grandpa brought his metal detector roaming up and down the beach while grandma and grandchildren played in the water.

From there…the Professor and I wound our way back around Houston to see the sun setting across the lovely city skyline.  It was an hour and a half drive back home..and a great finish to a great day. We both agreed that we needed to take trips like this more often – and now we can since we are working for ourselves full time.

Until my next ‘Tells from the Highway”….Happy RVing y’all.

The Annual PA RV & Camping Show is held every September in Hershey, PA. It is the first show in the nation to debut manufacturer’s new products. The show is set up differently from many other RV shows since it is laid out by manufacturer instead of dealers making it the easiest way to shop and compare the many RV brands. There are over 21 acres of RVs on display allowing you to shop hundreds of RVs of every make and model. It is so large, you will need at least two days to see it all!

Accessory vendors are a major part of the show – providing you with all the RV and camping accessories you will need. The show also provides quality educational seminars from RV industry experts.

The PA RV & Camping Show debuted in 1968 and has evolved to be the largest RV show of its kind. With the first two days attributed to members of the RV industry and the remaining 5 days dedicated to consumers, it is the largest hybrid show in the country. The show is brought to you by the PA RV & Camping Association (PRVCA).

PRVCA is proud to sponsor the #1 RV Trade/Retail Show in the nation, held annually at the Hershey Entertainment and Resorts® Company – Giant CenterSM, in Hershey, PA. Representatives from states east of the Mississippi attend the trade portion of the show and it ranks #11 out of the 200 largest tradeshows in the U.S. and Canada. 59 leading manufacturers and over 100 supplier vendors are represented. Industry Days bring over 4,500 people to the Hershey area. Public days paid attendance is over 32,000.

Explore your FREE copy of the ‘Explore PA Magazine’.

Take a look at this episode of Ask the Professor with RVNN.TV …where we talk about several subjects.  Look for my other recordings – all on RV Maintenance.

Happy RVing,

Terry Cooper

The Texas RV Professor

Now that  Terry and I have moved to Somerville, TX  – we have the privilege to live in the same area of many family members. My mother-in-law, who we all call Meme, is working hard this year planting and harvesting plenty of garden vegetables.  Being that I have started working with my Excalibur Dehydrator back in January…. it has been my pleasure to take possession of many pounds of tomatoes.  I take the ones that are nice and firm, peel them by dipping in a boiling water bath.  The skins will come off easily after dipping in cold water. Then slice and place on the Excalibur  trays. Six to nine hours later they come out of the dehydrator ready to be stored in a vacuumed packed package or in an airtight container for easy access for cooking.

The tomatoes that are more ripe and won’t go through the slicer easily are put into the cooking pot to cook down to a sauce. I place onion, garlic and some Italian seasonings in to cook down and mix flavors. Once it is cooked down to the consistency that I like…it is cooled to room temperature. I had no canning jars at this time so I elected to place a couple of cups of sauce in a freezer zip bag and let freeze.  Once frozen,I will go back and place each bag into a vacuumed pack bag just for extra protection in the freezer. I will use these up within the next year.  Oh, and should you do this, don’t forget to label the package with content information and the date of when it went in the freezer.

Here is a video I did back earlier this spring with RVNN.TV talking about dehydration.  This video is a combination of a few shows that are being done on that network. I hope you enjoy it.

“Try not to become a man of success but a man of value.” quote ~Albert Einstein

The last time we talked was before my cookbook had arrived to Waco, TX. (where we were located at that time) However, now….the book has been out for 3 months and the Professor and I are in a new location.  So, with that…so much news and so little time! Where do I begin?

Our new year has been very busy because in the first two months  we hit 4 RV Shows in the state of Texas. It was so encouraging to see so many people out at the shows and from what we heard after each…folks were in the buying mode and sales are up for the RV industry. We were so happy to hear that. Plus since then…the industry news is that it’s doing better each month. What a blessing to us all!

Photo Shoot w/Waco Today Magazine in February

The RV Centennial Cookbook – Celebrating 100 Years of RVing did hit the market officially April 15, 2011.  Since then I have been a part of 10 book signings.  This photo on the left came from a fabulous article that was in the Waco Today Magazine in late February.  What a fun and exciting time we had with those folks from the Waco Tribune, the local newspaper.

Order the RV Centennial Cookbook by clicking here!

TSTC Publishing did a fine job with the book – it’s absolutely beautiful. If you haven’t seen the book…you really are missing a great treat. We have received so many wonderful reviews and that makes me extremely thankful and happy that so many are enjoying all the great recipes and other RV related material found inside.

Another exciting thing that has been happening over the last nearly 4 months is  me working with the Professor on the RV Maintenance For Ladies Program. Starting this past March 3rd, we had ladies online with us from coast to coast with there sleeves rolled up and ready to learn all that they could concerning servicing and maintaining their RVs. Rosie the RV’er with her ‘We Can Do It!’ attitude was our keystone for this program.

After 12 weeks of learning about 8 different areas in the ‘box’ of the RV, these ladies can now handle about 80% of what issues that come up concerning servicing and maintenance.  For that other 20% , we need our trained professional RV technicians to get us back on the road again.  Now that the program is over, we now are offering it in our online library where it can be accessed at any time. We are also starting up our RV Maintenance For Ladies Monthly Subscription Service where you can receive one CD a month (that contains the recorded material) for 11 months and pay as you go. What a great opportunity! If you are interested in getting involved…contact me if you have further questions at LadyEcooper@MobileRVAcademy.com

One of the really fun things we did in late April was to travel to Heber Springs, Arkansas to be a part of  Workamper News (WKN) first-ever Workamper Rendezvous.  Workamper News is a wonderful organization that the Professor and I have been affiliated with for over two years now. The Professor has been training workampers who are subscribers of WKN on how to service/maintain their units while living the workamping lifestyle and what a great fit for Mobile RV Academy because workampers are people who live in their RVs either full time or part time and they work any where across our beautiful country.  At the Rendezous, Terry gave free RV maintenance seminars throughout the days and so did I.

My seminar was on the topic of  ‘My RV Kitchen’.  My main goal is to help people understand how to make their RV kitchens work better for them through great ideas about storage and space saving techniques, plus learning how all the major appliances work in the kitchens. I had a great time giving these seminars while the folks in the rooms shared their tips of how they make their own RV kitchens work best for them.  The Professor and I are looking forward to our next Workamper Rendezvous this coming October.

Lanna Caldwell and I

In May on Mother’s Day weekend, I had the privilege to  have a book signing in my hometown of Rockdale, TX.  I was hosted by Lanna Caldwell, manager of Antique Queens -  my most favorite antique mall in that little Central Texas town.  Antique Queens has just celebrated their 3rd anniversary (March 5th,2011).  Owners Cody (Lanna’s son) and Zena Caldwell have a wonderful business that I encourage all my readers to check out when going through Rockdale.  You will find antique jewelry, shabby chic  furniture and all the knickknacks that an antique junkie would love to linger through. (Including me…) Lanna invited a group of her friends who are members of

Sisters On The Fly Vintage Travel Trailer

the fun group ‘Sisters On The Fly’ to spend the day with us.  Nina Elliot and her central Texas sisters swear that their group has more fun than anyone!
They travel around in their vintage RVs (most of them do) all over this beautiful country of ours in caravans.  They share tips on buying and restoring vintage trailers, they know that once you see all the fun fly fishing, riding horses,  camping, eating and laughing, you will want to join the Cowgirl Caravan on their next trip.  Well…I am convenience.  Sign me up!!

A big event that happened in April was the Professor leaving Texas State Technical College (TSTC) which is located in Waco, TX.  Our new business, Mobile RV Academy, which was formed and launched in 2009 is gaining steam and we found out early this year that Terry’s time is best spent giving 100% to his biggest love…and that is teaching RV Maintenance.  Since we left Waco, we have been traveling here in Texas doing professional RV tech training and testing for the RVIA/RVDA RV Tech Certification.  What great technician talent is here in Texas.  One RV dealership with 8 locations around our great state is now nearly 30  certified and master certified technicians richer. How exciting is that?? The numbers could go higher for the scores are coming in now so there may be more names to add to that list  for this company.

During the upcoming weeks, the Professor and I will be traveling to 5 more locations (from north to south Texas) getting more techs up to the level that they need to be…. to go after their certifications. Our next stop is Corpus Christi on July 9-10th.  All techs located throughout the Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio and over to Victoria are invited to come be a part of this next prep class we are offering. If you have any questions about this event or future events pertaining to RV tech certification, contact the Professor at Professor@MobileRVAcademy.com or myself at LadyEcooper@MobileRVAcademy.com  I will be posting more information about these upcoming events very soon.

I cant leave today without telling you about the awesome opportunity that the Professor and I are both involved in. There is a newly developed internet channel that is all about RV programming. 24/7 of nothing but great information for the consumer.  On January 15th, the filming started on ‘Ask The Professor’ where the Professor talks RV maintenance, (the stuff that he loves). I believe he already has close to 15 or more shows that are filled with wonderful maintenance information.

Around the first of February, the new show – ‘RV Kitchen with Evada Cooper’ was introduced and it is exactly what the title implies.  My love for RVing and for helping people is what this program is all about. In the first episode, I discuss some storage issues with Dave Dufour, the creative director at RVNN.TV, plus I show how we might best maximize the limited space in RVs.  I also show video kitchen walk-throughs that the Professor and I are doing. We are looking for a 5th wheel to do our RV traveling in.  This provides my viewers a ‘behind the scene look’  at the type  of RV Kitchens that are catching my eye.   This is a fun show I know all RV’ers everywhere will enjoy.

Watch ‘Ask the Professor by clicking here!

Watch ‘RV Kitchen with Evada Cooper by clicking here!

Find me on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/evadapraeselcooper   I have a lot of fun sharing all kinds of information about RVing and one of my loves which is food dehydration and vacuum packing. Now is the time to get involved in taking all those wonderful fruits and vegetables from the garden …and getting them stored for future use.

Stop and check out the web page – Cooper’s Live Event Schedule for 2011 – to see where were will be traveling throughout this year.  The RV Tech training will be found on a separate page that is yet to be developed…but will be soon. (Another thing to put on my to-do-list!)

Moving the end of April, we are now getting settled into our new abode.  With the Professor and I both working from home this is a new experience for both of us. I love having him around….and I know that he loves having me around because of all the projects he gives me to do.   But seriously, the Professor and I love what we do. We love making a difference in someone’s life. Whether it’s through training,  business or friendships…..our purpose is in full view in what we are doing daily. Again…what a blessing!

Until next time. (soon I hope)

Jer 29:11: For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

MySpace-Countdown-Clocks

The air condition on top of a recreation vehicle is one of the most overworked and under-serviced appliances on the coach. A few simple procedures will help keep your unit operating at its peak performance. Believe you me, when the AC’s not workin’, then no one’s workin’, especially me! So check out the professor’s AC makeover here.
As for me, I’m going to go head down the road.
For more of Roady’s thoughts on the subject, read his blog. (Or follow him Twitter. He’s on Facebook, too!)