For all you folks that live in the desert" or anywhere out west" .
I'll be headed to Alamogordo NM in Jan for two or more years. Will be living in my fth wheel for the first year.
What kind of preventative measures should I take care of before leaving the TEMPs and Humidity of Ga. I imagine that rubber roofs take a beating out there. How many miles do some of you pull before cleaning and re-greasing the wheel bearings?
Are there any issues with sand/dust and the AC unit? How often do you flush the vanes.
What’s the best route to take that time of year?
Not only will the roof take a beating, but so will caulking and any plastic moldings, etc. Moldings shrink, plastics discolor and deteriorate. Decals fade and generally deteriorate much faster.
Be sure to keep a good coat of wax on everything and try to shade you rig if possible. I know of what I speak
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buldaawg,
Where will you be staying in Alamogordo for the first year while living in your 5th wheel??? Private property/land..public campground???
Water quality varies....city water vs. well water supply....well water supply is very 'HARD', OK tasting but lots of scaling. If hooked up to well water you might want to invest in 'portable water softener system'....uses regular table salt to regenerate and can handle approx. 300(+) gallons per cycle.
We spent two months in Alamogordo earlier this year and scaling was a big problem.
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Keep it clean, waxed and the wheels covered. That's all I do and have not had a problem in 10 years of owning a motor home and living here. I would look for an RV park, assuming you are goin to stay in one, that has some trees for shade and that will help in many ways including keeping the RV cool. There are several with good trees. For six weeks or so in the spring we may have some wind and with White Sands National Monument next door, you can expect some fine white dust to blow in. No RV in the world will keep it out. Alamogordo is a pretty good place to live. Weather is much like Tucson except a little cooler summer and winter. Have had some years it never reached 100 degrees, however the record for number of days at 100+ is about 21 days. No earth quakes, no hurricanes, uaually no tornados and no extreme temps. There are also RV parks in Cloudcroft NM. It is 16 miles, elevation is 9000ft, summer day time temp about 20 degrees cooler that Alamo. I liked it enough to stay and retire-Only problem is finding a better place to go in the winter, well maybe summer, spring and fall too.
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imgoin4it wrote: Keep it clean, waxed and the wheels covered. That's all I do and have not had a problem in 10 years of owning a motor home and living here. I would look for an RV park, assuming you are goin to stay in one, that has some trees for shade and that will help in many ways including keeping the RV cool. There are several with good trees. For six weeks or so in the spring we may have some wind and with White Sands National Monument next door, you can expect some fine white dust to blow in. No RV in the world will keep it out. Alamogordo is a pretty good place to live. Weather is much like Tucson except a little cooler summer and winter. Have had some years it never reached 100 degrees, however the record for number of days at 100+ is about 21 days. No earth quakes, no hurricanes, uaually no tornados and no extreme temps. There are also RV parks in Cloudcroft NM. It is 16 miles, elevation is 9000ft, summer day time temp about 20 degrees cooler that Alamo. I liked it enough to stay and retire-Only problem is finding a better place to go in the winter, well maybe summer, spring and fall too.
I'll need to keep in touch with you, what parks do you suggest? I was thinking the Cloudcroft area for the summer and then down to the city in the winter, but if there are good parks in Alam. then I 'll stay put there. The Family wont be out with me till the fall of 10, during my days off, I'll be looking at homes maybe.
Hardtack wrote: buldaawg,
Where will you be staying in Alamogordo for the first year while living in your 5th wheel??? Private property/land..public campground???
Water quality varies....city water vs. well water supply....well water supply is very 'HARD', OK tasting but lots of scaling. If hooked up to well water you might want to invest in 'portable water softener system'....uses regular table salt to regenerate and can handle approx. 300(+) gallons per cycle.
We spent two months in Alamogordo earlier this year and scaling was a big problem.
Thanks for the info Hardtack, this is good to know, Im not sure where I'll stay yet, but Im open for suggestions.
One thing you may wish to do is get a humidifier.. NOTE: This has little to do with the RV but I find that when I'm in Arizonia, and sometimes in southern NV, I need to have a humidifier or my nose gets rather painful.. Saline spray from the drug store helps too. as will some other products designed to moisturize nasal passages.
Also.. I snagged a portable swamp cooler.. (Here in Michigan we call 'em humidifiers) this sits in my bedroom,, IN AZ I've seen it take 10 degrees off the air temp all the while drawing a great whomping 56 watts (About 1/2 amp at 12 volt) this is compared to the roof top AC which draws over 20 times the power and also manages about a 10 degree drop in AZ's desert. Plus the portable swamp cooler, not being vented to the outdoors, added a few humidity points (About 4 gallons of water per day) to the air.. This too made for more comfort for me.. I don't like single digit humidity.
THe "Gator" brand swamp cooler I got from an E_bay store also is the only true 2,000 watt electric plug in heater I've ever seen.. Yes, all by itself it will take out a 15 amp breaker. measured it at 1990 watts (Close enough to 2,000 to call it honest, in fact closer than that)
I have one 20 amp outlet in the RV (Pre-wired for washer/dryer) and will be adding another
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wa8yxm wrote: One thing you may wish to do is get a humidifier.. NOTE: This has little to do with the RV but I find that when I'm in Arizonia, and sometimes in southern NV, I need to have a humidifier or my nose gets rather painful.. Saline spray from the drug store helps too. as will some other products designed to moisturize nasal passages.
Also.. I snagged a portable swamp cooler.. (Here in Michigan we call 'em humidifiers) this sits in my bedroom,, IN AZ I've seen it take 10 degrees off the air temp all the while drawing a great whomping 56 watts (About 1/2 amp at 12 volt) this is compared to the roof top AC which draws over 20 times the power and also manages about a 10 degree drop in AZ's desert. Plus the portable swamp cooler, not being vented to the outdoors, added a few humidity points (About 4 gallons of water per day) to the air.. This too made for more comfort for me.. I don't like single digit humidity.
THe "Gator" brand swamp cooler I got from an E_bay store also is the only true 2,000 watt electric plug in heater I've ever seen.. Yes, all by itself it will take out a 15 amp breaker. measured it at 1990 watts (Close enough to 2,000 to call it honest, in fact closer than that)
I have one 20 amp outlet in the RV (Pre-wired for washer/dryer) and will be adding another
a whole lot better than a pot of water boiling on the stove
Approx. 6 miles north of Alamogordo (on Hwy 54/70) is Boot Hill RV, where we stayed this winter. Owners are James & Cindy Livers.....very nice couple, very helpfull. Park has only been opened since August '08 so everything is new.
Monthly rent is $225 + elect. for 2 people. Sites are very large.
You can check it out at: www.boothillrv.com
If you do stay there say HOWDY for us (Byron & Debbie).
Good luck in your move.
Consider the interior temps, too, which can go over 120 pretty easily. Most adhesives, such as the backing on velcro, etc., will soften and fall off walls. Anything left in the unit can evaporate / vaporize with sometimes bad results. Liquid in the toilet bowl will not last long and seals can dry up if not maintained. On the exterior: caulk shrinks, white plastic will yellow and become brittle, metal can get too hot to touch especially black metal so wear gloves, tires really take a beating if not covered, and during blowing winds, sand can scour surfaces and gets in every nook and cranny.
Otherwise, no problems. Of course in our neck of the woods, summer highs can reach 115 from time to time and extended temps of 105+ are pretty common.
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