3 Must have RV wheel Gadgets
In my continued RV re-education I have acquired 3 very important, must have gadgets for my travel trailer. In times passed I would have mockingly teased a friend for being a “gadget freak”, but I have quickly come to know the dire importance of these clever little must have devices. If you have taken a moment to see my history with RV’s, you will know that I will go to any length to ensure our safety when towing our travel trailer. These devices have impressed me so much that I keep them in the truck even when I’m not towing or vacation bound. We humans are strange and sometimes only learn from our oversight or mistakes.
In times past I would have ensured that I carried a bottle jack in my vehicle for my RV. I was never one to own jack stands and was perfectly happy to use the “crappy” jack that came with my vehicle. I also didn’t consider the vehicle/travel trailer weight and my jack specs at all. It’s easy to believe that if the jack can lift your car, it’ll have no problem with the trailer. What did make me nervous was the small jack surface that supports the vehicle when raised up. After my lengthy research I chose a jack that would not only easily support all my vehicles, but also function as a lockable jack stand as well. In addition, the support plate at the top is significant, yet not too big either.
I chose the Alltrade 3 ton All-in-one truck lift jack. It not only has all the features I need when towing my RV, but also saves having to carry wood support blocks with the limited space in my small travel trailer. Even though it’s rated for a lot more weight than I require, my investment guarantees that I’d very likely be able to use it for any vehicle, future RV upgrades, and any home projects that requires that kind of lift capacity. If you’re considering buying an RV, take a moment to check out this Alltrade product.
Do you have a tire pressure gauge?…can you actually read it when it’s dark?…Can you choose the standard in which you read your device?…I could carry on with this. My eyes are not as good as they were and I needed a gadget that’s not only easy to read, but works in multiple standards to help keep a close eye (hahaha..I know!!) on my tires. In my RV past I didn’t carry a pressure gauge with me. I would simply check the tire pressure each time we stopped at a Gas/Petrol station.
It doesn’t take much to see how short sighted that was!!!…That aside, one should be able to check both vehicle and RV tire pressures at any and all times. Let me ask you this,…do you carry a pressure gauge in your vehicle when you’re not towing? In my opinion we should always have the facility to do this. Wether you’re leaving home on your trip, stopped for a break on the road, or about tow back home, we should always check our tire pressure. I chose a TEKTON gauge which does all of the above. No matter your gadget of choice, why not consider an added check and ensure you carry one in your vehicle at all times. I keep mine in my truck glove box (cubby for those across the pond).
It never dawned on me that I’d one day measure the heat coming off my vehicle and trailer wheels! In fact I never really knew that I could. We all know that the wheels that carry us on the road get very hot. One would never know if a wheel/tire is running way hotter than it should. In my research I discovered a wonderful gadget known as Infrared thermometer. The Etekcity is a simple yet very accurate device that not only lets you know how hot your wheels are, but lets you know the temperature difference between all wheels on your rig.
What does this tell me? Well, there are so many different vehicles and RV’s on the road that it would be impossible to pin point how hot your wheels should be running. I check the cold temperature prior to, and each time I stop on my trip. It’s easy to work out what your running stats are. It can also inform you of big temperature differences between wheels. This should raise a red flag immediately. Too often you hear of old wheel bearings seizing or huge weight distribution oversight in trailers causing more pressure on tires. For the sake of blowout prevention or bearing seizure, I simply point, press and measure the heat of every wheel on my vehicle and trailer.
I don’t think I could handle another blowout and accident so I do everything I can to ensure our safety. While a lot of RV folk have advanced monitoring systems on their rigs, a couple of cheap devices can make RV’ing so much safer if you’re on a budget. Please note that I purchased all three of the above wheel safety gadgets and am not sponsored by anyone. We all well understand that there are way more checks that we should do and I will cover those on future posts.
I look forward to any and all feedback and hope that all your trips go exactly as you want them to….According to my wife I’m a “gadget freak” too, but not in this case!!
Safe travels everyone…