Doing Minor RV Repairs and We Love our Awning Shade Attachment…

We have slowly settled into our site here in Bonita Springs Florida for the winter. It is always fun to set up all of our more “permanent stuff” when we have these extended stays. One of our favorite long term stay items is our extended awning shade screen we bought several winters ago. It creates a sense of privacy and of course a sunscreen from the glaring sun when facing the west which we are this season. I simply attach it to our awning with little “S-hooks” which are also used to hang our Christmas lights on. It is surprising how much cooler it keeps not only the outdoor area but inside as well…

For wind protection I attach our screen to the ground two ways. First I use a good quality rock climbing rope to tie off the corners. I use this type of rope since it has a lot of give and spring to it letting the awning flex in higher wind gusts. I attach the rope by looping it over the awning bars and then I use a corkscrew type anchor to tie it off on. After both corners are secured I use tent stakes a few more cork screw anchors to tie of the bottom  so it will flare outwards and help secure the awning screen. I love, love , love the little room this set up creates.

We have been spending mornings after breakfast walking around our large park. We also have been ticking off repair items piled up over the course of this year's travels since last winter. Obviously we fix major items as needed but smaller items and items that can be put off  just get put on a list until we get somewhere for an extended stay. This way we can order items and have them delivered so we slowly accomplish every task on our repair list.

A few items i needed to order were a new drain “pop-up center” for our bathroom sink and a new drain screw for the bathroom shower. Our RV is almost 10 years old so these items had rusted completely through. A long screw holds the shower drain in place and it had actually rusted in half leaving part of it in the baseplate it screwed into. I had to drill out the baseplate and rethread it so I could plug in a new screw down drain. Thankfully the drain/stopper in the bathroom was much easier to replace.

I would suggest that if you haven’t done so is to check and see if your screw holding your drain in the shower can turn without disintegrating. If you can get the screw out take it to your nearest Lowes or Ace Hardware to buy a stainless steel screw. as stainless steel will never rust and then you will never have to replace your drain like we did.

I also had to replace the small LED bulb which burnt out in our water pump indicator switch. I hate it when these burn out since it makes it so you never know if your water pump is on or off. These are very easy to fix and for less than a buck you can get two replacement bulbs. It is a bit tricky getting the old light bulb out and I chose to solder it back in place but others choose to wrap the wire leads around to the posts on the other side of the switch. If you don't understand what I am talking about  this link will explain in detail how to replace the LED bulb.

It sure is nice having a mailing address so we can easily get needed items for our repairs. I have many more things to repair but at least we have gotten off to a good start. After repairs, we will go through every drawer and cabinet to purge and organize. Such is life during extended stays on our Road of Retirement.

NOTE: We are now in our winter home for the next several months in Bonita Springs Florida at Imperial Bonita Estates RV park and Coop.