Fulltimers in Hot Water

Adjusting to the fulltime lifestyle includes many different areas of life. One of them is hot running water. Sure, you have a water heater in your RV, typically its a six gallon job, while your old land-based heater was probably 40 or 50 gallons. All is not lost, most of you won't be doing piles of laundry, so the biggest adjustment will be showers.

First, think "Navy Shower." You get in the shower, turn on the taps and adjust the temperature. Rinse off. NOW turn the valve on the shower head to turn off the flow of water, without turning off the mixing valves. Soap up, stick shampoo in your hair. Water back on, rinse off. For some this just isn't satisfying, but with the "necessities" taken care of, now you can flip the valve open and 'drain the tank' without fear of running out of hot water with shampoo on your dome.

Some fulltimers who have "pilot light" water heaters rarely allow the main burner of their heater to come on. They simply leave the heater set on pilot when in warm climates, and let the pilot light heat the water in the tank. By so doing they reduce the amount of LP used, and don't suffer the "blowtorch" noise of the main burner, popping off anytime day or night. Those with an electronic ignition often simply "turn on" the heater a few minutes before needing water, then shut it off when they're through.

Shopping for the Fulltime Rig: Bathroom or Badroom?

It may be the room where you spend the least amount of time in your RV, but if you're living with a bathroom that doesn't work for you, it'll seem like you spend a lifetime there.

RV bathrooms are a necessary evil, sometimes they can be real evil. How do you sort out the good from the bad? When shopping for that new rig, make it your business to go about your bathroom business. No, we're not suggesting leaving a calling card behind, but work your way through the bathroom area as if you were going to be living with it.

Take off your shoes, step into the shower--is there enough headroom and elbowroom? Are there places to put that necessary "stuff" like shampoo, conditioners, and razors? When you step out, is safety a concern--might you need to add grab bars to enchance mobility?

What about (as the Brits call it) the Loo? Some RV toilets are stuck away in a "closet" for privacy. Sit down on the pot with the door closed. Is there enough room for you feet to rest comfortably, or will your knees be in your chin while you fish for the paper? For that matter, where is the toilet paper--is it in easy reach? When you try to get back up off the throne, will you need help from a strong man?

Now in front of the mirror--how's the lighting? How about the medicine cabinet storage space--enough room for that, and all the other things you "must have" while in the powder room? If there isn't enough room for linens, is there a close and usable place for them? Are there shore power outlets in easy reach--and are they guarded by safety enhanced ground-fault-interrupter circuits?

Heating and ventilation, too, are important in the John. Back to the "toilet closet." Are there air conditioning and heating ducts? If you or your traveling companions spend a lot of time on the throne, it can get might uncomfortable if there is sufficient "environmental regulation." How about ventilation? Ceiling vents? Openable windows?

How about the bathroom layout and doorway arrangements? Is the bathroom sufficiently hidden away from other parts of the living area? When you take a shower, will you emerge "buck nek-ed" into the bedroom? Is that a problem?

By acting like you live there, you'll quickly discover whether the bathroom in your prospective RV will work for you, or whether you'd better take a powder and look for something else.