Overmountain Sams

The following list is only a suggestion of some of the supplies you should consider for your first aid kit. You should personalize your kit to meet your needs, activities and situations. The key to a good first aid kit is its usability. What supplies to include and how much of each item should be based upon your individual needs. You should have one kit for each vehicle and one for the RV.

KEEP A LIST OF THE MEDICINES YOU TAKE IN YOUR WALLET, POCKET, PURSE or RV ALONG WITH YOUR DOCTORS NAME AND PHONE NUMBER.

• Take a First Aid class and a CPR class - keep current on this information
• Keep supplies in a well marked, durable, waterproof container
• Keep the contents organized
• Know how to use everything m your first aid kit
• Inspect content often, re-supply as needed
• Keep readily available at all times

Paramedics are asking that everyone add at least one additional entry to their cell phone contacts list. Please add an ICE entry. ICE stands for In Case of Emergency. This number should dial the person in your family that can respond to medical decisions if you are injured or incapacitated.(non toxic) antifreeze.

If you are in an accident, paramedics know to check your phone for your emergency contact information. Imagine taking a look and trying to figure out who to call out of the twenty or more numbers on your phone. By adding a contact entry that's designated as an emergency contact number (ICE), you can make their job much easier and possibly save your own life.

So program an ICE entry on your cell phone today, as a matter of fact, pull it out right now as you're reading this article. If you have more than one person the paramedics can contact in case of an emergency, you can add additional ICE numbers to your list. Your primary contact should be listed under ICE, then you can add the other contacts under ICE1, ICE2, ICE3, etc.

After you program ICE into your phone, have your spouse, your kids, your parents, and your friends do the same thing. If there are people in your life that you care about, they should all have ICE on their phones.

I wonder how many people know about this? A 36 year old female had an accident several weeks ago and totaled her car.  A resident of Kilgore, Texas she was traveling between Gladewater & Kilgore.  It was raining, though not excessively, when her car suddenly began to hydro-plane and literally flew through the air.  She was not seriously injured but very stunned at the sudden occurrence!

When she explained to the highway patrolman what had happened he told her something that every driver should know - NEVER DRIVE IN THE RAIN WITH YOUR CRUISE CONTROL ON.  She thought she was being cautious by setting the cruise control and maintaining a safe consistent speed in the rain.

But the highway patrolman told her that if the cruise control is on when your car begins to hydro-plane and your tires lose contact with the pavement, your car will accelerate to a higher rate of speed making you take off like an airplane.  She told the patrolman that was exactly what had occurred.

The patrolman said this warning should be listed, on the driver's seat sun-visor - NEVER USE THE CRUISE CONTROL WHEN THE PAVEMENT IS WET OR ICY, along with the airbag warning.  We tell our teenagers to set the cruise control and drive a safe speed - but we don't tell them to use the cruise control only when the pavement is dry.

The only person the accident victim found, who knew this (besides the patrolman), was a man who had had a similar accident, totaled his car and sustained severe injuries.

NOTE: Some vehicles (like the Toyota Sienna Limited XLE) will not allow you to set the cruise control when the windshield wipers are on.

Winterizing your RV is a relatively easy process that most RV'ers can do themselves! It only takes a few minutes if you have all the proper items such as: a water heater by-pass kit installed on your water heater, a water-pump winterizing kit and it's a good idea to have a city water inlet blow-out plug! (You can buy these things at your local RV dealer's parts department.) If you don’t have a by-pass kit installed on your water heater it will take an additional 5 to 8 gallons of RV (non toxic) antifreeze.

Winterizing your RV Step 1:
Empty and flush out your holding tanks (if you haven't already done this upon completion of your last trip) at your nearest dump station!

Winterizing your RV Step 2:
Drain your fresh water tank and your water heater (leave the drain plug out of your water heater until spring). Your water heater will drain a little faster if you open a couple of hot water taps in your unit! You shouldn't open the safety valve on your water heater to help drain it because it might not seat properly again and can be an unnecessary expense when you need to replace it in the spring!!!

Winterizing your RV Step 3:
By-pass your water heater (you don't need to run any antifreeze into this) either by purchasing (if not already installed) a water heater by-pass kit usually about $20.00 to $30.00 or by removing the two water lines on the back (inside your unit) of the water heater and joining them together with a temporary by-pass (usually about $10.00 - $15.00)

Winterizing your RV Step 4:
It's recommended that you "blow" your water lines out with air pressure (don't exceed more than 40-50 p.s.i) you would do this with a blow-out plug (usually about $3.00 to $5.00). If you don't have an air compressor then you can use your neighborhood service stations air compressor used for filling tires. It's nice to have someone help you here, one of you can hold the air hose on the blow-out plug which you have screwed onto your city water entry (the same place your water hose connects when you have hook-ups at a camp site) and the other to open your faucets, hot and cold one at a time until there's nothing coming out! (Don't forget your toilet!!)

Winterizing your RV STEP 5:
You are now ready to put some RV (non toxic) antifreeze through your RV plumbing system!!

If you don’t have a by pass for your hot water tank, you will need 6 or 7 gallons of antifreeze, with the by pass, it should only take 3 gallons. It is best to disconnect the water line from your fresh water tank at the pump side and use a separate suction line which some rv parts departments have already made up for about $6.00-$10.00, or a pump winterizing kit consisting of a brass three way valve and suction line which stays attached to your pump permanently, about $20.00-$30.00. Stick the suction hose into the jug of antifreeze making sure it goes all the way to the bottom of the jug, with all your taps turned completely off and your water heater by-passed, turn on your water pump and open a water tap (hot or cold) (the farthest one from the pump) And wait until you see the antifreeze come out at a steady flow, turn off that tap then do the next tap and so on until you have done them all, don't forget to flush your toilet until it comes out steady there as well! If your unit has an outside shower don't forget it as well! (Sometime during the process you probably had to switch jugs when the first one ran empty) next poor some antifreeze (you should have some left) down each sink drain and your tub or shower drain (about 1/2 a cup), to ensure your p-traps don't freeze up! Turn your pump switch off and clean up any antifreeze over spray left in your sinks and tub or shower, open all your taps and toilet

That's it you're done! That wasn't so bad was it?

From: Deborah & Joe

Sent: Sat, 19 Sep 2009 09:18:55 (EDT)

To: OMS Members

Subject: Tire Safety Video - worth watching

This covers a real problem of tire safety.  Tires may be inventoried for many years before they are sold as new tires.  Studies have shown that any tire over 6 years old should not be put into service; they can delaminate at normal highway speeds causing loss of control.  Many deaths have resulted.  This is something to watch out for when replacing original equipment tires!!

There is a 30 sec. commercial at first --- and then the video.  The video is well worth watching.  Please watch until the end, because some of the most important information you need to hear and see are past the middle of the segment.  It could save your life or that of someone you love.  Pass it on after you've seen it.  I believe you will want to.

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4826897

From: Chuck Johnson cwjandjaj@aol.com

Sent: Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:24:55 (EDT)

To: Lena Murray

Subject: Shaking Down

Lena - Maybe you or someone from the club might want to take a ride to where we spent the night and check it out for future reference.

Monday Afternoon

We're out on our overnight shakedown in our new rig.

What a surprise! Lakeview RV Park in Bluff City, just south of Bristol, TN, is one of the best RV parks we've visited in a long time. Convenient enter and exit with complete (really complete) facilities: large, level sites with easy-to-handle hookups. BIG RIG friendly. Modern rest room and shower facilities, boat launch with canoe and pontoon boat rental, pavilion, grill setup. indoor meeting rooms. Willingness to accommodate groups. Good Sam Park.

It's located across the road from a flea market, so weekends might require well-in-advance reservations. Bristol Motor Speedway's race weekends might well be avoided altogether.

The only complaint is that it's only a year old, and there isn't a spot of shade anywhere, except beside our rig or under our awning.

Tuesday Morning

An unexpectedly good night's sleep! First night in a new rig, and all that. Cool air, good ventllation, and comfortable mattresses. Getting up, washed, and breakfasted was an adventure. We're used to being able to move about freely in the larger RV, and the confines of our smaller rig make it important for us to synchronize our movements. The thoroughly modern wash house facilities of this campground made it unnecessary for us to use our tiny shower, so we still don't know how that will work out.

We keep saying that we got along fine in our first mini motor home many years ago. Well, we didn't know any better at the time, and for the two of us it was a real step up from popup trailering with four kids. Along the way, we got spoiled with larger units. Now we have to get unspoiled. So far, so good.

We're still in the "Oh wow!" stage. How long before we get to the "Oh nuts!" stage? We see a problem concerning our RV clubs. With very limited food prep facilities, we'll have to plan our potluck contributions carefully and well in advance.

It's fairly early in the morning as I write this, but I'm going to quit for awhile because my computer battery is running low, and I don't want to do the maneuvering necessary to get the charger out and plugged in.

I'm finishing this just before supper at home. Everything went smoothly, more or less. I'm going to have to re-read the manuals to find what I did wrong. No real problems. Just a few thngs that I'm sure we can do more efficiently.

Chuck

Bristol Motor Speedway and Dragway offer Track Tours around the most popular motorsports complex in the country. First you'll head off to Thunder Valley, the home of Bristol Dragway. As you cruise down the legendary quarter-mile, try to imagine a top fueler blasting past you topping 320 mph. Then head up to Bruton Smith's suite and look over the magnificent high-banked half-mile wonder with seating for approximately 160,000 fans. Then when you think you have seen it all, you'll cruise down to the track where legends like Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, and Darrell Waltrip raced for years. To complete your experience we'll take you for a lap around the track, which includes Bristol's famous banked turns (heck, we'll even let you get out and walk on the banking) and a ride down pit road just like yesterday's heroes and today's shining stars. It's Thunder Valley and The World's Fastest Half-Mile! There's no place like it on earth. When you tour Bristol Motor Speedway and Dragway, you truly will know what we mean when we say it's "racin' the way it ought'a be!"

*All points of interest subject to availability.

Track Tour Schedules:

• Tours are available daily except during major Speedway and Dragway events.
• Monday through Saturday, tours begin on the hour starting at 9:00 AM with the final tour of the day starting at 4:00 PM
• On Sunday, tours begin at noon with the final tour starting at 4:00 PM

**TOURS NOT GIVEN DURING WEEKS OF MAJOR SPEEDWAY OR DRAGWAY EVENTS

Tour Pricing:

• Adults: $5.00
• Seniors (55 & Up): $4.00
• Children (6-12): $3.00
• Under 6: FREE

Call ahead for availability

Reservations are needed for the following all year:

• Large group tours (7 or more)
• Tour buses

Dometic Recall Information

UPDATE: Dometic Voluntarily Expands Refrigerator Recall

Dometic recently expanded its recall on a population of two-door refrigerators.  The original recall included some two-door refrigerators manufactured between April 1997 and May 2003.  The recent expansion of this recall now includes the same two-door refrigerators, manufactured between June 2003 and September 2006.

To find out if your refrigerator falls within either of the recalls, click here: www2.dometicusa.com/recall.php

Norcold Recall Information

Norcold Voluntarily Further Extends Refrigerator Recall

Norcold has voluntarily extended a prior recall to include refrigerator models 1200LR, 1200LRIM and 1201LRIM manufactured from March 1, 2001 to December 31, 2002.  Each cooling unit under the extension has a serial number between 1273701 and 1536607.

Norcold has notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Transportation Canada of the extension upon becoming aware that the recall could involve additional refrigerators, which may under certain conditions, result in high temperatures and possibly a fire.

To find out if your refrigerator is included in either of the recalls, click here: www.thetford.com/HOME/CUSTOMERSUPPORT/RecallInfo

From: Carl Keiser ckeiser@mindspring.com

Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 2008 12:11:18 PM

To: Good Sam Members

Subject: RV-Kleen

Hi Good Sams,

My name is Carl Keiser and I would like to inform your club about an environmentally friendly GREEN black and grey water tank treatment called RV-Kleen that is now available. I have been using this product for 4 years and it does a great job on breaking up and digesting waste like no other product on the market. We, as Rver’s, have to be the first ones to set an example about using GREEN products. Our dump stations are closing at an alarming rate due to the high cost of maintenance. There is no harm to septic dump stations when using RV-Kleen. RV parks will benefit from receiving your waste as well because RV-Kleen continues to work long after it has been dumped.

There are a lot of tank treatments on the market that say they are natural or friendly to the environment, but those are loose terms in today’s world. If the container has a warning statement on it that say’s, “KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN OR DO NOT TAKE INTERNALLY”, they are not necessarily good for mother earth. RV-Kleen carries no such warnings because it is a dry powder friendly bacterium that’s only job in life when it wakes up in water is to consume human waste and toilet paper. When you dump your tanks you will only have tea colored water coming past your site glass, as the solids will be gone. The chemical tank products on the market today only preserve the waste and mask the odors with perfume. With all the waste solids accumulating in the tank there is a chance that when you pull your dump valve you can or have in the past experienced a tank or line clog. That is not a pleasant situation to be in at that moment. That will never happen if your using RV-Kleen. You can get rid of your special RV toilet paper and start using septic friendly less expensive household toilet paper, like Scott tissue.

I know from experience that it works. I am a Master Licensed Plumber for 36 years and have been giving seminars on The “hole” truth about black, grey, and fresh water RV systems. I also use a sister product that is specially formulated for use in the household. I have experimented with my own septic tank, house hold drains and being an avid RV’er for 30 years I have tested this product in my own camper. Nothing else compares. I would like to ask you to bring this to the attention of your club members to see if anyone is interested in purchasing RV-Kleen. I will give special shipping discounts to camping clubs. The cost is $34.95 for a one pound tub + $7.00 flat rate shipping in the lower 48 states. If six or more are ordered at a time and they can be shipped to one member to distribute to everyone at your next campout, I will give an extra 5% off the cost of the product and will ship them at an approximate cost of $2.50 per tub. Pound for pound that’s a good shipping price. If they are shipped to any state but Georgia there will be no tax. If you would like more information on RV-Kleen or more information about me, you can go to my website at www.keepsmilingplumbing.com or call me at (866)553-3678 to ask any questions. Also, look for my ad in the June issue of Highways magazine.

We have the power to improve our wonderful country one product at a time. It has to start with us; we have to set the example. Thanks for listening and happy trails.

Carl

From: Ed Murray emurray811@verizon.net

Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2008 11:22 PM

To: Overmountain Sam Members

Subject: Propane Tank Alert!

Overmountain Sams Members,

Methamphetamine cooks are buying propane tanks from the exchanges at Wal-Mart, Kroger, and other local stores. They then empty them of the propane gas and fill the propane tanks with anhydrous ammonia, which they use to cook methamphetamine. After they are finished with the propane tanks, they return them to the store. The stores refill the tanks with propane gas, unknowing to them the improper substance that was inserted in the tanks, and sell them to their consumers. Anhydrous ammonia is very corrosive and weakens the structure of the tank, especially the brass valve. It can be very dangerous when mixed with propane gas and hooked up to a grill, recreation vehicle, etc. You should inspect the propane tank for any blue or greenish residue around the valve areas. If there are evidences of these substances, do not purchase the propane tank and advise the vendor of your findings.

This information has been researched, and anyone using propane cylinders should visit the following website for more details: www.npga.org. The site has pictures of what to look for, as well as Safety Tips, General Safety Alerts and a wealth of other information about propane.

Ed Murray
Overmountain Sams - Webmaster