We finally found the time and what a great time! We highly recommend adding Key West to your RV Adventure bucket list. Key West packs more fun things to do per square mile in that just about anywhere in the country (NYC gives anywhere a run for its money but that’s a post for another time).

Picture by Annandale Photography

In this video we take our 2015 Entegra Aspire down to El Mar RV Resort in Key West (Stock Island) staying just a few miles from the world-famous Duval Street. The video says just about everything but here are some helpful links to items mentioned in the video. Questions? Leave us a comment below and we’ll get right back to you!

Where We Stayed

We stayed at El Mar RV Resort, on Stock Island which is part of Key West. El Mar RV Resort is small, with only 9-10 sites in total but they are extremely spacious. If you like quiet and a lot of space, there is no better place to stay in Key West. For those looking for a little more adventure we recommend Boyd’s Campground which is an extremely well run (but tightly spaced) RV park located just across the street from El Mar.

Boyd’s has a lot more action, laundry, a pool, and a store on site while EL Mar gives the feeling that your staying at a private waterfront beach-house with friends. They both are awesome, just depends what you’re in the mood for!

Palm Beach Motorcoach Resort

Before we headed south to Key West we stayed at Palm Beach Motorcoach Resort. This place is a gem, not just because the property is amazing but because it is one of the most friendly and well run parks in the COUNTRY! Seriously its amazing.

They accept Super C’s and Class A’s only though, but no age restrictions if your coach is in good condition. Sorry to our friends with 5th wheels but don’t worry all of the Key West parks are bumper pull and 5th wheel friendly!

Checkout the RVLove Remodel Series

Make sure to checkout the RVLove remodel series. It’s absolutely amazing and incredibly produced for a web show. You won’t regret it.

Series Starts Here

Thinks To Do

There are plenty of “Things to Do” posts out there talking about key west so we decided to pick a few less talked about items that we had a ton of fun doing while in Key West. Below are links to each of the activities in our video adventure.

Picture by Annandale Photography

Key West Top 20

1. Rent a Bike – We rented our bikes at We Cycle – Rent on Stock Island as that location has better bikes for less $$
2. Mile Marker “0” – Take a picture at the end of the road. It should be on everyone’s bucket list! Location Here
3. Sunset Cruise – Commotion on the Ocean Departs from Key West for $59 dollar sunset cruises with an open bar. Worth it!
4. Rent a Scooter – We brought our motorcycle but there are rental locations everywhere!
5. Conch Calling – Conch shells are everywhere! Look for a conch shell with the end cut off as those are made for “conch calling”!
6. Rum Distillery – Free tastings? What? Yup its true and the Bad Bitch Rum is worth buying, we picked up two bottles.
7. B.O’s Fish Wagon – A hidden gem, make sure to eat at B.O’s Fish wagon and bring a sticker if you have one!
8. Chickens! – Key West Chickens are everywhere. Look up in a tree – Chicken! Under a Car? Chicken!
9. Harbor Walk – Checkout the Boat House Restaurant and many others on Harbor Walk. If you look carefully you’ll find Buffet’s music studio!
10. Rent a Kayak – Rented at Hurricane Hole on Stock Island, great prices and an amazing staff and great food for after your return.
11. Southernmost Beach Cafe & Resort – Seriously the Key Lime Coolata is amazing. Grab a drink and put your feet in the sand at this beach front restaurant hotel.
12. Buy Souvenirs – We stopped by the Funky Chicken Store and picked up a t-shirt had and beer coozie! Chickens!
    

    Picture by Annandale Photography

13. Sunset Pier – The BEST place to watch the sunset on Key West conveniently located at the end of Duval Street (north).
14. Mallory Square – A beautiful public park with street performers and amazing waterfront and sunset views (plus you can drink on the street)
15. Leave a Dollar at Willie T’s – On Duval Street, Willie T’s is impossible to miss and actually a lot of fun. Money up front is cleared annually and donated to Veterans. Just ask for a stapler.
16. Conch Republic with Friends – An open air restaurant near the historic harbor with life music, a great bar and excellent food.
17. Key Lime Pie – Its everywhere! Kermits or Key Lime Pie Company? You be the judge!
18. Schooner Warf – A great night spot on the water with live music, an outdoor atmosphere and surprisingly good food. Try the crab salad.
19. Better than Sex – A Dessert themed bar with a sexy theme that adds sweats to an amazing drink/dessert menu. Worth it!
20. Drag Queen Show – This isn’t a drag show in the “automotive sense” – Drag is part of Key West’s culture and a Drag show is a must see (heaviest pours in Key West at Aqua!)
21. Relax – Your on Island Time – What Can we say.. don’t forget the point and make sure to just let go and have fun!

Picture by Annandale Photography

The post Our Key West RV Adventure appeared first on LivinLite.net.

We have yet to find a good reason for why this seems to be true, it seems to be one of the industry’s great mysteries. While we can’t solve that problem today, we think we may have found a small slice of how to fix part of the problem. Replacing those terrible plastic RV faucets!

We all know there are some amazing residential plumbing fixture companies out there that make some very durable and high end stuff. We installed a Moen Motionsense Kitchen Faucet in our rig a little over a year ago and it has been flawless and shows zero signs of wear after 12+ months even though we regularly subject it to terribly hard water. Thats great, but that faucet was over $350.00 which is not worth the expense to the average RV’er (in our opinion).

Amazon is flooded with Chinese made alternatives and we’ve tried a few but the vast majority were either poorly made internally or had issues with the finish over time making them not worth the trouble.  Don’t take our word for it, just look at the reviews closely and you’ll see what we are talking out.

Enter AOSGYA, a company founded in 2015 but with a factory that has over 40 years of plumbing specific, manufacturing experience. We don’t know this for sure, but after examining their products closely, we are fairly certain the company either currently or previously manufactured components for other top brands including Delta Faucets. Now before you read too much further, be careful as AOSGYA also makes cheaper plastic component faucets so stick to the stuff that is $75-$120 if you want the quality of what we discuss in the video. Ok enough disclaimers, let’s talk about AOSGYA.

AOSGYA claims to have taken that 40+ years of industry experience and expertise and launched a line of consumer direct products that are substantially higher in quality than the majority of their Chinese made counterparts. From the limited amount of products we’ve tested, they do in fact seem to make some very good kitchen & bathroom faucets available on Amazon with free Prime shipping for between $65-$130.

Not only are they extremely well made for the price point, they are CUPC Certified and Certified Lead Free. Not bad for the price point and better quality than anything we’ve seen so far in this price point.

If you are looking for the best, stick with Moen, Kohler and others carried by specialty plumbing supplies stores. If you are looking for a good quality, aggressively priced alternative to the plastic components made for the RV industry, we think this is a great option at an excellent value.

Where to Purchase?

AOSGYA kitchen and bathroom faucets are available for purchase on Amazon. The majority of the kitchen faucets available include free Amazon Prime shipping for Prime members and also have discount codes for an additional 5-15% off depending on the model at the time of this post (early 2019). Links for some of their popular models are available below or you can browse their amazon home page here.

Click on the images above for direct amazon links.

What do you think?

What are your thoughts? Would you rather spend a few dollars more and go with a name brand faucet from Moen, Kohler, Delta or another brand? Are you happy with your RV faucets as is and don’t think its much of a big deal in the first place? We would to hear from you in the comment section below.

The post Ditch That Plastic RV Faucet For Under $99? appeared first on LivinLite.net.

In our almost 4 years of full-time RVing we’ve seen a lot of RV gadgets, upgrades and products that claim to improve the RV experience. The sad truth is that many of them actually make mobile life harder and don’t provide a ton of benefit over the time tested standards we all know about. Waste management systems are no exception. Even though these products deal with something that.. well… none of us want to deal with, there still hasn’t been a ton of innovation to the designs developed decades ago. To a certain degree, that is probably because the old systems work and not many people want to mess with a waste management system that is doing its job. That said, there are some drawbacks to the standard “RV sewer hose” that have left us wanting a better solution and we think we might have finally found it.

Our 2015 Entegra Aspire came with a reliable, easy to use wet bay and waste management system that we’ve had very few problems with (thank god, oh the stories some folks have told us!). We have been extremely happy with the Camco Rhino standard sewer hose that we’ve had in our rig since the beginning. We rely on a standard 15 ft hose for 95% of our stays and have a 10 ft extension that while rarely used, is something we’ve always been VERY happy we’ve had when it was needed. We use a sewer hose ladder to keep everything flowing downhill and for the most part we’ve been really happy with the setup, especially for under $100 dollars for everything!

We’ve had almost no leaks other than very minor ones that were solved by tightening the fittings and everything was able to fit in a single plastic bin that stowed under our coach right next to our wet bay. Over the 4 years we’ve had 2 of these hoses and the only reason we replaced the first one was because it began to develop a film and odor (sorry folks but its true) that made the investment in a new hose a no brainer.

Whats Wrong with a Regular RV Sewer Hose?

In short, not much. It works, its inexpensive, the newer hoses are collapsable so they take up less space (still a lot of space but less space), and did I mention its cheap? So whats wrong with it? We’ll first, its a gravity system, so you need to make sure you always have gravity on your side. The hoses large diameter mean its less prone to clogging and does not require a pump to operate. That said, a larger hose means more storage space and its harder to get really clean without completely filling the hose with fresh water which means time spent filling up tanks or remembering to close valves before you get ready to pack up so you can get that good grey tank flush at the end of your sanitation duties.

Probably the single biggest issue we’ve had with our standard hose is the setup and breakdown time. It’s a lot of steps (yea i’m complaining about traveling full time but hear me out!). We need to park, setup our fresh water systems first to avoid cross contamination, pull out our hose bins, setup our sewer hose ladder, pull off the caps to our sewer hose, route the hose below the RV and into the hose outlet located at the bottom of our wet-bay, attach the bayonet fitting to coach, screw in the sewer multi-fitting attachment to the park hookup, remove the second hose cap and lock the hose into the park’s septic system. Its not that bad, and we’ve gotten it down to probably 3 minutes all in, but every time i unscrew that sewer hose cap and stare down the mouth of that stinky sewer hose I think… “there has to be a better way!”

A Better Alternative?

Enter the Thetford Sani-Con Turbo system. Now don’t get this confused with the original Sani-Con system which is their previous generation macerator. This is a full redesign with a number of new features and functionality improvements that got us excited. Before we get into those lets talk about what a macerator does and what is wrong with most macerators.

What is a Macerator System?

Macerator waste management systems have been around for a long time and come factory installed on a number of high end diesel pusher coaches and we’re seeing them more and more on smaller coaches as well. What is a macerator? We’ll essentially its a pump assisted waste management system that uses a pump instead of gravity to evacuate your tanks usually through a smaller diameter exit hose than a standard setup.

Most macerator systems consist of a pump of some kind that contains a blade of some sort built into the pump that “macerates” or cuts up (sorry guys, yea there is no easy way to say it!) the waste into small pieces that can fit through a smaller diameter exit hose. In theory, a macerator system can be a better alternative to your typical RV sewer hose because the hose can remain connected at all times and if working properly can not only speed up the hookup/dumping process but also allow you to dump uphill or for longer distances.

We’ve been using a portable macerator from Flowjet for quite some time when we needed to dump long distances (we’ve dumped 100+ feet a number of times with it and it works great). That said, it’s not a permanent solution and takes longer to setup and even and deal with which is why we only use it when circumstances require. If you’re interested in a portable solution you can checkout our full article and video here. 

Whats Wrong with Most Macerators?

To start, they are slow. The vast majority of the macerator pumps move around 8-12 gallons per minute, making the average dump cycle take around 5 minutes. The pumps are pretty loud from our experience and we wouldn’t feel comfortable running them during quiet hours at most campgrounds (you can hear our Flowjet pump in the video here). Most of them do not have a grey water bypass system which means your grey water tanks will fill up when the pump is not in use (no long showers for you!) and the majority that do have a grey water bypass are prone to clogging and issues.

Then there is the macerator hoses, while they are smaller in diameter, and in many cases they can be adapted to use a standard 3/4 garden hose, they tend to be inflexible and end up taking up just as much space as a standard sewer hose. Since macerator systems use a pump to push everything to your septic system they also can make cleaning your holding tanks more difficult since they are much slower than your standard sewer hose. Last, they are not only expensive, but they rely on a pump to operate. Having your pump fail in the middle of a dump cycle would be… we’ll lets just say that wouldn’t be your favorite day of the week!

Thetford’s Answer – The Sani-Con Turbo

Thetford’s been in the RV business for a long time. Chances are if you own an RV, something made by Thetford is in it, whether it’s a toilet or a refrigerator, they are one of the largest manufacturers of RV equipment in the world. The design team at Thetford understood the challenges with the products on the market, including their original Sani-Con unit and developed the Sani-con Turbo to resolve these problems.

At the heart of product is the pump, which definitely earns the name TURBO! It is fast. We don’t know the exact specification, but our 45 gallon tanks can be evacuated in about 90 seconds, thats about 30 gallons a minute. Thats like filling your gas tank in your car in less than a 30 seconds! Not only is the pump fast, but it has a grey water bypass built right into the pump. When the pump isn’t on, grey water can flow right through the pump without any extra hoses or bypass kits. If anything ever clogged the bypass, just turn on the pump and whatever is blocking will be taken care of by the pump. The pump is also extremely quiet, makes almost no noise and can be used at anytime without disturbing your neighbors or sleeping family members.

To address another common macerator issue, Thetford developed a macerator evacuation hose that appears to be not only durable, but retracts and folds easily making it easy to stow and grab when you’re setting up or breaking camp.  We’ve used this hose for about 3 months so far and its the best hose we’ve seen out there to date. The included hose is 21 ft when fully expanded, making it long enough for everyday use.

The hose terminates with a handled sewer adapter bringing the smaller macerator hose back up to the side of most rv park septic connections. The head has a multi-size adapter making it compatible with both larger (new) and older campground sewer hookups. The included cap can be screwed on during travel to prevent any leaks from the hose and also has a garden hose adapter on the end to allow you to extend the macerator hose if you’re in a pinch and need more length.

Multiple Configurations

The Thetford Sani-Con Turbo is available in multiple configurations outlined below with links for more information.

• Sani-Con Turbo 300 – A portable suitcase version of the Sani-Con Turbo (order here)
• Sani-Con Turbo 400s – A permanent bayonet mount good for external sewer connections and 5th wheels. (order here)
• Sani-Con Turbo 500s – A permanent direct mount good for custom installs or macerator replacement installations (email us to special order)
• Sani-Con Turbo 600s – A permanent bayonet mount good for Class A vehicles with room in the wet bay for the pump (this is the unit featured in our video) (order here)
• Sani-Con Turbo 700 – A inline macerator system suitable for custom coach builds or full remodel projects
• Sani-Con Storage Box – A exterior mounted box for the macerator evacuation hose and electrical suitable for travel trailers, 5th wheels and certain gas coaches. (email us to special order)

Installation & Parts List

Since our installation included our custom touch screen controls our wiring was a bit different than most folks. If your interested in downloading the factory switch and wiring instructions as well as links to everything we used in this video see below!

• Thetford Installation Manual Sani-Con 600 Series (download link)
• Thetford Parts List – Sani-Con 600 Series (download link)
• Marine Grade 10 Gauge Wire (recommended for runs less than 20 ft) Amazon Link
• Marine Grade 8 Gauge Wire (recommended for runs over 20ft) Amazon Link

So What’s the Verdict?

So far we are very impressed with the Sani-Con Turbo system in our RV. The unit operates fast, we were able to eliminate the stinky plastic bin full of septic hoses from our storage compartment and the grey water bypass and pump in their standard configuration have been pretty much flawless. We get to a campground, pull out the hose, take off the cap, plug it into the septic system of the campground and walk away. It’s clean and works well without us having to touch much of anything. When its time to dump our tanks, we close our grey valve, open the black, turn on the macerator and 90 seconds later we are done (plus time to flush the system a few times using our tank rinse system but we always do that anyway).

About the only complaint that we have, is that the system doesn’t work all that well when connecting a long extension garden hose. This is because of two issues in our opinion. First, the system lacks any type of rinse system making it hard to rinse out a long garden hose after dumping (if garden hose, long distance dumping is your primary need then see our flowjet system – This is what we would recommend for that). Second, the pump can sometimes have trouble priming itself when a long garden hose is connected. The system worked 99% of the time but on occasion we found ourselves having to fill up our grey tanks and doing a large release to get the pump to prime when a long garden hose was attached. Garden hose cleanup also isn’t much fun since the pump won’t be able to clear out the final bit of water in the hose, so unhooking your hoses at the end will result in some spilling. This is why i’d consider using a garden hose with the Sani-Con Turbo an option, but only one i’d do when in a pinch.

Our Modifications

We’ve heard from other Entegra owners that the high velocity of this pump and the vibrations it can cause (rubbing against the ground as it expands/contracts) can result in the hose failing prematurely. As a result, Entegra has started adding an abrasion resistant cover to the hose as a precaution and we chose to do the same. Thetford has told us the hoses now shipping are better that the originals but we elected to add the cover just to be safe and we recommend you do the same!

• Amazon Link for Cover

Protec – Protective Hose Cover

Where Can I Get a Sani-Con Turbo?

Sani-con Turbo’s are currently only available through RV dealers. That said, most dealers already have Thetford accounts so they should be able to order you one without much of an issue. The units are not typically available through the larger distributors RV dealers work with so you’ll need to tell your dealer to call Thetford directly to order a unit. Dealers can find the correct sales rep based on their location here.  We are working on other ways to source the pumps and may offer them directly soon, stay tuned! In the meantime if you’re having trouble getting your hands on one, just email us and we’ll get you hooked up with a dealer who we know and trust who has them!

** UPDATE March 2019 – Thetford Sani-con Turbo products are now available on our store. Click here to checkout the latest units and pricing **

Thanks so much for reading and see you on the road!!

The post A Better RV Sewer Hose? – New Thetford Sani-Con Turbo appeared first on LivinLite.net.

Exhaust tips come in a variety of materials but chrome and stainless steal are common. Chrome has the ability to be easily polished, is inexpensive and produces a mirror shine when properly maintained. Stainless steel doesn’t produce quite the shine, but unless your rocking a chromed out Harley it is pretty hard to tell the difference. Stainless steel is for the most part.. stainless!! Meaning it does a much better job resisting rust and other corrosion which makes it worth the extra money in our opinion. In this video we replace our chrome exhaust tip with a stainless steel model that is much more resistant to corrosion and rust!

Onan Generator Exhaust Replacement Tip

Amazon Links Below!

• Exhaust Tip: https://amzn.to/2q9TPgt
• 2″ to 2.5″ stainless exhaust adapter: https://amzn.to/2qa4pEf
• Generator Exhaust Tip Option (Cummins Generators):  https://amzn.to/2Sgje4S
• Anti-Seize Lubricant: https://amzn.to/2qaqpPm
• Ridgid Jobmax Cordless Tool: https://amzn.to/2D307GV
• Ridgid Jobmax Corded Tool: https://amzn.to/2D5tGYL
• Ridgid Jobmax Complete Head Kit (individual tools can be purchased at home depot): https://amzn.to/2SgsTbt

The post Aqua-hot Exhaust Upgrade – Stainless! appeared first on LivinLite.net.

In this video we remove the shoddy work and install a surface mount waterproof PVC conduit box that will not only be much more reliable and weatherproof but also a place where we can run additional wires to the inside of our coach should we need to in the future. This method can be used to run wires for solar, ethernet, cable tv, satellite and just about anything else you can think of!

Materials List

• 4″x4″x2″ Weatherproof Junction Box – Amazon: https://amzn.to/2zscLw6 or Home Depot Link: Here
• Titanium Step Bit Set – Amazon: https://amzn.to/2zr1xIh
• Cat 5e QuickPort Terminations – Amazon: https://amzn.to/2xQ8PDq
• 18″ Wire-Pull Drill Bit for Drilling Roof – Amazon: https://amzn.to/2QWlXQ7
• Cable Gland Assortment – Amazon: https://amzn.to/2zr1Rqt
• EternaClean RV Roof Solvent/Cleaner – Amazon: https://amzn.to/2xFfh0R
• Dicor Roof Sealant – Amazon: (4pack white: https://amzn.to/2zs2YGs) (single white: https://amzn.to/2xNyInD)
• Super Flex Self Leveling Sealant Black – Camping World Link
• Cat5e/Cat6 Termination Ends – Amazon: https://amzn.to/2zrJdyL
• Dielectric Grease – Amazon: https://amzn.to/2zqXpbd – Home Depot Pump

Tools List

• Excellent Roof Putty Knife – Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2N1esEj
• Ethernet Termination Tool: Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2DrQ92V

Interested in learning how to terminate ethernet cable?

Checkout this video on how to do it!

The post RV Roof Drilling & Wiring – Tips For Leak Free Success appeared first on LivinLite.net.