Escapees January-February 2023

mark, my words

Your RV Questions By MARK NEMETH #45776, Escapees Technical Advisor Send your questions via e-mail to techquestions@escapees.com

Tow-vehicle Speedometer Q. The speedometer on my towed vehicle registers the mileage when it is being towed with the 4-wheel drive in neutral. The trip odometer does not register. The dealer says to discon nect the battery. That works, but I'm unable to use my brake buddy. The miles are adding up fast, which makes my routine maintenance di ffi cult to keep track of. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Bob A. Most modern vehicles utilize an electronic speedometer/odometer. Depending on the design of your vehicle, it may be possible to simply remove the fuse that powers the instrument cluster to prevent the odometer from registering towed miles. You can also buy or make a simple harness to place a switch in circuit with the fuse to make it easier to put your vehicle into towing mode. This is an effective fi x for many current vehicles. Do some experimenting to see if it will work for you. You may be able to contact your dealer for advice on whether or not this method will work with your vehicle, and for help in iden tifying the correct fuse. A simple do-it-yourself harness is shown in the graphic below.

Ladders and Roof Cleaning Q. I have a Komfort 25 RT. It has a ladder on rear of trailer. My concern is, can I get on the roof without doing it damage? I weigh 200 lbs. and need to clean the roof. If I can get to it, what should I use to clean it? Richard A. Most RVs that have ladders installed also have roofs that can be walked on. The installed ladder should be adequate to support your weight; just be careful when using it, as it is very steep and narrow. Once on the roof, make sure that it does

not fl ex excessively with your weight. A little “give” is OK; a lot probably means that you should not walk on it. You can avoid all of that by simply using a residential step ladder or extension ladder along the side of the RV. With a long-handled brush, you can do a pretty fair job of cleaning the roof from a ladder. However, it is de fi nitely easier to do it from the top. Just be really careful; soapy water on that roof will make it super slippery. If your RV has a rubber roof, use

a cleaner that is speci fi cally made for rubber roofs for the best results, and be sure to rinse down the sides of the RV to avoid streaking. Metal and fi berglass roofs can be cleaned with just about any soap that would be safe to use to wash a car.

6

ESCAPEES Magazine January/February 2023