What Are Those 12-volt Sockets Good For?

We have all done it.  Left the cell phone charger sitting on the kitchen table closed the front door, made sure everything was locked up and left for our weekend RVing get away.  If you have one of those not very smartphones you know that in 8hrs or less the phone will be dead and your Hot Spot, Weather App, and every game that keeps the kids quiet during the ride will come to an end.






What to do?  Have you ever wondered what the 12 Volt Standard Wall Plate that looks like this is used for?

2 Volt Standard Wall Plate 

Or maybe you will remember this 12 volt Wall Plate with Antenna Amplifier & Switch it looks like this;

12 volt Wall Plate with Antenna Amplifier & Switch

Both of these wall plates have a 12-volt power socket just like your car, truck, or RV does.  You could plug a car charger for your phone or tablet computer into the wall plate and it would start to charge your phone or tablet computer.  Ah, but you say you have a charger for your phone already why would you need another one for the Rig?  If you remember you left it on the kitchen table and left for this trip.  OK, now what?  Well if you bought one of these 12 Volt Single Outlet USB Charger which looks like this;

12 Volt Single Outlet USB Charger

Then all you would need is either the Apple Charging Cable which looks like this;

or the Android charging cable which looks like this;

Android charging cable

and you could charge your phone, table, or any USB device and never have to worry.   You say that you need to charge two USB powered devices at the same time.  Don't worry be happy and buy a Dual USB Charger which looks like this;

 Dual USB Charger

Now all you have to do is plug in the appropriate charging cable and you are good to go.  If you need longer charging cables than 6ft you can get them up to 10ft for both Apple products and Android products.  If you would like to be able to plug the charging cable into a normal wall outlet you can buy those also.  And for those of us that want it all you can buy the USB Charging Kit Bundle  The one shown below is for Android but they have them for Apple as well.

USB Charging Kit Bundle

But they have the Apple Charging Kit Bundle as well, which is shown below;

Charging Kit Bundle

Well, that should get you going and you can just plan on leaving any of the items we talked about in the Rig for the next time you leave the charging cable and power supply on the kitchen table.


PLEASE NOTE:  The following comments may not apply to all RVs.  Without checking the wire gauge behind the socket plate there is no way to be sure that the following products can be hooked up to the 12-volt socket in your RV.

Along with the ideas above, you can use the power plug to power small appliances such as a coffee maker

12-volt coffee maker

or maybe a 12-volt frying pan.

12-volt frying pan

Maybe you are boondocking and would like to use your PS3, or some other video game or even some device that only runs on AC.  Then you would use a DC to AC converter.

DC To AC Converter

This would allow you to power Dual USB ports that can charge most phones and tablets simultaneously (Max 4.8A total output), while two grounded AC outlets (300-350W) great for charging a laptop, breast pump, nebulizer, game console, kindle, TV, DVD players, lights, iPad, and other electronic devices.

The idea here is that if the park AC power fails you can use the 12 battery that powers your rigs lights, to make coffee while you wait for the power to be restored.  While you are refueling next time at a truck stop go inside a look at all the 12-volt appliance available to the trucking community that you can use in your RV or towing vehicle. [NOTE, not all 12-volt wiring can handle 12-volt appliances.]

CAUTION:  This is not a long-term solution for power outages as your rig's battery will run down very quickly if you make dinner this way with no way to recharge your RV onboard battery now that the AC power is out.











Until next time.

And finally, please remember that this blog is an Amazon affiliate. When you order something through any of the Amazon links, it doesn’t add anything to your cost, but I do earn a small commission on everything you buy. 

12 Volt Emergency Power & Emergency Tire Pump

When you dash off for a weekend camping vacation, most of us just don't sweat the details.  I know, I don't and that is what gets us all into trouble.  Last camping season,  the wife, grandkids, and I headed out for just such a weekend.  It was early in the season and when we got to the campsite we were the only ones around.






So far so good.  We had a great time exploring the Spring outdoors and when we were ready to go the truck would not start.  Normally that would not be a problem because we would have lots of fellow campers around us to help out.  Not this time.  There also was the time we were on our way to Branson MO to meet relatives, when one of the trailer tires decided to blow and the spare was nearly flat.  Forgot to air up the spare tire at the beginning of camping season.  Hey, it happens.  Short term memory fading as I get older.
All of this drove home the point that Murphy is always with us and bad thing happen to good people as well.  So what is the solution?  One of these, 12Volt Emergency Power & Tire Pump

12Volt Emergency Power & Tire Pump



What this thing does is provide emergency power to start your truck not all of the units that look like this one will start a V8 or larger engine, as well as an air station to pump-up just about anything that needs air.  You can use a standard AC extension cord as the power cord to charge the unit up.  You can even leave it plugged in for a continuous charge and not damage the unit.  Oh, it does have a DC output jack that may be used for 12volt stuff.  Also, it has a built-in tire pump that will pump up most TT and 5th wheel tires.  Again many of these combo units can't pump up RVs tires before the cows come home.  As always be sure you check your rigs tire pressure when the tire is cold not when it has been run on the road for several hours.

Due to the fact that newer 5th wheels are using tires that require more pressure than the above unit can provide.  I am suggesting that you might want to take a look at the following RV Tire Pump.  While this unit will not start your car or truck in will pump up RV tires up to 150 lbs.

High-Pressure RV Tire Pump

But I hear you say that you needed something that had AC power like the 110volts that comes out of the power pedestal that your RV is plugged into.  Fear not, because you can use one of these, 110volt and USB Dual Power Inverter

110volt and USB Dual Power Inverter

The 300W DC-AC Power Inverter with USB charging ports is designed for most major brand notebook computers, digital portables devices like, video camcorder, digital camera, iPhone, Galaxy phones and computers, iPod, cell phone, PSP handheld Game, DVD player & etc.
You may want to pick-up the battery hook-up cable just in case.  It looks like this, 12volt Battery Clip-on Accessory Socket

12volt Battery Clip-on Accessory Socket

This device allows you to hook-up to any 12volt battery or any device that has 12volt battery clamps, such as the 12Volt Emergency Power & Tire Pump.
Some of us will like a bit more AC power than the little power converter above can provide if that is the case you might want to consider this, 1000watt Power Converter

1000watt Power Converter

This more powerful converter can power notebook computers, TVs, fans, refrigerators, game machines, DVDs, lights, musical instruments.  And can be powered by the 12Volt Emergency Power & Tire Pump above.  So if you need 110volt power at the picnic table or anywhere while camping, there are ways to get it that will help keep your family safe and make camping fun.

Don't forget that you can use Emergency Power at home when the lights go out to recharge your cell phones and provide power for lights.







Until Next Time


Please remember that this blog is an Amazon affiliate. When you order something through any of the Amazon links, it doesn’t add anything to your cost, but I do earn a small commission on everything you buy. Just click on an Amazon link, then shop as usual.

Sleep Better In Your RV

I am sure a bad nights sleep in our RV has happened to all of us at one time or another. While some of us may have just moved to a new site location, others of us have had to stay where we were and suffered or NOT.  Let's look at some things we might do to get a good nights sleep in our RV even if outside forces are working on us to keep us awake.





First we will start at the top and work our way down in the comfort area.
1. Do you have comfortable pillows?

Gel-Fiber Filled

Here are some of the features of this type of pillow.

• Set of 2 standard-size hypoallergenic down-alternative pillows
• Polyester gel fiber fill with great loft recovery and no-shift construction
• Provides comfortable support for back, side, and stomach sleepers
• 370-thread-count, 100-percent mercerized cotton shell with jacquard pattern
• Machine wash and dry for easy care; backed by 1-year limited warranty

Many people have found that if you have to fight every night with your pillow to get comfortable that you may never have a restful sleep.

2. You need comfortable sheets that fit the bed and don't drift around as you sleep.  Most RV beds are not the same size as their sticks and bricks cousins. So when you buy a Queen size sheet set for your RV the bottom sheet will not fit.  What is a person to do?  Well check out the Bed Bands these clips.

Bed Bands

The clips hold the bottom fitted sheet in place and keep the bottom sheet from moving around while you sleep. 

Ok we have solved the pillow problem and the sheet problem whats next?

3. The mattress of course.  I am not suggesting that you go out and replace the mattress, but you might want to add a Mattress Topper.

Mattress Topper

The topper sits on the RV mattress and gives you that memory foam feel.  "It's like floating on a cloud", and is very comfortable.  You can cut the foam to fit your RV bed by using a very sharp knife or an electric carving knife.

Now that you are warm and comfortable but still not sleeping we can begin to look around for what else is keeping you awake.  If you have a exit door in your bedroom you will need to block out light that maybe getting in from your neighbors yard lights or fire pit.  You will need a Reflective Door Window Cover shown below. This cover is removable and eliminates the light and reduces the heat getting into the bedroom.

Reflective Door Window Cover 

But you still can not get to sleep.  Maybe a Sleep Mask  would help. It sure will be dark in there.

Sleep Mask

Still having trouble getting to sleep?  What else is there, NOISE lots and lots of it in some parks. So lets take a look at what you could do to reduce the noise so you can sleep.  I suppose you could move to a different site or even a different campground, but that may not be possible.

Ear Plugs are a possibility, but here is where I get concerned about safety.  Many of the safety alarms in an RV[Smoke;Gas] depend on you hearing them to be effective.  If your ears are plugged and you can not hear the alarm that is not a good thing.  Here are some typical ear plugs .

 Ear Plugs

You could turn on the RV furnace fan to create some background noise. 

This friendly background noise is call White Noise and is supposed to cover up the outside noise that is keeping you awake.  While this is a method that I have used in the past, the furnace fan solution could cause an early furnace fan failure or maybe shorten the fan's motor overall life causing it to die an earlier death than one would normal expect.  This method of generating white noise is not really a good one even if it works.  You could buy a cheap fan and have it running in the bedroom to generate some white noise.  While a better idea, you now have moving air which may not be what you want blowing across you while you are sleeping.   

The best method of white noise generation for your RV is a Sleep Machine.  You can go with the following deluxe model of Sleep Machine

Sleep Machine

• Incredibly small device only 2.5 inches tall
• Nomad can be operated with two AA batteries or the supplied AC adapter
• In Nomad External Mode you can listen to your mp3 player, movie soundtracks, etc
• Six (6) relaxing soundStories to promote deeper sleep, relaxation and renewal: Waterfall, ocean, meadow, rainfall, brook and noises (white, brown, pink and fan)
• ASTI Adaptive Sound technology listens and responds to each users environment for disrupting sound

Or you can go a bit cheaper on a Sound Machine

Sound Machine

• Natural sounds help you relax while you read, work, study or sleep
• Six sounds: ocean, summer night, rain, thunder, white noise and brook
• 15, 30 and 60 minute auto-off timer
• Compact and lightweight for travel
• Battery or adapter operated (adapter included, 4?AA? batteries not included)

The idea is the same either way.  To substitute a friendly sound that will cover up the bad sounds preventing you from getting the sleep you need to enjoy your camping time.

I am sure there are other things you could do to help yourself get to sleep, a nice glass of warm milk maybe a good idea, if you like milk.  Maybe a nice glass of wine just before going to bed would help or reading a dull book or RV column might help. When ever it takes get a good nights sleep you will thank me in the morning.

Until next time.



And finally, please remember that this blog is an Amazon affiliate. When you order something through any of the Amazon links, it doesn’t add anything to your cost, but I do earn a small commission on everything you buy. Just click on an Amazon link, then shop as usual.