Bathroom Vent Fan Caulk Replacement Turned Full Restoration

What started as a simple task of replacing the aging caulk around my RV's bathroom vent fan quickly turned into a much bigger project. I initially planned to remove the old caulk, reseal the edges, and call it a day. However, upon closer inspection, I discovered that the fan casing had rusted significantly. Rather than replacing the entire fan, I decided to restore and improve it by removing the rust and applying a durable powder-coated finish.

• If you choose to replace the bathroom fan, it is available on Amazon: VENTLINE/DEX VP543 6" 12V Powered Round Vent
• Butyl Tape for sealing fan into roof: Dicor BT-1834-1 Butyl Seal Tape - 1/8" x 3/4" x 30' 
• Polyurethane Sealant: Sika Sikaflex-221 White or Sikaflex 521 White (more UV resistant)

Time to Change Your Wiper Blades! (Costco Deal & Short Installation Guide)

It’s that time of year again—time to swap out your old wiper blades! Right now, Costco has Michelin Guardian wiper blades on sale for just $7.99 each. At this price, it’s hard to beat.

This is my first time using these blades, and so far, I’m impressed—they’re smooth, quiet, and don’t chatter or squeak. The only downside? The IKEA-style instructions are nearly impossible to decipher, and even an online search didn’t help.

So, I figured it out myself and put together a quick tutorial to save you the hassle. Apologies for the less-than-stellar cinematography—filming with one hand while installing with the other is no easy task!

Enjoy the video, and happy wiper swapping! You’re welcome.

Simple Fix: Sliding Door Closing When Parked on an Incline

The sliding door in an Agile only opens halfway, latching onto a clevis pin in the middle of the lower sliding door tract. Over time, the latching mechanism wears out and becomes easily unlatched, causing the door to slam shut; this usually occurs when the van is parked on an incline with the nose down. When the sliding door is latched open, a small door movement can cause the clevis pin to wiggle/rotate, resulting in accidental unlatching.

Sprinter Maintenance: One-man Brake Fluid Flush

The MB Sprinter owner's manual suggests changing the brake fluid every two years. The brake fluid flush is easier than you think with the right tool.

Parts purchased from Amazon

Orion Motor Tech Brake Pressure Bleeder, European Brake Bleeder with Hand Pump, 2.5L Pressure Brake Bleeder with Hose and European Adapter

Genuine Mercedes DOT 4+ Brake Fluid (Needs 2 quarts)

How to beat the Sprinter blues "AdBlue"

There are many confusing info circulating the net about DEF fluids, brands to use, etc. Some Sprinter owners have been told by MB dealers to only use an MB branded DEF fluid "AdBlue" on their Sprinters or the DEF system could malfunction.

The truth is, if the DEF fluid is ISO-22241 certified then it is ok to use as per Sprinter operating manual. I've been using "BlueDEF" brand from my local auto parts store for many years without any problems. 

When my Sprinter NOx sensor went south a few years ago, MB dealer even tested the "BlueDEF" branded fluids in my tank and it passed to their standards, no surprise there. I'm not claiming I'm a DEF expert, just a user trying to save a buck from overpriced MB pee (ok, it's not actually a pee but rather it's a combination of 67.5% deionized water and 32.5% urea.)

Replacing That Smelly Toilet Bowl in a Roadtrek Agile

The new Dometic 300 Series Low Profile Toilet

 

My 2011 Agile came with a Thetford Aqua Magic V toilet which I've replaced twice with same model due to holding tank fume leakage around the flush valve assembly. The last replacement lasted about 2 years of use then it started to leak fumes again! 

 

Thetford Aqua Magic V design is not very well thought-out IMHO; the space between the toilet bowl and the toilet outer casing/base is hollow and open to the black tank. Waste splatter can get stuck in that hollow space during flushing, very unhygienic. The flusher arm seal is also unreliable, it is basically sealed with packed grease. When grease seal starts to dry up, it starts to leak fumes from the holding tank especially when there is negative pressure inside the van like driving with windows open.

Fixing the Drippy Bathroom Faucet in our Agile

Our bathroom faucet started leaking around the handle so I decided to disassemble the faucet to see what’s causing the leak. Here is how I did it.

First turn the water pump off, then open the faucet to release the water pressure. Remove the handle lever. The handle is held by a single screw hidden under the red/blue plastic plug. Using a mini screw driver or something pointy, remove the red/blue plastic plug on top of the faucet handle.

Accessing Rear-View Camera Wiring Harness for Troubleshooting or Camera Replacement

My 2011 Agile came with an Eclipse GPS Navigation and Audio System; it is also equipped with a rear-view camera. RT has installed a generic camera in lieu of the more expensive Eclipse brand camera. I have read somewhere that the original Eclipse camera is powered by the head unit at 5-volts. In order for a 12-volt aftermarket rear-view camera to work, RT used an adapter and spliced a 12-volt power from the Sprinter reverse lights. One drawback of using an aftermarket rear-view camera is that you loss the manual "always on" camera feature of the unit.

Recently, my rear-view camera intermittently stops working at night, especially when it gets cold. The camera would start working again when it gets warmer during the day. I thought there must be some loose wiring connections to the camera that possibly exacerbated by moisture or condensation build up. I pulled out the head unit and replaced the loose push-in Coax-to-RCA connector for the camera with a better compression type, but that did not solve the problem. I called RT on how to access the rear-view camera wiring harness and was told to remove some panels just after where the camera is mounted, but Agile has a rear overhead cabinet on that area and that would be a pain to remove.

Replacing the Propane Regulator in Agile

This article is not intended to qualify anyone to work on a propane system. Propane when improperly handled can be very dangerous and should always be treated with the utmost respect. If there is ever a concern about a propane system, a qualified technician should check it out as soon as possible.

The propane regulator is the heart of the propane system, if it fails, appliances that uses propane as fuel will no longer work and that can be a major headache for anyone dry camping. Leaking at the propane regulator is one of the major regulator failures. If you noticed a propane leak in the system, it is highly advised to shut the propane flow at the service valve to prevent further leaking that can/ may result in disastrous situations.

Agile has a two-stage horizontal mount propane regulator and a single high pressure regulator feeding the outdoor pig tail that is located on the passenger side rear wheel well area. The propane regulator is mounted on the propane tank towards the rear end and can only be accessed under the RV.

I highly recommend that a qualified propane technician do the propane regulator replacement. If you are out camping and needed to change the propane regulator, you are doing so at your own risk. This article is only intended to familiarize you with the propane regulator in RT Agile and not intended to qualify anyone to work on propane system.

Before you start, make sure to close the propane service valve.

1. Disconnect the propane pigtail hose from the propane service port. The thread on the pigtail (P.O.L end) is reversed as marked with the indentation on the P.O.L nut; turn clockwise to loosen from the service valve outlet port.

Replacing the Macerator Impeller

A replacement impeller kit for SHURflo macerator pump is available on Amazon: SHURflo 9457100 Macerator Impeller Kit

Optional:

• The original macerator discharge hose is a 1-inch ID Kanaflex hose. You can get on EBay by the foot, just click on the link.
• Macerator pump replacement: Shurflo Macerator

Step-by-step procedures:

Before starting, make sure that the house battery is off or disconnected. Clean and empty both holding tanks. Some waste fluid is expected to drip when you start disconnecting the macerator inlet and outlet ports, so be prepared. I used a small bucket to catch all the remaining waste fluids in the line.

1. Raise the passenger wheels on ramps for easy access to underside of the RV. I made wooden ramps for this purpose. For safety, chock the driver side wheels to prevent the RV from rolling off the ramps. 

City Water Inlet Replacement

At one point, things in the RV will eventually break and the city water inlet is no exception. If it starts to leak, try to reseat the rubber check valve first and see if that cures the problem. I have reseated the valve on ours on many occasions and lately the spring that holds the rubber check valve  just came off. I decided to replace the whole water inlet valve assembly with a different brand; the new one is made of brass vs. the plastic old one. One drawback is that the mounting holes is different as it has 3 mounting holes as opposed to 2 on the original one, so I have to drill new holes into the mounting bracket.

If you decided to replace it with a new identical one it would be an easy DIY, all you have to do is remove the two rivets that holds it in place, unscrew it from the PEX tubing pipe thread adapter, replace it with a new one and rivet it back in place.

 

Picture above shows the check valve is not properly seated causing water to leak out. If this happens, your water pump will repeatedly cycle on-off as water pressure starts to drop inside the pipes.