November 22, 2024 • 34 mins
This is Eric Stark with The Smart RVer Podcast, Delivering the Smarts you need to enjoy the freedom of the RV Lifestyle without the fear of breaking down!
Episode Summary: Are electric waste valves for RVs worth the investment? Eric Stark dives deep into this topic, exploring the pros and cons of these systems that aim to make waste disposal simpler and more efficient. He discusses various brands, including Drain Master, Valterra, and Barker, highlighting their features, ease of installation, and overall reliability. Alongside co-host Alexis, they also touch on the importance of enjoying the RV lifestyle, including tips for calming passenger nerves during travel and finding free activities to enhance your adventures. With insights into the exciting state of Pennsylvania and a look at the growing trend of mini-split air conditioning systems in RVs, this episode is packed with valuable information for RV enthusiasts looking to make informed decisions.
Enjoying the RV Life: Tips for Passengers to Calm Their Nerves: Alexis and Eric talk about staying calm while being a passenger in an RV. It can be hard to remain calm when you’re not in control, but it's important for the overall enjoyment of the trip, the peace of the parties involved, and, most importantly, the sanity of the driver. Eric also shares a Money-Saving Tip to save some cash while RVing.
Check out the full article on TheSmartRVer.com. Wholesale RV Extended Warranties for LessStaying On The Road: Eric and Alexis discuss electric waste valves and how they are so much better than manual contraptions! They discuss the ins and outs of how the valves work and how they can make RV life better and easier.
Check out the money-saving tip about wholesale warranties!How to Repair a Problem Valterra RV Waste ValveThe Next Stop: Exploring Pennsylvania: A Traveler's Guide to History and Nature: Alexis and Eric travel to Pennsylvania to discuss what you can do in the great state. The history itself can keep a history buff busy for a long time! There are also many places to hike, bike, and do other outdoor activities. There's an endless amount of activities to keep anyone, young or old, entertained.
RV Envy:The Rise of Mini Split Air Conditioning Systems: Eric talks a little about mini split A/C’s for your RV. It’s an option to keep your RV cool and livable, especially when you can’t get access to or work your main AC unit, if you even have one. Be sure to send Eric information about mini splits if you have further helpful information, and he’ll feature your information on the Podcast! Contact Eric
Electric waste valves for RVs take center stage, as Eric Stark and Alexis explore their functionality and significance in enhancing the RV experience. Stark articulates the advantages of switching from...
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
12 volt electric waste valvesand are they worth the money?
And how do you choose whichone to buy?
That's going to be ourdiscussion today.
And staying on the road.
But before we get into that,we're going to talk about enjoying
the RV life.
And a much better way to enjoyit is calming your nerves while riding
as a passenger.
And then in the next stop,we're going to talk about the great
(00:22):
state of Pennsylvania or theexciting state.
Everybody want to look at that?
Then RV envy is going to beabout many split air conditioning
systems.
Actually, it's going to bemore like questions for you because
I need some answers.
This is Eric Stark with theSmart RVer podcast, delivering the
smarts you need to enjoy thefreedom of the RV lifestyle without
the fear of breaking down.
(00:44):
Let's talk everything RV.
This is episode 164, so let'sdig right into it.
And Alexis is here in ourreconfigured studio for the afternoon.
Hello.
And how's Alexis today?
I'm doing very well today.
Very well.
That's good.
Had my coffee.
Had her coffee.
Got a bottle of vodka on theside there.
(01:05):
You know it or whatever.
Jungle juice, something.
All right, well, maybe not.
No, Alexis isn't that way.
Not today anyway.
She keeps her bottle under the table.
That's right.
Yep.
All right, so let's see.
You know, one thing I want totalk about and it ties in with our
money saving tips is thewholesale warranties.
(01:26):
Oh, yeah.
Now I've brought those up onceor twice in our episode.
So we're doing an affiliatemarketing thing with them.
So we get paid when you useour link to check out their website.
Yes.
And when you sign up, not togo to their website, but sign up.
So what's cool about them, though?
So this one was a hard one forme to do because it's a warranty.
Right.
I hate warranties, especiallyadd on warranties or extended warranties
(01:51):
when you're at the dealershipand they want to sell you this warranty
for, you know, X amount ofthousands of dollars.
And you know, they tell you itcovers everything under the sun.
Anything breaks in your rv,they're going to fix it.
No matter when and where, itdoesn't matter.
You're covered.
It's peace of mind.
They talk right to your wifeand don't you want peace of mind
when you leave with your RVtoday and she's really.
(02:12):
What can go wrong?
Oh, everything can go wrong.
You know this RV is going tobreak the moment you pull it out
of here.
And you really need that warranty.
Oh, my word.
We better get it right.
It's exactly what happens.
Well, not in my house.
We both tell them to shove itat the same time.
That's true, but wholesalewarranties is a different gig.
These guys are honest, they're transparent.
(02:35):
You can buy a warranty from anybody.
It doesn't have to be from the dealership.
So don't let them fool youwith that.
Yeah, and one thing that Iremember is that the dealership,
let's say your payment is Xamount of dollars and the warranty
is X amount you're going to bepaying on that warranty for the entire
length of the loan.
That's a lot of extrapayments, a lot of extra interest.
(02:56):
Now, the dollar amount mightadd up to what they quoted you, $5,000
or whatever for the warranty,but you're paying a lot of extra
interest, and you're paying onafter the loan or after the warranty
is over.
Why would you do that?
Yeah.
Now, wholesale warranties,they get that people want to throw
it in with the financing, sothey'll finance it for you.
They offer financing.
So if you want to makepayments, no problem.
(03:18):
But you make it for the lifeof the warranty, not the life of
the loan.
But anyways, kind of go alongon this.
I just wanted to mention them.
And, you know, use the link.
If you go to the descriptionin this podcast, there's a link there.
Take that to their website,fill out the form, Someone will contact
you.
And these guys tell youeverything that'll be covered on
your new RV or your used RV.
(03:40):
Yes.
And they do cover used RVs.
They go back to so many years.
I don't know the exact years,but they will cover it and they'll
have the RV inspected.
Now, you pay for that, butit's well worth the money because
you know where you standbefore you ever get into it.
That's great.
And they inspect it foreverything that they're going to
cover.
So you might be buying a deadhorse as far as an extended warranty
(04:01):
goes.
So they let you know that up front.
So check that out.
Go to our description of this podcast.
It's also on the Smart rverwebsite as well.
Link there.
Use that.
It's an affiliate, like I said.
That way we get our $0.03 ifyou do sign up.
All right, let's move on toenjoying the RV life.
That's an interesting subject.
(04:22):
Calm your nerves.
Is riding as a passenger.
Yeah, that's a.
That's a good one.
You know, my Wife and I weregoing where somewhere the other day,
and yeah, the weather is kindof inclement and, you know, animals
and stuff.
I know she's using that emergeor that imaginary brake pedal quite
a bit.
Oh, no.
Yep.
I think that's pretty funny.
(04:43):
So she hadn't heard thispodcast yet, so maybe she needs to
hear this for you, Karen.
So, Alexis, What?
As probably a passenger quite often.
Probably, yes.
What points in this articlestood out to you?
Well, one that really made melaugh was the second one.
(05:05):
Communicate effectively withthe driver.
I just like how proper thatsaid it.
You know, instead of screamingat them, what are you doing?
You know, clear communicationis the key here.
Especially here with animalscrossing the road all the time.
It's not like.
Or look out.
Look out for what?
Yes, exactly.
(05:25):
All right, that makes sense.
I like that.
Discuss your preferences andconcerns before the journey hole
gets an earful every time.
So he knows how I am?
No, I thought that was fun.
And then number four, practicerelaxation techniques.
So maybe the passenger needsto just calm down a little bit because
(05:47):
the driver usually is pretty good.
We just get, you know, scared.
Another good thing was number one.
I know I'm going back now, butfamiliarize yourself with the rv,
so know it before you gobecause then you'll feel more comfortable.
Probably sorry I made you turnit over.
That's all right.
But yeah, and know what itdoes, how it works, how it kind of.
(06:07):
You could even drive it.
So, you know, kind of.
Okay.
It breaks differently than a car.
It does this differently.
We have to turn like this.
So when you're actually in thepassenger seat, you don't freak out.
Right.
What do you think is a good one?
Well, I was thinking, youknow, like pull or driving a motorhomes,
different because they're bigger.
And sometimes you, you, youswerve a little bit.
(06:29):
Maybe you're dodgingsomething, maybe you're falling asleep,
whatever.
Yeah, whatever.
You swerve a little bit.
It kind of moves the motorhomea lot more than, let's say, a pickup
truck.
Yeah.
So getting used to that everytime the motorhome moves is not the
end of the world.
Exactly.
But by the same took.
Whether it's a motorhome,maybe going down a steep grade, or
someone's pulling a trailerand going down a steep grade or up
(06:49):
a great or unique situation,when there's beads of sweat across
the driver's forehead, it'sprobably not the time to say, hey,
what do you think about going to.
And, you know, talking aboutsomething, probably think of my new
purse.
Probably not the best timebecause you're going to get a.
An answer like, shut up.
I'm trying to pay attention here.
You know, and that would befair, right?
(07:11):
So anyways, yeah.
So you know sometimes thatit's a long drive having some of
the stuff out on the table.
And I know, like people havebeen married for a long time, they
kind of get it.
They understand each other'slittle things and they work around
that, you know, which is good.
But you know, sometimes kidshave their little fears and they
don't know how to express it.
So you got to kind of workthat into it.
(07:32):
Think about it.
That's.
Yeah, it makes it for a morepleasant drive period.
You know, really have someoneeither harping at you or the entire
time or they're just overthere, coward in their seat, miserable,
you know, so that makes a lotof sense to me.
Calm your nerves when you'reriding as a passenger.
So go to the website, thesmart rver.com and join the RV lifestyle.
(07:54):
Look for the article calm yournerves riding as a passenger.
So you can read this whileyou're riding each time.
That'll distract you.
Although you might get sickfrom reading it and then throw up.
Then we got a whole othersituation we'll talk about.
That's all right.
Yeah, that's another one.
How to clean up.
Throw up while you're driving.
Oh, no.
All right, so now that takesus to money saving tip number four.
(08:15):
We can actually call it numberfive because we talked about wholesale
warranties.
They're just a big giant moneysaving tip.
But number four, enjoying free activities.
So, you know, to save some ofthat cash that you work so hard to
get.
You know, traveling in RVs canbe fun.
It is an added expense.
No matter how you slice it.
(08:36):
It costs you something to goon a trip.
You're buying food, which,yeah, you eat at home, but you probably
buy more.
Different types maybe.
Don't worry about the cost ofit so much.
It's not so much a price pointfor you.
I just want this.
We're going on a trip, you know.
Right.
And you know, fuel other things.
You can get a flat along the way.
(08:57):
So there's expenses involved.
So it's like, what can we doto, you know, save a few bucks while
we're traveling?
So, you know, it's looking forthings that are free, attractions
that are free, activities thatcan be free.
You know, sometimes we go tothe same place because we really
like it there and there's allthese activities.
But all these activities cancost a lot of money.
Yeah, exactly.
(09:17):
You know, like if you go toAnaheim, go to Disneyland all the
time, you're talking a milliondollars a day.
But are there other things youcan do that would save you some money?
It's those free activities.
You know, you can camp.
Camp at the beach.
Yeah.
You know, you can camp up inthe mountains.
Dry camping with, you know,the forest.
Right.
You know, you can watch theanimals shoot.
(09:38):
Squirrel.
No, you can watch the animalsdo different things.
You know, you can just hike, whatever.
You can bring bicycles.
A lot of other things we'vetalked about you can do there.
Yeah.
So it's.
It's looking for the thingsthat are free.
You know, a lot of cities havetours that are free.
There's museums that are free,or maybe they cost a buck to go in
or two bucks.
You know, they're not real expensive.
(09:59):
And some of these smallmuseums are actually pretty cool,
you know, public beaches, libraries.
Libraries?
What on earth would you go toa library for, Alexis?
I have no idea.
You got the Internet, man.
They should just close downall libraries.
Oh, wow.
Parks.
Quite the opinion.
(10:21):
Shut them down, then parks nowshut down half of those.
The other half probably areokay, so parks you can go to, they're
free.
Just be cautious.
You know, art exhibits, if you like.
Art or exhibits.
Art exhibits, splash parks.
Some of those are free.
So there's a lot of things.
So you can look for freeactivities in an area.
(10:43):
Search the Internet, you know,search in free activities in such
and such city.
Wherever you're going, there'sthings will come up and it'll save
you a few bucks.
And, you know, sometimes wespend a lot of money.
We just, well, we're on atrip, it's okay.
Then we get home, we're like,man, this trip was a fortune.
I didn't realize how muchmoney we spent.
You know, especially if you'retraveling a lot and you're not don't
(11:04):
have just this open budget,you know, which is most people.
Everybody's on a budget.
So you can do these things tohelp save that budget and maybe travel
a little bit more, becauseyou're saving some money on these
trips.
Because we want everybody totravel more.
Enjoy that rv.
Yeah.
All right, so a key takeawayfrom this is using free public whatevers.
(11:26):
Anything that's free, takeadvantage of it, and you'll make
your money stretch a littlebit further.
Now that brings us to stayingon the road.
And so today we're going totalk about electric waste valves
for RVs.
And are they worth the money in?
And how do you choose theright one?
Now, this is a interestingtopic if you're into waste.
(11:52):
So why would you need a waste valve?
Or, you know, we know wastevalves, what their purpose is, to
hold the waste in the tank.
Then you put your sewer hoseon there and it's time to drain it.
Yep.
Pull that handle and you know,all that beautiful stuff goes into
the septic system somewhere,hopefully, and not on the ground.
And, you know, hopefully thehandle doesn't pull out when you
pull on it.
(12:13):
Hopefully the handle moves.
There's all these hopefulshere that it's working properly.
If, you know, the handle pullsout the valve.
Stuck.
Now you got a stuck valve witha full waste tank.
Not good.
So that could become really ugly.
And we actually have a YouTubevideo, and we've talked about how
to work around that.
We'll have to put the link tothat video in this description as
(12:35):
well.
So there's workarounds, but,you know, it's nice not to find yourself
in that position in some valves.
Well, I can't say an electricwaste valve is going to always stop
that from happening, but itcan certainly slow it down or change
the course of it happening.
But also, some valves are hardto get to.
(12:55):
They're way underneath themotorhome, or they got those cheesy
aluminum extension handlesthat Volterra makes.
These things are horrible.
They, you know, they're.
They strip out just by lookingat it.
They're.
They're horrible.
They're bad.
They're always loosening up.
Yeah, I have a solution for that.
I got to work on that one ofthese days.
But anyway, back to reality here.
(13:16):
Then you have the cable valveswhich Bristol and Volterra make.
And they work good until theydon't work good or until the factory
doesn't install it correctlybecause they just want to slap it
in and say it has these valvesand make it work.
Because they can get reallyhard to push and pull over time or
even just a bad installation.
They're really hard to use.
(13:37):
And let's face it, some of ourfellow RVers have arthritic hands.
It's hard to do these things.
Bending over while you'repulling on something that's really
hard to pull can be difficult.
So that's where electric wastevalves come in.
And so these things, if youbuy the right one, install it correctly,
can be a lifesaver for time.
They make life so much easier.
(13:59):
They can actually help youavoid problems for many years to
come if you Buy the right one.
And it's interesting.
The right one.
And so we're going to kind ofgo through this here.
We're not going to get intoall the technical nuts and bolts
of these things because mymind's already made up which one's
the best.
Okay.
It's the most expensive oneand it's the one that's not readily
(14:21):
available.
How do you like them apples, huh?
That's kind of a downer.
It is.
I know.
You know, sometimes we justhave to face reality.
You're right.
And in the world of electricdrain valves or waste valves.
Yes.
It gets ugly sometimes,especially when there's a lot of
splashing.
So the first one on my list,and this list is not in the order
(14:45):
you think.
The first one is Moto Drain.
And it's not the one that Iwould go with.
It's an okay looking valve.
It's made by Bristol LaSalle Bristol.
And I'm sure it works well.
It will accommodate a 3 inchvalve, an inch and a half valve.
No, it won't work with an inchand a half, three inch valve.
(15:06):
And that's okay.
Let me get that out of the way first.
You know, having three inchdrain valves on both sides rather
than three inch an inch and ahalf or three inch and a two inch.
Having two three inch valves.
Especially if you can getthree inch plumbing all the way to
the gray water tank.
When the tank drains, itactually creates a vortex and just
(15:27):
sucks everything out.
And Drain Master has pushed that.
They're kind of the creator ofthat, the brains behind it.
So if you have to, if youcan't do that, that's fine, then
you're.
Then you can use an inch and ahalf valve with two brands, but not
all three.
But I would, no matter what,just go with two 3 inch valves.
Just make it simple.
(15:48):
And you can get adapters to do that.
You can go from inch and ahalf to three inch, that's not a
problem.
But having three inch plumbingout of that gray water tank will
make all the difference in the world.
And I don't even know why theygo with inch and a half.
One of those things thatprobably happened somewhere and that's
just what they always do now.
That's what we always do.
And to work with it, you know.
You can tell it, you know, theplumbing, sometimes they run inch
(16:10):
and a half all the way out.
Sometimes they go inch and ahalf to three, you know, So I guess
that's a visual.
It's inch and a half.
It must be Gray water or it's2 inch, it must be gray water.
But that's it.
It's just a visual black eyecandy, I guess.
Yeah.
That doesn't sound very good.
Did it?
We better retract thatbackwards there.
Good job.
(16:31):
All right, so Moto Drainsmight made by La Salle Bristol.
It's kind of a, I don't know,kind of a rough looking thing.
It's not, I don't know, it'snot pretty, I guess is really it.
And so that's kind of aturnoff in itself.
I'm sure it's a decent valveor a motor because Moto Drain, Valterra
and Barker are all add ons.
(16:53):
Well, Volterra, they selltheirs complete.
But you Barker, you usewhatever valve you had and add the
motor to it.
So you're still stuck with the.
An inferior valve, if you will.
I mean, Valterra makes a goodvalve, so does Bristol.
But they do have theirproblems, you know, which everybody
who's had an RV for any lengthof time knows.
(17:14):
The handle breaks, it getsstuck, something goes wrong, they
leak, you got to replaceseals, the list goes on.
It's something that you seeand use and you go, I know I'm gonna
have to deal with this one day.
Then that day comes and it'susually when you're not ready to
deal with it.
So that's motodrain's deal.
And then Volterra, they havetheir three inch, an inch and a half
complete valve.
(17:35):
And it's basically an add onto their valve, though it's not a
ground up rebuild.
So it's put onto their valve.
And Valterra is like the brandthat's out there.
Bristol's the second.
I mean there's two basicallyCamco has one, but Volterra is number
one.
They've been doing this forever.
Yeah, you go back in time,they're called Ananda.
(17:57):
You know, they're on carpetcleaning machines, other stuff.
So that's way back, butthey've been out there.
So the manufacturer been using them.
Just like Los Al Bristol, butnot to the same degree.
So their valves, theelectronic portion of is probably
okay.
We have to think about this though.
Valterra has hundreds of itemsand now they're owned by Dometic,
(18:17):
who already had hundreds of items.
Actually we're talkingthousands of items between those
two brands.
And they own Go Power.
And Volterra has a habit of,well, making things not so good sometimes.
And now if they changed any ofthis, if they took Volterra's Formula
and put Dometic's formula there.
It's not going to be a goodvalve, but if it stays Volterra,
(18:39):
it will be as good as Volterra makes.
Volterra is.
They make good products andthey make lame products.
They're kind of like some ofthe other brands out there.
They make good products, theymake lame products.
But this valve is an okay valve.
It's just, you know, there'sgoing to be a problem with it because
it's that typical Volterra valve.
But if you want to go simple,they're less expensive than drainmaster.
(19:02):
They're similar to Barker.
So it's entirely what yourbudget is, what you want to do, maybe
how you feel about it, maybeyou think, Eric, you're full of it.
And we're just going to gowith that anyways, it might be Moto
Drain is going to be your flavor.
Moto Drain was actually kindof hard for me to find too.
That's not all over the Internet.
That's.
Yeah, that was a little tough.
But Barker is the next Den now.
(19:24):
Barker Manufacturing, theymake great products.
They make jacks and metalstuff and things, and everything
they make is good.
I like Barker.
Well, I like Valterra, too.
I like lasalle Bristol, but Ilike everybody today.
But Barker, theirs isdefinitely an add on.
You just put it onto aVolterra or Bristol valve.
(19:47):
So you still got the same valve.
It's just electric now.
Okay.
So you still have that futureproblem of the valve failing.
And the Barker motor willprobably last for a long time to
come.
So it's kind of you sitting here.
Look at this.
How do we choose, you know, exactly?
It might be what will fit inthe space, because that's a consideration
too, you know, Barker addsquite a bit to the valve.
(20:10):
The Volterra valve becomes bigger.
The Moto drain makes it wider.
Now, here's the best valve.
And like I said, this might bea tough decision for some, especially
if money's the issue.
But if money's the issue, justgo with what you think is going to
be best for you and what will fit.
And to even make sure it'sgoing to fit.
If you have like anunderbelly, you're going to have
(20:31):
to drop it.
Don't assume, because thesevalves do need to be mounted certain
ways.
You got some adjustment, butmaybe not as much as you think.
But now Drain Master, theseguys got it figured out.
Drain Master's been around forI don't know how long now, how many
years.
I remember meeting the ownerAt a trade show in California.
(20:54):
I think it was an FMCA rally.
Wow.
@ the time, you know, we'retalking, I'm listening to his story
about how he came about withthis valve because he was an RVer,
got tired of all the problemswith valves and he said, I'm going
to make a solution to this.
Now he is an inventor type ofguy, very smart engineering mindset.
You know, everything getsthought through, through and through
(21:16):
and through.
No stone is left unturned.
With Doug.
Now he's not doing so goodtoday, but he's still involved in
the company.
But they haven't changed.
His daughter's running thecompany now.
It hasn't changed.
The quality is still there.
And their website displays that.
Just the way their documentsare put on a website is like no other
(21:38):
website.
Everything's named, numbered,organized, you know, you don't need
to know the name of it.
They'll go to our website andlook at document 3702.
You go there, find 3702, thereyou go.
It's what you need.
Other websites, well, youknow, it's the third one down and
I think it says this, maybe itsays that.
And there's five of them thatall have the very similar names.
(21:58):
So now you're not sure.
You know, everything aboutthis company is thorough.
So their valve, you know, theyhave reports of them lasting 25 years
and that's unheard of.
The only valves that last 25years are the ones that no one touches
for 25 years and then you goto use it and it breaks.
Yeah.
So they have a great track record.
(22:21):
Their valves, their electricvalve systems have a five year warranty
on.
They have stainless steelparts inside of them.
They have special seals thatare made, they're made to work, you
know, in place of Volterra orbricks, crystal, it doesn't matter.
They, they push the 3 inchbecause they only make a 3 inch valve.
And what they say about thatis absolutely true.
(22:41):
That vortex, when you drain itwith a 3 inch pipe, it creates that
suction, helps clean out thetank even better rather than just
kind of dribbling out.
And drain master valves arevery small.
When you put it next to aVolterra Bristol valve, it's the
same footprint, it's like ahalf an inch taller.
So it's going to fit in Almostanywhere your 3 inch valve is with
(23:04):
the drain master because it'snot a big old clunky thing added
on.
Now they are more money, youknow, to do two valves on an RV,
you could be looking at 700bucks or more.
Wow.
With the other valves youmight be at 500 bucks or more, you
know, maybe 400.
I didn't really price them outbecause prices are all over the board
(23:25):
on these things.
But drainmaster, they're theguys, you go to them, they're the
only ones that sell theirproduct and they have the warranty,
they have customer service,they're easy to install.
In fact, you can take it totheir factory and they'll install
in there for you.
But just be aware, they'regoing to put a 3 inch system in for
your inch and a half.
They replace all that.
(23:45):
They're not going to.
Unless they can't for somereason, then they won't.
These guys are it.
If you had to buy a valve infive years or ten, well, they have
a five year warranty, soyou're covered there.
But let's say you're out oftheir warranty, period.
You have by a valve.
It's going to be a fluke.
It's not going to be one ofthose things like, gosh, I better
just get two since I'm doing this.
You could certainly do that,but it's not going to be needed.
(24:08):
And to be honest with you, youknow, if you had to replace a valve
yourself, if you're doing thisyourself and you had to replace it
in seven years and it costyou, say, I'm just going to pick
this number.
300 bucks for a valve.
They're not that much, but ifthere's that much, then 300 bucks.
Doing it yourself, you save atleast $300 in labor, what people
(24:29):
charge for these types of things.
So you're still money ahead,if you will.
And their valves open andclose really quick.
They're designed with a magnetthat tells you when the valves open,
when it's closed, if there's a problem.
So you're not left in the dark.
And their valves come in kits.
You buy a valve, you buy aswitch kit for it with different
(24:50):
length cables.
So it's plug and play.
And so you just have to decidewhere you want the switches.
And they have a variety ofswitches too.
They got ones that arewaterproof, not waterproof, some
that are on a panel that come together.
So there's, you have options there.
And so the extra things kindof drive up the price.
But you're getting quality allthe way.
I mean, these guys don't juststop at the valve.
(25:11):
Everything else they sell andadd on to make that valve works is
high quality.
So go to their website, drainmaster.com.
check it out.
At least look at it.
You know, put everything inthe cart.
See what it costs you to doyour RV so you have a clear picture
of it.
And no, we're not being paidby Drain Master.
They just make a great product.
(25:32):
We do.
Sometimes I have to say thatbecause some people, you know, now
accuse me of being sold out tothe man.
Please.
Anyway, you know, all.
So, I mean, the takeaway fromhere is all the valves are good,
but the best ones, Drain Master.
But if you're on a budget, Iwould say Volterra or Barker are
going to be the two that youwould have to choose between.
(25:54):
Moto Drainage.
I think I would just leave itout there, not even consider it,
unless there's something aboutthat Moto Drain that just really
works for you.
But other than that, Volterraor Barker would be the ones I would
go with.
And Drain Mauer.
Drain Master is definitely the one.
As a reminder, you can go toour website and find out.
(26:15):
Find most of the informationwe talk about on the podcast, and
this podcast will also be on YouTube.
So we're available everywhereand keep telling people about us
spreading the word more likes,more subscribes, more everything.
Now, that's going to bring usto the next section.
Next section of the can't eventalk today.
(26:35):
The next section of the show,the next stop.
That's the problem is twosentences start out very similar.
Right?
So whoever wrote this thingfor me is retarded.
Well, boy, Eric, we can't takeyou anywhere.
All right, so sorry aboutthat, people.
All right, so now we're gonnahave Alexis talk about the exciting
(26:58):
state of Pennsylvania.
Here we come.
Pennsylvania.
Well, other than it being veryhistorically full, I guess.
Full.
Yeah.
Of history.
There we go.
It also has really pretty landscapes.
So you got your, you know, inthe city, you've got your history
(27:21):
and all that you can.
Is it the Liberty Bell?
Stuff like that?
The.
Where the Declaration ofIndependence and the Constitution
were debated.
There's the Independence Hall.
That's pretty cool.
Yeah.
And then let's see theNational Constitution center and
the Benjamin Franklin Museum.
That's really neat.
So just a ton of history there.
(27:43):
And then it's got a lot ofnatural beauty, too.
So if you're into that, youcan do both, really, as an RVer.
So that's kind of cool.
That's kind of a coolexperience when you can go to Gettysburg,
where, you know, you canjourney through the Civil War.
The Pocano Mountains is moreon the.
(28:05):
On the outdoorsy side.
So you can do hiking, fishing,boating, and obviously stay in your
RV there.
So it's a lot of beauty in Pennsylvania.
Actually.
Look up some pictures on Google.
It's.
It's beautiful.
Or if you've ever been there,you know, send us in some pictures.
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
And we always have to talkabout food, so.
(28:25):
That's right.
Get a taste of the Amish country.
This is kind of cool.
Lancaster county is home tothe largest Amish community in the
United States.
So there's a lot of culture there.
They make a lot of beautiful things.
Fresh markets, homemade bread,traditional Amish foods.
So if you want to try that,that'd be the place to do it.
(28:47):
Forget that.
What about the Willy WonkaChocolate Factory?
Oh, my goodness.
Yeah, The Hershey Factory.
That's the sweetest place on earth.
So they.
Right.
Yes.
Wow.
You gotta hit that up.
The Hershey Factory.
If you're a chocolate lover,you just.
You have to go.
There's just no point not going.
Yeah.
You know, it's one of those things.
Maybe don't eat any sweets fora couple days and scourge on it or
(29:11):
whatever.
Throw your blood sugar out thewindow and.
Yeah, go for it.
But that's.
That'd be worth going to justto see it for a zillion years.
I know.
It's.
All those factory else cameabout whenever all these companies
were being created.
Hershey.
Exactly.
I mean, so many companies goway back when, like Frito lay all
(29:33):
them.
The candy.
So that was during the candyrush, when everybody's trying to
come with candy.
Yeah.
That you could travel and.
Oops.
Make it someplace.
You know, you could dip theFritos in the chocolate.
That'd be good.
There you go.
I like that idea.
Dipping the Fritos in the chocolate.
Everything's better with chocolate.
Yeah.
Chocolate covers Fritos.
(29:54):
Yeah, that probably would be good.
The sweet and salty.
You know, Fritos and bean dipis better, but, you know, I could
see it.
Yeah.
Anything's possible today, Right?
Heck.
All right.
We leave that one alone.
We're not going to go anyfurther with that one.
So check out Pennsylvania andgo to the smart rv.com under next.
And there's Pennsylvanian.
Oh, I forgot to mention this.
(30:15):
Our episode 166, which willcome out December 20th, that's going
to be over an hour long.
We've got quite the thingplanned for it.
We're going to do a recap ofthe year, and it's going to be recorded
on video, which is going to bethe hopefully the big thing that
actually makes it good eitherbe really good or really bad.
We're not sure yet, but we'reworking on that.
(30:36):
Oh, you know what, I thoughtwe were almost done here, but we
still got RV envy jumping ahead.
Oh, well, anyways, episode166, December 20th.
Remember that you got towatch, mark your calendars.
You know, It'll be on YouTube,so you can go there and watch it.
That's probably going to bebetter than listening to it.
Yes.
The next thing.
RV envy.
Recently, many splits havecome up in conversation around here,
(31:00):
and it's become kind of thistrend with RVers doing mini split
air conditioning systems ontheir RVs.
Now, mini splits are prettycool if you're not familiar with
them.
It's kind of a miniature airconditioning system where you have
a condenser outside which is compact.
Then you have your air handlerinside which is compact.
(31:20):
It only mounts on a wall.
Some of them you can mount inthe ceiling now, and they're easy
to install, easy to plumb, doeverything you need to do it.
Now, some RVers have now beendoing these in RVs.
And so we've done someresearch and I'm looking for somebody
who's done one and knows aboutthese that actually has found one
(31:41):
designed for rv.
It seems like I came acrossone company that said theirs is RV
friendly, but the companyitself just didn't do it for me.
They didn't seem like aquality company.
It seemed like they're justchurning out some junk to maybe possibly
fit a market or say they'refitting that market.
But an rv, you know, bouncesdown the road.
(32:02):
These air handlers have to bemounted right on the walls.
You know, they have to bemounted to studs.
They got a little bit ofweight to them.
That condenser, you know,they're putting them in compartments,
generator compartments,strapping them onto the backs of
bumpers, the front of tongues,you know, the in.
You know, they come outwherever to put these things.
And that's kind of a an issuein itself depending on your rv, whether
you have space for one or not,and how well they work in a compartment.
(32:25):
What can you do with that?
Does the door have to stay open?
Do you have to have air goinginto it?
Right, because it's got tohave air.
They get hot, you know, it'spulling the heat out of the air,
so to make that cold air.
So it's pushing that out.
So there's things to consider there.
And I'm sure most of theseguys that have done these installs,
have looked at all that,because most of them look pretty
decent for what, what it is.
(32:47):
But what I'm looking for issomeone who actually knows about
these things.
And if you go to thesmartrver.com go to the contact us
page or about us and get intouch with me.
Our phone number is there.
You can call us or you canemail, you can do whatever you want
to do.
And I'd like to hear about this.
(33:08):
I'd like to get moreinformation so I can talk more intelligently
about it, see if it's anavenue that really is worth exploring
or if this is a fringe typething that creates more problems
than it solves.
And one thing I have noticedis that these things generally are
put in the living room.
And as far as I know, it's oneair handler per condenser.
(33:29):
So it's going to cool down,let's say the living area of the
rv, but not necessarily abedroom or anything else, bathroom
and such.
But maybe I'm missingsomething on that.
Maybe you get it cold enough,it pushes that air everywhere or
you have fans to circulate it.
So that's what I want to know about.
So someone please reach out tome and let me know, enlighten me,
(33:50):
make me an expert on minisplit systems for RVs.
I would truly appreciate that.
All right, so now that bringsus to the end of the show, right,
Alexis, I'm not missinganything else here.
You did good.
All right, so remember, go tothe description of this podcast.
Check it out for the links towholesale warranties and our website
(34:13):
and everything else.
Everything else I mentioned Ialready forgot.
We'll go back to it and fixthat up though.
All right, so next, nextepisode is going to be 165, so that'll
be in two weeks.
And after that we got 166, thelast episode of the year, highlighting
the entire year.
So that'll be a pretty cool episode.
So we had a great show today.
(34:34):
I want to thank everybody forlistening and sharing the show with
your friends and family and so forth.
Fellow RVers, we trulyappreciate the support we get.
So this is Eric Stark with theSmart Smart RVer podcast.
It's been great hanging outwith you.
If I don't see on the road,let's connect@thesmartrver.com.
12 volt electric waste valvesand are they worth the money?
And how do you choose whichone to buy?
That's going to be ourdiscussion today.
And staying on the road.
But before we get into that,we're going to talk about enjoying
the RV life.
And a much better way to enjoyit is calming your nerves while riding
as a passenger.
And then in the next stop,we're going to talk about the great
(00:22):
state of Pennsylvania or theexciting state.
Everybody want to look at that?
Then RV envy is going to beabout many split air conditioning
systems.
Actually, it's going to bemore like questions for you because
I need some answers.
This is Eric Stark with theSmart RVer podcast, delivering the
smarts you need to enjoy thefreedom of the RV lifestyle without
the fear of breaking down.
(00:44):
Let's talk everything RV.
This is episode 164, so let'sdig right into it.
And Alexis is here in ourreconfigured studio for the afternoon.
Hello.
And how's Alexis today?
I'm doing very well today.
Very well.
That's good.
Had my coffee.
Had her coffee.
Got a bottle of vodka on theside there.
(01:05):
You know it or whatever.
Jungle juice, something.
All right, well, maybe not.
No, Alexis isn't that way.
Not today anyway.
She keeps her bottle under the table.
That's right.
Yep.
All right, so let's see.
You know, one thing I want totalk about and it ties in with our
money saving tips is thewholesale warranties.
(01:26):
Oh, yeah.
Now I've brought those up onceor twice in our episode.
So we're doing an affiliatemarketing thing with them.
So we get paid when you useour link to check out their website.
Yes.
And when you sign up, not togo to their website, but sign up.
So what's cool about them, though?
So this one was a hard one forme to do because it's a warranty.
Right.
I hate warranties, especiallyadd on warranties or extended warranties
(01:51):
when you're at the dealershipand they want to sell you this warranty
for, you know, X amount ofthousands of dollars.
And you know, they tell you itcovers everything under the sun.
Anything breaks in your rv,they're going to fix it.
No matter when and where, itdoesn't matter.
You're covered.
It's peace of mind.
They talk right to your wifeand don't you want peace of mind
when you leave with your RVtoday and she's really.
(02:12):
What can go wrong?
Oh, everything can go wrong.
You know this RV is going tobreak the moment you pull it out
of here.
And you really need that warranty.
Oh, my word.
We better get it right.
It's exactly what happens.
Well, not in my house.
We both tell them to shove itat the same time.
That's true, but wholesalewarranties is a different gig.
These guys are honest, they're transparent.
(02:35):
You can buy a warranty from anybody.
It doesn't have to be from the dealership.
So don't let them fool youwith that.
Yeah, and one thing that Iremember is that the dealership,
let's say your payment is Xamount of dollars and the warranty
is X amount you're going to bepaying on that warranty for the entire
length of the loan.
That's a lot of extrapayments, a lot of extra interest.
(02:56):
Now, the dollar amount mightadd up to what they quoted you, $5,000
or whatever for the warranty,but you're paying a lot of extra
interest, and you're paying onafter the loan or after the warranty
is over.
Why would you do that?
Yeah.
Now, wholesale warranties,they get that people want to throw
it in with the financing, sothey'll finance it for you.
They offer financing.
So if you want to makepayments, no problem.
(03:18):
But you make it for the lifeof the warranty, not the life of
the loan.
But anyways, kind of go alongon this.
I just wanted to mention them.
And, you know, use the link.
If you go to the descriptionin this podcast, there's a link there.
Take that to their website,fill out the form, Someone will contact
you.
And these guys tell youeverything that'll be covered on
your new RV or your used RV.
(03:40):
Yes.
And they do cover used RVs.
They go back to so many years.
I don't know the exact years,but they will cover it and they'll
have the RV inspected.
Now, you pay for that, butit's well worth the money because
you know where you standbefore you ever get into it.
That's great.
And they inspect it foreverything that they're going to
cover.
So you might be buying a deadhorse as far as an extended warranty
(04:01):
goes.
So they let you know that up front.
So check that out.
Go to our description of this podcast.
It's also on the Smart rverwebsite as well.
Link there.
Use that.
It's an affiliate, like I said.
That way we get our $0.03 ifyou do sign up.
All right, let's move on toenjoying the RV life.
That's an interesting subject.
(04:22):
Calm your nerves.
Is riding as a passenger.
Yeah, that's a.
That's a good one.
You know, my Wife and I weregoing where somewhere the other day,
and yeah, the weather is kindof inclement and, you know, animals
and stuff.
I know she's using that emergeor that imaginary brake pedal quite
a bit.
Oh, no.
Yep.
I think that's pretty funny.
(04:43):
So she hadn't heard thispodcast yet, so maybe she needs to
hear this for you, Karen.
So, Alexis, What?
As probably a passenger quite often.
Probably, yes.
What points in this articlestood out to you?
Well, one that really made melaugh was the second one.
(05:05):
Communicate effectively withthe driver.
I just like how proper thatsaid it.
You know, instead of screamingat them, what are you doing?
You know, clear communicationis the key here.
Especially here with animalscrossing the road all the time.
It's not like.
Or look out.
Look out for what?
Yes, exactly.
(05:25):
All right, that makes sense.
I like that.
Discuss your preferences andconcerns before the journey hole
gets an earful every time.
So he knows how I am?
No, I thought that was fun.
And then number four, practicerelaxation techniques.
So maybe the passenger needsto just calm down a little bit because
(05:47):
the driver usually is pretty good.
We just get, you know, scared.
Another good thing was number one.
I know I'm going back now, butfamiliarize yourself with the rv,
so know it before you gobecause then you'll feel more comfortable.
Probably sorry I made you turnit over.
That's all right.
But yeah, and know what itdoes, how it works, how it kind of.
(06:07):
You could even drive it.
So, you know, kind of.
Okay.
It breaks differently than a car.
It does this differently.
We have to turn like this.
So when you're actually in thepassenger seat, you don't freak out.
Right.
What do you think is a good one?
Well, I was thinking, youknow, like pull or driving a motorhomes,
different because they're bigger.
And sometimes you, you, youswerve a little bit.
(06:29):
Maybe you're dodgingsomething, maybe you're falling asleep,
whatever.
Yeah, whatever.
You swerve a little bit.
It kind of moves the motorhomea lot more than, let's say, a pickup
truck.
Yeah.
So getting used to that everytime the motorhome moves is not the
end of the world.
Exactly.
But by the same took.
Whether it's a motorhome,maybe going down a steep grade, or
someone's pulling a trailerand going down a steep grade or up
(06:49):
a great or unique situation,when there's beads of sweat across
the driver's forehead, it'sprobably not the time to say, hey,
what do you think about going to.
And, you know, talking aboutsomething, probably think of my new
purse.
Probably not the best timebecause you're going to get a.
An answer like, shut up.
I'm trying to pay attention here.
You know, and that would befair, right?
(07:11):
So anyways, yeah.
So you know sometimes thatit's a long drive having some of
the stuff out on the table.
And I know, like people havebeen married for a long time, they
kind of get it.
They understand each other'slittle things and they work around
that, you know, which is good.
But you know, sometimes kidshave their little fears and they
don't know how to express it.
So you got to kind of workthat into it.
(07:32):
Think about it.
That's.
Yeah, it makes it for a morepleasant drive period.
You know, really have someoneeither harping at you or the entire
time or they're just overthere, coward in their seat, miserable,
you know, so that makes a lotof sense to me.
Calm your nerves when you'reriding as a passenger.
So go to the website, thesmart rver.com and join the RV lifestyle.
(07:54):
Look for the article calm yournerves riding as a passenger.
So you can read this whileyou're riding each time.
That'll distract you.
Although you might get sickfrom reading it and then throw up.
Then we got a whole othersituation we'll talk about.
That's all right.
Yeah, that's another one.
How to clean up.
Throw up while you're driving.
Oh, no.
All right, so now that takesus to money saving tip number four.
(08:15):
We can actually call it numberfive because we talked about wholesale
warranties.
They're just a big giant moneysaving tip.
But number four, enjoying free activities.
So, you know, to save some ofthat cash that you work so hard to
get.
You know, traveling in RVs canbe fun.
It is an added expense.
No matter how you slice it.
(08:36):
It costs you something to goon a trip.
You're buying food, which,yeah, you eat at home, but you probably
buy more.
Different types maybe.
Don't worry about the cost ofit so much.
It's not so much a price pointfor you.
I just want this.
We're going on a trip, you know.
Right.
And you know, fuel other things.
You can get a flat along the way.
(08:57):
So there's expenses involved.
So it's like, what can we doto, you know, save a few bucks while
we're traveling?
So, you know, it's looking forthings that are free, attractions
that are free, activities thatcan be free.
You know, sometimes we go tothe same place because we really
like it there and there's allthese activities.
But all these activities cancost a lot of money.
Yeah, exactly.
(09:17):
You know, like if you go toAnaheim, go to Disneyland all the
time, you're talking a milliondollars a day.
But are there other things youcan do that would save you some money?
It's those free activities.
You know, you can camp.
Camp at the beach.
Yeah.
You know, you can camp up inthe mountains.
Dry camping with, you know,the forest.
Right.
You know, you can watch theanimals shoot.
(09:38):
Squirrel.
No, you can watch the animalsdo different things.
You know, you can just hike, whatever.
You can bring bicycles.
A lot of other things we'vetalked about you can do there.
Yeah.
So it's.
It's looking for the thingsthat are free.
You know, a lot of cities havetours that are free.
There's museums that are free,or maybe they cost a buck to go in
or two bucks.
You know, they're not real expensive.
(09:59):
And some of these smallmuseums are actually pretty cool,
you know, public beaches, libraries.
Libraries?
What on earth would you go toa library for, Alexis?
I have no idea.
You got the Internet, man.
They should just close downall libraries.
Oh, wow.
Parks.
Quite the opinion.
(10:21):
Shut them down, then parks nowshut down half of those.
The other half probably areokay, so parks you can go to, they're
free.
Just be cautious.
You know, art exhibits, if you like.
Art or exhibits.
Art exhibits, splash parks.
Some of those are free.
So there's a lot of things.
So you can look for freeactivities in an area.
(10:43):
Search the Internet, you know,search in free activities in such
and such city.
Wherever you're going, there'sthings will come up and it'll save
you a few bucks.
And, you know, sometimes wespend a lot of money.
We just, well, we're on atrip, it's okay.
Then we get home, we're like,man, this trip was a fortune.
I didn't realize how muchmoney we spent.
You know, especially if you'retraveling a lot and you're not don't
(11:04):
have just this open budget,you know, which is most people.
Everybody's on a budget.
So you can do these things tohelp save that budget and maybe travel
a little bit more, becauseyou're saving some money on these
trips.
Because we want everybody totravel more.
Enjoy that rv.
Yeah.
All right, so a key takeawayfrom this is using free public whatevers.
(11:26):
Anything that's free, takeadvantage of it, and you'll make
your money stretch a littlebit further.
Now that brings us to stayingon the road.
And so today we're going totalk about electric waste valves
for RVs.
And are they worth the money in?
And how do you choose theright one?
Now, this is a interestingtopic if you're into waste.
(11:52):
So why would you need a waste valve?
Or, you know, we know wastevalves, what their purpose is, to
hold the waste in the tank.
Then you put your sewer hoseon there and it's time to drain it.
Yep.
Pull that handle and you know,all that beautiful stuff goes into
the septic system somewhere,hopefully, and not on the ground.
And, you know, hopefully thehandle doesn't pull out when you
pull on it.
(12:13):
Hopefully the handle moves.
There's all these hopefulshere that it's working properly.
If, you know, the handle pullsout the valve.
Stuck.
Now you got a stuck valve witha full waste tank.
Not good.
So that could become really ugly.
And we actually have a YouTubevideo, and we've talked about how
to work around that.
We'll have to put the link tothat video in this description as
(12:35):
well.
So there's workarounds, but,you know, it's nice not to find yourself
in that position in some valves.
Well, I can't say an electricwaste valve is going to always stop
that from happening, but itcan certainly slow it down or change
the course of it happening.
But also, some valves are hardto get to.
(12:55):
They're way underneath themotorhome, or they got those cheesy
aluminum extension handlesthat Volterra makes.
These things are horrible.
They, you know, they're.
They strip out just by lookingat it.
They're.
They're horrible.
They're bad.
They're always loosening up.
Yeah, I have a solution for that.
I got to work on that one ofthese days.
But anyway, back to reality here.
(13:16):
Then you have the cable valveswhich Bristol and Volterra make.
And they work good until theydon't work good or until the factory
doesn't install it correctlybecause they just want to slap it
in and say it has these valvesand make it work.
Because they can get reallyhard to push and pull over time or
even just a bad installation.
They're really hard to use.
(13:37):
And let's face it, some of ourfellow RVers have arthritic hands.
It's hard to do these things.
Bending over while you'repulling on something that's really
hard to pull can be difficult.
So that's where electric wastevalves come in.
And so these things, if youbuy the right one, install it correctly,
can be a lifesaver for time.
They make life so much easier.
(13:59):
They can actually help youavoid problems for many years to
come if you Buy the right one.
And it's interesting.
The right one.
And so we're going to kind ofgo through this here.
We're not going to get intoall the technical nuts and bolts
of these things because mymind's already made up which one's
the best.
Okay.
It's the most expensive oneand it's the one that's not readily
(14:21):
available.
How do you like them apples, huh?
That's kind of a downer.
It is.
I know.
You know, sometimes we justhave to face reality.
You're right.
And in the world of electricdrain valves or waste valves.
Yes.
It gets ugly sometimes,especially when there's a lot of
splashing.
So the first one on my list,and this list is not in the order
(14:45):
you think.
The first one is Moto Drain.
And it's not the one that Iwould go with.
It's an okay looking valve.
It's made by Bristol LaSalle Bristol.
And I'm sure it works well.
It will accommodate a 3 inchvalve, an inch and a half valve.
No, it won't work with an inchand a half, three inch valve.
(15:06):
And that's okay.
Let me get that out of the way first.
You know, having three inchdrain valves on both sides rather
than three inch an inch and ahalf or three inch and a two inch.
Having two three inch valves.
Especially if you can getthree inch plumbing all the way to
the gray water tank.
When the tank drains, itactually creates a vortex and just
(15:27):
sucks everything out.
And Drain Master has pushed that.
They're kind of the creator ofthat, the brains behind it.
So if you have to, if youcan't do that, that's fine, then
you're.
Then you can use an inch and ahalf valve with two brands, but not
all three.
But I would, no matter what,just go with two 3 inch valves.
Just make it simple.
(15:48):
And you can get adapters to do that.
You can go from inch and ahalf to three inch, that's not a
problem.
But having three inch plumbingout of that gray water tank will
make all the difference in the world.
And I don't even know why theygo with inch and a half.
One of those things thatprobably happened somewhere and that's
just what they always do now.
That's what we always do.
And to work with it, you know.
You can tell it, you know, theplumbing, sometimes they run inch
(16:10):
and a half all the way out.
Sometimes they go inch and ahalf to three, you know, So I guess
that's a visual.
It's inch and a half.
It must be Gray water or it's2 inch, it must be gray water.
But that's it.
It's just a visual black eyecandy, I guess.
Yeah.
That doesn't sound very good.
Did it?
We better retract thatbackwards there.
Good job.
(16:31):
All right, so Moto Drainsmight made by La Salle Bristol.
It's kind of a, I don't know,kind of a rough looking thing.
It's not, I don't know, it'snot pretty, I guess is really it.
And so that's kind of aturnoff in itself.
I'm sure it's a decent valveor a motor because Moto Drain, Valterra
and Barker are all add ons.
(16:53):
Well, Volterra, they selltheirs complete.
But you Barker, you usewhatever valve you had and add the
motor to it.
So you're still stuck with the.
An inferior valve, if you will.
I mean, Valterra makes a goodvalve, so does Bristol.
But they do have theirproblems, you know, which everybody
who's had an RV for any lengthof time knows.
(17:14):
The handle breaks, it getsstuck, something goes wrong, they
leak, you got to replaceseals, the list goes on.
It's something that you seeand use and you go, I know I'm gonna
have to deal with this one day.
Then that day comes and it'susually when you're not ready to
deal with it.
So that's motodrain's deal.
And then Volterra, they havetheir three inch, an inch and a half
complete valve.
(17:35):
And it's basically an add onto their valve, though it's not a
ground up rebuild.
So it's put onto their valve.
And Valterra is like the brandthat's out there.
Bristol's the second.
I mean there's two basicallyCamco has one, but Volterra is number
one.
They've been doing this forever.
Yeah, you go back in time,they're called Ananda.
(17:57):
You know, they're on carpetcleaning machines, other stuff.
So that's way back, butthey've been out there.
So the manufacturer been using them.
Just like Los Al Bristol, butnot to the same degree.
So their valves, theelectronic portion of is probably
okay.
We have to think about this though.
Valterra has hundreds of itemsand now they're owned by Dometic,
(18:17):
who already had hundreds of items.
Actually we're talkingthousands of items between those
two brands.
And they own Go Power.
And Volterra has a habit of,well, making things not so good sometimes.
And now if they changed any ofthis, if they took Volterra's Formula
and put Dometic's formula there.
It's not going to be a goodvalve, but if it stays Volterra,
(18:39):
it will be as good as Volterra makes.
Volterra is.
They make good products andthey make lame products.
They're kind of like some ofthe other brands out there.
They make good products, theymake lame products.
But this valve is an okay valve.
It's just, you know, there'sgoing to be a problem with it because
it's that typical Volterra valve.
But if you want to go simple,they're less expensive than drainmaster.
(19:02):
They're similar to Barker.
So it's entirely what yourbudget is, what you want to do, maybe
how you feel about it, maybeyou think, Eric, you're full of it.
And we're just going to gowith that anyways, it might be Moto
Drain is going to be your flavor.
Moto Drain was actually kindof hard for me to find too.
That's not all over the Internet.
That's.
Yeah, that was a little tough.
But Barker is the next Den now.
(19:24):
Barker Manufacturing, theymake great products.
They make jacks and metalstuff and things, and everything
they make is good.
I like Barker.
Well, I like Valterra, too.
I like lasalle Bristol, but Ilike everybody today.
But Barker, theirs isdefinitely an add on.
You just put it onto aVolterra or Bristol valve.
(19:47):
So you still got the same valve.
It's just electric now.
Okay.
So you still have that futureproblem of the valve failing.
And the Barker motor willprobably last for a long time to
come.
So it's kind of you sitting here.
Look at this.
How do we choose, you know, exactly?
It might be what will fit inthe space, because that's a consideration
too, you know, Barker addsquite a bit to the valve.
(20:10):
The Volterra valve becomes bigger.
The Moto drain makes it wider.
Now, here's the best valve.
And like I said, this might bea tough decision for some, especially
if money's the issue.
But if money's the issue, justgo with what you think is going to
be best for you and what will fit.
And to even make sure it'sgoing to fit.
If you have like anunderbelly, you're going to have
(20:31):
to drop it.
Don't assume, because thesevalves do need to be mounted certain
ways.
You got some adjustment, butmaybe not as much as you think.
But now Drain Master, theseguys got it figured out.
Drain Master's been around forI don't know how long now, how many
years.
I remember meeting the ownerAt a trade show in California.
(20:54):
I think it was an FMCA rally.
Wow.
@ the time, you know, we'retalking, I'm listening to his story
about how he came about withthis valve because he was an RVer,
got tired of all the problemswith valves and he said, I'm going
to make a solution to this.
Now he is an inventor type ofguy, very smart engineering mindset.
You know, everything getsthought through, through and through
(21:16):
and through.
No stone is left unturned.
With Doug.
Now he's not doing so goodtoday, but he's still involved in
the company.
But they haven't changed.
His daughter's running thecompany now.
It hasn't changed.
The quality is still there.
And their website displays that.
Just the way their documentsare put on a website is like no other
(21:38):
website.
Everything's named, numbered,organized, you know, you don't need
to know the name of it.
They'll go to our website andlook at document 3702.
You go there, find 3702, thereyou go.
It's what you need.
Other websites, well, youknow, it's the third one down and
I think it says this, maybe itsays that.
And there's five of them thatall have the very similar names.
(21:58):
So now you're not sure.
You know, everything aboutthis company is thorough.
So their valve, you know, theyhave reports of them lasting 25 years
and that's unheard of.
The only valves that last 25years are the ones that no one touches
for 25 years and then you goto use it and it breaks.
Yeah.
So they have a great track record.
(22:21):
Their valves, their electricvalve systems have a five year warranty
on.
They have stainless steelparts inside of them.
They have special seals thatare made, they're made to work, you
know, in place of Volterra orbricks, crystal, it doesn't matter.
They, they push the 3 inchbecause they only make a 3 inch valve.
And what they say about thatis absolutely true.
(22:41):
That vortex, when you drain itwith a 3 inch pipe, it creates that
suction, helps clean out thetank even better rather than just
kind of dribbling out.
And drain master valves arevery small.
When you put it next to aVolterra Bristol valve, it's the
same footprint, it's like ahalf an inch taller.
So it's going to fit in Almostanywhere your 3 inch valve is with
(23:04):
the drain master because it'snot a big old clunky thing added
on.
Now they are more money, youknow, to do two valves on an RV,
you could be looking at 700bucks or more.
Wow.
With the other valves youmight be at 500 bucks or more, you
know, maybe 400.
I didn't really price them outbecause prices are all over the board
(23:25):
on these things.
But drainmaster, they're theguys, you go to them, they're the
only ones that sell theirproduct and they have the warranty,
they have customer service,they're easy to install.
In fact, you can take it totheir factory and they'll install
in there for you.
But just be aware, they'regoing to put a 3 inch system in for
your inch and a half.
They replace all that.
(23:45):
They're not going to.
Unless they can't for somereason, then they won't.
These guys are it.
If you had to buy a valve infive years or ten, well, they have
a five year warranty, soyou're covered there.
But let's say you're out oftheir warranty, period.
You have by a valve.
It's going to be a fluke.
It's not going to be one ofthose things like, gosh, I better
just get two since I'm doing this.
You could certainly do that,but it's not going to be needed.
(24:08):
And to be honest with you, youknow, if you had to replace a valve
yourself, if you're doing thisyourself and you had to replace it
in seven years and it costyou, say, I'm just going to pick
this number.
300 bucks for a valve.
They're not that much, but ifthere's that much, then 300 bucks.
Doing it yourself, you save atleast $300 in labor, what people
(24:29):
charge for these types of things.
So you're still money ahead,if you will.
And their valves open andclose really quick.
They're designed with a magnetthat tells you when the valves open,
when it's closed, if there's a problem.
So you're not left in the dark.
And their valves come in kits.
You buy a valve, you buy aswitch kit for it with different
(24:50):
length cables.
So it's plug and play.
And so you just have to decidewhere you want the switches.
And they have a variety ofswitches too.
They got ones that arewaterproof, not waterproof, some
that are on a panel that come together.
So there's, you have options there.
And so the extra things kindof drive up the price.
But you're getting quality allthe way.
I mean, these guys don't juststop at the valve.
(25:11):
Everything else they sell andadd on to make that valve works is
high quality.
So go to their website, drainmaster.com.
check it out.
At least look at it.
You know, put everything inthe cart.
See what it costs you to doyour RV so you have a clear picture
of it.
And no, we're not being paidby Drain Master.
They just make a great product.
(25:32):
We do.
Sometimes I have to say thatbecause some people, you know, now
accuse me of being sold out tothe man.
Please.
Anyway, you know, all.
So, I mean, the takeaway fromhere is all the valves are good,
but the best ones, Drain Master.
But if you're on a budget, Iwould say Volterra or Barker are
going to be the two that youwould have to choose between.
(25:54):
Moto Drainage.
I think I would just leave itout there, not even consider it,
unless there's something aboutthat Moto Drain that just really
works for you.
But other than that, Volterraor Barker would be the ones I would
go with.
And Drain Mauer.
Drain Master is definitely the one.
As a reminder, you can go toour website and find out.
(26:15):
Find most of the informationwe talk about on the podcast, and
this podcast will also be on YouTube.
So we're available everywhereand keep telling people about us
spreading the word more likes,more subscribes, more everything.
Now, that's going to bring usto the next section.
Next section of the can't eventalk today.
(26:35):
The next section of the show,the next stop.
That's the problem is twosentences start out very similar.
Right?
So whoever wrote this thingfor me is retarded.
Well, boy, Eric, we can't takeyou anywhere.
All right, so sorry aboutthat, people.
All right, so now we're gonnahave Alexis talk about the exciting
(26:58):
state of Pennsylvania.
Here we come.
Pennsylvania.
Well, other than it being veryhistorically full, I guess.
Full.
Yeah.
Of history.
There we go.
It also has really pretty landscapes.
So you got your, you know, inthe city, you've got your history
(27:21):
and all that you can.
Is it the Liberty Bell?
Stuff like that?
The.
Where the Declaration ofIndependence and the Constitution
were debated.
There's the Independence Hall.
That's pretty cool.
Yeah.
And then let's see theNational Constitution center and
the Benjamin Franklin Museum.
That's really neat.
So just a ton of history there.
(27:43):
And then it's got a lot ofnatural beauty, too.
So if you're into that, youcan do both, really, as an RVer.
So that's kind of cool.
That's kind of a coolexperience when you can go to Gettysburg,
where, you know, you canjourney through the Civil War.
The Pocano Mountains is moreon the.
(28:05):
On the outdoorsy side.
So you can do hiking, fishing,boating, and obviously stay in your
RV there.
So it's a lot of beauty in Pennsylvania.
Actually.
Look up some pictures on Google.
It's.
It's beautiful.
Or if you've ever been there,you know, send us in some pictures.
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
And we always have to talkabout food, so.
(28:25):
That's right.
Get a taste of the Amish country.
This is kind of cool.
Lancaster county is home tothe largest Amish community in the
United States.
So there's a lot of culture there.
They make a lot of beautiful things.
Fresh markets, homemade bread,traditional Amish foods.
So if you want to try that,that'd be the place to do it.
(28:47):
Forget that.
What about the Willy WonkaChocolate Factory?
Oh, my goodness.
Yeah, The Hershey Factory.
That's the sweetest place on earth.
So they.
Right.
Yes.
Wow.
You gotta hit that up.
The Hershey Factory.
If you're a chocolate lover,you just.
You have to go.
There's just no point not going.
Yeah.
You know, it's one of those things.
Maybe don't eat any sweets fora couple days and scourge on it or
(29:11):
whatever.
Throw your blood sugar out thewindow and.
Yeah, go for it.
But that's.
That'd be worth going to justto see it for a zillion years.
I know.
It's.
All those factory else cameabout whenever all these companies
were being created.
Hershey.
Exactly.
I mean, so many companies goway back when, like Frito lay all
(29:33):
them.
The candy.
So that was during the candyrush, when everybody's trying to
come with candy.
Yeah.
That you could travel and.
Oops.
Make it someplace.
You know, you could dip theFritos in the chocolate.
That'd be good.
There you go.
I like that idea.
Dipping the Fritos in the chocolate.
Everything's better with chocolate.
Yeah.
Chocolate covers Fritos.
(29:54):
Yeah, that probably would be good.
The sweet and salty.
You know, Fritos and bean dipis better, but, you know, I could
see it.
Yeah.
Anything's possible today, Right?
Heck.
All right.
We leave that one alone.
We're not going to go anyfurther with that one.
So check out Pennsylvania andgo to the smart rv.com under next.
And there's Pennsylvanian.
Oh, I forgot to mention this.
(30:15):
Our episode 166, which willcome out December 20th, that's going
to be over an hour long.
We've got quite the thingplanned for it.
We're going to do a recap ofthe year, and it's going to be recorded
on video, which is going to bethe hopefully the big thing that
actually makes it good eitherbe really good or really bad.
We're not sure yet, but we'reworking on that.
(30:36):
Oh, you know what, I thoughtwe were almost done here, but we
still got RV envy jumping ahead.
Oh, well, anyways, episode166, December 20th.
Remember that you got towatch, mark your calendars.
You know, It'll be on YouTube,so you can go there and watch it.
That's probably going to bebetter than listening to it.
Yes.
The next thing.
RV envy.
Recently, many splits havecome up in conversation around here,
(31:00):
and it's become kind of thistrend with RVers doing mini split
air conditioning systems ontheir RVs.
Now, mini splits are prettycool if you're not familiar with
them.
It's kind of a miniature airconditioning system where you have
a condenser outside which is compact.
Then you have your air handlerinside which is compact.
(31:20):
It only mounts on a wall.
Some of them you can mount inthe ceiling now, and they're easy
to install, easy to plumb, doeverything you need to do it.
Now, some RVers have now beendoing these in RVs.
And so we've done someresearch and I'm looking for somebody
who's done one and knows aboutthese that actually has found one
(31:41):
designed for rv.
It seems like I came acrossone company that said theirs is RV
friendly, but the companyitself just didn't do it for me.
They didn't seem like aquality company.
It seemed like they're justchurning out some junk to maybe possibly
fit a market or say they'refitting that market.
But an rv, you know, bouncesdown the road.
(32:02):
These air handlers have to bemounted right on the walls.
You know, they have to bemounted to studs.
They got a little bit ofweight to them.
That condenser, you know,they're putting them in compartments,
generator compartments,strapping them onto the backs of
bumpers, the front of tongues,you know, the in.
You know, they come outwherever to put these things.
And that's kind of a an issuein itself depending on your rv, whether
you have space for one or not,and how well they work in a compartment.
(32:25):
What can you do with that?
Does the door have to stay open?
Do you have to have air goinginto it?
Right, because it's got tohave air.
They get hot, you know, it'spulling the heat out of the air,
so to make that cold air.
So it's pushing that out.
So there's things to consider there.
And I'm sure most of theseguys that have done these installs,
have looked at all that,because most of them look pretty
decent for what, what it is.
(32:47):
But what I'm looking for issomeone who actually knows about
these things.
And if you go to thesmartrver.com go to the contact us
page or about us and get intouch with me.
Our phone number is there.
You can call us or you canemail, you can do whatever you want
to do.
And I'd like to hear about this.
(33:08):
I'd like to get moreinformation so I can talk more intelligently
about it, see if it's anavenue that really is worth exploring
or if this is a fringe typething that creates more problems
than it solves.
And one thing I have noticedis that these things generally are
put in the living room.
And as far as I know, it's oneair handler per condenser.
(33:29):
So it's going to cool down,let's say the living area of the
rv, but not necessarily abedroom or anything else, bathroom
and such.
But maybe I'm missingsomething on that.
Maybe you get it cold enough,it pushes that air everywhere or
you have fans to circulate it.
So that's what I want to know about.
So someone please reach out tome and let me know, enlighten me,
(33:50):
make me an expert on minisplit systems for RVs.
I would truly appreciate that.
All right, so now that bringsus to the end of the show, right,
Alexis, I'm not missinganything else here.
You did good.
All right, so remember, go tothe description of this podcast.
Check it out for the links towholesale warranties and our website
(34:13):
and everything else.
Everything else I mentioned Ialready forgot.
We'll go back to it and fixthat up though.
All right, so next, nextepisode is going to be 165, so that'll
be in two weeks.
And after that we got 166, thelast episode of the year, highlighting
the entire year.
So that'll be a pretty cool episode.
So we had a great show today.
(34:34):
I want to thank everybody forlistening and sharing the show with
your friends and family and so forth.
Fellow RVers, we trulyappreciate the support we get.
So this is Eric Stark with theSmart Smart RVer podcast.
It's been great hanging outwith you.
If I don't see on the road,let's connect@thesmartrver.com.
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