De-Winterizing - R-pod Owners Forum

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lostagain

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Joined: 06 Sep 2016
Location: Quaker Hill, CT
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Topic: De-Winterizing
Posted: 04 Apr 2019 at 2:25pm

It seems to me you are risk averse.

Even in finest restaurants in the world, you can't be certain what goes on in the kitchen, where Typhoid Mary is the chef.

I traveled in mostly European and Lat.Am. countries and in many, you can be a little less vigilant. In México, for example, just be sure to drown those delicious street vendor tacos in lime juice and hot sauce and you'll be fine. For me, I usually get sick a couple weeks after trying to adjust to the food and water here. When I go to Colombia I'm fine. In most places I drink the water from the tap, eat the local fruit and vegies, etc. It's when I'm trying to readjust to here that I get JoeBob's revenge.

Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
Sonoma 167RB
Our Pod 172
2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost

offgrid

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Posted: 04 Apr 2019 at 2:09pm

While travelling in developing countries I follow these rules, no matter where I was eating:

No ice or any food that touches ice

Water from sealed bottles only

No uncooked vegetables unless I washed them myself using bottled water

No fresh fruit unless peeled by me

Meat well done (or very well done in Francophone countries)

Brush teeth using bottled water (or beer if need be)

Keep mouth closed while showering

And if the street taco stand guy coughs in his hand and then fills your taco don't eat that either Embarrassed

Once I started that regimen I never again got sick, and that incudes trips to some really challenging places in West Africa. I decided I'd rather live through the experience even if it was slightly inconvenient or I missed out on a potential culinary delight. Dead

In the rPod I follow the same rules except for the meat and ice since I know where those came from.

1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold

lostagain

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Location: Quaker Hill, CT
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Posted: 04 Apr 2019 at 12:17pm

Short answer, YES!

But not to worry, you can buy really cool stainless steel beer can chicken racks on Amazon such as https://www.amazon.com/Cave-Tools-Beer-Chicken-Roaster/dp/B01IRDA9D4/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=beer+can+chicken+rack+stainless+steel&qid=1554397485&s=gateway&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1 and they don't present the brain killing aluminum issue nor will you be hounded by bogus lawsuits for all eternity by the law firm of Dewy, Cheatham, and Howe [thanks Click and Clack].

But the chicken better be tasty, or that can be risky too. Poltergeists and old senile lawyers, such as your's truly, can be real finicky about the chicken. Ermm

And as for drinking water, I try to do as the locals do, but that doesn't always work so well. I ended up with the bacteria that causes stomach ulcers, which 80% of people in developing countries have and now I can't get rid of it. What the heck, the water looked ok when it was in the glass. Dead

I learned the hard way in México DF not to eat in good restaurants. I followed the advice of some of my colleagues and did so, promptly coming down with a case of Montezuma's revenge. But, I got rid of it quickly by going to a nearby street taco stand and ordering some wonderfully delicious tacos of carne asada and al pastor. The next day I was back to normal. A word of caution, though, always look for street taco stands that are busy. Big smile

Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
Sonoma 167RB
Our Pod 172
2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost

DavMar

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Joined: 04 Aug 2017
Location: Lexington, NC
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Posts: 592

Posted: 04 Apr 2019 at 10:08am

Originally posted by lostagain

Dave, just bring lots of bananas for those leg cramps, and remember to sacrifice a chicken on the Webber regularly. The poltergeists especially like beer can chicken with a nice rub.

Fred, answer me this if the poltergeist get sick from eating my beer can chicken because they get aluminum poisoning from the can or sick from the cheap beer does this mean I will be forever haunted by the ghost of lawyers past? LOL

Oh well lets just fret ourselves silly over to drink from a water from the tank or not? Me, since I have a aversion to microbial poltergeist swimming in my water tank just hand me another cheap brewski! Tongue

Dave & Marlene J with Zoey the
wonder dog.
2017 Rpod 180
2016 Toyota Tacoma SR5 4x4
Lexington, NC

lostagain

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Location: Quaker Hill, CT
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Posted: 04 Apr 2019 at 9:47am

You are absolutely right, Texman. That's just one more risk we have to take. And that plastic leaches into the water and we drink that stuff. It isn't good for us. Personally, I'd use glass jars to carry my water, but they're way too heavy and break easily posing a laceration risk, as well as making a big mess.

Dang, sometimes I get the impression that someone is trying to kill me. Shocked

Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
Sonoma 167RB
Our Pod 172
2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost

texman

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Posted: 04 Apr 2019 at 9:16am

polyethylene terephthalate

That is what bottled water comes in.

TexMan 2015 182g
2018 Sequoia
TexManMods

lostagain

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Posted: 03 Apr 2019 at 10:12pm

Here we go again. Apparently Tars, you didn't read the following sentence in my post: If you like tank water and drink it without problems, go for it. Is there something in that sentence that is not clear to you? I suppose I could have added, if you like tank water and drink it even though it makes you sick, you should have your head examined, but that seemed to be obvious to me.

My point was that one should not feel pressured by others into drinking water that may be unsafe by with the suggestion that one is "afraid" or fearful. Choosing to avoid drinking tank water is not a decision based on fear, it's a decision based on rational thought and an understanding of the basic science of biology.

For heaven's sakes, I am probably more aware of the risks people take than a large majority of Americans as I spent 35 of my 46 year law practice defending the consequences of taking risks, whether a manufacturer, a driver, a doctor, or pretty much anyone else in our society.

Of of course we take risks every nanosecond we are alive. And as I stated previously in another thread, when people take risks, they have to own up to responsibility for the consequences. If someone wants to drink tank water that is infected with a bacteria and dies as a result, I will express my sorrow at the loss of a fellow human being, but may also nominate him/her for a Darwin award. If someone takes risks that hurt other people, then I expect that person to be honest and ethical enough to accept responsibility for the consequences and fully compensate the person or people s/he hurt.

I don't care that people who are experienced in drinking tank water do it. If they get sick, it ain't my problem unless they don't tell me and offer me a glass of kool aide made with contaminated water and I get sick. Then I'll be, well, a little irritated. My point in raising the bacteria issue here is that a lot of people lack experience with trailers or other "RV" tank water systems and don't realize that they really need to be careful water hygiene. Once they know and they choose to drink it, as I said, "go for it."

Oh, and by the way, we now have a very effective vaccine against polio, but I still follow my parents sage advice and don't drink gutter water.

Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
Sonoma 167RB
Our Pod 172
2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost

offgrid

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Joined: 23 Jul 2018
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Posts: 5290

Posted: 03 Apr 2019 at 9:14pm

Oh no, not the 50A dogbone! I'm NOT chasing that bone again LOL

I think a lot of this comes from what you're used to. For me not drinking unfiltered water from taps is just second nature. I spent years overseas in places where no one does it who wants to ever be more than 5 feet from a bathroom, and if the waiter at the restaurant brings you a bottle of water with the seal broken you make then take it back. I've had the Delhi Belly to prove the need for that one Thumbs Down

So, I don't do it at home in NC, I only use the filtered fridge water, and I put all that plumbing in and sanitized it myself, but the city water pressure can be variable due to power outages there. I'm in Hawaii right now and they all have rainwater catchments here with various qualitylevels of filtration and I don't drink it here either. So, not drinking the tank water in the rPod is just a matter of course for me.

But absolutely you can be safe drinking the pod tank water done properly, and everyone is free to do as they want, no reason for an argument about it.

1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold

Tars Tarkas View Drop Down

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Posted: 03 Apr 2019 at 8:44pm

I should admit that I'm still a little bumfuzzled about the idea that I might burn down half of California and kill scores if not hundreds of people if I use use a 50 amp dogbone. Now we're all going to get polio if we drink from the Pod potable tank? At the risk of being ironic, how do you spell "hyperbole"?

There are risks to just about anything. Have you heard what can happen when you drive a car, take a bath, or eat sushi? Maybe you don't do any of those things either, but it seems a little much to suggest that no one else should either.

What about pulling a Pod with under-inflated tires? That can end badly. Would you say no one should pull a Pod down the road since sometimes people don't properly maintain their air pressure?

With a just little care even the risks of using a Pod freshwater tank for drinking water can be minimized to a point most people would accept the risk -- and not end up in the emergency room or morgue from drinking water out of it.

Proper maintenance is obviously important with the tank, tires, and everything else. I'm not saying otherwise, but I do think it's absolutely possible for reasonable people to feel and be safe using the Pod tank for drinking water.

2010 176
FJ Cruiser

lostagain

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Location: Quaker Hill, CT
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Posted: 03 Apr 2019 at 7:35pm

As for tank water, if you can insure that no harmful bugs get into your tank, and if you like the flavor of polyethylene, then drink away. The assuming a properly sanitized tank, risk is in contaminating the water with bacteria when you fill it at the filler port and the fact that the water tends to sit i perfect bacteria growing medium at a perfect temperature for significant periods of time. If you fully drain your tank after each trip and carefully refill it, then you'll reduce the risk of water borne infections. Most people who drink tank water don't routinely drain the fresh water tank and aren't especially careful about keeping the filling process very clean. It's just luck that they don't get sick. But, what the heck. If you like tank water and drink it without problems, go for it. For those who chose not to drink tank water, it isn't a question of fear but, rather, common sense adherence to well settled water safety standards.

I recall as a child our parents warning us about not drinking gutter water because we could get polio. Several defied this common sense warning and nothing happened. The called those of us who wouldn't scaredy cats. Sadly for one, he drank the gutter water and it ended badly.

Dave, just bring lots of bananas for those leg cramps, and remember to sacrifice a chicken on the Webber regularly. The poltergeists especially like beer can chicken with a nice rub.

Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
Sonoma 167RB
Our Pod 172
2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost