Hi, I’m Mark Polk with RV Education 101, and I would like to welcome you to RV 101: Understanding Your RV. Today’s topic is understanding your RV safety devices.

Your RV is equipped with several devices for your personal safety. It’s important that you familiarize yourself and others on how these safety features operate. Let’s take a closer look.

Locate the emergency exit window and make sure you know how to use it. This window is for emergency use only. Caution: keep small children away from the emergency exit. It can be opened easily.

New RVs come equipped with a fire extinguisher located near the entry door. In the event you need to use it, remember the word “PASS”: Pull, Aim, Squeeze, and Sweep. Pull the pin, aim at the base of the fire, squeeze the trigger, and sweep back and forth at the base of the fire until it’s completely out. Inspect the fire extinguisher before you leave on a camping trip to make sure it’s fully charged. Never attempt to put out a large fire with a small fire extinguisher. Get everybody out of the RV safely and dial 911 for assistance.

The RV has a smoke alarm that usually operates on a nine-volt battery. Test the smoke alarm for proper operation before each trip. If the smoke alarm starts to chirp at regular intervals, it’s time to replace the battery.

If the alarm sounds while cooking, ventilate the RV with fresh air until it stops. Do not disconnect the battery. I mentioned earlier that the RV has an LP gas leak detector. LP gas leak detectors are usually hard-wired directly to the RV’s electrical system and will have a fuse in the distribution panel. A small light will illuminate to let you know the leak detector’s operating properly. False alarms can be caused by hair spray, perfume, cleaning solvents, and low battery power. If this happens, fan the area around the leak detector until it clears. If the alarm has a mute button, press it. If the odor is still present, the alarm will activate again after 60 seconds. If the alarm sounds due to low battery power, the auxiliary battery needs to be charged.

Carbon monoxide is deadly. New RVs are equipped with carbon monoxide detectors. Test the detector for proper operation before each trip. If you own a used RV and it does not have a carbon monoxide detector, purchase a battery-operated model designed for use in RVs.

Keep in mind these safety devices have expiration dates. I recommend writing the expiration date on the cover so you know at a glance when it’s time to replace it.

Mark: This is a good start on understanding RV safety. If you’d like to learn more RV safety or RVs in general, take a minute to visit www.rvonlinetraining.com. Happy camping.