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Search our catalog of exclusive RV articles
RV Books provides the most extensive and most reliable information available for anyone wanting to explore their world via travel trailer, motorhome, camper trailer - any sort of RV.
If you find this site useful you will find our books even more so. They are all available in a number of formats designed to make them as useful as possible as reference guides for all your travels. As well as a paperback version there are versions for Kindle, Nook, Kobo and for all Apple devices.
The information on this site is provided without charge, without sponsorship and without advertising. All our activities are funded by the sales of our books.
The Camper Trailer Book. Free!
Not currently available as an eBook or paperback, RV Books is publishing The Camper Trailer Book on this site. Every week new sections will be released until the complete, fully revised, version is available.
Visit Solar Books
At solarbooks.com.au you'll find exclusive articles dealing with the intricacies of setting up and using solar power to run your home, cabin, travel trailer or motorhome. Solar Books is about how to use solar to shrink your power bill to where your energy provider is paying you - and to do it all economically.
Featured article
Making travel trailers more stable – here’s how and why to do it
Updated 2020
Making Travel Trailers More Stable
Making travel trailers more stable is readily possible by design, loading, and tow vehicle use and choice. This article by Collyn Rivers explains how. It also provides practical guidelines for buying a travel trailer and tow vehicle, their loading and on-road usage. For a full technical explanation of why rigs can be unstable please see my Travel Trailer and Tow Vehicle Dynamics/. See also Why Caravans Roll Over/
Making travel trailers more stable is always desirable. For Australian (and US) travel trailers it is essential. Such travel trailers are increasingly heavier and (worse) longer, yet tow vehicles are increasingly lighter. Accidents have escalated since 2014.
According to one major insurer loss of control accounts for over 90% of all rollovers. ' In all cases', stated that insurer 'the travel trailer began to fishtail and the driver was unable to bring it back under control.' Such 'loss of control' appeared due to various causes. These include incorrect loading, inadequate tow vehicle weight, excess travel trailer weight, excess hitch overhang, driver error. And particularly speed. It did, however, overlook that most were long twin-axle units. read more...
Recently updated articles
Travel Trailer and motorhome compliance – the Caravan Council of Australia explains all
Travel Trailer and motorhome compliance can confuse. Imports are often not 100% compliant. This article shows what is required. Total travel trailer and motorhome compliance is rarely an issue with locally-made product. It can be, however, with imported travel trailers. This was particularly so of fifth-wheel travel trailers. There can also be problems with private imports. They may legally be used but only by the original buyer. That buyer often truly (but wrongly) believes them to be 100% compliant. They must not be sold, nor even given away, unless brought to 100% compliance.
The Status of the Caravan Industry in Australia
The Status of the Caravan Industry in Australia This is part one of a three part series by Colin Young of the Caravan Council of Australia. Part 1: Manufacturer & Dealer (Supplier) Issues… As the end of an extremely difficult and strange – and hopefully...
Wheels falling off trailers – and how to stop it happening
Wheels falling off trailers, wheel studs breaking and wheel nuts loosening still happens. Here is why it happens, and how to prevent it. Wrecked wheel bearings and fractured stub axles are also common. That fastenings such as wheel nuts may be caused, not just permitted, to loosen is rarely covered in engineering training. The causes and prevention are however well known. This referenced article by Collyn Rivers explains how and why in rigour and detail.
Lithium battery rival
Lithium-ion and lithium-iron-phosphate (a lithium battery rival) are two types of rechargeable batteries. They share some similarities but differ in high-energy-density, long life-cycles, and safety. Lithium-ion is used in smartphones and laptop PCs. Lithium iron phosphate (LiFEPO4) is that used in RVs etc.
Articles by Category
Batteries & Battery Charging
Travel Trailer/Tow Vehicle Behaviour & Suspension
Cooling and Heating
Electrical (general)
General
Health & Safety
Legal & Compliance
Solar
Travel
Want to find out more? Our books cover all these topics and a lot more.
Whether you’re buying your first RV or updating to a bigger, more comfortable rig, there are a great many things you need to know and consider. How to Choose and Buy an RV breaks things down so that you can decide what you want and whether or not what you’ve found is right for you.
Solar That Really Works! explains every detail of designing and installing solar in boats, camper trailers, travel trailers and motorhomes.
Caravan & Motorhome Electrics covers every aspect of designing, installing and fault finding of the electrics in fifth wheel and conventional travel trailers, camper trailers and motorhomes.
The Caravan & Motorhome Book covers every conceivable aspect of camper trailer, travel trailer and fifth wheel travel trailer, campervan and motorhome usage.
Caravan & Motorhome Electrics covers every aspect of designing, installing and fault finding of the electrics in fifth wheel and conventional travel trailers, camper trailers and motorhomes.
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How to Choose and Buy an RV
Here's how to get it right first and every time.
Whether you're buying your first RV or updating to a bigger, more comfortable rig, there are a great many things you need to know and consider. This book breaks things down so that you can decide what you want and whether or not what you've found is right for you. It's technically sound and comprehensive so that you can proceed with complete confidence. How to Choose and Buy an RV is the ultimate guide for those times when you want to, well, choose and buy an RV.
Travel Trailers and their tow vehicles rarely jack-knife and roll over - but when they do the results are catastrophic. The cause, and how to prevent it, is explained here. Why Caravans Roll Over offers solid advice for keeping yourself safe on the road.
Caravan & Motorhome Electrics is the totally rewritten successor to the original globally selling Motorhome Electrics. The book's content now also covers every aspect of designing, installing and fault finding of the electrics in fifth wheel and conventional travel trailers, camper trailers and motorhomes.The Caravan & Motorhome Book covers every conceivable aspect of camper trailer, travel trailer and fifth wheel travel trailer, campervan and motorhome usage. Like all of Collyn Rivers' books it is technically sound yet written in plain English.
Solar That Really Works! explains, in clear English, every detail of designing and installing solar in boats, camper trailers, travel trailers and motorhomes. It is up-to-date, valid globally and technically accurate. It is clear, concise and easy to follow without sacrificing important detail.
This is Collyn Rivers' newest book. Building on his years of experience and extensive knowledge of engineering and all things travel trailer and RV, this is the book you need with you when shopping for an RV.
Collyn Rivers has done it again! – if you need to know anything about motorhome electrics, then this book is for you... Collyn must be, without doubt, the foremost authority in Australia on this subject.
Why Caravans Roll Over....and How to Prevent It
Should be compulsory reading for everyone involved with Travel Trailers: Design / Engineering, Marketing, Journalism (print & electronic), Regulations, Inspections, Driver-Training, Travel Trailer Clubs, Towing and Modifications.
Collyn is an accomplished engineer who knows how to design and build successful systems. It is refreshing to see practical advice written in plain language when there is so little solar information around. . . this is an essential text . . . you won’t find a better guide.
Without doubt, this is the best book we have ever read . . . it will be treasured, and read on a regular basis.