Noises We Hear in the RV

    Besides the wonderful sound of the rain hitting the roof top of the RV or the wicked loud thunder, there are many other noises that we have experienced during our time in the RV. 

    When we first got settled in the campground, while we were sleeping, we heard a loud noise which sounded like someone was opening our storage compartments outside. Even though we are in a safe area, being new to the RV life, it's hard to imagine what else could be causing that noise. Every time we heard it the boys went crazy barking, and Rich would get up and turn the scare lights on and go outside to check, but there was always nothing. This happened several times before we realized that the noise was coming from the awning. Haha! Every time it gets a bit windy, and if the awning is open, it shakes the struts making a loud popping sound just like as if we were opening the storage compartments. The awning is made to have a flexible strut so that the awning itself doesn't rip when a big gust of wind comes through. After living in here for three months both us and the dogs don't mind it at all and it's not even noticeable. 

       In this town we are in, the very first Saturday of every month, they test out the tornado alarm. The first time this happened we just about had a heart attack! It was so loud and it goes on for minutes. The second time it happened I realized that they must do this every month, and now it's normal. It makes you  think that if there were a tornado where would we go...

       While mentioning alarms, the RV is equipped with a carbon monoxide alarm, a fire alarm, and an RV propane and gas alarm. While Rich's mom was visiting we had the pleasure of experience the carbon monoxide and the gas propane alarm go off, and oh my goodness is it loud and annoying!!! The propane alarm is supposed to last 7 years, we didn't have a propane leak, and since ours still has 4 years left, we had to call someone to walk us through what was going on. We were about to cut the wires to shut this alarm that goes off every minute, and luckily it stopped and it hasn't happened again. The carbon monoxide is in the bedroom, and while we were all about to sleep, it goes off. This was easier to handle since you can just take it off the wall and replace the batteries. The fire alarm has gone off a few times when I cook bacon, and it's easy to shut it off, but the funniest part is how excited the boys get when it goes off. Jasper practically is trying to eat it trying to fix the problem. Too funny. 

    Another noise that we hear multiple times a day are the trains traveling by. There must be at least one going through every hour, but at least it's not too loud that it bothers us. 

    The last one worth mentioning is the water heater. After you use hot water, the water heater kicks back on to heat more water, but some times the pilot light has gone out, so you hear it ignite and then the flame comes on. That is all normal, however, ours decides to make a loud popping sound sometimes when it's relighting the pilot light that it sounds like it's about to explode!! Pretty sure something is off, but after watching a million videos on RV water heaters and checking ours thoroughly, it seems like everything looks good. 

Update

      We are almost at our 3 month mark in the RV, and we couldn't be happier. It has truly been a blast! We love our little town ( I will share more about this place once we are gone...safety first:) ), we've had our first visitor, I have fully mastered the RV kitchen, and life is so much better in the outdoors! 

      The pups are extremely spoiled, as they should be, but there have been some interesting habits being formed around the RV life, and some old habits that are hopefully behind us. One of our pups has a hard time being on his own, maybe separation anxiety or too spoiled, but whatever the reason, we have had to take our pups everywhere we go. Our biggest worry was that our RV would have been eaten from the inside out, if we left him alone in there. I absolutely love having our dogs with us at all times, but sometimes it's nice to go out on a doggyless date, or be able to run errands without having to worry about them every single second of everyday. This past weekend we had decided to attempt leaving them alone so we could enjoy a concert. We proofed the whole place, gave them bones, and prayed we would come back to an untouched RV. And guess what? It worked! There were a few things out of place, a treat bag was demolished, but nothing of value was damaged! Woohoo! We will definitely not push our luck all the time, but it's nice to know that it can be done! 

      The new habits that have been forming is protective aggressive behavior around the RV. I've been researching on the behavior and from what I read  I guess it's pretty common for dogs to do this in the new environment. For the sake of my heart and my neighbors this is something that needs to stop immediately...so dog training classes here we come!! This is also something that I had never heard about before when I was researching about being a full time RVer. I hope this really helps teach them and us how to properly handle our pups while on the road! Wish us luck:)