How to winterize an RV yourself.

I just posted this lens on Squidoo. 

 

Many RV dealers offer RV winterising as a service through their RV service centre. The service is usually inexpensive. Often the service cost lest per hour than a repair. At Bancroft Motors RV Centre, we charge $90.00 for this service plus the cost of anti-freeze.

The reason I am posting this lens is to provide the “Do it yourselfers” with a list of things to do to winterize your RV yourself. 

I am an RV and automotive sales consultant for Bancroft Motors in Bancroft Ontario. Although my expertise in sales, the service of your RV is important interest to me as well. I will continue to post more info on “do it yourself” RV maintenance and repairs in the future, to provide you with an alternative to taking your RV to a dealer or service centre. READ MORE

Beware of the Warranty Scams!!!

Recently, some of my customers have been asking me about the calls and letters they are receiving from an extended warranty company.  The company claims that their vehicle may be out of factory warranty and that this is the final notice to step up to an extended warranty plan.  Most of my customers assume that it is General Motors calling them.  This is not true.  GM will not call you about your vehicle’s warranty unless it is about a recall.  This company does not know what you drive, they are just pulling names from a list.  Contact your local dealer to let them know that you were solicited by one of these companies and to find out about your warranty situation.  Most people know that this is bogus because their vehicle is either recently purchased, or they already have an extended plan or their vehicle is past the usual time frame for an extended warranty.  For instance, the owner of the dealership I work at received one of these letters.  It specified that his warranty was ending and that this was his final notice to extend it.  The only problem is, he does not own an automobile personally.  There have been issues, though, with vehicle owners who are close to the end of their warranty and to them, the call sounds legit.

I simple urge you to contact your dealer to find out more details about your warranty. I would purchase an extended warranty (if you are near the end of factory warranty) through them as apposed to over the phone with an unknown entity.  Some claim that the dealer sold warranties cost more, but this is simply untrue.  The plans are priced by the warranty company and the dealer is often just a reseller.  The only plans that could beat the price of what is available to dealers is a plan that does not provide the same coverage.  I will explain the differences in plan coverage in another post soon.

If you would like me to find out the warranty situation of your vehicle, you can call me (Jeremy Lloyd) at 800-361-2438 or at 613-332-2438 or email me at j.lloyd@bancroftmotors.ca

I can also get you quotes from different warranties companies, so you can compare.

Jeremy Lloyd

j.lloyd@bancroftmotors.ca

www.bancroftmotors.ca

What Is An E-REV?

This article is from a General Motors Media site.  For more information about the Chevrolet Volt, visit

http://media.gm.com/volt

WHAT IS AN E-REV?

The 2011 Chevrolet Volt is a front-wheel-drive, four-passenger Extended-Range Electric Vehicle (E-REV) that uses electricity as its primary power source and gasoline as its secondary power source to propel the vehicle. 

An E-REV like the Chevrolet Volt represents a significant departure from conventional hybrids. In a E-REV, the wheels are turned by an electric drive unit, whereas in conventional hybrids the wheels are turned by an electric motor, a gasoline engine, or both.  For short trips, E-REVs will run on battery power alone. For longer trips, additional electricity can be supplied by an internal combustion engine or a fuel cell. The battery and propulsion systems are sized so that when sufficient energy is available from the battery, the engine (or fuel cell) is not required for operation.  During this electric only phase of driving, the battery, motor, and power electronics are designed to deliver full performance, acceleration, top speed, hill climbing on electric power alone.

HOW VOLT WORKS:
Energy is stored on board in a 16-kWh, “T”-shaped lithium-ion battery pack. The battery pack powers the electric drive unit, which is capable of meeting full vehicle speed and acceleration performance while driving the car electrically for up to 40 miles (64 km) (based on EPA city cycle) without using a drop of gas. For longer trips, the Volt’s on-board range-extending engine is used to drive an electric generator when the battery’s energy has been depleted. The range extender, which can be powered by gas/E85 Ethanol, is able to generate additional electricity to power the car for hundreds of miles.

A new and distinct propulsion system category that would comprehend E-REVs has been proposed by the California Air Resources Board, which GM expects that the Chevrolet Volt will become the first to qualify.  Other government agencies are also considering the unique benefits of E-REVs.

BENEFITS:
There are many benefits of an E-REV like the Chevrolet Volt. The main benefits include energy diversification, reduced oil consumption, and reduced emissions.

According to a Society of Automotive Engineers study published by GM in April 2008, an E-REV will consume, on average, less than half of the gasoline compared to a plug-in hybrid and substantially reduce regulated emissions resulting from initial trip starts. According to a 2003 Omnibus Household survey by the U.S. Department of Transportation, nearly 80 percent (76 percent) of U.S. drivers commute 40 miles or less daily. 

GM estimates that the Chevy Volt will save about 500 gallons (1,892 liters) of gasoline based on 40 miles of daily driving and 15,000 miles annually. For drivers that commute 60 miles (96 km) per day or 21,000 miles annually, about 550 gallons (2,081 liters) of gasoline could be saved.

As a baseline comparison, GM estimates that the cost per mile to operate an E-REV like the Chevy Volt is approximately two cents per mile electrically versus 12 cents per mile using gasoline priced at $3.60 per gallon.

NOT A “HYBRID”:
In practice, hybrid vehicles typically require both sources – engine and battery – to provide full vehicle performance capability. In a hybrid vehicle, the combustion engine is typically the larger of the two propulsion sources, and provides most of the power during high power vehicle maneuvers like off-line starts and freeway cruising. A plug-in hybrid operates the same way, but can be recharged by plugging in. Even with useful energy in the battery, the engine will often be operating to achieve vehicle peak loads. An E-REV like the Chevrolet Volt is unique from a hybrid or plug-in hybrid in that the vehicle’s wheels are always driven electrically by an electric drive unit.

Download the MS Word version of this page.

2011 Chevrolet Volt Propulsion System Image

Jeremy Lloyd – Jay the Car Guy

Bancroft Motors LTD

http://www.bancroftmotors.ca

j.lloyd@bancroftmotors.ca

GM – Chevrolet – Buick – Pontiac – GMC – Corvette