About Food Threats and Food Storage

On the onset of the great recession about three years ago I put together a rather negative report for my family, employees and closest associates about potential threats to our food supply. It is easy to come up with negative things about our present day society, and the list was long.

Until the last few years I have been a rather optimistic person, believing in the good in all people and everyone I meet, no matter their station in life. Heck, I traveled 6 years with the hard working Up With People singing and educational group in my younger years. After pondering the overwhelming negative things I felt could threaten my family and friends, I though maybe I should put together some positive steps we could take to minimize the negative stuff.

It has been three years and I can honestly say I haven’t seen much progress. I have tried to do what I can, but it seems that no matter what I do, it does not seem to be enough. I, like anyone else trying to get better prepared, have learned a few things the hard way. I have made many mistakes over the years, but I have found some things that work.

If my closest friends and family won’t heed the preparedness message, then possibly there is someone who reads this blog that will get something out of it. It just seems that now, when there is hope that we are coming out of this darn recession, people are getting apathetic when it comes to preparing our families for hard times.

There is a warning in my chest that says “it is not over” and the need to do what we can to keep our families safe (mostly by feeding them) is needed now more than ever.

Over the next few weeks I hope to discuss a little of the negative stuff, and a lot of the “Git-r-done” positive stuff. So tune in and let’s see where this takes us.

All the best my friend.

Part-time RV Sales Person

Vegas Trailer Supply is still looking for a part-time sales person. This position could turn int a full-time job when things get better. Bring your Resume to the store. Heck, if you don't have one just make a simple one page resume. I like them better than a sterile application.

All the best.

PS A new up-n-coming online RV parts store is
looking pretty good: RVing Essentials

120 VAC LED Light bulbs

I have been testing 120 VAC LED bulbs at the house for the last several years. A few months ago I purchased several different bulbs at Sam's Club at a pretty good price but they do not seem to be re-stocking them. At the store I go to the stock has been dwindling down and the shelves have not been re-stocked. It is a shame because the bulbs that I found at Lowe's and Home Depot are pretty expensive.

I believe I reported on the 2.5 watt bulb that I leave on all night on our front porch. It takes less wattage running all night than a half hour with the 60 watt bulb I used to have in the fixture, that was usually on for several hours a night. The amount of light is quite a bit less, but the amount of light given off the 2.5 watt LED bulb is acceptable. I leave it on all night for added security.

One of our customers, and friend brought over an LED bulb he found at Walmart on Nellis and Craig Road in Las Vegas. I looked at our Super Walmart on south Fort Apache on the west side and they didn't carry the bulb. He said he paid about $7.00 for the bulb.

It is a 1.1 watt 120 VAC accent and decorative bulb (pictured) that I put on our front porch to see how much light it produced. It is dim but still provides a decent light. Plenty good enough to see the keys for the front door and provide light on the approach to the house. I plan on using it on the side of the house where it is dark and I might even leave it on 24/7 if need be. I can leave it on for 10 days straight and it will take less power than the current 60 watt bulb uses in 5 hours.

I expect the common brighter LED bulbs to be more popular in the near future and I expect our energy saving CFL squirrly fluorescent bulbs will become extinct. As with any other new technology the price will come down as they become more popular and common-place.

Let me know of your experiences with the 120 VAC LED bulbs as well as the new low-voltage (12 vdc) bulbs. Our customers are really liking the new low voltage bulbs.

Happy Low Wattage Lighting!

After making this post I did a search on Google and I did not like what I read; Evidently these 120 vac LED lights that are sold at Walmart and Sam's Club have had a lot of issues with consumers. Many of them burn out prematurely and Walmart will not cover the warranty past 90 days and the manufacture charges an arm and a leg for warranty replacement. I have not had any problem with the bulbs I bought at Sams. One of them has been on in our shop 24/7 for over three months.

The engineers that "sounded off" on LED bulbs still held out hope that the quality would get better in time. Most of the complaints were against "Lights of America" brand. The one pictured above is made by FEIT Electric #BPA15/LED (Made in China). Hopefully the ones by FEIT are better than LOA!

We have not had any complaints on the many low voltage bulbs that we have sold over the last few months.

NOTE: 12-16-2011 Follow-Up
The 1.1 watt bulb mentioned above has been on 24/7 at the side of my house since August and has not failed. My neighbor loves it because it gives a little light to her front yard as well as the side of my house.

Local Station films Sun Oven

On Wednesday a crew from local station 99 representing Anthem at Sun City came to the store to film solar stuff. We had the large Villager Sun Oven cooking a couple loaves of bread and a large pork roast. We also had the small Global Sun Oven cooking a nice fat chicken.

The film segment will be for the folks at a community in Henderson/South Vegas. During the interview with Store Manager Mike we discussed using solar cookers for emergency preparedness. Weighing in at only 21 pounds, the Global Sun Oven can go almost anyhere and cook almost anything. (Recent posts on FaceBook reveal many gourmet treats cooked in a Sun Oven).

Also discussed were the many sizes of SunDanzer solar refrigerators, new LED low voltage, low wattage bulbs and a small home-made solar stand for emergency preparedness. The stand holds a 50 watt PV panel with an old converted Coleman ice chest that holds the deep-cycle battery, solar controller, fuses and wires. The makeshift battery box is attached to the red stand so that wind will be less likely to tip over the glass panel mounted on top.

A small 50 litre SunDanzer was attached to the battery during the hot 105 degree day (mostly in the sun) and the thermometer in the box said 10 degrees below 0 celcius (freezing). Hey, this wasn't even a freezer model!

We have this home-made contraption at the front of Vegas Trailer Supply in Las Vegas if you want to see it to get some ideas for your own. I will post more on this simple device later. If you click on the picture you can get a better view of the stand.

The Villager came through with flying colors on the pork roast. We made pulled pork sliders that would rival the local slider food truck.

We have other ideas at the store for emergency preparedness using solar power. Hope to see you. Stop by soon.

All the best my friend.

New LED Low Voltage Light Bulbs

Over the last decade LED light bulbs have had much to be desired when it comes to quality of light. Until recently the nice warm white color of an incandescent bulb for general lighting has not been technically possible. We’ve all seen the blue/purple tint of so-called white bulbs over the years. Until recently, LED bulbs have been perfect for low energy use stop lights and signal lights but they have not been good for general lighting in a house, cabin or RV.

This should be front page news!
That day of bad LED lighting is gone. The new generation of “wafer technology” produces a very pleasant “incandescent like” warm white light drawing about 1/7th the power. This should be front page news but soon everyone will catch on.

The other problem has been cost. A few years ago a low voltage light bulb that produced an eerie bluish-purple light could cost anywhere between $40 to $120 dollars each. Now the cost for a great low voltage bulb runs about $10 to $20 each. Of course, as their popularity grows and they become more common place, the prices will get much lower. Because of the cost many of our customers who rely on battery power when using a recreational vehicle (motor home or travel trailer) are replacing their most used incandescent light bulbs with the new LED bulbs. To save money they plan on replacing their less frequently used incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs as the price drops. Lighting uses a lot of battery power and the “writing on the wall” tells us that LED bulbs will be the standard in the future, both for 120 VAC at home and low voltage bulbs using battery power.


Vegas Trailer Supply carries a wide selection of Low Voltage/Low Wattage bulbs in three distinct white colors – Cool White, Natural White and Warm White. Most are for 12 VDC use but we are told that the 8-30 volt bulbs can be put on a dimmer.

Cool White: This bulb is a bright white bulb with a slight bluish tint to it. Its “color temperature” range is between 6000 - 6500K (K = Kelvin). It has a little more blue color than a cool white (CW) fluorescent tube.

Natural White: This is almost the same color temperature as a cool white fluorescent bulb (4100K) with a rating of 4000 to 4500K. It is a pleasant white that will do for almost any general lighting needs. One brand of LED light bulbs call this color Cool White but the part number has “NW” in it signifying Natural White.

Warm White: This is the color of typical 12 volt DC incandescent bulbs. It gives out a warm white light with a hint of yellow or light tan color. Its temperature range is 3000 to 3500K. This will be the most popular color sold because this is the color most of us are used to.


To replace a bulb, simply note the type of bulb or socket the bulb requires. The most common incandescent bulb is an 1141 bulb and we have several types of bulbs that will replace this single contact socket bulb. Other bulbs have two contact sockets, wedge base, festoon (glass fuse type) or two wire pins. One very popular bulb uses a socket connected to a wire so the flat panel bulb can lay directly on the plastic diffuser of a ceiling light. There is no heat with LED bulbs so this is a great lighting option. Others bulbs have a kit with multiple types of socket connections in the package.

We have a tester near the parts desk at Vegas Trailer Supply so you can see for yourself the color, brightness and amp draw of each type of bulb compared to an incandescent.

Happy illuminating!

NOTE: Follow Up 12-16-2011

An online store that has quite a few of these LED low voltage
light bulbs can be found here: RVingEssentials.com