WARNINGS
Yes, definite overkill. And the stickers all over the place are very
distracting (besides which they'll fade and be hard to get off later).
PROPANE
1. Many RVers leave the propane on as their absorption refrigerator
runs on propane (Westfalia uses a compressor fridge so NO propane;
actually nicer bec. don't have to park perfectly level). BUT, they
turn them off when refueling bec. of the open flame issue.
2. The water heater is supposed to automatically shut off the
propane if the pilot lights goes out. You really don't need to leave
water heater on that long--once a day to heat up the water seems to
provide enough hot water for the day--unless running a bunch of
showers (and you'd be out of water anyways).
3. By using the two propane valves in the closet, you can just shut
off the stove and hot water heater (2 sources of open flames) while
still leaving the main propane tank open so the generator is
available for use. (The valve positions are not intuitive as the
propane lines make a jog--on is horizontal and off is vertical (at
least in mine).)
4. As a safety precaution, I think it's good to turn off the propane
tank at its main source (in case of an accident, a propane line
breaks/gets disconnected, etc.). In any event, even if you leave
propane on normally, ALWAYS turn-off propane before entering a
gas/fuel station. Besides ferries, some tunnels require propane to
be turned off as well.
Of course, the location of the propane tank is not the best when
getting T-boned by a car (remember the old pickup trucks (Chevys?)
where they mounted the gas tanks outside the main chassis rails--
causing lots of people to get burned in accidents (rather than
mounting the gas tank inside the main chassis rails for protection).
In one instance, I had turned the main propane tank off for driving--
found a nice camping spot and turned the propane tank on--for
whatever reason, the high pressure connection for auxillary
accessories had become loose and propane leaked out fast from the
connection point (white vapor and cold)--so luckily the main valve
had been closed while driving. I never used that auxillary accessory
connection valve before or since, so for whatever reason, it became
loose on its own accord.
Then there's the idiot on Maximum Exposure or some show who stored
some propane tanks in his engine compartment of his car--which
exploded and caused a nice car fire.
5. Tip--I think you're supposed to turn on the main propane valve
gradually--something about not allowing a huge pressure change to
trigger some safety-off switch in appliances--or something like that.
WATER PUMP
The water pump stickers to turn off water pump when not using water
were something that Airstream started plastering on the closet door
and inside the stainless steel top area where the water pump
switch/main electrical shut off are located. The thinking by
manufacturers/RVers is to prevent (i) unexpected water leaks from
damaging the vehicle and (ii) the water pump from running when
there's no fresh water (damaging the water pump). Hope that switch
is nice and sturdy.
I used to leave the water pump switch on all the time until Airstream
plastered the additional labels earlier this past year (the location
is not that convenient). Luckily, the Westfalia water pump operates
off switches rather than pressure--so if the water pressure drops,
the water pump doesn't pump more water--instead, you have to turn the
faucets on/flush toilet before water runs.
Also, when connecting to a water supply hook-up, turn off water pump
as it's not needed--water pressure from hose bib pipe drives the
water supply. Luckily, there's a nice redundant switch in the black
cover for the water hook up which turns off the water pump as well.
Same tip re turning off the hose bib hook-up when leaving the RV
alone--lots of stories about huge water leaks/damage.
ELECTRICAL RECHARGING
The battery monitor on the central console will often show the
battery at full (10 little bars) when the batteries can actually take
more charge and has more capacity to fill. You'll note the different
in available capacities when recharging after a long, long
drive/household current versus a short drive--both showing full 10
little bars.
The Westfalia manual recommends hooking up to household current
periodically--once a month I think--for 2 days or so when not
driving. Using the generator would take too long.
Some folks recommend not allowing the battery voltage to drop below
12.4 volts to extend battery life (at 12.4 volts, you usually have 4
or 5 bars of battery capacity). Batteries have so many
charge/discharge cycles, and deeper/fuller discharges wear out
batteries more (?).
Turning off the electrical with the main 12 volt switch is also
recommended to save battery life, but it's annoying if you programmed
in the time for the heater on the central console.
You can unplug the tv and turn off the power booster tv antenna to
save some electrical.
Same with turning off the GFCI circuit breaker in the kitchen cabinet
and then turning it on after hooking up the external electrical
source--don't know what the point of that is.