A Checklist to Complete If You’re Leaving Your Home for an Extended Period of Time

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How to prep your home in Lacey, WA before leaving for vacationWhether you are a snow bird who flocks to warm weather in the winter or you’re taking a vacation, you should always protect your home while you’re away. The last thing you want to hear while vacationing is that a pipe burst or your home was burglarized. Follow these simple steps to ensure your home is safe while you’re away.

Protect from Theft

  • Alert the post office to hold your mail until you return. If you are staying at your vacation home for a long period of time, perhaps forward your mail to that mailing address.
  • Stage your home as if you are still there. Use an automatic timer to turn on and off your lights. You can set them up in different rooms to make it look like you’re moving around the house. To keep it efficient, use LED bulbs in your lamps you intend to leave running throughout the night.
  • Set an alarm. There are countless great, affordable video surveillance options that sends you a text when there is motion detected at your home, both inside and out. You can then pull it up and watch a live video stream allowing you to record the activity as well as call police. Additionally, if you see a package is delivered you could ask a neighbor to pick it up off the doorstep until you return.
  • Place small valuables in a hidden place or safe. If you own jewelry, guns or cash, or have social security cards, memory cards or other valuable items, put them into a safe. Safes are typically extremely heavy and unable to be moved by one person even if not bolted to the floor.
  • Hire someone or notify your neighbor to do the simple things. For example, if you are gone for the weekend and the trash gets picked up on Fridays, ask your neighbor to pull your waste bin in for you.

Protect Your Home From Damage

  • Always turn off your water. You would hate to have a pipe burst or refrigerator leak while you’re away. If you live in a cold weather environment, drain all your pipes of water. Laundry supply lines are bigger, so be sure to turn those off at the junction box if you decide not to turn off all water.
  • Set your thermostat. Keeping your thermostat on will stop pipes from freezing in your ceiling or walls. It doesn’t take much, say 60 degrees or so.
  • Clean out your gutters. If you’re planning to be away for a while, cleaning your gutters can ensure any heavy rains won’t overflow the gutters and flood your home or damage the roof.

Going away for a while can be exciting. You shouldn’t have to worry about your home while you’re away so completing some simple tasks beforehand can ease your concern.

All Insurance One was established in 1978 and is a family owned, local insurance agency in Lacey, WA. Our agents are highly trained professionals and considered masters in their field. By offering protection for your Auto, Home, or Umbrella Insurance, we make sure that you’re covered today, as well as in the future. It is our passion to provide outstanding insurance service and consumer education to our clients.

Motorcycle Safety Tips in Lacey, WA

What Every Motorcycle Rider Should Know

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Safety Tips for Beginners to Experienced Riders

Motorcycle Safety Tips in Lacey, WAThe key to staying safe riding your motorcycle is to be prepared and understand how to avoid risks. Motorcyclists are at a higher risk being on the road compared to a vehicle. Keep these things in mind to dramatically lower your risk for injury.

Refine Your Skills

If you’re new to riding, look to take a riding course from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation in your area. This class can teach you the basics. Or, if you’re an experienced rider, you can learn more advanced techniques.

Practice Makes Progress

After taking a Motorcycle Safety riding course, be sure to get out there and ride! Racking up miles will help you become a better rider. Set a short term goal of riding 1,000 miles before a specific date.

Wear the Right Clothing & Footwear

Especially if you’re new to riding, you need to wear the proper attire in case you go down. Look to buy leather or textile protective gear (jacket, pants, gloves). It helps when your clothing is breathable when you’re riding in the hot summer days.

Shoes with good traction are essential to staying safe on the road. A non-slip bottom boot or shoe is ideal. They should also be over-the-ankle to give extra protection.

Ride More Defensive Than You Drive a Car

Many drivers don’t see motorcycles or simply make judgement errors because of your size. Be sure to pay more attention to your surroundings when you’re riding. Pay attention to everything including street corners and intersections, but also parking lots, alleys and anywhere where a vehicle is trying to enter into moving traffic. Also, look far ahead when you’re riding. For example, say a car is pulled over or construction is coming up. Sure, you may see it, but does the car next to you? Lastly, avoid the blind spot of all cars. Ride up ahead of them or far enough before in case they need to suddenly switch lanes.

Besides being aware of your surroundings, it’s important to look for pot holes or bumps in the road. While a car can handle these without a problem, being on a motorcycle is a different story. If you can’t avoid them, slow down as much as you can.

Do a Quick Inspection

Before hopping on your bike, be sure to check a few areas. Check the chain, belt, and brakes. Inspect your tires for proper pressure. Also check to make sure your lights and directional signals are working properly.

While we’d love to sit in your sidecar to help you ride safely, we have work to do saving great people like you money on their motorcycle insurance. As an independent agent, we have access to some of the top insurance carriers in the country.

All Insurance One was established in 1978 and is a family owned, local insurance agency in Lacey, WA. Our agents are highly trained professionals and considered masters in their field. By offering protection for your Auto, Home, or Umbrella Insurance, we make sure that you’re covered today, as well as in the future. It is our passion to provide outstanding insurance service and consumer education to our clients.

Tips Before Buying a Used Camper in Lacey, WA

Seven Areas to Look Before Buying a Used Camper

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Simple Tips to Prevent an Unwanted Repair

Tips Before Buying a Used Camper in Lacey, WASpring is a great season to start looking for good used campers. Whether you’re looking at a dealership or from a person off of Craigslist, it’s important to know how to look for possible damage or wear.

Look for these trouble areas to save yourself on repairs:

  1. Delamination

RV’s are typically made of a laminated plywood and adhered with an adhesive. This adhesive over time can become deteriorated and cause the side of the RV to delaminate. This delamination can become worse over time and unfortunately, there is not an inexpensive fix. Reasons for delamination can be moisture, heat or simply age. To look for delamination, look down the side of the RV. You’re looking for a change in the plane – it looks almost like a large bubble. Take your hand and press on it. Does it flex or feel like there is air between the exterior fiberglass shell and the interior plywood?

  1. Tires

Tires are easy to inspect. What you’re looking for is small cracks in between the tread. As RVs sit, they develop flat spots and weather cracks. These cracks while largely cosmetic in nature, can over time deteriorate the tire. If the tires are worn or cracked, consider this into the cost of purchasing the RV.

  1. Rodent Damage

Rodents get into everything. Your RV or trailer is no different. In fact, they make ideal homes for rodents because most of the year, they’re sitting undisturbed. When looking for signs of rodents, pull up some seat cushions and look in storage spaces. You’re looking for rodent droppings. Mice and rats leave droppings everywhere. This can both be a health hazard and also damage your RVs interior as they nest.

  1. Water Damage

RV’s are incredibly susceptible to water damage. Truth is many manufacturers in the US don’t build the RVs with as much quality as they could. Water damage is usually pretty easy to spot or smell. If the RV smells musty or feels damp, this is a big indicator. Look for mineral stains or water stains on wood, around skylights and air conditioners on the roof. Also, go around the RV or trailer and push in on all of the sides all the way around. If water got into the walls, it can quickly rot the structural portions of the RV. Pushing on the sides will identify any areas that may be compromised. An RV should be stiff and hard, if it flexes, it is possible there is water damage. Check closely around windows and on the roof.

  1. Appliances

RV appliances are incredibly expensive to replace because of their compact size. If you’re considering a used RV, have the owner or dealer fire up the refrigerator prior to you getting there so you can feel it cool. RV refrigerators can run on electricity, battery or propane. They take about 2 hours to cool down, so before your arrival, ask them to turn it on. Also, while there, test any water heaters and/or other systems that may be important to you.

  1. Canvas

If your trailer or RV has any canvas, look it over closely for mold and staining. Also, if any windows are plastic on your RV, check all zippers and windows for cracks. New canvas tops for a pop-up camper can cost upwards of $3,000.

  1. Floor

The floor of an RV is one of the most common places an RV, camper or trailer is damaged. The floor is typically made up of simple plywood and in older RVs was not protected by anything. Additionally, floors that were protected underneath often time trapped water that entered from above causing the floors to rot. When inspecting a trailer for a rotted floor, get on your hands and knees and push all over the floor looking for flex. If the floor flexes or feels mushy, it is likely rotten and may require replacement. You can also take a small screwdriver or pick and lightly push from underneath (for exposed wood floors only) and see if the material is rotted.

Taking these steps can save you a lot on costly RV repair. We hope you enjoy your camping season. Many memories can be made while camping so we hope we’ve been successful in helping you be an expert when shopping for a used RV.

All Insurance One was established in 1978 and is a family owned, local insurance agency in Lacey, WA. Our agents are highly trained professionals and considered masters in their field. By offering protection for your Auto, Home, or Umbrella Insurance, we make sure that you’re covered today, as well as in the future. It is our passion to provide outstanding insurance service and consumer education to our clients.