50 Ways to Lighten Your RV

[magnusfide]

A forum member mentioned the need to de-clutter the rv. Thought a thread of ideas from the rveterans could be useful.
1. Kitchen: use knives instead processors. A set of 3 sharp knives are easy to use; easy to clean; and can be mounted on the inside of the cabinet door.

2. Buy the bottled beverages locally instead of packing them for breakage. Go into the local town and you might discover a new favorite wine or microbrew. One trip we discovered mead and had them ship a case to the house. Traveling is about new experiences too.

[pianotuna]

Hi Phil,

The ARP attempts to restart the fridge 5 times. It is for my peace of mind.

I'm all for the gimbal. But it might be cheaper to go residential fridge nay?

[pnichols]

pianotuna wrote:
Once I get my ARP fridge overheating control installed, I'll be eliminating the 6 leveling boards I've been carrying. It will be a real blessing to not have to worry about being level enough for the fridge.

But will that absorption refrigerator control allow the refrigerator to operate off-level completely normal ... or merely shut it down temporarily time and time again with heat rise as the refrigerator sits unlevel for long time periods? If this is what the control does, then how does one maintain a set temperature inside the refrigerator if it's continually being interrupted and shut down for short periods?

It seems like a better solution would be to remount your RV's absorption refrigerator on a steel gimbal frame inside of an enlarged enclosure so that the RV could be off-level for long periods with the refrigerator still operating completely normal the whole time because of the gimbal structure keeping it level. :C

[lfcjasp]

magnusfide wrote:

lfcjasp wrote:


That one was hard for me, I'd used them forever over a campfire. One thing to haul them (and the real wood camp furniture) in a truck for a reenactment...and the A tent...I can make do with aluminum cookware in MH with a/c & a real bathroom:-)

Exactly. Hobbies are a part of travel too. One dutch oven weighs less than multiple kitchen gadgets that can be replaced with one or two multi-taskers. The d.o. functions as an oven, a slow-cooker, a frying pan, etc. It can be used without damage over a campfire or on the stove.

Love how your mind works...that dutch oven may be going with us;-)

[magnusfide]

Redcatcher70 wrote:
When we first started, wife had to have the nice plastic plates, glasses, three or four different size bowls and cook pots. It didn't take a lot of dish washing to start to like paper plates, two sizes of cooking pots, and for bowls, we started using Ziplock storage bowls. Buying four each in different sizes covered our eating and storage problems. After several trips, we unloaded about half of what was packed in the trailer and didn't miss any of it............

Same here. That was 40+ years ago. Still every now and then we end up having a clear out because stuff just "replicates" in the old space shuttle.

Another thing we've learned to do is to plan our meals better and to stop carrying so many recipe books (admittedly recipe books is MY weakness.)
Example: if we're going to the coast we take along our favorite seafood recipes instead of an entire cookbook. Herself keeps the recipes in a pocket folder. Light weight, easy to stow. We then only pack those dry ingredients for those recipes and pick up the seafood at the coast.

The next trip we may be headed to beef country so we take along our favorite red meat recipes.

[Redcatcher70]

When we first started, wife had to have the nice plastic plates, glasses, three or four different size bowls and cook pots. It didn't take a lot of dish washing to start to like paper plates, two sizes of cooking pots, and for bowls, we started using Ziplock storage bowls. Buying four each in different sizes covered our eating and storage problems. After several trips, we unloaded about half of what was packed in the trailer and didn't miss any of it............

[magnusfide]

lfcjasp wrote:


That one was hard for me, I'd used them forever over a campfire. One thing to haul them (and the real wood camp furniture) in a truck for a reenactment...and the A tent...I can make do with aluminum cookware in MH with a/c & a real bathroom:-)

Exactly. Hobbies are a part of travel too. One dutch oven weighs less than multiple kitchen gadgets that can be replaced with one or two multi-taskers. The d.o. functions as an oven, a slow-cooker, a frying pan, etc. It can be used without damage over a campfire or on the stove.

[magnusfide]

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

Try Tempurtech

magnusfide wrote:
This sounds like a great idea. We do a lot of cold weather camping and these sound great. Is there an online source?

Outstanding. Thanks!

[beemerphile1]

Very lightweight and small. Easily packed. Don't leave home without it. :B

[pianotuna]

Hi,

Try Tempurtech

magnusfide wrote:
This sounds like a great idea. We do a lot of cold weather camping and these sound great. Is there an online source?

[motorcycle_jack]

Fill your tires with helium. Remove those heavy propane tanks and replace with balloons. Be sure you fill your tanks with light water and not heavy water!

[lfcjasp]

IAMICHABOD wrote:
Leave all that Cast Iron Cookware at home.

That one was hard for me, I'd used them forever over a campfire. One thing to haul them (and the real wood camp furniture) in a truck for a reenactment...and the A tent...I can make do with aluminum cookware in MH with a/c & a real bathroom:-)

[magnusfide]

Any other ideas to de-clutter the rig?

[magnusfide]

pianotuna wrote:
Hi Bumpy,

The carpets can be ordered to your dimensions. They have no wires internally and they reach a temperature of about 40 C on the surface. The under side gets hotter, so I'd not recommend putting them directly on a lino floor.

I chose to get one for the dinette area, two for the "hall way" (one large one would have done--but then handling would be harder) and one for my pass through storage to keep my cords and hoses from freezing.

Each carpet draws about 250 watts. They plug into standard 120 volt outlets. You can add thermostats at the outlets, of course, but in my climate I simply let them run 24/7.

I chose to get ones that are indoor outdoor carpet so they can be pressure washed.

This sounds like a great idea. We do a lot of cold weather camping and these sound great. Is there an online source?

[pianotuna]

Hi Bumpy,

The carpets can be ordered to your dimensions. They have no wires internally and they reach a temperature of about 40 C on the surface. The under side gets hotter, so I'd not recommend putting them directly on a lino floor.

I chose to get one for the dinette area, two for the "hall way" (one large one would have done--but then handling would be harder) and one for my pass through storage to keep my cords and hoses from freezing.

Each carpet draws about 250 watts. They plug into standard 120 volt outlets. You can add thermostats at the outlets, of course, but in my climate I simply let them run 24/7.

I chose to get ones that are indoor outdoor carpet so they can be pressure washed.

[Bumpyroad]

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

I've eliminated some of the electric heaters as I've moved to electrically heated carpets. They truly improve the comfort levels.

more information please.
thanks,
bumpy