Handy Hints, Gadgets, Products & Gizmos

[GizmosMom]

Another member suggested a new forum section with new products but it doesn't look like it will be feasible. So I thought I would post this here under General RVing Issues. If enough people post (even if you have mentioned it before in another post) we can keep it near the top?

Do you have a handy hint, a new product or an old product that makes your RVing or Camping much better?

(Sorry, no commercial advertising allowed)

I'll start:

Someone in the Camping Van posted a reference to using a Super-Chamois to wipe down their shower. I have been using an icky old thick sponge and I like the chamois idea so much more.

Now I want to hear what works for you

[WandaLust2]

We use curtain pressure rods to hang our shirts and blouses on when traveling. They're out of the way in the back nook of our Sunline. We also use one to curtain off the bed so I can read late into the night and not keep DH awake.

Sorry about the sigfile. I get errors uploading a pic to this Forum.

[campandride]

Mule Skinner wrote:
I would suggest that when you use a container for smaller items in your refrigerator, you use a perforated container similar to a milk crate but smaller.
These are available at dollar stores. RV refrigerators rely on convection currents to cool and large items impede this flow.
Gerry

excellent suggestion! thanks

[HUTCH45]

At my entry steps...on top of my Patio Mat...I build a platform of 1" Lynx Levelers...3W X 4L...and then put my 'foot cleaner' mat on them. The dirt/debris/etc. falls through the mat...the levelers..and very seldom needs any brushing.

[crazyoldcoot]

Mule Skinner wrote:
I would suggest that when you use a container for smaller items in your refrigerator, you use a perforated container similar to a milk crate but smaller.
These are available at dollar stores. RV refrigerators rely on convection currents to cool and large items impede this flow.
Gerry

Good thinking!

[Mule_Skinner]

I would suggest that when you use a container for smaller items in your refrigerator, you use a perforated container similar to a milk crate but smaller.
These are available at dollar stores. RV refrigerators rely on convection currents to cool and large items impede this flow.
Gerry

[lzasitko]

We found plastic containers at one of the local dollar stores that fit nicely on a shelf in the frig or freezer so like 4BeachCampers we pack everything ahead of time and take them out and slide them in. I have even replace the two draws in our MH frig with a bigger single box. When I bought the MH both drawers were really poor, filthy and cracked. I use the same setup in our freezers at home, makes things a little easier to find.

[scotty63]

We bought a set of T-Fal pots with a removable handle. This makes it much easier when packing up the trailer as everything stacks inside from largest to smallest. The handle is stored in the drawer by the stove. It clips onto the rim of the pots when needed. Sure saves a lot of space that was taken up by pot handles.

[campandride]

4BeachCampers wrote:
I'm thinking this is NOT a new idea - but after scrolling through the many, many pages of this thread I don't see it anywhere...

When it's time for a camping trip, I pull out 3 clear plastic shoeboxes (no lids) and put them in our home refrigerator. I pre-pack our refrigerated food into the shoeboxes ahead of time. I don't have to wait for our trailer fridge to get cold. Allows me to pack our food with ease and no headaches... at the last minute, I take the shoeboxes out to the trailer and put them in the fridge - voila... the fridge is packed in a jiffy! The shoeboxes make it really easy to find stuff too.

In addition, we had butcher block sink covers custom made for us... one for each side of the sink. When we reach camp, one usually goes outside by the stove and the other stays inside.

I think they are terrific!

EXCELLENT IDEA! Thanks

[everymilesamemo]

One thing we found when camping in warm climates was to keep a medium sized tub that we fill with water by the door.

Since we're both almost always in flip flops, we kick off our flip flops, stand in the water tub to rinse the sand/dirt off our feet/toes, and keep a rag hung by the door.

When we travel, we just dump the water out and put the tub right inside the door.

You'd be amazed at how much dirt will be in the bottom of the tub, and how much cleaner it will keep the floor of the camper.

This is a must if camped on a beach, or anywhere there is alot of sand

[PenMan]

ak_traveler wrote:
Gee, for measuring slide clearance (and pin height, and ground clearance, and...) I just use one of those cheesy, $2.00 12' tape measures! They are small enough to go on your keychain, but we toss one in the glove compartment and that way it's handy.

Good advice and I went one step further. I engraved the slide length on the side of the tape measure because I tend to forget things. Now, where did I put the tape measure?

[reg1948]

"My MIL taught me to control the TP going down into the black tank by putting a bag in the bathroom for used "yellow" TP. Empty the bag often (of course); no smell and you would be surprised how much TP will be removed without going through the black tank. She came up with this after a nasty incident with TP stuck inside the black tank on the sensor."

Another good thing about the post above...you can use REAL TP that your fingers don't run thru if you use the pastic bag instead of the black tank for the TP. We have been doing that for years...if you want to use the black tank, we have 2 types of TP available...the good stuff for the plastic bag, and the yukky TP that goes in the black tank.

[ak_traveler]

Gee, for measuring slide clearance (and pin height, and ground clearance, and...) I just use one of those cheesy, $2.00 12' tape measures! They are small enough to go on your keychain, but we toss one in the glove compartment and that way it's handy.

[CactusJohn]

Another way to measure the slide clearance is with an awning rod. I marked the rod with a Sharpie for each of my slides' clearance distances.

[ak_traveler]

Ok here's a "tried and true"...

One of our "must have" items is a roll of blue painter's tape. We use it to keep the foam pad up in the shower skylight at night so we can sleep (anyone who's been to Alaska knows how hard it is to get the unit dark enough to sleep in!), we use it to hold down stuff in the cabinets, and several other uses. Best thing about this tape is it leaves no residue, doesn't take off paint or wallpaper, and is cheap to use.

[craftyfox]

Here's another one..I use my husband's utility wagon to load and unload the rig...pull the wagon up on the porch (we have a ramp access).. load the boxes of "stuff"..pull out to the rig..unload and go again. I've cut my loading and unloading trips by 2/3. I try to have as many duplicates as possible in the rig but there's still the perishables, clothes, misc. junk to go into and out of it each trip.