I'm new member, so I haven't yet learned to navigate the threads. I posted the following, I thought, to this Gizmos thread, but it ended up as a new thread under General RV. So I'm trying it again as a Quick Reply to this thread. Hopefully, it'll work:
DH and I just became half-time RVers, having lived 4 years fulltime on a 42 ft. sailboat. I just finished reading the 151-page collection, having stumbled across this wonderful topic. I've learned many new things including the fact that landcruisers, like sailors, are bothered by problems that need fixes that they don't have the power to fix on their own -- 1.e. after 3+ years we can't make this topic into a Sticky. But, oh well, we can innovate and adapt with a temporary fix (Bumps) until the PowersThatBe relent. Also, I've been reminded of some old tricks we used on the boat that could apply for RVs. Here are a couple that come immediately to mind (probably more to follow):
1. When we bought the RV I immediately repeated what I did when be bought our boat. I measured every possible cabinet, surface, overhead area, nook, cranny, and empty space and recorded them, with diagrams, in a tiny spiral notebook that I always carry in my purse, along with a tiny tape measure. Whenever I spot something in a store that might make a useful container or modification, I check its measurements with my recorded notes to see if it's worth buying. On the boat I really wanted a specific-sized square plastic tub with a snap-on lid and a handle. Imagine our delight when the ideal tub appeared in the grocery store freezer section containg fudge ripple ice cream. I didn't have room in the boat freezer for all that ice cream, but we made a lot of friends back at the marina for an impropmtu ice cream social, after which the plastic tub was immediately usable as a counterop garbage pail.
2. Sailors love nonskid material as much as RVers, but sometimes (especially when your boat/RV is pitching and rolling along) something you forgot to secure (most often a plate or bowl) starts sliding and there's no nonskid easily in reach. The old sailor trick is to wet a square of paper towel, wring it out, and spread it out under the sliding item. Surprising how well that works for many (but not all) situations.
3. For overnight offshore passages on the boat, I'd make an extra pot of coffee after dinner and pour it into a stainless steel pump-type thermos that I'd bungy into a corner on the galley countertop for quick pick-me-ups on the night watch. A small plastic bin with the travel mugs, sugar, UHT creamers, stirring spoon, was bungied nearby so you wouldn't have to rummage through the fridge and cabinets. Maybe most RVers don't drive 24/7, but the same could work for a quickie anytime of day.
4. The clear acrylic drinking glasses I bought at Wally World are great except when I stacked them in the cupboard (only way they would fit) they became stubbornly fused together. Problem solved by making mini-cozies out of the ankle part of men's thin tube socks.
Maybe none of these are earth-shattering but wanted to do my bit for the Bumping Effort.
Harvey the RV (aka The White Elephant):
2010 Coachmen Freelander 2100 CB Sprinter Diesel
Working our way through the 4 Stages of Life: Sailboat, Motorboat, Motorhome, Rest Home
