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

[PGR_Skye]

This is one that probably a lot of you cooks do, but just want to suggest it for anyone who hasn't. I have one maybe 9" long cutting board in the 5th wheel, but I have a selection of different sized plastic lids from butter tubs, cottage cheese containers and coffee containers that I use most of the time as cutting boards. I use whatever size fits the job then wash it and save it for the next time. I also use the smaller ones as spoon rests. I do not use the lids when cutting meats.

[popeye59]

We only have 2 drawers and they are under the dinette seats and they have never opened on the road. The pantry door latches are so tight I’m afraid something will break when opening it. I was going to see if I could loosen them up a bit, but are reading about peoples doors and drawers opening up on them, I think I’ll leave it alone.

[John_Betty]

PGR_Skye wrote:
Like your idea, EMD360.

We have a cabinet that has 3 pull out drawers and has a cabinet door for a front. On our first trip out last year, the middle drawer slid out and opened the cabinet door and put a gouge in the door from the metal glider. Thankfully the gouge is on the inside of the door. So I made up the right size bungee cord that attaches diagonally corner to corner to secure the drawers and it doesn’t interfere with the door closing. So now it’s part of our closing up procedure.

[racer93]

Our city water connection is in a cabinet directly accross from our toilet. So I installed a tee-fitting in the water line with a ball valve and a flexible hose long enough to reach into the toilet. On the end of hose is a hose pipe fitting with a cap. I can use my washing wand on the black tank and fill tank half full for travel home to slosh remaining "stuff" loose for final dump or for adding water after dumping to insure plenty of water is in the tank . Beats dragging hoses or buckets full of water into the TT. Also hose curls up and stores neatly in cabinet. If you cant do it this way, just use the water line on back of toilet and use a quick release fitting for the hose or you can curl it up and hang it on a hook. Love this and makes cleaning black tank much easier.

[stfnwuf]

PGR_Skye wrote:
Like your idea, EMD360.

Me too. Wish I had those when we were coming home last weekend. The pantry popped open, and that was with a tension bar holding it closed. Ugh. Trust me, we will have them installed before our next outing in March.

[PGR_Skye]

Like your idea, EMD360.

[EMD360]

Just completed installing a variation of an idea from this topic.
We drive on many AZ back roads and some of our cabinet doors will fling open unexpectedly and dump the contents on the floor. The kitchen drawers have occasionally opened completely too. The cabinets have the pinch and roller type of catch and the drawers lift and seat to close. Neither are strong enough for some of the pitch and roll on our roads!
I bought a package of this type of childproof latches and installed them on the drawers and worst offender cabinet doors.

They were fairly easy to install and so far they are doing the trick over residential speed bumps. To open the cabinet you just press on the plastic lever and unlock the catch.

Hope they work as well in the boondocks!

[fleetwoodmac]

I use this for my spices in the trailer. It works great and fits in my overhead cabinet right above the sink.

[reinita]

Have spent the past week or so reading through all the posts. Thanks for sharing. I now have a huge list of tips and must-buys in my Gmail docs.

Because we're in Michigan and it's, well, winter, I spent about an hour online last night ordering organizer things suggested here. I cleared out a little room in my closet to start storing them so I can install in our HTT this spring.

Some of my favorite finds:
* this fold-able bowl for the doggies' water: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001Q3KLSG/ref=oss_product
* this shelf, which I plan to try in one of our cabinets so the kids can stick their socks and undies, still leaving room for their clothes on the regular shelf: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KKMNGY/ref=oss_product
* this toothbrush holder for the inside of our medicine cabinet: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001ECLQ5G/ref=oss_product

Will continue to buy online in the coming months so we can just install all at once when we can get in the thing. (Is it spring yet?!)

Quick tips:
* We keep a journal with a pen in a basket so everyone in the family can write in it. We also make notes of our favorite CG sites for future reference. Now when the kids go riding bikes, they come back with CG site numbers for us to check out. I pull it out before making reservations for the upcoming season so we can find the best spots.
* We put DS4's toys in a plastic bin with a lid and leave it in the camper. They are camper-only toys so he looks forward to them each week when we go out. I've been setting aside little things I find on clearance (again in my closet) to stick in the box come spring so he'll have a few surprises.
* Some of the Sunday paper manufacturer coupons work with sample sizes. Read the small print, but I can get $1 off a Tide detergent sample size...making it virtually free.
* We use a college-type laundry bag at the bottom of our small closet. Doesn't take up much space and we can carry all of our dirty laundry into the house at once when we get home. Yes, it's very full and starts taking up a lot of room throughout the trip, but there's also fewer clean clothes in the closet anyway. Kinda balances out.
* We don't buy juice boxes or pop anymore (much to the kids' dismay). Instead, we bring individual bottled water and buy the sugar-free individual Kool Aid or other water flavoring packets. We make sure to recycle the plastic water bottles at the campground station. This way, we always have fresh, cold water (kept in a cooler just outside the trailer) and we don't have to bother sorting recyclables or bringing pop cans home to return (we have a 10-cent deposit in Michigan). A Sharpie comes in handy for writing names on the bottles, too, so we can keep track of whose is what.
* I'm shopping for a hanging travel bag that we can use to store shower necessities that I can leave in the CG shower so we can all go to the showers at once (one after the other). Older kids won't want to wait around, but this will help me make sure we all get in and out and that they've actually bathed (we have a 13-year-old DS). I plan to go last so they can walk their little brother back to the trailer while I shower. Dad's on his own! 😉
* We've given up on bringing tons of shoes and now each have a pair of flip flops (for showering and beach-going) and a pair of these type of sandals, which we can wear with socks if it's cold: http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4027118&cp=2367438.2367826.2672650.3183566.3183567.693807#green They also dry quickly if wet, and they're comfy enough to do light hiking.

[Fredzo]

Just throw a Roomba up there! Or a Scooba if it's really dirty!

[slides]

Wife'nHubby
That's too funny
I would do the same with my broom except my broom handle is wood and I don't have a garage door. Guess I'll have to stick to plan A.

[Wife_nHubby]

slides wrote:
Don't look like it would be to hard to make one myself. PVC pipe and heat gun

Even easier: I will rent you one of our grown sons who bent my garage broom like this when he closed the garage door on it and jammed it up against a cabinet inside the garage. 🙂

[slides]

Don't look like it would be to hard to make one myself. PVC pipe and heat gun

[MrWizard]

actually that might work for.dusting off my solar panels

my dp does not have a ladder on the rear

all
roof work.requires I get out the folding multi use ladder

[jasoncw]

Hah! That is where I purchased my first TT from, and boy is the owner proud of that product! He showed it to me and my FIL while we were there and talked it up quite a bit! LOL

Jerry9n wrote:
This is one of those things you sit around the campfire and think about. For those of us that have slides but no toppers:



I was sent this by a local camping store which I have no interest in other than it is a neat product. Here is a link to their article (sales pitch) on it.