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

[suerover]

I had previously osted this elsewhere, but I think it is more appropriate here. Sorry if you've read it before... I have three shoe bags in our motorhome. One is a regular sized shoe bag hanging next to the steps. It holds umbrellas, gloves, flashlights in addition to shoes. In the bathroom I have a half sized one that holds the toothpaste, deodorant, inhaler and the like. And I made a tiny one that hangs on the end of the sink that holds my lipstick, nail clippers, lip balm, tweezers, etc. If all this stuff was in a drawer or on a shelf it would be a mixed up mess. But everything has a place and stays in place and doesn't get lost. What's your favorite housekeeping addition?

[horseylady]

RE: Reader iPod Touch would be a great way to go. I'm one of those rare, strange, people who seldom listens to music so my iPod Nano is here somewhere....

Apple is supposed to make an announcement in February, I think, and the speculation is that it will be a tablet with reader capabilities. Bigger, expensive, capabilities I don't need, and I didn't want to wait.

If you read a lot, a reader really does save a lot of space and makes reading easier--as I get older, my eyesight just isn't as good as it used to be and the ability to change the font size helps, too.. I can't wait until it's time to settle down and read at night and my DH can watch either TV with headphones and have it as loud as he wants it.

[JimBollman]

horseylady wrote:

Something I haven't seen mentioned is an eReader like a Kindle. My DH usually has about 4-6 hard cover books in the rig to read. If we don't buy them while still in hard cover, we can't remember if we've read them! I asked for, and received, a Kindle for Christmas and I absolutely love it. All my books on a thin reader. Unlimited reading material that takes up no room.

Pam

I started using my iPod Touch as a book reader last Spring, works great for camping since it fits in my shirt pocket and is back lite so I can read in low/no light situations. It has several reader Apps including Kindle. My favorite is Stanza, it supports a bunch of formats.

Jim...

[horseylady]

There are SO many great ideas on here that I haven't made it through all the posts. I sure wish they would make this a sticky since it apparently has been on here for several years and I just found it through a recent post!

Suerover, I know this is frivilous, and probably not as good for the environment, but I got tired of having hands wiped on my dish towels so I started using Viva paper towels for dish drying, and hand wiping in the bathroom and kitchen. I prefer not to wash hands in the kitchen but when I'm cooking I often need to. I can usually dry all my dishes, and wipe up, with two paper towels. My initial reason was to halt the spread of germs. However, I like your idea about the old t-shirts for rags. Oh the other hand, I like having nice bath towels in my rig.

Something I haven't seen mentioned is an eReader like a Kindle. My DH usually has about 4-6 hard cover books in the rig to read. If we don't buy them while still in hard cover, we can't remember if we've read them! I asked for, and received, a Kindle for Christmas and I absolutely love it. All my books on a thin reader. Unlimited reading material that takes up no room.

Pam

[suerover]

Doing laundry on the road can be really expensive. I especially hate to launder the dirty dish cloths and towels with anything else and there are too few to deserve an expensive load by themselves. Instead I take with us the stained, torn, old ones and simply throw them out when they are beyond using anymore. (This also insures that I have nice ones to use at home.) We will also take tshirts that have one more wear in them and then turn them into rags. They make great temporary floor mats and hose wiping cloths. An old tshirt also makes a great bag for holding other old tshirts.

[John_Betty]

RoadXYZ wrote:
We have four drawers between the stove and the sink - I put a wooden yard stick down thru the handles .. no more opening while we travel.

A wooden yardstick...they still make those?....lol....btw that's a great idea.

[RoadXYZ]

We have four drawers between the stove and the sink - I put a wooden yard stick down thru the handles .. no more opening while we travel.

[RoadXYZ]

AprilShowers wrote:
I bought one of those over the door shoe holders to organize the small things we were always looking for.
I hung it on the inside of a closet door, and we store sunscreen, bug spray, flashlights, batteries, cell phone chargers, etc. It's been a great addition. You can find these in all shapes and sizes. If it doesn't fit just right, you can cut off a row of pouches and customize it.

We have one which I modified by making it only two rows and hung on the inside of the bathroom door .. our hair brushes, manicure set, etc. are in the pockets. Being plastic we can see what is in each pocket. Works for us.

[StanleyandIris]

The clock on the door thing is great! I also like that you used the other doors as walls for photo displays. Smart uses of vertical space most of us don't even think about.

Thanks,
Iris

[Jimfromvirginia]

crazyoldcoot wrote:
Thank you all for some cool ideas.I have posted this in other places but wanted to share an idea I had that only takes about 15 minutes to do. Everytime we got to the campsite our clock was on the floor! Soooooooo I picked up a clock movement and made a clock out of the cabinet door!Just open the door to change battery.

Love this idea. Will be working on this one real soon!

[janculb]

tvman44 wrote:
I got these from Camping World #26169 and they are cheaper.

However, with these you still have to take the S hooks out before you can roll up the awning. The others are velcro loops that roll up with the awning after you undo them to take the lights off.

[Jeanne_M]

paulb4333...that's a great idea. We did something similar but not as in depth as you. We also photographed parts we were replacing so we could see how the new item went back in.

For your sanity and to save all that time consuming work, please back up all your files and info if you haven't already. We had a major meltdown of our laptop 2 years ago and lost all info, not just what pertained to the RV...but all our banking info, addresses, recipes, itineraries, campground phone numbers, reservation numbers, ALL of that trip's photos..and many other things we needed.
Then if your computer crashes you're info is replaceable!

Thanks for your idea!

[nickelAF]

Made it!!!

[rolling_rhoda]

Our son has a habit of waking up as soon as he sees light... at 5 am.. so for the bunkhouse we bought some earth magnets ( 20 bucks for 60 pieces on ebay) and some black out cloth and sewed the magnets around the edges. we'll let the magnets hold the black out over the window and it's easy to remove to let the light in during the day. no velcro or anything left around the window.

Thank you! I was trying to figure out an easy solution. I didn't think of something that could be taken down so easily.

[paulb4333]

I keep my coach stored several miles away and it seems like I never have the info I need at home. So I've put together the following to help when I need to diagnose a problem, find a part number etc.

-Got PDF's of all manuals available. Store in a single directory on the laptop.

-Have the same directory linked to the iphone, so I have portable versions of all of my coach manuals.

-Photographed the coach from top to bottom, focusing on model number plates, pipe junctions, electrical connections etc.
-Pix of under the coach as well including air bags, shocks etc.
-Used a "sea snake" camera scope to see into hidden areas
-Pix of all faceplates for inverter, generator etc
-Pix of all the chassis and Serial number labels

-Renamed the pix to describe the area e.g. Genset1, Transmission


It's also helpful to establish a "baseline" for a part in case of future failure. You can then compare what it previously looked like.

This didn't take long and has been invaluable to research and such when not at the coach. I use the info all the time and it has save me lots of time.

Best to all,

Paul