Out with the sofa - In with the Bed

Okay we are talking about our 20 foot travel trailer here.  We have the short queen for my 6 foot+ husband, we have the bunk over the queen for me and we have the jack knife fold down sofa.  We use this trailer for approx. four months in Florida each year (working).  Well, I got pretty tired of the bunk bed (pretty narrow and it is the HOTTEST place in the trailer (not something I need or want).  So I switched to the jack knife sofa this past year...which placed me sleeping in the "v" of the sofa; it didn't really fold flat.  I tried stuffing towels in the middle to kind of flatten it out but after one year of doing that (really four months), I decided that I had earned a mod/modification. 

The new mattress to replace the sofa in 20 foot travel trailer.

David offered to take out the sofa and install a twin bed instead.  Didn't take me long to give that a big yes.  We priced around for mattresses and boy had those prices shot up.  I thought I could get one for $89 max but the real world price was $129.   It took David a couple of hours to do the job.  The bed lifts up for storage underneath just like the old sofa.  I added a memory foam and now I have a comfy place to sleep.  The added plus is that it is in direct line to the air conditioner; my old bunk had a wall blocking most air.  I am one happy girl!  We saved the sofa for the next owner down the road.



Oh, here is mr. fix it putting in new faucet in trailer.

Our model is demonstrating the
storage area underneath.

About those steps and jacks...

On our trailer we have manually operated steps ( bend down and pull them out); on our motorhome we have automatic ones.  With the motorhome, you can set them to stay out at the campground (a REALLY good idea) or to come out when you open the door from the outside (upon opening door they fling out...watch your shins)...all with the flick of a switch.

No, that is not a mat it is Labrador that still needs to be cleaned off...today.

Well the gravel/dusty/dirt road of Labrador and rain in the northeast plays havoc with the ease with which these necessities will operate.  It isn't good enough to do it once per year as we have found out.  We were driving down the road and noticed that they hadn't completely gone back in place...thus sticking out!  So put this on your regular maintenance list. A tube of white lithium grease comes with us so we can do it on the road.  There are also other products you can use for this...silicone did not work well.  Be generous, make sure you do ALL moving parts for smooth operation, work it in, and wipe off excess (unlike below).

We used white lithium grease effectively.

 

Ditto on the trailer jacks...water takes its toll on their willingness to operatore smoothly.

Cleaning your Rv Shower - scrub free!

We wipe down our shower in our motorhome and at home after each use.  A squeegee followed by hand towel does the trick.  It is done quickly as one can do it.  I've learned long ago that this is the way to go to make my life easy in the long run.  It is almost impossible to clean off years of mold/mildew without sniffy nasty chemicals (and they don't work that well).  This takes two minutes max and removes the moisture and soap scum.

The base part of your shower is another story.  The soap scum/dirt will build up over time make your shower look dirty and dull.  Ours happens to be a bathtub...I have visions of putting myself into a ball and basking in the tub...but what about the amount of water needed to fill it? 

The product of choice is Comet Bathroom Cleaner/Soap scum remover.  It doesn't wreak of bleach and smells acceptable.  I spray generously; this is not the time to be cheap.  You are trying to cover the whole surface.  I allow it to set for five to ten minutes while I go relax somewhere.  Then I wipe it down with rags, ptowels or a cloth which just takes a few minutes.  If you missed a spot or haven't done it in awhile...repeat.  I do not need to scrub or spend much time at all bent over the tub cleaning.  Watch your shower shine!

Note: I have used this on my shower walls as well even though the wiping kind of avoids the heavy soap scum build up...but over time it will haze without a shot of Comet Bathroom cleaner.


  Here is a picture of what it looks like:)

Another mod and accessory

David is over 6 feet tall and thus the queen corner bed is ONLY okay if he sleeps horizontally and that leaves me with practically no space.  We have corner beds in both trailer and class c.  However, with the class c, I assigned him the cab over bed.  At 5' wide x 8' long it was plenty long enough for him.  Our unit did not come with any kind of step to get up there so even with his long legs, he had to do gymnastics to get up there.  He wanted a step of some kind.  The other problem was that the dinette that below had a backrest on that side that wasn't supported that well...so Mr. Fix it rigged up an oak support with a little step on top.  So that is today's mod!


He added the oak backboard and little step.

Now he has something stable and long lasting to step on.
 

The other issue we needed to fix was that when we drive things like to shift around in the refrigerator.
The fix is spring bars to hold everything in its place...don't need a carton of milk flying out.  This must have little accessory is very adjustable so they will fit most all rv refrigerators.  A friend told us about them when we got our trailer; she had a bottle of milk fall out in her motorhome while travelling...not pretty.

Every rv needs spring bars!

 



Camping World's Detailing/really just the wash job

When we purchased our motorhome used (thanks Albert) it came with a FREE wash job at Camping World.  The wash part of the detailing was not able to be completed when Albert had taken Jayco to Camping World so they gave him a card good for a free wash in the spring.  We inherited that card when he sold it to us.

Wellllllllllll, after taking it through Labrador with all that dust flying around (don't forget to close your vents!), it really needed a wash job.  Normally, we would just do it but this complimentary offer was a wonderful thing!  An appointment was made and we dropped it off for the wash (10 minutes from home...whoopee).

So here is my review of the wash job.  Now I am not sure whether this was their "normal" wash job or not; they knew it was going to be free so maybe this had an influence on the quality.  I would rate it about a "C".  After I wash a vehicle it is cleaner than this.  David thinks they just used a powerwasher and whatever was left (except for the worst of the worst) was good enough.

I would like to hear from others who have had Camping World detailing done...specifically the exterior wash to see if I got the less than stellar job because it was free.  I was still glad, however, that I didn't have to do it...too much to do right now.

A couple of mods and fixes

In our motorhome, our poop pipe/stinky slinky has it own compartment with door.  Well, that latch on the door was in danger of letting slinky become a roadside wonder.  It was whimpy and I am sure I was going to find the door open and slinky gone one of these days.  So Mr. Fix It/David needed to get this fixed ASAP.  He was able to find a latch at Camping World and it didn't need a key (great...I do NOT need more keys to open compartments.)  The old one was plastic and the new one is a long lasting metal one that grips great.

Metal latch for slinky holder

You can see the Labrador dust inside slinky...a souvenir!



Shelf Lip on motorhome = no more falling objects!
 

Like all trailers/motorhomes, all the shelves in our camping vehicles came with no lip on the edges.  I broke one mug opening a cupboard after having driven for a day (things must have shifted) and I have gotten clunked in the head or avalanched quite a few times opening cupboards.  Now I know I should realized this is going to happen when we stop to camp again or get something out but I don't usually remember it.  So Mr. Fix It to the rescue.  He put a "lip" on each and every shelf in both our motorhome and our travel trailer.  Bless his soul...problem solved no more surprises coming down on me.

Medicine cabinet bars

Our medicine cabinet is small; smaller than the one in our travel trailer (but the sink is bigger and nice).  So ditto on things falling out of that big time everytime we stopped and opened it up for some reason.  Mr. Fix it to the rescue; he screwed up some thing poplar trim to keep things inside.

Under oven cabinet shelf

We carry a two burner electric hot plate/cook top with us for use at campgrounds (using their electric and not our propane).  Well, in our
travel trailer this fits into our oven.  It didn't fit in our motorhome oven.  Mr. Fix it made a quick shelf in the cabinet under the oven to hold this while we are traveling or if we are not using it.

Extend-A-Shower Expanding shower rod

This final mod was made before we got this motorhome by previous owner (thanks Albert!).  David had been talking about putting one of these shower curtain rods in our motorhome when we got one.  It gives the person more room to take their super quick/super fast shower.  This Extend-A-Shower Expanding Shower rod pushes back into the shower and out of the way when the shower is not in use.


That is all for today!


Join the Good Sam Club and just get over the $25.

When we bought our travel trailer (from Camping World) we were automatically enrolled for a free one-year membership to the Good Sam Club good for discounts at all Camping Worlds.  So when it expired, being a frugal girl, I couldn't get over spending the $25 to "join".  So for about 4 years we didn't belong.

This could be yours! Good for $25/mail in rebate!

Now that we currently have a 20 foot travel trailer and a 24 foot Class C we have revisited that decision.  I hemmed and hawed over this and finally decided that we could "save" $25 between the parts/repairs to the two units.  So we joined up! The other factor in this decision is that we now have a Camping World about ten minutes from our house; it was about 3.5 hours away from our home before last year.  It is so convenient to just buzz up there and get parts we needed to fix this or that.

What I hadn't realized was that with membership you also get a coupon good for a "Free Night of Camping" (which must be used within 6 months).  Wellllllllllllllll, that changed everything.  Certainly we can use this coupon within 6 months between our trip to Florida and our Wild West 2013 trip.  It works like this.   You stay in one of the bazillion Good Sam Rv Parks, pay for the campsite, and save your receipt.   Then you fill out the back and mail it in. Good Sam Club will send you a check for $25. Your stay must be valued for at least $25 and you will get a max of $25 back.

So for that $25 we get the $25 value of camping and a discount on things at any Camping World.

SUPERDUPER UPDATE:  Since joining we have received via the mail two coupons good for $25
OFF ANY PURCHASE.  The big, huge part???? NO MINIMUM purchase.  So we have purchased items that have been $32, $27 = SAVINGS big time.  Your results may vary....

Looking back at our trip to the Martime/Atlantic Provinces

Looking back this is what we would...

The money worked out great although we ended up taking too much out and had to exchange it.  But the exchange rate was better than it had been in awhile and we avoided fees using TD BANK. Scotia Bank is another one that might be useful to some people.

I am now more accustomed to EXTREMELY hilly roads and that our class C can handle them well...our brakes are good.  Didn't say I am over it.  Wouldn't do Cape Breton again because of those
Cliffside roads with impressive drop offs.  Glad we did it though and I am done with it.

I would probably free camp even more next time.

PROPANE!  Argh...this was an issue for us...getting propane fills in our class C.  St. John's had ONE place.  Gander had one place that was not operational at the time of our visit.  Soooooooo, I would keep on top of this more given that we are boondockers and need heat at the time of year we travel.  I would research other places to obtain it. I am guessing that Port Aux Basques or Corner Brook must both have places to fill up.

Spend more time on Fogo Island and go to Change Island even if we had to stay an extra night to get on the ferry (no reservations just wait in line).  When we stopped there (but didn't get off) the line was long and the ferry was mostly full from Fogo Island.  The ferry first stops at Fogo, then Change so you only get on in Change if there is room.  There were not many people at all getting off in Change Island.  I am not sure what weekends bring.  I do know that it is an event to leave Fogo and go shopping in Gander.  We saw cars/vehicles packed to the gills with items from their shopping trip.

I am still contemplating whether we would go to France (the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon that are French territories just off the southern coast of Newfoundland).  Two hour ferry ride and would require staying at a B&B or hotel...leaving class C in Newfoundland.

We moved most every day and next time I might slow it down a bit (but not too much as it is me and I like to move).

Would spend more time in the Acadian areas.

Load up on drinking water at Walmart....we drink a lot of water.  It was hard to find water you didn't have to boil.

More time in Sandbanks Provincial park...loved it there.  Loved the windswept beaches and enough hiking to do in park as well as beyond.

See more of Nova Scotia enroute and more of New Brunswick enroute.

Favorite areas besides Sandbanks, Cape Bonavista, New-Wes-Valley area, the barrens of the Avalon peninsula (but no hiking trails), fogo island, the Northern Peninsula ( you could feel the Viking influence), more port au port peninsula, more Codroy Valley, Burin peninsula, other areas in the north of  Newfoundland.

Would not reserve anything and go in MidMay again.

Research restaurants in NB, NS, and Newfoundland.  We hit too many places that served fish and chips or deep fryer food.  Tripadvisor.com is usually helpful here.  Although in May I might not find them open in Newfoundland.

This was a great first trip to Newfoundland and we hope to return.

Must have AP for Iphone or Ipad and about Ipads

David surprised me (kind of) with an Ipad for my birthday.  He is the techno-guy so I am thinking it was more for him.  As it turns out we both have embraced it.  He just may become and Apple guy yet!  The "kind of" surprise was that I was checking our bank balances online and found this charge.  I mentioned it to David wondering if our account had been compromised.  He confessed that it was a "surprise" birthday present that would be waiting for me at home.

He purchased our reconditioned Ipad from Gamestop.  http://www.gamestop.com/browse/tablets/ipad/systems?nav=13c4-ffff2407-1d6   Daughter had gotten one to help take some of the pressure of use off her MacBook.   Three hundred dollars and change got us the unit.  We love the map feature for when we are travelling and it is performing just fine considering it was reconditioned.

As we are now researching our Wild West 2013 trip, we discovered that Allstays has an AP for that...for all things rving. http://www.allstays.com/apps/  For $9.99 we purchased the "Camp and Rv"
application.  Now everything in the world is not on this ap but it is pleasantly comprehensive in what it offers: propane listings, campgrounds, overnight parking, koa's, national parks, public lands, walmarts with parking/without, low clearance areas, rv services, rv dumps, rest areas eastbound/westbound/northbound/southbound, road grades, runaway ramps (!!!!), camping world, cracker barrel (for those that will go there), truck stops, flying j, TA truck stops.  It will save me countless hours in preplanning some things.  I like lots of spontaneity but that is not always possible.

What more can we ask for...well worth the $9.99 we paid for it.  I am so happy to have found this little gem.

Insulating RV windows

Reflectix to insulate your windows against heat from the sun and cold season camping...and serve as room darkeners.

We had decided that with the trip the Atlantic/Maritime Provinces of Canada and our Wild West trips for 2013, we needed some added insulation for the windows and some daylight blocker for the bed areas (for the Canada part of the trip where daylight would be from around 4 am to 10:30 pm).  Generally speaking, if Donna sees light, it is time to get up!

Cut to size, add some self stick Velcro, poof you are done!

I like looking out windows but I knew this would save us some money on propane heat for this colder weather traveling.  We chose reflectix in the 48” x 10 feet…this size would fit most rv windows.

Reflectix is a stiff bubble wrap on steroids with reflective barriers on both sides. Just think of it as Silver curtains! We cut the Reflectix to size and used sticky back Velcro to adhere to the window frames…leaving a gap between window and Reflectix.  It was applied to the door window and to the two ceiling vents as well.  On the coldest nights, I was glad we had it in Canada.  With most of our nights in Canada spent boondocking, having this extra insulation to help retain our heat helped us to save some money AND it kept the light from streaming in at 4 am!!!

Close up of the self stick Velcro...the heavy duty stuff.

When the weather warms up, we will just remove and store them (except for maybe the sleeping areas). David hopes by my having the light blocked in the sleeping area, that I will be forced think it is not light out yet...thereby delaying when I get up (good luck with that...getting up early it is
inborn).

I didn't do anything about the entry door and I could feel cold air streaming in through the cracks.  Let's face it recreational vehicles are just very poorly insulated.  Even when we run the propane heat, it won't stay heated for that long if we turn it off. I have some ideas what to do with the screen door...not sure about the air infiltrating the cracks though.

Storage note:  If you put a square of Velcro (the opposite of what you are trying to stick it to) in a closet, you can just stick them inside your closets for storage.  They won't go anywhere...no bulky rolling, etc.

Frugal purchase tip:  share a roll with a friend providing both your units are not huge.