Tips and Tricks Advice Needed

[flumpydog]

So we are heading out tomorrow for our first week camping in our new travel trailer, and would like to hear what others do with some of these minor items.

In the bathroom, the toilet paper holder is not mounted, the dealer said they leave this to the choice of the buyer, as everyone likes them in a different spot, while some do not like to mount them at all. There is also nothing in place for toothbrushes or soap. So we have a little disposable pump for hand soap, but what do others do here for their toilet paper, toothbrushes, shower soaps?

Same goes in the kitchen, since counter space is at a premium, do others mount a paper towel holder somewhere? Last thing I want to do, is put holes in the walls or stuff. I assume products from places like 3M will work wonders for attaching stuff like this and will not have any issues? Are these things actually strong enough to hold up those soap dispensers in the shower, that have the three different sections?

Speaking of showers, do people usually use their showers? I guess we will find out this week, just how many showers in a rows we can get away with lol, needless to say I will go first

With the fridge, do you find things stay in place pretty good, or should we be looking at those bars you can put in, to hold things in place?

For those of you with an outside kitchen, do you find it is ok to travel with it full of drinks? The fridge does not have a locking door, so I am not sure if I will find the door spring open while we are travelling.

In the cupboards, is it a good thing to have those rubber type liners in the bottom, to put the plates, bowls and such on, to keep things from sliding around?

Do people use the water from the fresh water storage tank for cooking, or do you mainly restrict it for washing up, bathroom stuff, etc? I would assume it is not wise to use it for drinking.

Now this may sound silly, but we are newbies here lol. When using the air conditioning or furnace, do people generally leave their roof vents open or do you play this by ear? We have the maxairr II covers on all our vents, so we should stay dry when it rains.

Are there things we should carry with us when travelling, certain tools, spare bulbs & fuses (I do have these), or anything else to cover a problem that might arise?

If anyone has any other tidbits they would like to share, that would be great.

All the best,
Chuck
p.s. I hope this is the correct forum for this post

[revrnd]

Chuck, I just have my small bathroom stuff in the medicine cabinet. There is a cupholder for a plastic for rinsing when brushing my teeth.

The cabinets in my Rockwood have a "double bottom". I screwed a plastic paper towel holder above the sink.

I use the water from my fresh water tank. There is a process "sanitizing" for treating your water system before use. Some folks install a Brita-type filter on the tap for cooking and/or drinking.

If you haven't already seen these threads, check them out.

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...orld-7923.html

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...list-7786.html

[ladywendolyn]

We hang a plastic shoe organiser from walmart on the bathroom door. This helps with many items without damaging anything.

[flumpydog]

Thanks for the info and links, greatly appreciated. I would have never thought of the stove vent flap for the checklist and that it could actually fall off or break if not secured shut.

If I may ask, what campground was that pic of your trailer taken at?

All the best,
Chuck

[flumpydog]

Many thanks! My wife will love that
At this rate, I will not get much sleep tonight lol, too excited about our first trip out tomorrow.

[cardinal4fun]

The bathroom stuff I think is the hardest to find a home. As for toilet paper the dealer is right after sitting awhile you will find a good spot. The holders do not weight anything so holes in the walls are not a problem use small screws. Get one of the plastic soap holders on a rope for the shower

Our paper towel holder is mounted to the underside of the cabinet, as there never seemes to be enough counter space that works.

Yes we use our shower, you will find water conservation a must. If your sprayer does not have a button to turn the water off get one. We water down turn water off to soap up and then rinse. Have always had hot water.

The bars in the fridge help.. you will learn that after setting up camp the first time opening the doors will be a slow and cautious process.

The non slip rubber liners help for sure, however they do not do much for glasses or cups. I had to put a lip on the upper shelf to stop those items from falling off while traveling

If we do not have water hookup and have to use the holding tank water, we use it for everything. To me the important thing is to sanitize fresh water tank, do not hold water in it if not needed. This is becoming more of a personnel thing but I am one not to use bottled water.

The air vents is up to you, for me it depends how hot and humid it is. Most of the time I leave them closed

You will find what you need to carry. As I tell my wife who wants to carry everything possible. We are not that fare away from a store. If we need something we will go get it. That gives her another reason to shop.

Most important go and enjoy your unit and camping the rest will come. And never stop asking questions.

[NWJeeper]

We have found that 3M double back tape (or any for that matter) has never worked all that well in our RVs. We attached our paper towel holder with screws under one of the overhead cabinets above the sink.

Yes we use our shower, we NEVER use a campground shower, breeding grounds for germs they are, and inconvienient.

Yes we use our on board water supply for everything. There is no issue with drinking the water in the tank. At every fill I use the recomended amount of Taste Pure in the tank and it is available at most Walmart stores. There are some RVrs you will talk to who are absolutely paranoid without reason to use their onboard water for drinking. I have to say it would render the in-door water dispenser and the ice maker in the refrigerator useless if we didn't.

We always use the rubber "non skid" in our cabinets to keep things from getting out of hand. And I do mean all our cabinets.

Leaving your roof vents open while running either the AC or the furnace would kind of defeat the purpose. You wouldn't leave your windows open at home with the furnace running would you? RV furnaces get their combustion air and exhaust it to and from the outside, there is no need to keep vents open. Radiant propane heaters are another issue and I WILL NOT have one in my RV. The byproduct of propane combustion is water. Radiant heaters release a LOT of water and if you don't have enough venting you get cascading waterfalls running down your windows and walls. Not good. Again, keeping vents open to heat doesn't make sense to me.

As for stuff to carry with you, yes, fuses and bulbs should always be in the RV. The amount of tools to carry depends on how handy you are. As we do a lot of off-road Jeepn' I have enough tools and parts to completely rebuild an axle and troubleshoot just about any problem, mechanical or electrical, but that's just me.

You will learn a lot as you go, it's part of the RVing lifestyle. I still learn from my fellow RVrs all the time.

[revrnd]

Originally Posted by flumpydog

If I may ask, what campground was that pic of your trailer taken at?

All the best,
Chuck

Glad to help. That's the Mew Lake CG in Algonquin Prov' Park last June.

[Iggy]

Toilet paper holder from 98 cents store.
Suction cup to shower glass enclosure.

[mjones12]

Originally Posted by NWJeeper

We have found that 3M double back tape (or any for that matter) has never worked all that well in our RVs. We attached our paper towel holder with screws under one of the overhead cabinets above the sink.

Yes we use our shower, we NEVER use a campground shower, breeding grounds for germs they are, and inconvienient.

Yes we use our on board water supply for everything. There is no issue with drinking the water in the tank. At every fill I use the recomended amount of Taste Pure in the tank and it is available at most Walmart stores. There are some RVrs you will talk to who are absolutely paranoid without reason to use their onboard water for drinking. I have to say it would render the in-door water dispenser and the ice maker in the refrigerator useless if we didn't.

We always use the rubber "non skid" in our cabinets to keep things from getting out of hand. And I do mean all our cabinets.

Leaving your roof vents open while running either the AC or the furnace would kind of defeat the purpose. You wouldn't leave your windows open at home with the furnace running would you? RV furnaces get their combustion air and exhaust it to and from the outside, there is no need to keep vents open. Radiant propane heaters are another issue and I WILL NOT have one in my RV. The byproduct of propane combustion is water. Radiant heaters release a LOT of water and if you don't have enough venting you get cascading waterfalls running down your windows and walls. Not good. Again, keeping vents open to heat doesn't make sense to me.

As for stuff to carry with you, yes, fuses and bulbs should always be in the RV. The amount of tools to carry depends on how handy you are. As we do a lot of off-road Jeepn' I have enough tools and parts to completely rebuild an axle and troubleshoot just about any problem, mechanical or electrical, but that's just me.

You will learn a lot as you go, it's part of the RVing lifestyle. I still learn from my fellow RVrs all the time.

Jeeper: You mentioned radiant propane heaters. What about the electric cube heaters? Do they pump as much moisture into the air? Thanks.

[NWJeeper]

Originally Posted by mjones12

Jeeper: You mentioned radiant propane heaters. What about the electric cube heaters? Do they pump as much moisture into the air? Thanks.

No, electric heaters are fine. Water is the byproduct of the LP Gas combustion in the radiant heaters. My dad has an Olympian wall mount heater in his '85 Chieftain. I had borrowed it for elk camp one year and thought I would be able to save on power by using the radiant gas heater, wow what a mistake. Water was running down the walls and it soaked our bedding, what a mess. Never again and not in MY rig. I know some people swear by them but you have to keep windows or vents open so that the moisture can escape, just what I want to do when it's 39 degrees outside, open windows and vents. No thanks.

[revrnd]

Looking @ the pics of the new Cardinal 5er elsewhere, I spotted something you should think of getting, tire covers. They'll reduce the damage that the UV rays will cause to the sidewalls.

[flumpydog]

Thanks again for all the great tips! I will start another thread on the results of our first week camping in the new trailer As for the roof vents being open, I only asked that as I heard a lot of people talk about combating humidity in the trailer, so I was not sure if that helped or was needed when using the AC or heating.
All the best,
Chuck

[Mowat]

I swear by these...

Dri-Z-Air - Item - Camping World

[flumpydog]

Originally Posted by Mowat

I swear by these...

Dri-Z-Air - Item - Camping World

How does this work exactly? Do you leave it up all the time, or just hang it up when you are not using the trailer? Looks like a good product, and thanks

[Mr. Black]

I use it all winter long. Put it away during the summer months.

At least once a month I have to empty the tray which holds about a pint of water.

It's a great product.

[Mowat]

I use it year round even when we are in it. I have 3 of them now (41'). Bathroom/frontroom, kitchen and back room. Just empty them when they are full and keep the stuff in em. They do a good job pulling th mostiure out and they pull out the odors to!!