Three Things to Have for Winter Camping (or Full-Timing)

Winter Things I Love in My RV!

If you're going to camp in the winter - or if you're full time, and not even in a really cold area, here are 3 things that will be really helpful this winter. (Yes, that is a photo of my old RV in the winter in Missouri in 1997 - apparently, I've been trying to get full-time for many years!)

These would make great Christmas gifts!

Random Crap Memory Box - Lightweight - Inexpensive - Easy DIY Craft + Free Printable

I originally made a memory box out of plywood that was quite elaborate (eventually I'll write up the instructions). Now that we live in our RV full time, weight is always an issue. My plywood memory box needs to be replaced with a lighter weight version.

I surfed the net and looked for some ideas. Cute ones like "Making Memories" generic ones like "Ticket Box" Smaltzy ones like "Love lives here" but none of them were right. 

Then I remembered seeing a cigar trinket box that said "Random Crap from here and there" - Perfect! 

This one is easy to make and costs $2. Well, plus the hot glue if you don't have it already. But, being a crafter, I'm sure you have it! Read on for full instructions! 

How to Make an Ant-Proof Honey Dispenser Stand

ANTS! God's little creatures! wonderful, energetic, amazing, resourceful ANTS -



I just got the best honey dispenser. It opens on the bottom so you never have to wait for the honey to get to the opening.

It is made of glass with a silicone stopper. The "chrome" is plastic, because honey interacts with metals.  I have microwaved it for short periods to soften the honey. I'm really happy with this .... except for the sneaky ants!


I didn't realize the ants could get in the top!  This video is BEFORE I made the ant-proof stand.

So I came up with a way to make it ant-proof. Read on to find out how - 

Type A Reminders Business Cards Inspiration FREE Printable Download

See the whole set on Etsy

Read on for a free printable download

Make a Padded Sewing Machine Travel Cover and a GREAT TOOL for Turning Strips

If I can't take my sewing machine I'm not going! Even though my husband and I live full-time in a tiny 19' travel trailer (RV ha!) I always bring my sewing machine - it has come in very handy - from repairing clothes torn on hikes, to sewing a new kayak sail when we almost got washed out to sea.

These are instructions to make a sewing machine cover using heavy craft or packing foam. If you want to use quilt batting, you do it almost the same. I am in the process of writing up those instructions.

This is a fairly easy project, but it's a little fiddly.

You will need about a yard of fabric, and some padding. You need basic knowledge of sewing, but it's not a difficult project. Read on for a full tutorial.

Don't Kick the Bucket! Make an Easy DIY No-Spill Water Dish for Your Pet

I love having my dog with us while we travel. What I don't love is kicking the water bowl and spilling water all over the place every day. 

I came up with a way to make a no-spill pet water container for about $1.50

Want to see how?

DIY Storm Door for Your Camper

I love to look out the big door on our camper. However, many times, it's too hot, or too cold to have just the screen door. 

Wouldn't it be nice to have a storm door?  I've heard of people using plexiglass to make a storm door. I don't have the room to store it, and I don't want to have it on all the time. I came up with a really flexible option for a storm door.

All you need is some clear vinyl and some sticky back velcro. 

How to Replace Your RV Electrical Plug

If your plug has gotten damaged in some way, don't throw your whole cord out. It's easy to replace a damaged end on your RV electrical cord.

I replaced mine because it was separating between the plug and the wire.

The replacement plug comes with full instructions, but I took some photos of the process while I did it.

If you haven't worked with anything like this before, it's scary. But it's really simple :)  Watch!

Holiday Decor that Doesn't Take Up Space!

If you live in an RV or camper or even just camp a lot, you know how hard it is to try to store and carry holiday decor. This week's post is a special Holiday article by a guest author with a great idea for space-saving Holiday decor! This idea is great no matter where you live - easy holiday decor!



(Don't worry, if you don't sew or don't have your machine with you, I have a solution at the end of the post)

Here's Karis to tell you how she did it -

Life Doesn't Have to be Perfect to be Wonderful! Free Printable and Silhouette Cut File

Free Printable and
Silhouette Cut File

I made this file earlier this year because I was so depressed about my new Grand Design XLS 19RLE camper. We had sold our house and moved in full time, only to find out that it had a horrible leak. After waiting for weeks to get into the repair shop, they DIDN'T FIX IT. They pulled the window out and did a poor job of putting it back, but the wall still leaked. It turned out that it was the entire seam that runs along the wall between the side and the floor. 

I fixed it myself.

Solve the Puzzle of Traveling with 1500 Pieces!

We love to do puzzles when it's rainy or too cold to go outside. Sometimes even when it too hot to go out! I made a puzzle system that costs a total of about $5 and works for just about any size puzzle.

I've tried all kinds of ways to keep the puzzle together while we travel. 

I searched Amazon for puzzle keepers. They have keepers like this

and keepers like this:

I've tried rolling it up like this - not a fan!! Also, assembling a puzzle on a sheet of felt is an exercise in frustration!

And they all cost quite a bit more than I want to spend. So, I made my own frugal version that works great! Read on to see exactly how I did it. 

Grab N Go Soft Tissue Holder Two Ways! 15 Minute Simple Sewing Project

This tissue holder is perfect for your car, rv, or dorm room. Any place you need tissues but don't want a big box. You can divide a large box of tissues up between 2-3 of these.

Just what you need - a simple, quick tissue holder and two ways to make it.

For some reason, I always try to make things complicated. The last tissue holder I made took me days! 

This one was so quick and simple, I doubt it took more than 15 minutes. Let me show you how

Love Your RV Shower - Low-Cost Luxury Mod - Upscale Shower for Pennies!

If you spend any time in your RV you should be taking advantage of the wonderful bathroom facilities that are clean, close and should be comfortable. 

What's that you say? You can't take a shower for more than 3 minutes before you run out of hot water? It takes you half that time to get the temperature right and by the time you get in the shower, you're running out of hot water and have to start adjusting the faucet again?!

You try to make it work by turning off the water in between soaping and rinsing (navy shower). This entails standing naked and shivering while you soap up and wash your head?

Doesn't sound like luxury to me!

Pin it for later!

What if I told you that for under $40 you would never have to adjust the water temperature again? and for another $25 you'd have enough water to shower for half an hour on a 6 gallon hot water tank?

Interested? Keep reading!

How I Beat the Heat with DIY Magnetic Solar Screens on My RV / Camper / Trailer

Beat the heat! How I built solar screens on my RV windows.

We've been in cooler regions of the United States this summer, so heat wasn't a problem -- but we had to come back to central Texas this month! Heat over 100 degrees! 

I made really nice adjustable, removable fabric awnings for my previous camper.
(If you want to know how, click here) 

I liked them a lot, and they are super cute, but they have a couple drawbacks. If it gets really windy in the middle of the night, they will bang on the camper. Sometimes loudly enough that you have to get out of your cozy bed and put them away.  It took a lot of time to make the awnings - making the solar shades take almost no time at all!

So, I came up with the idea of solar screen covers for the windows. There are a lot of advantages.  There is a video at the end of this article that shows how stable they are in a windstorm.

• They block up to 90% of the sun's heat.  
• Unlike the silver stuff, you can see through your windows and don't feel like you're living in a cave.  
• They are easy to put up and take down. 
• You don't have to remove them if it rains or is windy. 
• You can open and close all your windows, including the emergency window without removing them.
• You can have airflow through the trailer and still block the heat

Best of all YOU CAN SEE OUTSIDE!

The screens are held up with magnets and are easy to install and remove without a ladder. Interested? Read on to see how I did it!

Note: all my affiliate links will generate money for your favorite charity! They are all set to go to smile.amazon.com

Easiest Way to Remove Tartar from Your Dog's Teeth - Try this Before Doggie Dentist! Don't Put Your Dog Through The Trauma of Dental Cleaning

I have always had large dogs, who don't seem to have many problems with their teeth. I now have a small dog, Emily, who is about 6 years old. Apparently, small dogs have a lot of trouble with tartar build-up. Her breath became so horrible, that I realized she had dental problems. After doing some research, I realized that if I took her to the doggie dentist, they would PUT HER TO SLEEP to clean her teeth! Anesthesia is dangerous so I thought I would try cleaning her teeth myself before subjecting her to the vet. I really had to do something, her teeth were so bad!

Make a FREE Sturdy Cone Thread Holder that Folds for Travel

Actually, it doesn't have to be a travel holder, I use it at home all the time. It folds up very compactly for travel, though.

By the way if you need a reliable, sewing machine that makes great buttonholes, I recommend this one - I love it!

Even though it appears to be made from plastic it sews GREAT and handles everything I want to sew - from lightweight polyester to heavy denim

I use cone thread for a lot of sewing. I was looking online at a neat holder like this one

suddenly it struck me -  I have something similar  .... You know those CD/DVD stackers? well, I thought - "hmm, that would make a good thread holder".  Five minutes and a piece of wire later, I had a nifty free thread holder.

Protect Your Glass Doors

I was on a forum and someone was showing a complicated way they pad all their glassware and dishes before moving the trailer. Hah! I thought to myself, I am more clever than that! I don't have to do anything before we move because everything is arranged nicely in the shelves and stays put!  

Then I saw a conversation about the damage to the glass doors from the items rubbing on them during travel. Hmmm, this might be an issue. Sure enough, when I opened the cabinets, I could see a couple small areas where the dishes had rubbed on the glass and damaged some of the frosted pattern. I have no idea whether the frost is really etched or just a sprayed on finish. It really doesn't matter at this point, either way, there's damage.

Well.... do I want to spend an hour getting my camper ready to move every time we change location? That's an easy question - NO - NO I DO NOT - I spend a lot of time and effort designing storage systems so that we pretty much lift anchor and sail away without a lot of prep (to mangle a metaphor or two)

So, what to do?

Stop the Draft From Coming in Through the Exhaust Vent

The wind is really whipping out here. I like to leave my exterior vent flap open so that when I use the stove I do not have to go out to open it or close it after dark, or in the rain, or when it's cold, or when it's hot, You get the idea. There is a lot of cold draft coming in through the exhaust vent today. I have noticed that in the summer, hot air comes through it too.  Actually, in Texas the wind is so strong that it sometimes comes through the vent even when the outside cover is closed.

Being the 'crafty' sort, I pulled out my sewing machine and fabric and started to make a cover for the vent. Suddenly it struck me - there's a MUCH simpler way! It works better too!

Want to know what it is?

Tips for Installing a Slim Shade in Your RV - I Can See Clearly Now!

I just discovered this great replacement window for an RV or Trailer!  I've always hated the opaque window in the door. I saw this window and had to get it!

If you have a window with no visible screws on the interior trim, I have a way to remove it easily with no damage. 

There are also some hints I've discovered to make the installation a LOT easier, including how to remove an RV or Trailer window that has no screws. I thought I'd share them here. Hope they're helpful!

DIY Window Bird Feeder for Our Fine Feathered Friends!

This is going to make you smack your forehead.

I was sitting in my new travel trailer that has a lot of windows, watching the birds and wishing I had a window bird feeder. So, I designed and built a nice wooden one, based on one I had seen years ago. It's nice, but it takes time, materials and woodworking skills to make it.  It also takes up a lot of room in my tiny house. 

One day as I was walking through Dollar Tree, I saw something . . . 

Don't Let the Screen Door Hit You ...

We recently moved from our wonderful little Fun Finder 189FBR to a beautiful new Grand Design Imagine XLS 19RLE. It's about 4 feet longer than the Fun Finder, but it's amazing how much they've managed to fit into the space! And best of all, it has REAR WINDOWS! Beautiful rear windows!

 I don't want to say we 'upgraded' to the Grand Design because our Fun Finder was an amazing camper and we had wonderful times! But we are now full-time in under 20' and I wanted a couple things - windows in the rear! The ability for my husband to stand up everywhere in the camper, and a bigger bathroom. This camper has all this and more.  But enough about my new camping trailer! This post is to share a mod I did to my screen door to make it more user friendly.

Ok, yeah, I know I should do a better job with photos, but hey, I just wanted to share this with you before it starts raining :)

Level Up!! Two Great Products to Make Setting Up Your Trailer / Fifth Wheel / RV A Lot Easier!

Since we are now full-time, I thought we should splurge and get a few things to make our life easier! Our trailer does not have automatic levelers. We read about Anderson Levelers and The LevelMatePRO on a number of blogs and comments, so we have just ordered these! They are the closest thing to having an automatic level system!

.. .

.These things will make setting up so simple - here's how!

How to Sew an RV / Trailer Spare Tire Cover for less than $10 Tutorial

It has been a long year already. We sold our 3,000 s.f. house in November, sold some stuff and packed up everything else and put it in storage, bought a brand new Grand Design Imagine 19RLE travel trailer, drove to California (without the trailer) to visit our kids & their families, came back, tried to take some trips in the Imagine. There were quite a few, mostly small, problems! So we have been tied down, not wanting to go far from the dealer until we get the problems fixed. I am so disappointed - I was really impressed by the Grand Design reputation, but I think our trailer was assembled by squirrels.  The design and details of the trailer are AMAZING! I now have large windows on all sides in the back of the trailer. I can't wait to get to a park and have a great view! Some day we will be on the road!! Really! I believe this! It will happen!

In the interim, while we are 'yard-bound' I have done a few mods to the trailer already. I'll share them soon, but right now I want to show you how to make a really nice, very durable and inexpensive tire cover for the spare tire on your rv or trailer.

Walmart sells really nice heavy, waterproof, exterior fabric that looks like canvas. It comes in quite a few colors, I chose gray for mine. I've used it for a lot of things - carriers for beach chairs, covers for totes to waterproof them. It's fairly easy to sew, and holds up well.

The tire cover is SIMPLE! Don't be intimidated, it's really a quick and easy job. 

Wacky Pup Fun Finder X 189FBR for sale :(

Well, the time has come ... after some GREAT adventures and good times, we're parting with our Fun Finder X 189FBR. We have sold our house and are going full time. We decided to get a little larger one (23.5' instead of 18')

So, if you're interested, contact me, and hopefully we can work something out.

Seriously, we love this camper, it makes us sad to leave it :)

This camper has TONS of storage! Unbelievable storage!

Dual Axle
Outside Shower
New Blauplunkt Exterior Speakers
Front Window That Opens! With Rock Guard
Full Pass Through Storage
Trail-Air Suspension System
6 Gallon Dsi Electric/Gas Water Heater With Switch Inside Living Area
Large Cooking Area With Exhaust Fan
Dedicated Dog Feeding Area
Black Tank Hose Storage Two Compartments
Microwave
Large Pull-Out Spice Rack
Water Pump And Potable Water Storage For Dry Camping
E-Z Lube Axles
Dual 15-Inch Alloy Wheels
Aluminum Framing
Laminated, Gel-Coated Walls
I-Beam Frame With Corner Jacks
EDPM Rubber Roof
Carries 40 Pounds Of Lp
3-Stage Charger/Converter,
16k BTU Electric Ignition Furnace
Shur-Flo Water Pump With E-Z Wintering Kit
Large 2-Door Dometic Refrigerator/Freezer (keeps ice cream!)
Duo-Therm Brisk-Air AC

It is ready to go with all systems and appliance functional and operational. 

INTERIOR:

Good Tires

Newly sealed. 

Roof coated with Henry's Tropi-Cool last summer 

All LED Lighting

Replaced all window blinds with light-blocking, washable curtains.

COUCH: 

Truly comfortable couch with springs!

Four large storage drawers. 

Washable Slipcovers on all cushions. 

Removable Washable Cushions with separate matching slip covers

(this is the color, not the patterns shown in other photos)

Rolling Storage Trolley with Removable Serving Tray.

Individual Snack/Laptop Tables

Or Dining Table

Side Arm Snack Table 

Original floorplan - vs - New Couch & Storage Trolley floorplan

BEDROOM:

Extra storage over the bed. 

60" by 80" full size queen size memory foam mattress.

FULL DRY BATHROOM

Separate Shower controls

Six Arm Swing Out Towel/Laundry Rack

Extra-Large Mirrored Corner Cabinet. 

Hidden toilet paper storage. 

Separate shower controls. 

KITCHEN:

Residential height stainless steel kitchen sink with storage drawers. 

Very Large additional storage drawer (20"x24")

Sliding spice rack 

Pull out counter 

Room for a dishwasher
or induction stove top (possibly

included)

 

room for a dishwasher! (negotiable)

STORAGE:

Automatically latching cabinet for laptops & peripherals

Shelving accessible from wardrobe or bathroom

Wardrobe

Room for washing machine with drain or tons of clothing storage.

Sewer Line storage

Handy Black Hose Storage (2 compartments)

Comes with brand new 32" TV (24" pictured)

If the price is right, I'll even include the removable custom window awnings.

We haven't had many issues, I replaced the ac/dc converter a few years ago. I replaced the front window with one that opens and it leaks a little bit randomly. It goes for months without leaking, and if you spent some time with it I think you could figure out how to fix it. It's because it opens (great for a nice breeze) and it's on a slanted wall.

Last time I was on the roof, I put my knee through the bathroom skylight. I patched up the skylight temporarily and it doesn't leak but I will include the brand new one that I bought to replace it.