Happy Holidays! - Yes, I Know It's A Bit Early!

Better Weather!

    We're all gearing up here for a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and even a Joyous Kwanzaa. I just wanted to let everyone know my wishes extend to my entire extended RV family. Writing these articles each week, has been one of the truly enjoyable things I get to do. Many of you have expressed thanks for the information contained in them. For that, I thank you heartily. Being in the Northeastern US and being an avid RV'er can be pretty tough around the holidays. You get to see your RV under cover and snow on the ground. Quite a bummer. I get to plan for next season...that's OK. But the desire to travel, to be on the road is very strong.

OK, enough whining! In the coming year...I'm really going to make a concerted effort to get out and meet more RV'ers.

I'll bet there are quite a few of us here in the Northeast. All of us wishing we could be on the road again...sooner. Hmmm....maybe, after I find some of these folks, we could all get together over the winter and plan for the next season. Sharing ideas, having fun and generally goofing around isn't out of the question!
Once in a while I see some posts on RV forums from folks who are in the Northeast. Sometimes I respond either publicly or privately...usually, no response. Maybe this article will spur some of them to "come out of the woodwork!"

In other news, I've found all the fans I need to update both the bathroom 6" circular one and the one in the range hood. Stay tuned, if I can find an easy way to heat the inside of my covered RV, I will at least make an attempt to get some projects done! I know...use an electric heater....OK I'll see if my Electric Fireplace will heat up the whole RV...it will be a great experiment. With the cover on and all the windows blocked with my mylar/bubble covers...it's pretty dark and cozy in there. Add the fireplace and it could be a romantic place. Hmmmm any ideas who I should share that with?

Merry Christmas! Hope Santa and the Elves bring you lots of great RV stuff!

Be Seeing You, Down The Road...

Rich "The Wanderman"
www.thewanderman.com

Ugh. It's Officially NOT RV Season In The NorthEast. It's Planning Time!

    How Depressing. We just had our first big snowstorm in New York, 6-8 inches where my RV is parked. You know it's depressing to look at your RV, under a cover (or Not!) covered in snow and ice. Ho Hum. Even with the Christmas holiday rapidly approaching, I wish I could be out on the road taking one of my "snap" trips to anyplace. A quick getaway to chase the blues away. OK...enough whining. The one thing I CAN do in the dreary off season is plan! New modifications, improvements and trips for next season. After all it's only about 4 months away.

Just A Quick Look Inside

I've got a list of modifications that have been pending for a while. Some because the technology simply isn't available yet. (eg., Lithium Batteries) and some because they drifted father down the list because of repairs that took precedence. Now they're back! 

• Replace House batteries with Lithium Phosphate batteries (LiFePO3) higher storage capacity
• Build Solar thermal hot water supply
• Add Remote switch for 12V porch light
• Replace Bathroom 6" Circular Vent Fan with Lower Amp draw, equal or higher CFM
• Replace Range hood fan with Lower Amp draw, equal or higher CFM

These are just a few examples. If, at any time, you have some suggestions for modifications, improvements, even products to try out, do not hesitate to comment!

Trip planning is another yearly winter project. I have several different types of trips I can go on during our RV season. There's the "Bounce Trip," that's the one where I can sneak away on a Friday evening and return on a Sunday evening. I try and arrive at the destination on Friday late and have at least 2 full nights parked. Then travel back on Sunday mid-morning. Since a long drive isn't all that exciting and it always feels a bit rushed, I try and limit myself to under 4 hours travel time. So that gives me a rough radius of 200 miles. This year I found lots of great places to escape to that were 200 miles or less away! (Vermont, Belleayre, etc.) Typically these are boondocking locations so setup and packing up really take no time at all. Park, pull the blinds you want closed, open a few windows and the roof vents and you're done! Simplicity and ease. More time to relax and rejuvenate. Isn't that what RVing is all about?

Then there is the 4 1/2 day weekend trip. I leave Thursday late afternoon (only if I have Friday Off!) and come back Monday morning (or more likely Sunday late night, leaving for work Early AM on Monday) Since I could have a full 8 hour travel day for these trips, my range is significantly increased. I can comfortably go 400+ miles...opening up MANY interesting places to visit. Since my RV is set up to be completely self-sufficient (power, water, propane) for a minimum of 10 days, I am always ready to get on one of these trips. Sadly, I rarely get that Friday off! Since it's so rare, I like to have a few preplanned destinations and routes ready to go at a moment's notice.

I really don't ever get a 2-week vacation like some folks, so extended trips are out until I can figure out a way to be on the road AND work. This will necessitate retiring from at least ONE of my jobs! It's a wonderful dream, but the companies I receive bills from still like to be paid. I can always dream....and plan!

Be Seeing You...Down The Road,

Rich "The Wanderman"
www.thewanderman.com

Shower Squeegee Storage

    A few months ago, I found a wonderful little squeegee to use after a shower to remove the bulk of excess water from the sides of the shower stall. Works great! No more sopping wet towels! The problem was finding a place to store the oddly shaped squeegee. Originally I had it stashed in the cabinet above my Lavatory sink. Worked OK, but you couldn't reach it from the shower and you had to remember to bring it in with you to start with. I have to admit, I am "memory challenged." I may be a sufferer of C.R.S. or perhaps the advanced for C.R.A.F.T. Sad really. They say short term memory is the SECOND thing to go...I cannot remember the First! My problems aside, I began to look at empty spaces I had available to store this cool little squeegee. Shouldn't be too hard to locate a spot in the shower, right?

There had to be a better way. There was, I found an elegant...well usable solution.

Some Of The 3M Hooks Available

3M makes these semi-permanent, removable without marring the surface, hooks in a variety of sizes and colors. The idea is; you remove the backing paper, place the hook where you want it to stick and press it down. When you want to remove it, there is a small tab at the bottom that when pulled firmly releases the adhesive and the hooks comes off. It works on a variety of surfaces and I can attest on a fiberglass shower enclosure there was no residue when it was removed. Why did I remove one I just put on? Easy, I put it in the wrong place. Remember the adage, "measure twice, cut once?" I didn't. Since I needed two of them to hang the squeegee securely, they had to be the right distance apart.

They weren't. I'm beginning to get used to false starts and re-do's!

Well once I had the measurements correct and the placement wasn't in the way of a nice shower, I was happy. The squeegee lives IN the shower and doesn't use up any space I was using at all! A quick (well sort of!) and elegant solution. RV'ers,especially ones with smaller "storage challenged" rigs, will always be happy with using space that wasn't being used for anything at all! After all, it's like getting something for nothing!


Be Seeing You...Down The Road,

Rich "The Wanderman"
www.thewanderman.com