Small Space Living

[Rich Jenkins]

I think I've had three Petzl headlamps in the last 15 years. They all still work. I don't leave the batteries in if I'm going to put them in storage.

I learned that after taking one out after a couple years. I cleaned out the insides and emery papered the contacts. Worked fine.

I've never had any issue with them 'coming on' inside a backpack, including many Scout weekends as well as a 68 mile trek at Philmont in 2010.

We always suggested Petzl headlamps for the boys as a good suggestion for hiking. As far as I can recollect no one had any issues with them, either. They just seem to work.

[AIRHEDS]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

How funny - it worked! It's a holiday, so the trash men are running late. With moments to spare I dumped out my can and retrieved this baby, following instructions as generously provided.
... Now, if only it were waterproof... but at least it works until I find one that is. Thank you!

InterBlog, I'm so happy that you took time to retrieve your light from the trash to clean it as I described. You'll have a light you love if you keep replacing the batteries with fresh ones. I've had wonderful results with bunny drummers... I'm starting a new thread on batteries momentarily...

Take care,
Rich

[Lily&Me]

For anyone who has bought the Zevro wall mount canisters...see post #793 et al...I have found that there is enough movement of these from the sway of the Interstate to pull one of the corners of the Velcro that mounts to the wall loose.

It occurred to me to get some of those round, wall mount, rubber door stops, the kind with the peel and stick back, and put them behind the canisters on the wall.

They are perfect, and reduce movement to almost zero...kind of like bumpers for the canisters.


Maggie

[Lily&Me]

The rubber door stops are the perfect depth to prevent movement of the canisters.

[InterBlog]

I don't know if this is the best intervention on the issue of corroding spare batteries, but hey, I'm experimenting here.

Rather than storing them unseen in a drawer or in a device where corrosion can advance significantly without detection, I bought some of these Storacell containers and used a mini-bungee to bind them to the corner of the spice rack that is right over the sink. The idea being, if they are routinely in front of my eyeballs, if one of them starts to go bad, I should be able to notice at a glance and catch it early.

The little cases are designed to isolate the battery poles and prevent them from touching anything that could complete a circuit accidentally, so that factor might also help.

[Troutboy]

Cool idea. What I have always done for backpacking is just place scotch tape over the ends of the batteries, as weight/space is an issue. near have had any issues with corrosion for many, many miles in all kinds of conditions.

Yours is more elegant for sure, especially if you have the room.

Do those connect together for the different battery sizes, or are they all just held in place by the bungee?

[Boxite]

I'd turn all the batteries around.... so their positive poles don't contact the metal wall.

[thiel]

They make super cheap adapters to convert AAA to AA. Carrying the adapters means you can stock and carry one fewer type of battery. Makes it easier to manage rechargeables too.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Troutboy

Cool idea. What I have always done for backpacking is just place scotch tape over the ends of the batteries, as weight/space is an issue. near have had any issues with corrosion for many, many miles in all kinds of conditions.

Yours is more elegant for sure, especially if you have the room.

Do those connect together for the different battery sizes, or are they all just held in place by the bungee?

I was using tape but again, with our heat, the adhesive would break down and stick to the batteries, making a mess.

They are three individual little containers, bunched together with the bungee. No way to connect them. They also aren't really made for mounting on a vertical surface - no real place to put a screw hole or whatever (I thought about mounting them on the inside of a cabinet door, but it wouldn't really work).

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Boxite

I'd turn all the batteries around.... so their positive poles don't contact the metal wall.

There are plastic stoppers on the opposite ends, so that no contact is made.

[Pahaska]

Last evening, on my 2nd day with the Silver Whale, I discovered something that the manual omits and the dealer did not know. I wonder if everyone knows this.

Under the side-facing seats in the rear, there are black plastic tubs that are perfect for holding blankets and the like. The seat has to be tilted up in front about 8 or 10 inches to pull out the bin or put something in. I only found the bins when I felt to see whether there was any space above the wheel well. I felt the bin move and investigated. I could have gone years and not noticed.

This sort of thing should be in the manual.

[Lily&Me]

That's pretty cool!

It may not be in the manual, but you have alerted others by posting it here.

Just a small bit of advice...you don't say whether there are lids on these tubs.

If there are not, I would suggest enclosing in bags whatever you put in there, to protect them from the inevitable dust and sand that wants to collect.

There are ziploc bags of all sizes out there, I also save those zipper bags that bedding often comes in, for shoes, blankets, etc., that store under my rear benches.


Maggie

[UKDUDE]

Originally Posted by Pahaska

Last evening, on my 2nd day with the Silver Whale, I discovered something that the manual omits and the dealer did not know. I wonder if everyone knows this.

Under the side-facing seats in the rear, there are black plastic tubs that are perfect for holding blankets and the like. The seat has to be tilted up in front about 8 or 10 inches to pull out the bin or put something in. I only found the bins when I felt to see whether there was any space above the wheel well. I felt the bin move and investigated. I could have gone years and not noticed.

This sort of thing should be in the manual.

This "feature" was quietly added in 2014; I have the cut-outs under the side-facing seats, but unfortunately the cut-out sizes are not standardized on mine, so I couldn't get any trays to fit.

[73shark]

About a year before Airstream came out with the inserts, I made my own from some 1/4" Luan plywood and 3/4" pine for the sides. Used it to store blankets, etc.

[Pahaska]

I double-decked two cabinets so far today. The shelf supports were removed from the little wardrobe in the Whale. The plywood came from the table in my old trailer that I removed when I switched to recliners. By cutting the long shelf supports in half, I have enough of the shelf supports to do 3 overhead cabinets.

One caveat for anyone who wants to do this: drill a very small pilot hole in the laminate before you try to screw anything in to it. Otherwise the screw will slide around instead of penetrating.

The light oak from the trailer is not a good match, but it is inside the cabinets so I'm not going to fret about it. I will install trim on the front of the shelves later.

[MILATV]

Originally Posted by UKDUDE

This "feature" was quietly added in 2014; I have the cut-outs under the side-facing seats, but unfortunately the cut-out sizes are not standardized on mine, so I couldn't get any trays to fit.

And then removed in 2016 I kept dog food in there and spare water in my 2013.5. In the 2016 there is a subwoofer under one & inverter under the other.

Good News is we get to put 8' 2x4 or skis under the lounge with the pass thru! More room under tho couch. Good compromise I guess.


Mike

[InterBlog]

Two years ago, I bought a 4 x 8 sheet of black coroplast, and that thing has proven to be more fun than a barrel of monkeys. And a heck of a lot more useful.

I first built this privacy screen for the Interstate out of it, then used another piece to create a mud splash guard for our hitch carrier, to fit under the Yeti cooler.

This morning I cut two more pieces to compensate for the "whack factor" - the Interstate is so small that, even if one is not particularly clumsy, stuff gets bumped into. Accidentally whacked, crushed, kicked, elbowed, banged, you name it.

While working on our lithium retrofit, we accidentally clocked the TV, which didn't break, but now there's a scratch in the screen. So I cut the coroplast the same size as the screen and placed the piece under the tethering Velcro as a protective shield. It's black like the TV so it's not too ugly.

Similarly, we're not finished with the lithium but there's a gaping hole at the bottom of the closet where the old electrical converter used to live. So I cut coroplast to fit, cut some vent holes in the piece, used duct tape to affix a strip of window screen on the back side, and screwed it in place. This will protect the lithium chamber from dirt until such time as we decide on a final screening design (probably using the same perforated aluminum that I used for my computer table and suspended shelves).

Very useful material, coroplast.

[Pahaska]

I bought a "Down Alternative Reversible Comforter" over the net from Woot.com for the princely sum of $20 and they even paid shipping. The comforter is well made and stuffs down quite small so that it easily fits in the over bed storage. It will handle the cooler months here in Texas.

I have been dealing with Woot for years; mostly T-shirts. They occasionally have some real great bargains.

[InterBlog]

Having tried several alternatives in Texas' colder months, I have found nothing that holds a candle to Rumpl products. I own their two main offerings - the synthetic (about $100) and the down (about $200) blanket versions and I've emailed them imploring them to consider developing a 12 volt electric blanket version as well.

But this is a highly individualized issue. I'm a smaller middle-aged female who is acclimated to moderate exertion in 95 degree, sky-high humidity conditions (I partially work outdoors in greater Houston). I get cold very easily and find that I can no longer adjust physiologically to the cold. Plus we have an older Interstate with a small propane tank such that we cannot crank the furnace to higher temps. And we boondock almost exclusively so there's no heat to be had from hook-ups. If Rumpl made ten different technical blanket versions instead of two, I'd probably own all ten of them.

[DIR1]

Try the Sunbeam electric throw.. get a 12V converter that allows you to plug 110 into it... Black and Decker makes one... it works for me..... throw about $30.. converter about $12... good luck...