Can you please tell me... the soon to be rookie.

[Bird's Nest]

North Face Venture rain jacket or similar lightweight breathable tech rain jacket.
They take up practically no space. (they can be stuffed inside of one pocket)
They can be used for rain and wind.
You can layer them with other pieces instead of carrying a bulky coat if the weather turn colder than expected.
Eliminates need for an umbrella.
They breath and can be used comfortably in warm weather rain.

[DKB_SATX]

@Paula (foiled again): forgive me if I missed something, but instead of running a space heater on an extension cord, couldn't you have plugged in the whole trailer? Seems like a 1000 would run the furnace & charge the batteries at the same time.

[Foiled Again]

Originally Posted by DKB_SATX

@Paula (foiled again): forgive me if I missed something, but instead of running a space heater on an extension cord, couldn't you have plugged in the whole trailer? Seems like a 1000 would run the furnace & charge the batteries at the same time.

Tried that - 3:00 am Moonless night. Fast, simple fix needed. Later got a SHORT 30 amp cord... too much resistance or something in the long one?

Paula

[r carl]

Originally Posted by Foiled Again

Tried that - 3:00 am Moonless night. Fast, simple fix needed. Later got a SHORT 30 amp cord... too much resistance or something in the long one?

Paula

Hey Paula, I think your honda is too small to allow your trailer to charge batteries and run a space heater at the same time.

[RangerJay]

Originally Posted by aname4me

.... what did you bring that you really didn't need to or shouldn't have brought ?

Too many clothes/too many towels/too much bedding:

• the habit of a complete change every day when at home just does not apply on the road (at least for us). We inevitably get back home and haul back into the house clothing that never saw the light of day when travelling.
• ditto on the towels and bedding - on wash day the trailer is stripped.

Too many "bulk" foods:

• we now keep 3 - 4 days of food supplies in the trailer - no more multiple cases of pop, juices, water or beer - just purchase what we need when we need it - for the next 3 - 4 day period.

Too large a tool kit:

• I gotta qualify this one - still strongly believe in a healthy tool kit to meet forseeable needs/emergencies - but - over time - the kit(s) have been reworked to weed out the stuff that experience has shown I am unlikely to ever need - and I have carefully gravitated to multi-tools wherever it seemed appropriate.

Time (and you don't need a lot) will give you the personalized answer to your question - it doesn't take too many trips to figure out what you need - and what you don't.



Jay

[aname4me]

To anyone
I am sure different region have different names....

Is the Pry Bar... about a foot long, or like a 2' crow bar?
Is the Heavy Hammer... a 3 lb "surveyor's hammer"?
Is bailing wire... re-bar wire

I don't see Duct Tape?

Are the screw drivers #2 Phillips and/or a flat screwdriver
I assume no Robertson's (I'm Canadian)

Originally Posted by masseyfarm

I have progressed from this standard, but starting out I would advise the following.
I was raised on the farm and it is amazing what you can do in the back 40 with minimum tools.
Basic --
Water pump (channel lock) pliers, Vice Grips (large and small), wire cutter, basic socket set that includes srewdriver bits, set of combi wrenches, pocket knive, large srewdriver/pry bar, heavy hammer, black tape, and a small role of bailing wire.
If you can't get back to civilization with those tools, then buy a membership in AAA and a cell phone.

Happy Travels
Dave

[dlb435]

Ditto on bringing the tools, as many as you can keep in the tow vehicle. I'm still looking for a small, reliable air pump.
Start with as little as possible. My wife tends to bring too many shoes and outfits. She ends up using only about half.
Get a small space heater if you do winter camping. It's a lot easier than using the propane heater.
We bring few pots and pans. One frying pan and one medium pot usually does it.
Bring your credit card; Walmart has almost everything you forgot to bring.

[Aage]

Welcome to the forum, aname4me!

I have found that the old adage about travelling really does apply to trailer travel too: "Take half the clothing and twice the cash."

I would modify it with what RickDavis said about underwear and t-shirts though...

[masseyfarm]

Originally Posted by aname4me

To anyone

Originally Posted by aname4me

I am sure different region have different names....

Is the Pry Bar... about a foot long, or like a 2' crow bar?
Is the Heavy Hammer... a 3 lb "surveyor's hammer"?
Is bailing wire... re-bar wire

I don't see Duct Tape?

Are the screw drivers #2 Phillips and/or a flat screwdriver
I assume no Robertson's (I'm Canadian)

I was talking farm tools that you carried in the harvester.
For camping you can modify this somewhat.
Pry bar -- 14" or more common flat screwdriver. (can be used for leverage, punching holes in hard pan, chisel, shorting solenoid on starter, it is just a good multi tool.
Heavy hammer -- you can substitute a good HATCHET for the hammer.
Bailing wire -- Duct Tape is todays universal fix.(thanks to Red Green)
Good glass repair also.
But a bit of wire, (coat hanger) is always needed to fish in
the wall, frame, engine, for that lost nut.
Your socket set includes all the screwdiver bits.

Every time you have a problem, you will expand your tool kit. It just comes naturally.
Dave

[jrudd1968]

I agree with Paula & Dave! One thing I spent way to much money on and never use, and no longer carry because it takes to much room, is a portable black water tank. It seems I can always find a dump station while hooked up.

[funkill]

The things that I am finally taking out are those I carried for OTHER people. Get this: tent, sleeping bags, extra fan, party foods/snacks, extra dishes & glasses, towels and the likes. I thought that since I have extra room, I'd take things that might be of help to others who I camp with. Though some of the items have been useful, I am tired of carrying them & washing them.

I added a spare tire and blue boy. These both take up some valuable space in the trailer but I'll continue to tote them along!

Laura

[Bird's Nest]

A 16oz Tervis Tumbler and lid for each person.
We use the ones with personalized decos and color coded lids so everyone knows theirs at a glance.
Eliminates the need to carry coffee cups and drinking glasses.
They are great for the drive, fit in drink holders, can be used for hot and cold and they do not sweat.

We color code towels, tooth brushes and many personal items.
My husband is green, sons are blue and orange and I am pink.
Works great on the calendar.

[RickDavis]

Ther are a few things extra we carry because we boondock a lot. If you use mostly developed parks you won't need them

2 5 gallon water jugs
An extra shurflo pump fitted with a lighter plug. We plug this into a socket installed in a compartment and use it to pump water from the jugs into the trailer. no lifting and holding.

1 5 and one 10 gallon blue tank. 5 gallon tank can be carried and dumped in pit toilets etc.

10 gallon can be put on truck tailgate and driven to dump station. I consider any tank that has to be towed as too big. Try towing one a mile on a sandy beach.

We NEVER take the trailer to the dump station unless entering or leaving a site


We offset this by not carrying any 110 volt appliances, crock pots coffee makers,frying pans etc

[DreamStreamr]

Great thread, wonderful suggestions. Rick, super idea about the portable potable water pump! We're in fourth year full-timing in CCD 25 rear bed. Generally can go two weeks without laundering or grocery shopping. If we start running out of clean we switch to fast-dry underwear-- wear one, wash one, dry one, three pair go forever.

What have we added that we didn't start with?
Hatchet. We really wanted an axe all last 2009 traveling through a bunch of provincial parks between Winnipeg and Vancouver. Free firewood in many of them and an axe would have been so great. Settled instead, last summer, for an old 20 oz hatchet. Works fine.

Five pound propane tank for gas grill. Saves us a lot compared to the one pounders, and reduces waste.

Three tennis racquets and a few pairs of court shoes. Whatta deal compared to golf, both in costs and exercise.

LED lights for ensuite, galley, and dinette. Lots of light and very small draw on battery when we're dry camping.

More ham radios. Like tools, easy to find space for them -- right, Rick?

XM radio receiver in Airstream. Originally intended for ACC March Madness and hearing UNC mens basketball games. We like the tunes too, so get a lot of use from it.

Food sealer. Ours is Food Saver brand, compact and fast. Use it a lot to repackage food for freezer, removes the air, food stores better.


What did we stop carrying?
Golf clubs. Used them a lot in FL for two winters and started adding costs for greens and carts fees. We have saved sooo much money in the past year and gained a bunch of space too.

Dress shoes. I'm increasingly comfortable wearing mine to church. where else do we need dressy shoes? Not so much, so they are in the storage unit with golf clubs. Save hard shoes for weddings and funerals.

Beer. 80 to 100 proof stuff takes much less space, weighs a fraction, and tastes so good.

1/2 the backpacking gear, and we'll drop the other half when we're next by the storage unit. Takes right much space and we aren't getting enough use. We'll go backpacking, but apparently not soon. Why haul this stuff around?

Coffee table books. Had thought we'd want to peruse them. Didn't happen.

AAA Tour books. Same thing.

Extra dishes, breakable double old fashioned glasses. We use a pair of Tervis highballs and a pair of Tervis old fashions. But did keep a pair of crystal wine goblets.

Clothes we weren't using. I'm down to four pairs long pants, eight pairs shorts, for example.

You can see some of the things we tried and gave up on also at our home improvements page at http://dreamstreamr.com

Best regards

Dreamstreamrs
Headin east from Mesa AZ to Orlando FL