The Chronicle of My New-To-Me 2008 25' Safari SE FB!

[mgm]

Some tips on water usage, a lot of people try to recycle the water they waste waiting for it to get warm and have a small pan or pot they fill to use for dishes later. Another tip i found was to change out the shower head, a lot of people like the Oxygenics one which only uses 2.5 gallons a minute which is a lot less then the stock one. What I do as well is I always have a 5 gallon Moeller Water jug that I keep on hand to add water if needed. But if you add water, just make sure you have an extra hose to drain off the gray water in the woods, or a small bucket that u can dump the water down the toilet, as you will NEVER by any normal means lol fill that tank. Just some things I have learned....

[palmtreegirl]

Those are great ideas mgm! Thank you! I'm putting the Oxygenics on my Christmas list!

I heard of another streamer who had a little valve installed somewhere on the gray water line. They could open it and a little drip started - not a lot and not noticable but very effective while driving down the road, etc. for getting rid of some of the gray water. I might look into that........

Off the subject but another project that I'd like to do is mount a plug outside the trailer that runs off 12v where I can plug in the socket that normally goes on the car - I'd like to be able to turn on the trailer running lights sometimes (if we leave the campsite and need to locate the trailer in the dark, etc.) As well, a 12v outlet (cigarette lighter style) on the outside of the trailer would be nice.

[Foiled Again]

I have the Oxygenics shower head - love it. I also have a one gallon plastic bucket I keep in the shower and when boondocking I turn the shower head on all the way to scalding hot and fill that bucket about 3/4 full. The hot water starts at about 1/3 full so the mixture is nice and warm by the time I've got the bucket ready. I then turn off the water and grab the wash cloth and soap up and wash head to toe. If I wash my hair I then dump the bucket over my head to get most of the soap out. Then I turn on the shower head which is still warm, and rinse down.

I leave the drain plug in while showering and bail at least half of the water into the toilet. About the last inch or two can go into the gray tank.

I use paper plates wherever possible when boondocking to minimize dish washing. What I do wash is done with a wet sponge and dishwashing liquid. I use 1/2 sink full of hot water to rinse, then rack the dishes for Air Drying.

I can go over a week without dumping tanks, and still not feel like I'm taking sponge baths.

Paula

[palmtreegirl]

It's a sad day when you have to winterize your trailer and put it away. I only got to play in it for one trip and that was cold, wet and windy.

Here is a brief series of things that we did to winterize:

We had to open the low point drains and the fresh water tank drain and take the plug out of the hot water heater and let them drain out - this took a long time. Then we hooked up the air compressor to the city water inlet and blew air into the water lines. After that, we had to turn 3 valves to bypass the hot water tank and we sucked 2+ gallons of RV anti-freeze through all the lines (opened all faucets until the pink stuff came out).
Then we went to the RV store to dump the holding tanks (black (sewer) and gray (washing water)) and then put some anti freeze down into those tanks.

We removed anything food, paper and bedding (in case of mice), anything that will freeze and anything else we could think of.

One of our gas bottles went empty so we had to go get that filled up and put it back on the camper before we could move it because the gas bottle cover was off.

We put it in my mom's barn. Once in the barn, we removed the two batteries and stored them in my heated garage.

Ta Da!!! A winterized camper.

Now, I'm going to get some moth balls and put them in a ring around the tires and jack stand, plug in a sonic rodent repeller and put some dog flea and tick collars inside the furnace door, hot water heater door and anywhere else I think a spider might like to live.

No more projects until spring - see you all then! Have a safe winter.

[Silver Goose]

Sounds like you have a plan and covered all the bases. Do you have an outside faucet on your trailer? That one sometimes gets overlooked during the drain and antifreeze fill. One other thing I have on my checklist is to remove the batteries from things like the doorbell, remote controls, CO monitor and anything else that might be damaged if the batteries were to leak. The little coin cell batteries are rarely a problem but the various size flashlight type batteries seem to be the ones that will ooze if they get run down.

[palmtreegirl]

Thanks Goose! I did get the outside shower - I actually removed the shower head and the one in the coach and brought them in for winter.

What I did forget was the remotes....also, I've heard mixed messages about removing the flat screen TV. Can it take the freezing temps?

I've got the trailer plugged into an extension cord to run the rodent repellers....

I think it would be fun to have a doorbell - was it hard to install or was it already there?

[palmtreegirl]

Oh My!!! I think the last post made me a 4 rivet member!!! Woo Hoo!

[crispyboy]

I think I would remove the television if it's not too complicated. I don't think that these type of electronics like the extreme cold temperatures.
I have a feeling that your probably going to find a project to do on the trailer over the winter or at least dream of doing projects on the trailer.
I like to do a brief inspection every couple of weeks in the winter to check for leaks and vermin just to get my fix.

[Silver Goose]

Originally Posted by palmtreegirl

... I think it would be fun to have a doorbell - was it hard to install or was it already there?

I think some models come with it as standard equipment. Don't think anyone else knows it's there, the button is next to the door but they always knock. I guess it is one of those personal choice items... I wouldn't miss it if it wasn't there. Would rather have a light that illuminates the keyhole on the door.

Originally Posted by palmtreegirl

... I've heard mixed messages about removing the flat screen TV. Can it take the freezing temps? ...

Each TV manufacturer publishes specs for their products. You want to look for the storage temp spec. If you google your model, you may find it or it may be in the manual for yours. Many are rated to 0°F, some to -20°F. If you decide to bring it in for the winter, make a sketch of what cables plug where and most flat panel TVs are attached to the bracket with 4 screws.

[palmtreegirl]

I just checked - the TV book says -4 to 110F (how do I make the 'o' degree sign?).
In Ohio, I've seen it into the -20's - you can never predict so I think I'll remove it to avoid damage.......wouldn't want Brian to miss his Sunday football games! Personally, I could take it out and never miss it.

I've got a couple of ideas perking right now - I need to make the drawer just inside the door and under the dinette seat into rolling shelves for shoes - that's where they always land....shoe mountain!

I'm waiting for the snazzy-ass rodent repeller I ordered - it's supposed to keep insects out as well - when that comes, I'm plugging it in and taking out the TV and remotes - I've got some FreshCab to put in the camper as well - I can't stand rodents!

It's going to be a long winter, friends. At least my camper is next door at my mother's house and I can visit anytime! One minute away!

[Silver Goose]

Originally Posted by palmtreegirl

I just checked - the TV book says -4 to 110F (how do I make the 'o' degree sign?) ...

On a PC with a standard keyboard running Windows and with Num Lock turned on: Press and hold the Alt key and then input 248 using the numeric keypad and then release the Alt key.

On an iPhone or iPad, touch and hold the 0 and the ° will popup up as an extra key directly above the 0. Android devices and Macs may have similar ways to do this.

[palmtreegirl]

Hello Experts and Airstreamers!

I can't believe that it's mid-July and we have not been anywhere with our camper yet! It's still got the anti-freeze in the lines! ~(:-(

Soon, very soon.....just trying to find time off of work schedules.

I've been doing a little work on my trailer. I installed a really nice shelf (formerly a bamboo cutting board) under the television - it's great for holding dog food dishes, a drink for me or any other thing that I need to stash. I'll take some pictures and post that soon.

I managed to get my Sirius radio wire run from the roof vent under the skin and into the cupboard above the dinette.....this was a little difficult - I had to drop the inside workings of the fantastic fan and drill a large hole in the aluminum rib and in the cabinet. I then fished a bent coat hanger through and pulled the plug end of the antenna wire into the cabinet......works like a charm and no wires showing now! Yay me!

I'm working out a plan for shoe-storage. I haven't pin-pointed the 'how' of it yet.

Something I really want to get done is to hook up the trailer running lights to work off the camper batteries/electrical hook-up. Does anyone know how to do this?

Other things that are on my 'want' list:

3 or 5 pole flag pole holder
Solar panels, acid glass batteries and inverter
Day/nighter shades in place of aluminum blinds
Oxygenics shower head
Cedar-line the 2 drawers in the bedroom
Possibly have a square receiver hitch mounted on trailer frame for bike rack

I'm sure I can think of many other things.....this is just something for me to go from.....Pictures and more to follow!

**One note on the mouse control for winter - it didn't work.....crap! There was evidence of (I'm thinking) only one mouse - not too much damage but a disgusting mess as far as I'm concerned. I think this winter I will put the 5 gal bucket with a wire and pop can across the top - put peanut butter on the can - watch it roll the mouse into the bucket - remove mouse to a far location.**

[Bigventure]

There is a plastic cap is for sale by Woodland Travel.

It is not switched. You have to leave the trailer and unplug it from the umbilical to turn it off or on.

It jumpers terminal 4 & 3. Those are the two directly below the alinement ridge. 4 is black 12 volt power and 3 is brown running lights.

You can also use an auto spade type fuse stuck in terminals 4&3 to jumper those.

[palmtreegirl]

Hello Experts and Friends!

I've been looking for some sort of corner shelf to install in the bedroom under the electrical outlet and 12v receptacle in the corner (I don't have a bedroom TV). There is approximately 9" from the corner to the window so the shelf can't be larger than that.

I searched high and low and finally came up with this - An 18" baltic birch lazy susan top with a lip (to keep things on the shelf). It is sold on ebay. I paid $20 including shipping. I see the guy raised the price by $5 after I bought it. Still - $25 is cheap for this!

1 Lazy Susan Turntable Serving Spin Tray 18" Round Baltic Birch Wood New | eBay

I had my carpenter friend come over and cut it into 4 perfect quarters.




After that, I bought a 1"x2"x4' poplar board and used it for cleats - the shelves are attached ONLY on the plywood wall side so they 'float'. They are very solid and very handy






I've also wanted to put a folding shelf under the TV to 'catch' extra things (like dog food and dishes, etc). I found the perfect shelf at a thrift store - a laminated bamboo cutting board. I purchased the brackets from ebay. I think it's awesome! The board was $8 and the brackets were about $15.





Additionally, I wanted to find some way to make the trailer's running lights come on without having the vehicle attached - no problems! Ebay to the rescue with this awesome plug!
Camperlite | eBay

*****
I also changed the double handle taps in the bathroom with a single handle faucet. I love this - it's small but works! It was affordable from Amazon for $40. I'm happy with it!

We're camping in the driveway tonight and tomorrow - it will be the first of the season! We're planning a 'go away' trip for September (due to work schedules).

[ROBERT CROSS]

Looking very nice Liz....clever. clever!!

Bob

[palmtreegirl]

One more thing I did - just above the key rack inside the door I installed a Doo Dad basket (found at Office Max for $12). It is great for catching wallet, change (holes are too small for it to fall through), etc. Here is a picture:

[drew05]

I love the lazy Susan idea, especially in the front bedroom area

[palmtreegirl]

Hello Friends!

I'm reporting that we did spend two nights in the driveway in the trailer over our weekend. It was hilarious to watch us 'camping' - when we realized we needed something we just went into the house to get it. Other than making coffee and tea, I also did the cooking in the house.

Everything worked well in the trailer - the second night was quite hot so we ran the A/C all night - this confirmed what we already knew - we don't like camping when it's hot. The noise of the air running was disturbing to our sleep. Other than that, it was a blast!

Yesterday my helper and I spent hours scrubbing every inch of the outside of the trailer and I want to tell you, that Airstream is shining like a brand new nickel!

SHOE STORAGE
Brian and I did one small project. The problem was shoes gathering at the door. We removed the drawer and hardware just inside the door (under the dinette seat). We just happened to have a Sterilite Tote that fits exactly in the space between the bench supports (the U shaped legs) - The tote will easily hold at least 4 pairs of shoes. I still need to put dividers in the tote. Note: the tote is WAY bigger than that little drawer!









Besides the dividers in the tote, I need to fill in the approx. 1" between the floor and top of the U brackets so the tote slides in and out easily.

This is an A+++ upgrade - shoes scattered around the door drives me crazy!

[palmtreegirl]

Hello everyone!

We've decided that we prefer the dinette set down like a bed. We've put an assortment of pillows around the wall edge - used the lazy boy back jack to make a suspended table.....this is totally working for us! I'll post a picture later.

As well, I've ordered another lazy susan tray for 4 more shelves. Pictures coming.

[palmtreegirl]

Are you kidding me that it was October the last time I posted here???


We survived the winter! Once Spring arrives for real, we'll be hauling the trailer over here and work will commence again!


I can't wait!!!


Happy Spring Everyone!