New Entrance Handle
Entrance handleDuring a recent rally, our outside entrance handle broke. I went to several camping stores to find a replacement handle, but the $70 to $100 price seemed a bit steep. I then went to a plastics store in our area and found a 6-foot clear plastic pole in the right diameter (1 inch). After speaking with the service person there, here’s what I did. I removed the broken handle, placed it on a piece of paper, and traced it so I could get the correct shape and size. I then cut a 12-inch piece of the plastic rod, put it in a 350-degree oven, and took it out every two minutes to shape it to the correct dimensions. The heat made the plastic pliable enough to bend. Once the plastic was bent to the right dimensions, I cut the end notches and installed it on the motorhome. It’s better than new, and I still have 5 feet of the pole left for five more handles. Not bad for $9 for a 6-foot pole.
Danny Puig, F199623
Tampa, Florida
12-Volt Outlet
I use a portable 12-volt air compressor to keep the proper pressure in my motorhome tires. I used to plug the compressor in to the 12-volt outlet in my car, but I had trouble positioning the car for this purpose. So, I installed a 12-volt outlet in the middle storage compartment on each side of the motorhome. I connected the outlets to the light circuit. Now I don’t need to depend on another vehicle’s 12-volt outlet to run the air compressor.
Richard J. Schraeder, F299606
Aurora, Indiana
Wine Holder
Wine holderBeing from the Oregon wine country, we take wines to enjoy and give to friends in our travels. We also visit wineries in our travels to add to our collection. We’ve tried all types of storage methods, none of which were workable for our space. After seeing Lyman and Micki Seaman’s tip for storing stemware in the March 2002 issue of FMC, we decided to adapt this idea.
At a fabric store we found foam that measured 3-1/2 inches thick, 6 inches wide, and 17 inches long. (Measure your space first to see how much foam you will need.) Using wine bottles as templates, we cut out seven bottle holders. Use a sharp scissors to start the hole; a serrated steak knife works great to finish the holes. Our bottles now store upright, but they also can be pushed farther through the holes and stored on their side. No more clanging bottles or bulky cardboard wine storage boxes.
Richard and Penny Schaad, F230393
Newberg, Oregon
Easy Calling
To help us keep in touch with our family and friends by phone while traveling in our RV, we purchased a memory pocket tone dialer for approximately $15 at RadioShack. We programmed in (as you can do on a home phone) the phone numbers we call most often. The best part about using the dialer is that we programmed the (800) number of our prepaid phone card into “Priority Memory 1” and our account number for the card into “Priority Memory 2.” Now we can make calls from any phone by holding the dialer over the phone mouthpiece and punching only five or six buttons. The dialer uses three AAA batteries and stores up to 33 phone numbers. It measures 4 inches by 2-1/4 inches by 5/8-inch and easily slips into a pocket or purse.
Bud & Betty Rolley, F106594
Mesa, Arizona