Screen Door Release
If you’ve grown tired of hearing “Shut the slide on the screen door” every time you move it to access the door handle, here’s a solution I came up with so I never have to move the slide again.
First, take a plastic coat hanger and cut off the straight section at the bottom. Discard the rest. Briefly heat one end of the straight hanger section over your gas range and bend it into a shape that will extend over the door handle. Next, drill a 3/8-inch hole into the top of the slide, approximately 1-1/2 inches from the end of the door handle side, and insert the straight hanger piece up through the hole. (Depending on the diameter of the hanger piece, you may need to make the hole slightly bigger.) From the outside of the motorhome, drill a small hole through the plastic piece and insert a brad (pin, nail, etc.) close to the top of the slide to keep the hanger piece from rotating and acting as a stop. To secure the hanger segment, place a small pipe strap around it close to the bottom of the slide but above the bend, and attach it to the slide. This will work as a stop and stabilizer.
On the inside of the door, drop a light spring over the hanger piece, followed by a washer. Push down on the washer to apply pressure on the spring and drill a small hole through the plastic piece above the washer. Insert a small brad through the hole to maintain pressure on the spring. Place a valve cap on top of the hanger to give it a finished look.
From the inside of your motorhome, just push down on the top of the rod. The screen unlatches without having to open the slide.
Don Feiden, F175619
Niskayuna, New York
Shredder
Shredder in motorhome storage compartmentWith identity theft a major concern, it is important that many documents be shredded. As full-timers, we decided that getting out a shredder would be inconvenient, and there isn’t anyplace inside our motorhome where it always would be available. The shredder we bought came with its own wastebasket, so we removed the top of the carton it came in and placed it inside one of our storage compartments under an electric outlet. Now when we need to shred a document we step outside, lift the door, and insert the paper into the shredder. Voila! The document is shredded into small pieces with no chance of our personal information being stolen.
Art & Jo Savoy, F117337
FMCA Mail Forwarding
Table Setup
Securing table items in the motorhome: salt, lamp, napkinsTo keep from having to clear the table every time we traveled, we made some adaptations to it.
Cup holders were already in place. So, the first adaptation we made was to drill six holes into the table and insert six fancy dowels (59 cents each) to hold our napkins.
Next we drilled two 1-1/4-inch-diameter holes to accommodate our salt and pepper shakers. We attached squares of 1/8-inch plywood under the table, beneath the holes, to support the shakers. We then lined each hole with tape to make sure the shakers didn’t move.
Finally, we secured the lamp to the table by drilling a pair of holes through the table. From the bottom of the table we pushed through two screws that attached to the lamp base to hold it in place.
Now everything is secured, and the napkins, salt and pepper, and touch lamp are handy all the time.
Gordon Nugent, F233027
North Syracuse, New York
Dish Drainer
Using pot lid holder as dish drainer in motorhomeWe have a narrow side sink in our coach kitchen that isn’t large enough for a regular-size dish drainer, so I use a pot lid holder that normally would be placed in a cabinet. It fits perfectly and works well to dry dishes. I use a suction-cup holder for the silverware.
Marjorie Grubka, F283339
Mesa, Arizona