Tech & Travel Tips: February 2006

Protecting With Shelf Liner

Shelf liner under door handleSelf-stick shelf liner can be used to protect the wood cabinets in your motorhome, especially in areas where water often is splashed. I put a strip of clear liner along the edge of the cabinet door. It doesn’t show, spills can be wiped off easily, and the water doesn’t absorb into the wood and stain it.

I also put liner behind the handle on the entry door where there are always fingerprints and smudges. Now, when it gets dirty, I just pull it off and replace it with another piece.

Irene Herring, F190242
St. Pauls, North Carolina

Here’s a back-saving tip that you might find helpful. If you store your canned goods in drawers under the dinette booth seats of your motorhome, take a marker and write the contents of each can “” and the date purchased “” on the top. This way you can see at a glance what you have, eliminating the need to pick up each can to find the right one.

JoAnn Wathen, F253486
Dearborn Heights, Michigan

Chalkboard paint for medication refill reminderWe were always forgetting to get our medications refilled until the last day. To solve this problem, we taped off and painted the inside door of our medicine cabinet with chalkboard paint. Just follow the manufacturer’s directions. Also, you can find dust-free chalk to use. Now, we write a list of upcoming refill dates on the chalkboard and never run out of needed medications.

Donna L. Nunes, F331334
FMCA Mail Forwarding

Using 5-inch-square PVC fence post to store sewer hoseMany RVers, especially those who own type A motorhomes that don’t include hose bumpers, have a problem finding a place to store the sewer hose. Should it be tossed into the wet bay or put in another storage compartment?

To solve this dilemma, I first started looking for a piece of plastic pipe that the hose would fit into. I tried a 4-inch-diameter PVC drain pipe, but because of the larger hose fittings used, many of my hoses could not be inserted into this size pipe. I had no desire to remove and reattach the fittings every time I wanted to use the hoses.

More research led me to a 5-inch-square PVC fence post, which is capable of holding hoses with the fittings attached. The posts can be cut to a convenient length for whatever size hose you need to store. I took PVC fence post end caps and drilled ventilation holes in them to allow excess moisture to evaporate. One end cap was glued to the post, and the other fits snugly into the other end of the post and was fitted with a drawer pull for easy removal. Since the posts are square, they stay put much better than round pipes that can roll around. I have several of these storage posts and use bungee cords to bundle them, and they never move.

Larry Black, F330704
Snellville, Georgia

Thin paneling for a better magazine rackAfter equipping our motorhome with a much-needed magazine rack, we found that it had a great shortcoming. Large road maps couldn’t be kept there, because their height caused them to bend in two. We remedied the situation by inserting a piece of thin paneling inside the rack on the side away from the wall. The paneling, which is secured with tiny black wire ties, supports the road atlas, yet it isn’t so tall that we can’t access magazines kept in there as well.

Frank Woythal, F291956
Andover, New York

Telescoping golf ball retriever helps in parking motorhome.Here is how a telescoping golf ball retriever (the longer the better) has proven to be a great tool to help me park my motorhome at a campsite. Using a colored felt-tip marker, I mark important measurements along the length of the retriever.

For instance, I made a mark at 12 feet, which allows me to carry the extended pole through a potential campsite to verify that my 12-foot-high coach will clear any overhanging limbs. Also, using hook-and-loop fastening material on the pole, I attached a small level. When I lay the pole down across the campsite, I have a rough idea of how much leveling will be required.

Additional measurements that I marked on the pole include how far each slideout extends; the width of the coach; the awning length when extended; the distance from the ground to the bottom of the slideouts; the wheelbase of the coach; the overhang behind the rear wheels; and the distance the front-mounted generator extends out. Using these measurements helps me avoid many of the scratches and dents that result from trial and error.

In its collapsed state, the retriever takes up very little room and can be placed in a convenient location. The pole also can be used to hang and remove temporary objects such as bird feeders and patio lighting. And by attaching a small mirror to the end of the pole, you can check out the space beneath the slideout awning where wildlife like to make nests or store nuts. The possibilities are endless.

Ray Corbett, F344113
Prosper, Texas