The Versatile Tennis Ball
Tennis balls are among the most useful items you can carry in your motorhome. I use tennis balls on the wiper blade arms to keep the wipers off the glass, and they work with both single-rod and dual-rod arms. Put a slit in a tennis ball and it becomes a corner protector for your slideout. The bright color of the ball makes it easy to see. Finally, I use half of a ball to support my bike’s kickstand whenever I’m in soft soil or sand. I always buy my tennis balls at discount stores. Typically, a three-ball pack costs about $1.
Al Chabot, F371218, Nokomis, Florida
Picture Space
We do not have much wall space in our Fleetwood Bounder to display photos. However, we do have padded doors on the overhead storage cabinets in the cockpit. So I cut lengths of ribbon and crisscrossed them across the padded door to create a “picture board.” I attached the ribbons to the back of the door using Kool Patch Patching Tape (any pliable, sticky tape should work), and used small pieces of the tape to connect the ribbons where they intersected on the front of the door.
Jane Williams, F346464, Rapid City, South Dakota
Skylight Reflector
As much as we love having the light come through the skylight dome in our motorhome’s shower area, the summer heat also entering had become a real problem. So we went to the store and bought a piece of 1/4-inch poster board that is sold in the school supplies department. We then went to the drapery area and purchased a pair of spring-loaded extension rods that do not require any attachment points and fit the sides of the dome base. We also purchased an emergency blanket in the camping department. When we returned home, we cut the cardboard to the exact size of our dome, and then used glue to attach the metallic blanket to the cardboard so that it would reflect the sunshine. We place the cardboard with the metallic side face up against the dome and secure it using the spring-loaded rods. The heat shield can be removed in seconds if we want the sun and warmth. This project cost about $6, and it felt as though the temperature dropped about 20 degrees in the shower area.
Tony and Marilyn Hughes, F389273, Leeds, Alabama
Handle Holders
I had trouble storing my brooms, cleaning brushes, and blades, so I went to a mass merchandise store and purchased two broom handle holders for each them. I mounted the holders on the wall in the lower storage bay of the motorhome. Now everything is right there in plain sight.
Bill O’Dell, F357883, St. Robert, Missouri
Mouse Prevention
Mice tend to be a problem in the fall, or any time of the year for that matter. After my first experience using traps, I have taken an extra step and placed Victor Tin Cat mouse traps on the insides of the motorhome’s tires when the vehicle is parked. Reaching under the coach to place the traps was a problem, so I created a tool using 1/2-inch PVC pipe and fittings. The tool allows me to simply slide the traps into place without getting under the coach, and lets me remove them just as easily. The traps can be purchased online or at hardware and mass merchandise stores.
A word of caution: place a sign on the motorhome’s steering wheel to remind you to remove the traps before you drive off.
Danny Lindstrom, F310275, Salinas, California
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