Things That Work For Us V0.2

I believe one of my first posts after starting our Full Time Journey had to do with "Some Ideas to Share" which was intended to be just that.  Over the years, I have often thought I should like to continue with more things.

As I look around the Roadrunner I wonder if other people are approaching things with the same solutions.  In case you wondered that too, Here goes with Five More:

Drain Baskets
I read somewhere that one didn't want to have a lot of things going down the kitchen sink drain.  At the time I didn't realize how much food particles smell.  Not to mention they clog up drains.  We learned our lesson early and have been buying 'sink baskets' at the Dollar Store and flea markets.

We use them on the kitchen sink and the shower drain.  It collects a lot of gunk that otherwise would blog things up.  After we started using them on the sink, we rarely have any smell issues.

iPad for GPS
For years I have missed out on really knowing where we are going.  I could do more pre-travel route study, but I often don't.  Once I made a holder for my iPad I can plug in the route and see details or the entire route as we travel each day.

This has been a game changer for me.  I don't have to fool with my iPhone while traveling and Pam (Chief Navigator) and I are much more in synch as to where we are and if we need to make changes in the route.  We found Google maps goes out of its way to make us go to toll roads.  Sometimes that is not a bad idea, other times we don't like to do that.

Solar Panel on Roof
Although I don't understand the technology too well, I like the fact we have a solar panel on top of the Roadrunner.  At worst, it allows us to keep a good charge (trickle charge) on the batteries when we dry camp.

I haven't figured out how many panels it would take us to depend on solar 100% but I believe what I've read that indicates it would take a LOT of dry camping to save money with solar to pay for those panels.  Having said that, I'm glad we have it and can always add more.

Hooks for Jackets and such

The Roadrunner obviously is a small space to live in, so we don't want to hang things all over the place and make it seem even smaller.  In cooler and cold or rainy weather, we need more coat hooks than what came installed on the Roadrunner.

I believe only one coat hook came with the coach.  When we were at Red Bay, we found another one and hung it near the bathroom door.  They are sturdy enough to hang a sweater shirt and jacket or two each.  

Another dilemma we had was what to do with rainy and wet coats.  Our 'mud room' is essentially the first step inside the front door.  I found a couple of innocuous clear plastic hooks that work great for wet raincoats.
Two coats can hang here and drip dry and be out of the way unless we need to go out again.

Inside the living area we have a couple of other places we can hang a coat or two if we need to.  Or a hat. Or whatever.

In the back outside the shower, we have three of these over the door hooks.  Good for a couple of towels.

Often I turn them inside the shower and can hang things that are dripping, wet like swimsuits.

In the bedroom, there are a couple of more places I've put hooks.  Good for a belt,

or a jacket you don't want to put in the closet.

Heaters
It's important to efficiently heat the Roadrunner and these two items are indispensable.  The electric heaters take the stress off the heat pump and gas heater we have onboard.   Cold floors are a real wake up in the morning in the winter, so we use these to augment our main heater.

These two units are pretty inexpensive and do a good job.  We have used more rugs in the past to cover most of the living room and down the hall and into the bathroom area.  But we have opted for less rugs because we like to see the tile floor throughout the coach.  And it is easier to clean with out a lot of rugs. A couple of throw rugs are the right balance for us.

So there are five ideas that work for us.  And more ideas to come...

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  As always, we appreciate you stopping by for a look.  And a special thanks to those of you that leave comments.  We love hearing from you!