After owning our travel trailer a little over a year and making ten trips (some over 2 weeks), I am STILL reorganizing and moving things around. After our June trip to Tennessee, I spent an afternoon purging and removing items I was not using,. Now, here I am in August doing it again.
I’ve struggled with keeping paper goods where they are easily accessible inside. We put them in a cabinet and found it inconvenient, then put them on a shelf that also didn’t work out. I’ve tried numerous ideas.
I ordered this white wire utensil caddy from Amazon to use outdoors but I now keep INSIDE on a little side table. It’s worked out great. It’s very convenient, not in the way of food prep, and easy to move around. Sometimes it ends up on the dinette. I’m glad — we’ve had our camper 16 mos and finally found something that works for us.
For the OUTDOOR KITCHEN, I saw a great idea. Use a Tupperware-type cake plate to keep out dirt and insects. You store your paper plates, plastic utensils and napkins inside. I found something similar at Dollar General and it’s working out quite well. I never liked having paper goods and plastic utensils loose in the outdoor kitchen where bugs might infiltrate. Love this idea!!!
I’ve reorganized our dinette numerous times. After all we
use it as an eating table as well as work surface/office area.
Although my husband is a retired CPA, he still does a few
jobs on the side and sometimes when we travel he needs space to do his work. Of
course in our small travel trailer the dinette is the only space available.
I love having a traditional lamp on our dinette (non LED) – it adds ambience (I know, laugh if you want). I’ve had this lamp since we bought the RV and would not travel without it.
We also collect other items on our dinette such as a mini clip fan; computer, phone and fan chargers; glasses; paperwork (usually from the RV Park we are in), not to mention various other items which seem to find their way onto the table. I am constantly trying to keep things corralled to cut down on clutter. Here are some things I’ve found to help.
Craft Organizer (Hobby Lobby) – Journal, Notebook on Campgrounds, Calendar (yes I still use an old timey calendar I write in), Cross-stitch project, pens/pencils, pocket knife, nail clippers/file, Sharpie, hair clips, Reading Glasses (for both of us), daily med boxes (unless children are around and we put in bathroom cabinet – we found we don’t forget meds if we have them on dinette). This organizer lives on the bench seat and takes up little room. If we have guests, it’s easy to place out of the way.
Shelf – the past two trips putting a small shelf on the table has helped with space issues.
Multi-USB charger via Amazon. Last month I nearly had a meltdown about the 4 USB charging cords, the lamp cord, and the computer charger cord all jumbled (is that a word?) together on the dinette area. So, I found this multi-USB charger that has a sticky surface on the bottom which keeps it steady and from falling off the table. It is the perfect answer to the USB chargers – just one device plugged into the outlet yet allows up to 6 items to be recharged. Yes, this leaves only one outlet to be alternated between the lamp and computer charger but we are managing! 😊
USB rechargeable mini fans via Amazon. These little fans are powerful. They are clip-on and originally a family member purchased for their baby stroller. The fact they are USB rechargeable was the selling factor for me, but the round fan part rotates 360 degrees, and has multi-speed settings. I bought a second one to put on my husband’s side of the bed. We keep one in our towing vehicle when driving in case of a “hot flash” , or the fur baby needs extra air.
Phone Stand – Easy and convenient to rest your phone at a reclining position to allow recharging, or easy access to read, and swipe.
I had been looking for something to put on the side of this cabinet because it is at the entrance to our bedroom. At times I’ve needed to put something in this spot for easy access for us – keys, a small flashlight on a string, 5 x 7 cards with important info, campground info, etc.
This was perfect!! As usual I hung it with Command Hooks.
When we sell the Travel Trailer I plan to remove all my décor details so the
next owner can decorate as they wish.
This is not a Pinterest find!! I actually dreamed up this Hack because I was worried about the weight that heavy items were putting on our cheap travel trailer doors.
Our slide is not flush against the wall; there is about a 1” gap at the top. This over-the-door rack fits perfectly snug over the lip of the slide.
To keep it from scratching the wood I temporarily put a wash
cloth over the edge but plan to find something nicer. 😊
This rack holds my heavy purse or Kavu bag, and heavy jackets at this time. It’s worked out well and will be a permanent hack for us. Of course I remove it when we have to bring in the slide, but that takes about 5 seconds and I store the door hanger in the bathroom closet until we reach our next destination, then rehang.
“We need more storage in our Travel Trailer”, and “It’s all about the weight” — how many times do you find yourself saying this?
We are staring at 4 months in Florida, and I’m feeling panic. HOW can we live in our 28′ Travel Trailer for that long? Where will we put everything? Yet we can’t add too much weight!
These hanging storage items are described on Amazon as: Storage Pocket Wardrobe Organizer Bag Multi-Layer Holder Wall Mount Makeup Bags. Wow!! I almost hung one in the bathroom but we have lots of cabinet space in there and not enough in our living area.
The gray one hangs on a large command strip that we actually use to hang winter coats. But it’s summer so it serves as a catch-all when we walk in the door. It holds doggy treats, and a small flashlight among other things.
As you can see in the photo, it hangs above a very thin
white table I put in the entrance way. When our small grandchildren were in the
RV weeks ago, I used this gray hanging organizer more to keep items out of the
way of ‘little hands’. If you have children it especially would be helpful.
The gold organizer hangs in a corner which I’ve struggled with.
This corner is only 12” wide when the slide is in and is
tucked behind the bathroom door when it is open. I found that we really don’t
want to put anything we frequently use in that corner. So I found the wire rack
on rollers, and hung the organizer above it and the past two trips that corner
has worked out well.
On my next post you’ll see something else I put in that
corner to utilize it more.
I had no idea what Title to use for this post. Maybe I should call it, “Venting about this Weird Space”. It looks to be a good place for a 1980s Boombox, or DVD player, but as you’ll notice the Sound System and DVD player are built in directly above this “weird space”. Below is a photo of the space when we bought the travel trailer — before a TV was installed. You get a better idea of this space here in this photo.
As stated in other posts we purchased a 2018 28 ft Palomino
Puma travel trailer 15 months ago. It is basic and what we wanted at the time
since we had never been RV’ers and had no idea if we would like it or not.
As you may know, there is not a lot of storage in most of these RV’s. Ours has very little space for food storage so I purchased various bins and baskets and tried to organize food such as breakfast bars, snacks, breads, ice bucket (unless it has ice and is being used), and in the back is a bin where we store our weather radio and a few other things. But I’m always rearranging and wondering if I can do something else with this space.
What about you? Do you have lack of food storage or a
pantry, and if so, how do you handle food issues? I’d love to hear – email me
at Kellykamping@gmail.com.
This clear plastic bin to the left of the door. has become our shoe storage. It is actually advertised as a bin for pantry or closet organization, however, I purchased two and found it is the perfect size to fit in this space inside the door and contain sandals and flip flops. I intend to store at least a couple pairs of shoes in the winter, too.
It is large enough to contain my husband’s Crocs or shower
shoes, a pair of my tennis shoes and two pairs of flip flops (maybe three if
you sit them on top of the rest of the shoes). 😊
The other container is full of sheets and pillow cases in
the closet in the bathroom.
I purchased these from LTD Commodities (link below) and would definitely purchase again. I constantly hear so many of us in the RV World looking for storage solutions, especially for shoes and such.
This little LED light has come in very handy. It has a magnet on the back so we stuck it to our refrigerator.
We’ve had some unfortunate situations where we left our flashlight beside the door and when we needed a light during the night, this little light was super convenient.
I’ve seen them at a lot of stores, but I got this one at
Harbor Freight for around $3.00.
It was a quick trip to the Tampa, FL, area the end of February for a conference but we certainly enjoyed our week in the area. As stated in my previous post, we stayed at Lazy Days RV Resort in Seffner, right outside Tampa and thoroughly enjoyed our RV experience.
We traveled to Crabby Bills Seafood restaurant in Indian Rocks Beach on the Gulf. https://crabbybillsirb.com/
If you want some of the freshest mouthwatering seafood you’ve ever eaten, be sure and stop by. We eat seafood everywhere, and I mean EVERYwhere we go but this place was delicious. It’s not fancy – outdoor area and open air – but the atmosphere is as good as the food.
On our way back, we accidentally stumbled upon the horse track – Tampa Downs. I’ve always wanted to attend a horse race so this was a real treat. We didn’t spend one penny. I bet you are saying, “Yes, sure!”, but we didn’t. It was free admission and I chose to take photos rather than bet money.
While in the area we found an RV Park for our fist phase of Winter 2019 ‘glamping’. It is in Dunedin, Florida which I’d never heard of before but fell in love with. A very quaint town full of tons of things to do as well as a 50 mile bike path. Check out the Dunedin RV Park if you get a chance. As with all RV Resorts/Parks in Florida in the winter, it’s not cheap, but it is nice, located in a fabulous area, has a beautiful pool area and amenities.
Lastly, on our way home we decided to avoid the interstate and take Hwy 98 which went through Crystal River, FL. Just another place we immediately liked and want to visit again. We ate at Charlies Fish House Restauranthttps://www.charliesfishhouse.com/AboutUs and the waitress told us about Rock Crusher RV Park (State Park?) which has great reviews. We plan to visit the area and stay a while next year. I got some great photos at the outdoor area of the restaurant, and if you are in the area be sure and eat at Charlies. Terrific food and atmosphere.
Pelican outside Charlies
Shrimp and Grits at Charlies Seafood
Outside Dining at Charlies Seafood, Crystal River
We did a lot of other things, but this is a summary of the most important things we did and photos I captured. Can’t wait to return this winter and spend more time.
$44.99 plus tax which was a true bargain in central Florida in February/March. FHU, cable, and the WIFI was OK. Fully paved, no fire pits or grills furnished. It’s a resort and not a State Park atmosphere. The park is slightly sloped but they have planned the sites well and leveled them. Although the sites are close, the grass, shrubs and trees made it seem less crowded. We would definitely go here again.
Many people were there with children visiting the many Amusement
areas offered in central Florida.
The pool area was fabulous. It was a very large heated pool (we were there the end of February) and it is covered with a large mesh enclosure. There is a large hot tub, and lots of seating with lounges and tables/chairs which were all new and comfortable.
The bathhouse is attached to this area as well as a huge clubhouse and the laundry which had approximately 15 dryers and washers (or more).
Also, in this same building is a most unusual restaurant that looks like a gigantic Class A RV. See the photos and you’ll be amazed. It served pretty good food – we sampled fried mushrooms, a pizza and had some drinks. It has a pick up window on the pool side which was very convenient and utilized by lots of the teenagers.
This RV Resort is not your ordinary run-of-the-mill ‘camping’
park. First, it is connected to one of
the largest RV dealerships in Florida or the south, and perhaps the U.S. I won’t
bore you with details but you can Google this place and you’ll find it has so
much to offer including a gigantic area for maintenance/repairs, and they even
offer driving lessons to those with huge Class A’s (or I guess Class C’s, too).
There is a very large store with tons of quality goods related to RVing/camping. There is a restaurant down near the dealership
which is nearer the interstate as well as the one in the RV Park.
The actual RV Park is not huge but when you figure in the
property where hundreds and hundreds of RVs are parked for sale, and their gas
station, etc. it is quite a few acres and we rode our bikes all over the
properties.
There were a lot of Class As and Cs when we visited. In fact there were very few travel trailers, and since this Resort is right on the interstate, it is super convenient to pull in for just one night or many.
Again, we would definitely go here again and probably will
in our future Florida visits. Remember winter is snowbird-season and the
northerners flock to warmer weather so make reservations if you can. But if you
are in the area and need a one-night stay, I’d give them a call to see if
anything is available.
Kelly Kamping & Travels 