CrazyCampers

We had a great time this weekend at Indian Trails Campground in Pardeeville, WI. We went hiking, canoeing, swimming, and had lots of campfires. We also visited Olbrich Botanical Gardens and Cave of the Mounds.

While we were there we did a couple more mods to our TM. I did the shower mod, replacing one fabric curtain with a vinyl curtain trimmed to fit the folding walls and applied with velcro. I also added a hook with a hanging shower organizer to hold the shampoo and soap bottles. The nice thing is that you can unhook it and drop it in the tub when traveling or take it with if you go to the campground showers. My DH loved the changes. I plan on shortening half of the remaining fabric curtain so it does not interfere with the faucet.

I also took the opportunity to rip that stupid vinyl skirt off the toilet. Stuff flushes now and we no longer need a push stick. If we ever need to travel with a full toilet, I plan to line the bowl with some aluminum foil during transit.

We changed the mod for the external refrigerator/fan switch to be two switches now instead of one. This lets us turn each on and off separately from outside.

We also replaced the tiny folding step stool with a sturdy two step one from HD. I feel so much safer being able to sit on the edge of the rear bed and place my feet on the step stool instead of the dangling-foot-over-the-edge-and-hoping-you don't-fall maneuver. The stool fits in the tub during travel. This was my favorite change!

DH and I replaced our two separate sleeping bags with one queen size bag. It is so much nicer to have the sleeping bag not shifting around when you move. I bought the bag online for only $80 or so and really enjoy it.

I suspect that TM only had one length divider curtain, which works for the rear bed and for the non-slide model front bed. On the dinette models, the curtain oddly stopped a foot too short. I added an extra 18" onto the curtain at the front of the trailer so it now comes down all the way to the bottom of the dinette when folded into a bed. My D16 loves her private little sleeping nook away from everyone else. S13 sleeps on an air mattress that fits on the kitchen area floor perpendicular to the dinette. The air mattress fits on the rear bed during the day and on the dinette while traveling, so we only have to fill it on the first night of the trip. With the rear divider curtain closed as well, everyone has their own private area.

One surprise we had was that we did not know that the toilet itself has a 5A glass fuse. The toilet stopped flushing and the fuses in the panel were fine.I couldn't log on here to check so I called TrailManor and talked to Ed who was helpful as always. What a relief to find out it was just a blown fuse!

It's taken us six weekend trips, but I think we are finally working out all of the kinks in our procedures. Everyone has a job. S13 helps DH with the outside setup while D16 helps me inside. She is in charge of velcro, tv, and setting up the WIFI repeater while I do the rest. The kids now know how to make the dinette into a bed, so that is one less chore on my list.

One thing that worked well is getting everyone their own color-coded laundry bag. You are limited to taking the amount of clothes you can stuff in the bag. Before the trip, we pop open the front shell and toss the bags on top of the dinette. After hanging up and putting the clean clothes in place, everyone is in charge of putting their dirty clothes in their laundry bag. During the day it is stored on the rear bed, along with all the bedding and pillows. At night the bags go under the dinette bed. When traveling home, they go on top of the dinette, so you can pop open the front shell shell to get them out when you get home. Everyone gets one backpack/personal bag that they take with them between the TV and the TM.

I also use a cooler to store all of the cold food on the first day. It has a cushion on top so it can be used for extra seating and is placed along the wall between the dinette and the door. After opening the TM, we empty the food into the pre-chilled fridge and move the dry goods in a bag in the cooler. When it is time to go home, we take the bag of dry goods out of the cooler and fill the cooler with leftover cold food and ice packs for the ride home.

We are planning out our two week road trip to the Grand Canyon. We decided that on the long drive days, we will do no cooking. We will only bring snacks and simple breakfast food. Breakfast will be hard boiled eggs, cereal, and muffins. That means the microwave and its cabinet does not have to be set up, the propane can stay off, and no cabinets need to be hung. The TV will stay wrapped up and we won't bother with the WIFI repeater. The dinette will be left down as a bed and everyone will shower at night. We will stay hitched if possible. When we get to the destination, we will shop for three days of groceries at a time. (Any more than that does not seem to fit in the fridge anyway.) I am working on meal plans for the trip with associated grocery lists.

We are really enjoying our TM and can't wait for the big trip in a month!