Camper Hacks
General Topic
Contributors to this thread:
I bought a new camper. A small toy hauler that I can use for camping/hunting.
I’ll still keep my wall tents, but this ‘glamping’ thing is a bit new to me.
What are some good ‘hacks’ you guys use when camping?
First camping trip a couple days ago.
What's the inside look like?
Very nice. I added a second 16 gallon water tank to my camper. I added it below the bench seat closet to the existing water tank. I ran a hose back to the pump, which has that second hook up for winterizing, and hooked it up there. I also added a 225 W solar panel on top and used a blue sky charge controller to get MPPT converting. That is nice to never have to deal with my batteries anymore.
cnelk's Link
Inside has a freezer/frig, 2 burner cooktop, shitter/shower, furnace, catalytic heater, bed up front, fold-down bed/sofa in back.
See link for floor plan.
Damn brad!!!! Hunting in style.
I don't care who makes it, or how good their reputation is for quality construction. Go through everything - cabinet/seats/bed construction/installation, plumbing, suspension, everything you can conceive of, and upgrade, support, or reinforce anything that looks suspicious. This will save headaches down the the road. For instance, if it doesn't have heavy duty suspension shackles (wet bearings that can be greased), upgrade. The cheap nylon bushings won't last a year. If the tires aren't Maxxis or Goodyear Endurance, change them. And while you're at it go up a rating (from C to D for instance), and have them balanced when mounted. Check all the drawer slides - take a few screws out and check their length. I've seen 1/4" screws "holding" drawers slides - they won't for long. All of these campers, especially the smaller ones that are not designed for full time living, are constructed for occasional weekend use, driving on paved roads. And even then, they cut corners EVERYWHERE in the construction.
Dang dude, your uptown now! A sit down crapper a furnace and fridge! Your gonna never go back now. I can't blame you, I have a couple myself.
Biggest thing on toy haulers is upgrade the cheesy tie downs or your machine will move around
Looks nice. Not sure what your floor plan is, but I take a very small fold up table to eat on (if only 1 or 2 guys), rather than putting up and taking down the main table every time.
There are quite a few things you can do to make things better for you, but a lot of it may be situational. Due to battery capacity a genset is practically a must if you plan on running the furnace a bit without 120v. Solar can help immensely, as can an additional battery. I'm not sure what refrigerator you have in there, but if you use a button to turn it on then it requires 12v which means you will be running somewhere around 1.3a per hour even to use it on LP. The furnace will be your largest 12v consumer by far. If it doesn't have them LED lights will prolong battery life, just make sure you get something in the color range that you prefer. Arcon, and Diamond are two good brands that offer 5yr bulb warranties.
The foam insulators for your roof vents as well as the foil reflectors help quite a bit as far as heat/cool retention.
For the black water tank, chemicals in the colder months and enzymes in the warmer months. Make sure to leave the black water valve closed when in use, then fill with water before dumping.
You probably have a one year warranty from the RV manufacturer, you do not have to take it back to the place you purchased it from. After the one year warranty is up the major appliances more than likely have another year of warranty on them, plan on using it for the Dometic A/C you have.....if you don't have to consider yourself blessed. A couple of shake down trips will show you any issues with any of the systems.
You can get a socket to go in a cordless drill to make it easier to put your stabilizer jacks up and down. Be fanatical about your roof care maintenance/sealants......and for the love of all things holy do not use flex seal. If you have an EPDM roof make sure to use the correct sealants, silicone will not work.
You getting soft Brad!! :)
Get a solar panel to keep your battery charged, I have two 100 watt panels. One is mounted to my camper roof other is mobile so I can move around if necessary..
Also, I just installed an electric tongue Jack on mine.. so easy to unhook and level out now...
Run 2, or 4, 6v batteries in series, with a solar charging system.
I should mention that it’s ‘new’ to me. :)
It’s a 2016 model so still fairly new.
I have a Honda 2000 inverter that keeps the new deep cycling battery all charged up.
I already made a custom fold down table, re-did the sewer line so it didn’t hang so low, have another fold up table from the wall tent days, changed all light bulbs to LED, installed a new am/fm Bluetooth stereo with an in-line toggle switch to be sure it gets shut off, and removed the microwave to create more cabinet space.
Factory mattresses are crappy. Get a memory foam mattress. My wife and I use our table. If the daughter goes along I use a folding chair like businesses use for overflow seating at the end of the table. Get leveling blocks or 2x6 boards to level the axle before you level front to back. Ton of utube videos to watch on this stuff
Also I found out the hard way, check the type of fuses it uses and buy several. If you are using load levelers, buy extra pin clips.
"Fake grass."
Grass?! If there'e grass and not weeds, are you really camping?
Don't forget the pink flamingo light string for the canopy, the hammock and the external tiki bar to set up on arrival.
Throw all the rv furniture away, put in carpet, a cpl recliners, and fold down big screen tv.
Nice Brad
I really like my Toyhauler although it's been years since I've had the Toy part inside it.
One thing I did was put a 8 x 10 outdoor carpet type on the floor and then load my toy on top so if a guy has any leaks or wet mucky it stays on the outdoor carpet. Then the same carpet doubles as a nice clean area at the entry door of my Toyhauler.
I put a boot scraper on the carpet outside by the entry door to help keep the inside clean.
That is a sweet floor plan ya have too
Good luck, Robb
Four different satellite dish receivers to ensure that you are getting the best in satellite tv and internet while you camp. Two 10kW generators to make sure you have all the amenities of home. A thousand watts of lighting so you can see everything within a half mile of your camper at night. Isn't that camping? That's how they do it around here.
Pretty sure Jaquomo was referring to the turf mat carpet to help keep the inside of the camper a little cleaner, similar to Robb.
If you plan on using it a lot in the cold you might consider moving the battery inside. Just make sure you build a box for it that is vented to the outside and won't leak gases from the battery (hydrogen!) into the inside of the camper. I did it for my Arctic Fox and don't have to run the generator all the time, even on extremely cold nights.
A stripper pole near the back in an open area. Some primordial urging in women ensures that if there is a pole they WILL dance!”
But maybe test your hunting buddies before inviting them. Could get uncomfortable.
I'll just post the boot scraper pic here instead of sending it separately to those that asked.
It helps keep the outdoor carpet from blowing away too.
Enjoy, Robb
I put a soft start capacitor on my rooftop a/c, and I can now run it with my Honda 2000 generator. I don't like to do it a lot, but it makes it possible for cooling stuff down a bit on those hot days.
A simple addition are coat hooks, key hangers, etc. every place you have a spot. A couple of coat hooks on one wall serve as a bow rack. Campers are easy to clutter and it helps to keep stuff somewhat organized. Camper supply websites have piles of handy organizers.