4kids4me Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 Our first trip will be to a sight with no electricity and water, so it's a glorified tent and storage place...lol. I've never even stayed in one so not sure how to best prepare. Do we use sleeping bags or bedding, for example? Any advice is appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 We use sheets and blankets in our pop up. One side of the pull out large beds on the ends is a Queen, the other a King. Have a broom and dustpan available to sweep it out periodically as things get tracked in and out. What else do you want to know? I grew up camping and we've owned our popup for about 10 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 Just try things out and see what works best for you. We use old comforters on top of the mattresses because they protect the mattresses from dirt and sweat better than sheets. Then we let the kids choose whether they want sleeping bags or blankets. We have a green turf looking thing outside the camper that helps with dust. Also a piece of carpet cut to fit inside (rolled up while transporting) keeps the linoleum from being scratched up. Start out with a no shoes in the camper rule! This won't help you this trip but I take along a hot pot to heat water quickly, an electric skillet, a Nesco 6 quart roaster, and a toaster oven. With those I can cook about anything faster than my propane camper stove does. We don't haul propane anymore. If you'll be using a cooler for food, plastic peanut butter jars with a few wraps of duct tape work great to keep water out of food. Pack a first aid kit, cards/games and crafts for rainy days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 One piece of advice is to get it cleaned up and ready to go for the next time as soon as you get home or the next day. That way there isn't as much prep work o when you are in a hurry to get ready to go on your next trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 One piece of advice is to get it cleaned up and ready to go for the next time as soon as you get home or the next day. That way there isn't as much prep work o when you are in a hurry to get ready to go on your next trip. :iagree: Sweep it out, vacuum it out, wipe things down, etc. If you think you'll go a few times yet this year, buy duplicates of your toiletry items (toothbrushes and covers for them, shampoo, conditioner, soap, a razor, toothpaste, etc) and items like dishsoap, etc. so that you don't have to pack them each and every trip. It is a lot easier if you have a list of what you keep stocked in the camper for the season, and you don't have to pack all of those "last minute" items every single time you are going to camp. If you have extra things like extra jackets for the kids, etc. those could even live in the camper for the season so you don't have to pack them every time. Just make sure you have a place for them and know what you do/don't have stored in the camper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4kids4me Posted August 5, 2012 Author Share Posted August 5, 2012 Loving the advice and what works for you! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissad2 Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 I have a rubbermaid container under the sink in our camper for toiletries that stays out there. I have a toaster, hair dryer, crockpot, toaster oven and electric skillet that all stay in the camper. We also usually keep paper good in there as well. We literally only have to pack our clothing, food and bikes when we leave to go camping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 We LOVE our tent trailer, and have been across Canada in it twice. It is a really economical way for larger familes to travel. We use our trailer for sleeping and relaxing/playing board games and changing. Because we camp in the Rockies and Ontario where there are bears, we never prepare food or eat in our trailer. We have our "kitchen" set up outdoors. We store food in the car at night. It's a trailer, but essentially a soft sided tent, so not much protection from larger animals. Over the years, we've slowly built up the equipment we like to use. For the first few times camping we just walked around and looked to see what equipment other tent-trailer users had and what we thought we'd like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 We do food prep and cooking outside most of the time. We have a 4 x 2' folding table we bring along for this purpose. It stores flat under the regular table when we travel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMCassandra Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 One thing I did when we bought our RV was to stay in it by myself for a weekend. (This was admittedly easier because our house has a full RV hook-up.) This allowed me to try out things myself, get to "know" the RV better, think through quietly and without interruption what we needed in there and where it would go, and generally figure out a game plan. I assigned each person a space and figured out what kind of storage containers we needed. Obviously, with a pop-up there will be less of that kind of thing, but it still might be helpful. There's no substitute for trying to live in it, but it sure was a lot easier when I did it by myself first ; ). I also agree with the poster who suggested getting duplicates of some things. It sure does help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyndiLJ Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 We bought a couple of those metallic reflective blankets to place UNDER the mattresses, and they really helped keep the body heat in and reflecting upwards. I am always cold and we live and camp in the Rockies, so evenings even in the summer can get quite cool. We bought a couple of laundry aprons at the Dollar Store, the ones that tie at the waist and you can put clothes pins in while hanging out your laundry. We then tied them up and hung them from the bars supporting the canvas tent top on each side, and used the pockets to hold wallets, cell phones, glasses, etc. and it proved to be quite handy! We bought those 3M peel and stick hooks and used them in a variety of places to hold keys in handy spots, put them on the inside of cupboards to hold lighters, and pot holders, etc. We took out one of the cupboards in a corner, and used the space for a portapotty for nighttime potty runs. We then got a shower curtain and rod, and hung it across the middle once it was popped up and created a private space for changing or using the toilet at night (we have curtains for each side which are closed). We tried the "no shoes" rule but ended up laughing that we even tried it...too hard to do in real life. We just swept often. Like everyone else, we kept duplicates of cooking items, etc. in the pop up. You can get it all cheap enough at the Dollar Store or garage sales, and its worth eliminating the hassle. Enjoy your new trailer! Cindy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 We bought a couple of laundry aprons at the Dollar Store, the ones that tie at the waist and you can put clothes pins in while hanging out your laundry. We then tied them up and hung them from the bars supporting the canvas tent top on each side, and used the pockets to hold wallets, cell phones, glasses, etc. and it proved to be quite handy! We use clear pocket shoe holders and it works very well. Sunscreen, bug spray, a place for contact solution, keys, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4kids4me Posted August 6, 2012 Author Share Posted August 6, 2012 These are awesome tips, Ladies!!!! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cortana Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 We got my parents old tent trailer when they upgraded to a larger one last year. They're lucky, their's is the high-sided one with a slide out dining area and a hard-sided bathroom so no folding down counters and such. It's so roomy! Anyway, my dad built countertops for cabinets that sat lower than the sink/stove counter so that all the counters are the same height and it doubles the storage space. We also have the plastic long 3 drawer containers to keep clothes in, so much easier especially with the kids and not as messy as a bunch of backpacks and duffel bags. My mom got a fabric hanging shelf unit (like you put in the closet at home) and attached it to the shower curtain rod in the bathroom area to hold towels and toilet paper and stuff. We don't use the shower unit and the hanging shelf is so nice to have. My dad also installed some hooks above the sink to hang coffee cups and a metal hanging basket thing where I keep the dish towels and things. This year I bought a colored basket for each of the kids to keep their own toys and stuff in. That sure helped a lot, too. I agree with the others that said to keep duplicates of stuff in the trailer. We have utensils, silverware, dishes, pots/pans, towels, washclothes, first aid stuff, dishsoap, handsoap, baggies, garbage bags, dish drainer, strainer, flashlights, even flip flops and water shoes stowed in our trailer. The only things we pack when we go is food, clothes and pillows. Everything else gets washed after a trip and packed back into the trailer. One other thing I REALLY recommend is to find some nice comfy blankets/comforters to keep in the trailer. My mil gave us a big fluffy comforter that isn't a print I like but we keep in the trailer, that thing is nice to have. We put it on the mattress under the sleeping bags during the summer when it's too warm to use, makes the bed nice and soft. If you find the mattress not firm enough, which is a problem for me and dh, go get either a memory foam mattress topper (my parents have one in their trailer) or get some foldable foam mattress pads (what we have). Either one will help tremendously and help prevent sore backs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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