Best travel trailer tips!

[sangtarah]

We found a travel trailer! It has double bunks, a fold-out couch, a queen bed, and lots of storage.

Now I need information on what to put in it! And how-to sites of using it! And videos on driving! 🤣 

I was thinking Corelle dishes might be light enough, so we don’t need paper all the time. All the RV sites push melamine, but we want to be able to microwave oatmeal and such. And towels! I need decent quality, quick drying towels. The list is long! Thanks for helping! 

[Pawz4me]

Not to start off on a bummer note, but . . be very careful about weight. Know what your vehicle can pull (or, more accurately and importantly, what it can stop safely and quickly) and be mindful of that with everything you pack. We use microfiber Packtowels for RV'ing. They take a little getting used to, but they dry so well and take up little room.

For driving -- Find a large, empty parking lot (like a mall early on Sunday morning) and practice, practice, practice. Always be aware of stopping distance. In a passenger vehicle we all know to look ahead. When towing or driving a large motorized RV you learn to look way ahead. Be very aware of maintaining a safe distance buffer in front of you.

Enjoy!

[mmasc]

The ones that popped into my head immediately that have been helpful for us (we only use ours 1-2 times a year fwiw):

1) over the door towel hook for the bathroom. Helps a ton with space and I also bought us 5 different colored towels so we would all use ours ONLY and could tell easily 

2) you will need a hand held vacuum inside (I do anyway!)

3) get a little rug for right inside the door to catch all of the dirt/sand. We actually have a small runner that fits and it catches a TON (but I still use my hand held constantly)

4) we had to put a piece of duct tape on our fridge door to keep it from coming open on long drives. I have no idea if other people dealt with this, but one gallon of milk all over the trailer was enough for us to figure out a solution! Duct tape works great and no spilled food now  

5) we do use melamine and keep a few paper plates for microwave. There’s just a ton of bouncing involved in hauling that thing and I didn’t want to risk broken plates

6) buy cheap stuff to just keep in there to make life easier. Real forks and spoons, coffee pot, mugs, towels, sheets, trash can and trash bags, colander, cutting board, etc.

Congrats on your trailer! Have fun outfitting it!

 

[kokotg]

We use corelle in our trailer....just be sure to secure the cabinets while you're driving, because they WILL break (some of them at least) if they all go flying out of it while you're going down the road. Ask me how I know 🙂 We got our quick dry towels at JC Penny when they were having a giant sale (they're often having a giant quick drying towel sale, it seems). Congrats--have fun! 

ETA: if you like podcasts, RV Atlas and RV Miles are my favorite about RVing (focused on travel with kids, which can be hard to find in the RV world)

Edited December 10, 2020 by kokotg

[skimomma]

We have Corelle in ours and it has been fine for 17 years and still going!  We even have wine glasses that have held up.  I store them in old (clean) socks to protect then and contain any shards if one should break.

We like the Turkish towels like Wet Cat.  They dry super fast and take up little space.  We have also used pack towels but they are oddly "sticky" to me and I don't like the way they feel.

A foldable dish drying rack was probably my most exciting addition.  

I have a collapsable garden basket that gets much more use than I ever thought it would.  I can load up things like all the food/utensils needed for campfire food instead of making multiple trips.  We do all cooking and eating outdoors unless it is raining so I am constantly bringing things out and taking them back in.

A collapsible drying rack can be super handy when the weather turns wet or even to use when it is not wet as it can be set up under your awning.

We use clothespins a LOT.  Not just for drying things but for clipping electrical cords up out of the way, keeping chip bags closed, pinning up notes, etc.....

Because it is MY vacation too, we eat a late breakfast and a normal dinner.  "Lunch" is serve yourself.  I keep a small cooler (in your case, a section of the fridge) that is grab-and-go foods like cheese sticks, yogurts, hard boiled eggs, bags of pre-cut veggies, hummus, etc.... paired with a large basket sitting out filled with fresh fruit, granola bars, ramen, nuts, peanut butter, etc.....  When anyone says they are hungry, I direct them to these.  I also write out the menu for the weekend and pin it up somewhere so I don't have to hear, "What's for ______?" three million times a day.

[kokotg]

19 minutes ago, Choirfarm3 said:

We love this family:

https://www.keepyourdaydream.com/

They have all kinds of tips on their website. I think they started 4 or 5 years ago traveling with three kids. Only one travels with them now. He shows you mistakes he's made. They have tips for beginners. Love their youtube channel.  They just started E3 Camping which is perfect for beginners, but rather pricey IMO. Start with all of their free stuff. Then, if you want maybe join for a month or two, get all the info you need and unsubscribe. 

We watch that one, and Less Junk More Journey is another favorite.

[Pawz4me]

I just remembered one of the best RV modifications we've made. And that's to add several Everything Keepers. They're great for holding phones, Kindles, charging cords, small toiletries and kitchen items, etc. I did have to add some extra magnets to ours to keep them securely closed, but that wasn't a big deal. They really help with adding some extra storage space and keeping clutter controlled.

[rebcoola]

We have so many command hooks around the trailer they come in handy for so much.  We also add lots of those plastic drawers because big empty cabinets aren't that great.  We bought sheets and blankets etc just for the trailer mostly from thrift stores.  

[skimomma]

18 hours ago, rebcoola said:

We have so many command hooks around the trailer they come in handy for so much.  We also add lots of those plastic drawers because big empty cabinets aren't that great.  We bought sheets and blankets etc just for the trailer mostly from thrift stores.  

I think we have at least 100 command hooks all over ours!  The previous owners were really into them then we added our own.  Some are even on the exterior!

We also have a set of stacking plastic drawers and live outside right next to the door once we are parked.  It has all of the outdoor stuff we need like umbrellas, rain gear, shower flip flops, fire starters, picnic tablecloth/clips, flashlights, bug spray, sunscreen, etc.....  This frees up storage space indoors and lessens the trips in and out.  

Just this summer we added shelving to some of the built-in cabinets.  We used the plastic-coated wire closet shelving and installed it upside down so that there is a lip at the edge (the part normally used to hook the hangers) which keeps things stored on the shelves from inching off during transit.  The big empty cabinets were such a waste of space without decent shelving.  I also put even more command hooks on the inside of cabinet doors to hang things like frying pans, pot holders, cutting board, collapsible toaster, etc.....