More Sanding on the Endcap

I have been busy sanding the back of the RV. It has taken countless hours of sanding to remove all the paint but I have made great progress.I began sanding with 80 grit sandpaper to remove the clear coat which was damaged while knowing I had to really get down to the surface of the paint.

As I was sanding through the clear coat I switched over to 180 grit to reduce my aggressiveness and to smooth the 80 grit scratches. Once I got down to the old paint I decided it was probably best to remove the paint as well and sand to the the fiberglass

To do that I continued with the 180 grit until I began to see the primer and then I switched to 240 Grit once again moving to a finer grit to smooth the scratches of the 180 grit sandpaper.

Once the primer was wearing through the last grit I chose to use was 320 grit. Once finished with this paper I will have a very smooth surface for application of the first few layers of epoxy primer.

That is where I'm at at this point in time I sanded for hours and hours resulting in a surface as "smooth as a baby's butt" (well maybe not that smooth).Now I am focusing on caulk removal and finishing sanding all the hard to get to spots.

The next step will be to prepare a paint shelter that will protect me from the elements when I start the painting process of the epoxy primer. I will be using an epoxy primer from southern polyurethanes based upon recommendations from a forum I joined.

My paint shelter will be constructed out of 3/4 in. PVC pipe and thin plastic sheeting that is transparent to let the light in. It will be constructed so that it will cover the entire end cap. This will provide me a protected space from the elements such as dust, debris and bugs thus protecting my fresh paint.

So now it's a waiting game and time to buy my final products to get the job done. My plan is to start painting sometime around the 6 or 7th of October!

Some Nifty Storage bag for water and sewer hoses…

Just so you know these bags were sent to me as a promotion with the request that I review them. I have been offered a lot of RV related “stuff” over the years and have turned down most of the items offered. However, these bags intrigued me as I saw a need for them in our everyday life and willingly accepted their generous offer of trying out their bags.

Like us, one thing which befuddles many an RV’er is how to organize items. One place I never spent much time organizing was our wet bay. I did, however, think it would be nice to have some type of bag, box or other device to use in order to better organize and store the items in our wet bay.

Well, to our rescue were these premium RV hose bags made by Humanfriendly. The bags are made using a polyurethane material and can be secured using a drawstring. They also have convenient grab handle making things easier to move about.

What makes these bags stand out is that they are waterproof! This means when we are storing our hose and if we still have some water in it then the water will remain in the bag and not in our wet bay floor. Being waterproof is nice but the bags are also vented since the top half of the bag is made from a breathable mesh.

The bags sizes are nice in that we a can fully store our hoses up to 100 feet in length in the bags labeled hoses. We can store our Slinkys in the other bag. Each bag is labeled with unique rubber tag making it easy to find the bag we are looking for. No longer will our hoses and extra slinky be in an unsightly mess in one of the bins.

Also these bags carry a one year warranty so if a bag doesn’t hold up they will replace it free of charge! We found them to be well made, the right size to hold 50’ zero gravity hoses, cords and more. They also help keep the back clean from sand and dirt. I’m glad to have them. Plus I love the clever tags.

Now, when leaving a site I have a handy way to store all our wet bay items in these nifty little bags making our break down days a bit easier and neater. While the company didn’t send me a link for for their product I was able to find them on Amazon so if interested, check out their bags here.

NOTE:  We are currently in Mesa, Arizona until November 1st…

Replacing Our RV Windshield–Finally!!!

With our carpet project behind us we still had one big issue to address while staying in College Station. That issue was having our windshield replaced in the RV after destroying it after hitting a turkey in the Florida panhandle. It is amazing how long this has taken but is an example of one of the problems with living in a RV full time.

After the insurance adjuster finally looked over our rig in New Orleans we contacted several glass shops in southern Louisiana to no avail. The only one who gave me a quote was outrageously expensive. The Hesters who pen the blog Winds of Destiny – RVLife made a comment on one of my past blogs about a fellow out of New Braunfels, Tx who travels up to 150 miles to do RV windshields. They had theirs replaced by him.

After this recommendation I contacted Texas Lightning Glass in New Braunfels and explained I would be in College Station and asked if he would travel over and replace our RV windshield. His pricing was more in line with what insurance indicated it should be so we made a deal with him and ordered the glass.

Thankfully the glass made it in unscathed in the shipping process so we scheduled the install to be on a the second Saturday of April. Well, the weather did notd cooperate as the appointed day turned out to be blustery, cold and drizzling which was not conducive to a new windshield installed. Another week passed and finally a date was set where the weather was much better.

Jerome showed up on time with his son and another young fellow. After unloading the crate containing the windshield from the back of the pickup truck, they backed in to use the bed of the truck as their platform for accessing our windshield First. was removal a beading located in the middle of the windshield gasket which I assumed relieved tension within the gasket holding the windshield. Next they used a special tool to free the gasket all the way around from the glass. This was tedious as there was lots of glue/adhesive in the corners of the windshield.

Once the glass was freed from the gasket they used 2 large suction cups to hold on to while lifting the damaged glass out. One fellow was inside pushing it to free it from the gasket while the other two lifted it out. With the old glass removed (in one piece, thankfully), they folded it like a taco and set it aside to begin unpacking the new glass. Basically they reversed the steps in removing the old glass to install the new glass. It was a bit challenging to get the last corner in as they still had to remove residual glue which was obstructing the new glass from settling into the gasket. With the glass at last in place they replaced the gasket beading and applied adhesive into the corners.

Wow, it sure looks a lot better not looking through a window full of cracks! Lightning Glass was great!. The owner and lead installer is quite a character and as he was installing the glass he was also training the younger fellows. He sure ribbed them a lot but surely knows his stuff. We would highly recommend them to anyone needing a new windshield should they find themselves within 150 miles of New Braunfels, Texas…

We both want to say a big THANK YOU to the Hesters for their recommendation…

2017 Updated Buying Guide for RV Kitchens…

With Christmas looming I thought this would be a good time to come up with a list items we have found invaluable in our kitchen over the last seven years we have been full timing. For those of us living in small spaces with limited storage space and continually moving around we have acquired things that fit this lifestyle to a “T.” Most of these items will either be lightweight or take up little space as those are the two major factors one must consider when purchasing kitchen items for RV’s. A few items on the list will simply be those that make life much easier for us in our confined spaces. So what are they?

Collapsible Kitchen Items – We have several of these Items such as a the collapsible strainer,  the collapsible measuring cups and the collapsible salad spinner. These collapsible items take up so little space and are easy to clean and sanitary. The colors of the measuring cups also makes it easy to grab the one you want… well, that is after you remember which color goes with which measuring cup!

NonStick and Heat Resistant Baking Mat Set

We use this all the time when baking as it can be used in the oven, microwave, toaster oven or even freezer. This simply turns any baking sheet into a non-stick surface without having to use oil or cooking spray.  It can also be used as a flexible cookie sheet. They are flexible so are easily stored anywhere!

Heat Resistant Kitchen Spatulas

We love these flexible silicone spatulas that are heat resistant so they won’t warp or melt like plastic ones do. Also since they are solid silicone they have no crevices like wooden ones for bacteria to collect and grow. We like having multiple sizes so we can get all the goodies out of any size container with one of these!

Below are some other kitchen tools that make our life easier and help keep our non-stick pots and pans protected.  These are rated up to 480℉ for handling heat. Now while we don’t have this complete set we do have several of these tools and if I were starting all over this is the set I would want in our RV. Add to this a Silicone Whisk Set and the utensil list is pretty much complete.

We currently still have heavy cutting boards but I would trade them in for a set of these flexible cutting matts. By purchasing a set of these matts in assorted colors with nifty food icons means we could use separate mats for different raw foods thus avoiding any cross-contamination. Cool!  I really don’t know why we don’t own these… maybe I should get us a set for Christmas!

Another item we have that we love for their durability and light weight are our Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls. They are light weight and easy to use and with the polished finish they are easy to clean as well.!

Since we are both short our must have is a Folding Step Stool. Without this much of our storage would simply be unusable. It is great for reaching the higher cabinets and cleaning those otherwise out of reach places. Sharon also loves it for resting her feet on when we are traveling since her feet don’t touch the floor when she is seated in the passenger seat.

One of the things we quite often reach for is our Hand Held Blender.  While this is not the one we have this Hamilton Beach 59765 2 Speed Hand Blender is an almost exact duplicate of the one we bought five years ago. With the attachments we are able to do everything from puree sauces, chop a small amount of vegetables or nuts and even beat egg whites to a a peak. So this is also used as our mixer.  We wouldn’t leave home without one…

While we don’t have one of these many of our RV friends swear they couldn’t live without an Electric Frying Pan. We simply don’t have the storage to have one of these so we list it here simply because so many others love their electric fry pans. They do make them as small as 7 inches which has tempted us but we still have never purchased one. We love our new T-Fal 12.5” skillet that. We recently replaced our very favorite Cast Iron Skillet with this one and it’s non-stick capability is simply amazing!   Eggs simply never stick in this pan!

Another item we don’t have that a lot of RV’ers say they love is a toaster oven. Storage is the big issue here for us but for those with more storage space you may want one of these!  We do have a regular toaster because sometimes we crave toasted bagels! We store ours inside our oven when we travel.

A bulky item we do have but really love is our countertop double burner. The one we currently have has two burners, one at 600 watts and one at 900 watts. We love using this as it frees up counter space and also, let's be real… why pay for propane to use our gas stove when we mainly receive electricity for free. Our one complaint is that it takes a long tome to boil water on 900 watts so I would prefer more wattage. In fact when this one dies we will likely buy one of the newer induction burners. While these are pricier than the one we have the safety it offers is more than worth the additional cost. And we would get one that ranges up to at least 1800 watts as well.

Two items we don’t have but wished we did!

A couple of other small appliances that are nice to have are a compact blender and a new Instapot. While we have items that perform these tasks these are two items we would love to get! For RVers short on storage space it pays to find a good compact blender. Having yourself this powerful micro blender means not missing out on smoothies or your favorite frozen cocktail. The Ninja Master Prep is, we feel, the one to get for RV’ers.  Not too small and not too big this blender can whip up favorite beverages in its 48-ounce pitcher. After all any bigger and you might just imbibe a bit too much!

The Instapot is one of the hottest kitchen products around now and they come in all varieties. Once our crockpot dies we will most likely replace it with one of these. We find it hard to buy one now when our crock pot works just fine. So it is on our Christmas wish list for now.

Coffee drinkers typically find space for their favorite coffee maker. We are still using our old trusty Cuisinart while many others make space for their Kuerigs or Expresso coffee machines. We figured we would use the Cuisinart until it died. So what would we like to have to replace it? We would love to have a the AeroPress Coffee Maker. This compact coffee maker uses an air pressure brewing process to make 1 to 4 cups of American or espresso style coffee. Boy, as coffee lovers, we would love to have one of these!

New on Sharon’s wish list this year are some Airtight Storage Containers. We had some aluminum ones with clamping styled lids that broke. So we bought some inexpensive ones at an Aldi’s Grocery Store that we loved except they were too cheap and the lids are failing. So after we ditch these we will replace them with higher quality ones. We love being able to see what's inside and the best part is that they keep all the bugs on the outside for that inevitable time you get invaded by ants. Although they are a bit pricey we figure one ant invasion thwarted will pay for them by saving the contents inside!

While this is not a comprehensive list we thought this would be a good time to share per the request of some of our readers a list of some of our favorite items and a few items we would love to have as well… Hey, fellow RVers, chime in with what items you have in your kitchen that you simply can’t live without?

Great Gift Ideas for your favorite RV’er!

Here are some great gadgets or gift ideas that we love or have found useful. I have listed them in order of cost so get shopping for your favorite RV’er :

Under $10

Water Bandit – This is a must have for RV’ers who like to use National Parks, State Parks and US Forest Service campgrounds. This little non-threaded blue wonder will attach to any water source!

Camco Fridge Brace - 2 pack  This nifty little item attaches to the wire shelves in the refrigerator  and keeps food from sliding around.

Quick Hose Disconnect – Make life easy with these quick connect/disconnects and make hooking up your water hoses quick and easy!

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Command Hooks – These adhesive hooks are great for hanging items in the RV as they are easy to install and come off easy without leaving a trace.

Microfiber Dish Drying Mat – Every RV kitchen needs one of these small but efficient matts for drying dishes on.

Quakehold Museum Putty – Want your pictures to stay up and not fall down? Don’t want to make holes in the walls. Here you go… museum putty works on any surface.

RV Slideout Corner Guards – Tired up hitting your head on the corner of your slide-out? Get rid of the those swimmers noodles and use these.

Vanicream Lip Protectant/Sunscreen Tube, SPF 30 – Sharon had to go through a painful process when she found out she had pre-cancerous spots on her lips. The Mayo dermatologists told us to use this lip cream for the best protection of our lips from harmful sun damaging rays.

Camco RV Gutter Spouts – If your RV doesn’t have these or the ones you have are missing you need these. They directs rainwater away from the sides of your RV thus reducing dirt and black streaks and installs in just minutes.

Under $30

Rand McNally 2017 Large Scale Road Atlas – It is always nice to have a good map to go along with your GPS. Also great for boondocking since it uses no power and it also includes information on bridge heights and highway exits. 

Selfie Stick With a Shutter Button – Everybody who takes pictures needs one of these to get a new perspective on their photos

Flexible Mini Tripod – Want to take a group shot or a time lapse photo of something and need a tripod? Here is a solution for your digital camera, smart phone or mini-cam.

Heavy Duty RV Tire Gauge –We all know that checking our tire pressure on our RV is extremely important. So pick up one of these heavy duty tire gauges.

Exercise Resistance Bands – Are you into fitness and staying in  shape then these portable exercise bands are the perfect gift. If you have a small set of weights then a set of these will make your outdoor gym complete.

Digital Wireless Indoor/Outdoor Thermometer – Need to know how chilly it is outside? Then this device that displays indoor and outdoor temperatures is just what you need.

Kill-A-Watt Meter - This cool gadget will monitor the electrical load of any plugged-in device. Why do this? Well it helps when you are boondocking by knowing how much power each of your plugged-in devices consume.

RV Visited States Stickers – Mark where you have been and where you haven’t been. This is a great ice breaker at RV parks as people will simple stop and ask about some of the states you have been to.

Camping Signs – Many RV’ers like to add a little touch of home to their camp site. Check out this camping signs for one that fits your style.many under $25 but others are higher.

Under $50

Oxygenics Shower Head – Want better water pressure especially when boondocking. Then you will want to replace tour current shower head with this one.

Zero-G Freshwater Hose - While we don’t have one of these hoses yet you are looking at our next hose that we will purchase. I love the Teknor Apex’s lighter weight and that it is kink-free. This is one great  heavy-duty RV hose.

Camco Heavy Duty Leveling Blocks – These are perfect for leveling single and dual Wheels on Class A RV’s. They are also great for Class B’'’s and C’s as they work well under hydraulic jacks and tongue jacks.

Under $100

Portable RV Jump Pack: -  One thing that has saved our bacon more than once is one of these. When you have a dead battery and don’t have jumper cables this device will jump start your car or RV without anyone else's assistance. I will say just don’t buy the Whistler brand as we have been going around and around with their company to replace our unit after it quit working after only two uses.

Drone Quadcopter with Camera – I don’t own this item but love watching them and seeing the photography they take form above. A perfect entry-level drone with easy controllability and the Amazon number one best seller.

Good Sam Roadside Assistance - Now only $79.95! - Every RV’er needs a reliable 24/7 Roadside Assistance policy. This policy has unlimited towing, lockout services, fluid delivery and more at just $79.95 per year! We have had this service for the last six years and had to use it twice. Once for a roadside flat repair and once for a tow 60 miles away to a service center. We love our Good Sam’s Roadside Assistance policy so much we extended it three years on our last renewal. Use this link and get 3 extra months free!!!!

Gift Cards - Can be any denomination

Not sure what to get your favorite RV’er then one of the best stocking stuffers you could get them would be an Amazon Gift Card!  Or you could pick a site specific gift card to one of their favorite restaurants by searching this link for gift cards Who wouldn’t want a gift card in their stockings!

Gift a RV Membership

Lastly get a gift that will save your favorite RV’er a bunch of cash when they go camping. Get them a one year Membership to Passport America. For only $44.00 your favorite RV’er will save 50% off at nearly 1900 campgrounds.

We have been members for nearly seven years and we have stayed at many of these campgrounds. While they may not be all glamorous resorts many of them are among some of our favorite places to stop…. and we get them all for 50% off! What a deal!!!!

Amazon Prime Membership – Need somethng delivered fast? Then you need this. Also gives access to free streaming of thousands of books and movies as well as millions of songs and many other perks!

The Good Sam Club:  For $25 per year the Good Sam Club membership will save some money. It provides up to a 30 percent discount at Camping World, saves 10 percent at 2,100+ Good Sam parks and campgrounds across North America, saves five cents off gas and eight cents off diesel at Pilot or Flying J Travel Centers,saves 25 percent off LP gas on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at Camping World and many other perks!

Harvest Hosts: While we aren’t currently members now we always sign up when we get near areas that are rich in camping opportunities using this membership. It allows members to stay FREE overnight at vineyards, farms and other unique spots. At $44 per year it will pay for itself fast. We found it best for smaller rigs but those of us with larger rigs can stay at a lot of real neat spots as well.

Boondockers Welcome - Another group that offers up a large database of free campsites across the USA. This site however, is not for those of us with large RV’s and is better suited to smaller RV’s as many of its sites will be in someone’s driveway. Great for city camping

Xscapers or Escapees: The Xscapers is a community of working-age RVers that holds regular convergences & meetups while the Escapees tend to be non-working retirees. Not only do you get great discounts on many parks you will meet a lot of new friends through these communityies.

OVER $100

WeBoost Drive Sleek Cell Phone Booster - Now although we don’t use this device it is the most recommended for those who wants or wished they had better cell reception on the road. Better yet this booster is an affordable option that requires no permanent installation!

Portable Grill - Not every campground has access to a grill and if they do they are usually pretty nasty. If you boondock (camp for free on public lands) you really need a grill. I currently use the Coleman Road Trip Portable Grill and have so for nearly 7 years. I find it to be an excellent grill for most of our needs. The only other one I would personally recommend is the Weber Q Portable Grills. We know many RV’ers who swear by this grill as well.

Instant Pot 7 in 1 Cooker – Another device we don’t currently own but when one of our major appliances dies we will most likely be owning one of these. Everyone who has ne raves about the various ways this one pot cooker can be used. Wow  - Just Looked and this is a Cyber Monday Special.

Garmin RV 760LMT Portable GPS Navigator – The ultimate RV GPS! This baby has a large 7" high-resolution touchscreen displays It has cautions and advisories (i.e. risk of grounding, lateral wind, narrow road, sharp curve, steep hill and tree overhangs). You can even talk to it. as it has vo. ice-activated navigation. It includes specialized RV routing based on customizable restrictions such as height, weight, width and length. And it comes with free lifetime map and traffic updates

Fitbit Charge 2 Heart Rate + Fitness Wristband – Sharon loves, loves, loves her fitbit. Maximize your workouts, count your steps, track your heart rate, see phone calls, texts and calendar notifications on the OLED display, automatically track how long and how well you sleep and more… Did I mention Sharon loves her fitbit!!!

All-New Fire HD 10 Tablet with Alexa Hands-Free, 10.1" (32 or 64 GB) – We don’t own this device but it is certainly on my wish list. It has a large 10.1" 1080p Full HD display with up to a 1.8 GHZ quad-core processor and 2 GB RAM. And best of all it has up to 10 hours of battery life!!!

RV Awning Screen – We love our Awning Screen as it gives us a sense of privacy as well as much needed shade when facing west. While we may not use this all the time it is absolutely fantastic for any of our extended stays and is always the first thing out to be put up. Your price will depend on your size ordered and some are even under $100. Make sure to measure how long and how tall you want your screen to maximize your room inside it.

Soon we will be in Bonita Springs, Florida for our extended winter stay. The best thing we love about staying in a place for an extended period is that we have a mailing address. We will be buying lots of goodies we need and have them delivered to our winter home.