Simple Suggestion - Jettison Weight

Just a simple idea now that I have been on more than a couple trips.  All that stuff that I have been hauling around that I might use once every 20 or so years but could get at Walmart in a pinch - I am Jettisoning it now!

Now I don't mean the dog  but anything that is a duplicate (we all have them ).  My family seems to have a packing style that we pack until the space is filled up.  That's how we know we are done packing. ;D

This past trip we had two sewer hoses!!  And this was after improvement!!! 

Save weight and fuel.  Be better organized.  AND maybe stop in an emergency much quicker. 

The organization is just the cherry on top!

Safe travels!

Thanks for sharing. Many of us have learned this over the years, but you said it quite concisely.

KandT said:

This past trip we had two sewer hoses!! 

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Hey! I carry 3 - 2 shorts and a long. And, I'd like to point out, I've used them all in a couple weird setups. So boy are you going to feel silly when you come up a few inches short on your hookup cause you left that other one home!  ;D

I've been RVing off and on for about 40 years but I think I carry more now than when I started  : Without a doubt I carry too much stuff but I love being prepared for any scenario (zombies for example, it could happen)

We have 2 sewer hoses and had to go buy a third one when we were at the Escapees Escapade Rally because the hookup was on the other side of the RV. The hose had to run under and over to the hookup. So now we have 3 hoses. Think one of them was starting to get pinhole leaks anyway so time to replace. Might rethink getting rid of that second hose.  ;D

Vicki

    Well, a good idea, but....
We live 90+ miles to the closest Wal-Mart, and often camp farther away. Sometimes....”ya just gotta keep a lot of stuff”!

    Hate to lose most of a day of camping/hunting or just hanging-out in the back country....to go to town for something I should’ve had or could repair at camp!
 

When I bought the new coach 8 weeks ago my CCC increased by a lot. When I unloaded my previous coach and began to take inventory I noted a bunch of needless stuff, that is, stuff I had not ever used. As I have been packing the new coach I have been very conscience of what I am packing.

I currently have a 1,930# of CCC. I am being pretty selective in my packing. What I am carrying is the common sense stuff, 2 sewer hoses & accessories, a white, a blue, and a green water hose, a 20 Amp & 30 Amp extension cord, and I am going to pick up a 50 Amp extension cord. I also include in my packing a basic tool set, a portable Air Compressor in addition to the coaches on board air system, small gas fire pit, four chairs, three collapsible end tables, two collapsible dog crates, propane gas grill, propane gas for the grill (coach is all electric), toad/towing accessories, and one bay dedicated to all the misc. stuff. I still have one empty bay that I will leave empty. This is not an all inclusive list of my cargo, but it does give an example of what I consider important.

Two sewer hoses is a no brainer to me. I have been in a number of places where the one hose just wasn't long enough. I carry 20' of hose plus connections and elbows, etc., and my coach is set up with a macerator pump and hose. Having electric extension cords is also a must have for me, as is a portable air compressor even though my coach is set up with on board air and my toad (Jeep Wrangler Unlimited) is also set up with on board air.

Being ready for the unexpected has more value to me than not carrying some needed cargo. That said, I have to leave behind some stuff in preference for my tools and such. It's a trade off.

We are also moving into a new RV.  It has less storage than the 5er we just got rid of -plus we no longer have the truck bed to haul extra stuff in.  Our garage is packed with all the crap we took out of the 5er and I posted a close estimate on the forum of about 60% of that stuff we either never used or hadn't used in the last 6 trips out or so.

We are being very deliberate and conscious of what stuff and how much of it we put in this time.  Since we aren't full-timers (yet) we have the option of, say, not taking the fishing gear or leaving behind the bicycles, etc. if we think we aren't going to use that stuff.

But as someone pointed out to me, you just know over time you will build back up enough stuff to fill the storage sooner or later.  Haha

To paraphrase the Boy Scout motto, be reasonably prepared.

I go to spend time at the CG,not Walmart.  We usually wind up going to Walmart,Lowes or Home Depot anyway but my hope is one day we will only need food runs.

  The weight has minimal effect on fuel mileage....the frontal area (wind resistance), and tow speed have ?FAR? more impact on fuel mileage!

Sewer hoses weigh hardly anything, so that's not an area where I choose to compromise. But there are other things that seem to accumulate - they were needed one time or for one situation but not used in years.  If it's an item I could get along without until I could get another, and something that is reasonably available everywhere and not real pricey, maybe leave it home.

All this assumes that you actually need to shed weight. If you know you are within your CCC, don't lose any sleep and don't nag your spouse about it either.