Stowing the "loose" stuff for road time

[MN Blue Skies]

I solved some of my breakage problems by not having anything made of glass. I use paper plates only and do not own a single glass. I use water bottles and plastic glasses with lids to prevent people (mainly me) from spilling stuff. Plastic also is a lot harder to break. I also use the adjustable curtain rods in the refrigerator and built some small rods in my grocery shelves after the first month or so of constantly picking things off the floor whenever I made a stop.

I don't own a toaster--toast bread and bagels on a griddle when I want them. Pans and pots store under my dinette, mostly. And since I don't drink coffee, no coffee pot to put away. Anything on the counter gets dumped in the kitchen sink. I use a soft plastic dishpan that keeps things from rattling when I drive, and I also use it to store used dishwater to dump in the toilet.

The object is to have enough storage that you don't have to leave a bunch of stuff laying around to pack up when you move.

Finally, make sure the microwave door is always closed when you drive because if it opens and the glass plate slides out, it makes a horrible mess and is very difficult to replace.

We make sure that our microwave door is shut but it has popped open sending the glass microwave plate flying. Now we store the glass plate with our dish towels.

 

[Larry N.]

We make sure that our microwave door is shut but it has popped open sending the glass microwave plate flying. Now we store the glass plate with our dish towels.

We would always put the glass dish under a pillow on the bed (after washing, of course). And because the GE microwave in the Ventana just had a light magnetic latch, we finally resorted to a bungee (to a cabinet handle) to keep it closed. We didn't do that originally, but after a very hard stop on a bumpy road when the door was damaged, we started using the bungee. Replacement was easy after we got it, but it wasn't cheap -- thankfully it was still available as the same part number.

Velcro that we have used eventually gets a sticky mess when it gets hot enough a few times, so we didn't try it on the fridge. Unless you're talking about a strap that only sticks to it self as a wrap-around, rather than sticking to the fridge itself -- the bungee was handier for us.

 

[CharlesinGA]

I stow everything in my trailer. I have a container with the split interlocking lid that stays on the floor under the dinette. It sits on a soft bath mat to protect the floor and has extras of sheets, towels, etc and on top has a wide plastic tray that holds three pair of shoes. I even added cup holders to the dinette table to keep a container of wet wipes in and a yeti insulated drink container. Generally motor homes have drink holders, while trailers do not. Gives me a place to put more stuff securely. I lay the walking stick on the bed. Everything is put away.

Charles

 

[JudyJB]

I use Velcro strapping to tie my side door shut. This happened when my rig was new and I had had the door "fixed" a couple of times because even if you had it double-locked, if you pulled hard enough, you could open it. In Rocky Mountain National Park, before the velcro, I hit a bump on the main park road and heard two bangs. The first was the door opening and hitting the side of the motorhome. The second was my automatic steps deploying and hitting some logs the park service had put along the road to prevent people from pulling over when they saw elk or bears. Bottom step hit one of the logs and became 4" towards the rear more than the top step, meaning the steps would not retract. This was a brand-new motorhome. Since I had called and emailed the Fleetwood factory customer service about my supposedly "fixed" non-locked door, they sent someone out to remove the steps. I managed to find an elderly, toothless small autoshop owner in Estes Park who banged the steps back into position and then got another mechanic to put them back on motorhome. Fleetwood paid for whole thing and new steps several months later.

However, I still use Velcro strapping to keep the door closed because no one has ever managed to really fix it, but I had something to tie it to. I like the idea of using it on the refrigerator door, but what do you tie it to?? Mine would need something on both sides. Maybe screw something into the wall??

 

[JudyJB]

By the way, a few years ago, a relative said she wanted to buy a motorhome, but wondered how she could get one that did not have any squeaks and rattles. She was very fussy about vehicles. I laughed and told her about all the stuff falling out of shelves and cupboard, and said that such an RV did not exist!

 

[meierjn]

We make sure that our microwave door is shut but it has popped open sending the glass microwave plate flying. Now we store the glass plate with our dish towels.

We put a small pillow in our microwave to keep the plate from bouncing around. That was a tip that my dad gave me!

 

[1stimerver]

In our TT all our cabinets, drawers and fridge except for one pantry have spring loaded latches/catches. They have never opened in transit. The pantry has two knobs that we secure with a simple bungee. Haven't had a door etc spring open in 7 years.. Did lose an icemaker that wasn't properly secured on a counter top during a trip on a bumpy road. But that was it.

Just luck of the draw I guess.

 

[LMHS]

For my refrigerator/freezer, I walked down the Baby Safety aisle in Walmart and looked for one that suited my refrigerator and that I thought was easy to open... often. It uses double stick tape to stay on. I cleaned the attachment areas with rubbing alcohol really well and the attached the straps. Then I left them alone overnight to allow the adhesive to cure. I think the package I got had two in it. It's been a while and I don't remember. I leave the refrigerator locked because sometimes something presses against the door from the inside and the door would open slightly.