The more I travel, the more I figure out how to travel. Some days are pretty crappy (yep, the same as sticks-and-bricks life), like when all the outlets in your RV stop working and the RV campground doesn’t have a 110 outlet on the power post. Fortunately, most days are somewhere between good and great. Still, I’ve discovered little RV hacks can make life on the road easier. And, today, I share a few more. I hope you find them useful as well.

I already wrote one post on fast, easy RV hacks. Since then, I’ve figured out more. This, I suspect, is a topic I’ll revisit again and again because it is amazing how many good ideas are out there. You figure them out by necessity and by copying other RVers.

Necessity is the mother of invention.

Anonymous

Two Uses for a Tension Rod

This might not work for all rigs and definitely not in the same location for all rigs but find a place to put a tension rod where it doesn’t block anything, add “S” hooks and you have a place to hang your hats. I thought it clever. Tension rods come in varying lengths so be sure you get the correct one for your space.

Hats are so short that they wouldn’t hang down and get in your way. But if you had the space below the rod, it could also be used for scarves, necklaces, to dry swim suits, etc. Maybe even a small hanging plant such as an herb plant. But remember that you’ll most likely have to take the tension rod down—or at least everything hanging on the hooks—on travel days or find them scattered throughout the rig once you stop.

The second use applies to those who travel in Class A RVs, and maybe those in Class Cs. The Class A rig usually comes with shades to cover the front windows. I’m not sure about Class C as most of what I’ve seen are homemade window covers such as Reflectix. Those rigs, particularly the Class As, have big gorgeous windows, great for driving but not great for privacy. Thus the shades. But the downside to shades is the reduction in light coming into the rig. And I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t want a lot of natural light coming into the rig.

Recently I saw a great solution. I saw a Class A with a tension rod with curtains across the front windows. But they placed the rod halfway down the window. The result? The top half let in direct light but the bottom half—the level which people could peer in—was covered.

In my first house, I did the exact same thing. I made café curtains and kept them shut most of the time so people walking past couldn’t see in. But I still got tons of sunlight by having the top half uncovered.

Two Reader Suggested RV Hacks

In that past post, I shared people using vertically cut pool noodles on the edges of slide outs to prevent the painful bang against a sharp corner.

Well, one reader told me of another use for those inexpensive pool noodles. When your awning is extended, put the pool noodles on the arms of the awning. While the awning arms probably don’t have any sharp corners, they are skinny and could easily go unseen, causing you to run right into one. Not only could you hurt yourself but, if you hit it hard enough, you might damage the arm or the awning.

Makes me think of a story I discovered in my genealogy. During the early part of last century, one of my relatives lost a teenage son in a similar fashion. He was outside playing and ran into a clothes line he failed to see. It caught him in the neck or chest and he died a few days later.

And thanks to blog reader Kit for the idea of adding bright reflective tape to the ball of a hitch. I’ve shared (some might say complained) many times about the difficulty I have hitching up the van to the trailer. My van has a backup camera which helps but it is far from perfect.

I also purchased a highly-rated backup camera for hitching up, but it remains unopened. From more than a year ago. I know, I know, I have no business complaining if I have a tool that might help and I don’t use it. Makes you wonder if I just like saying how much I loathe hitching up. Human beings, as we all know, don’t always operate in our own best interest.

Similarly, the bright-colored tape on the ball of the hitch is a fantastic idea. Have I done it yet? I have not. It would be useful all the time, but I think it would be particularly handy at dusk or a cloudy day. Really, any low-light situations because, for sure, seeing the ball in your backup camera is harder in anything less than a bright sunny day. Plus, wouldn’t it slow down the rust that starts covering the metal ball? Because of the friction when hitched, the tape would wear away but with such a simple hack, you could just reapply as needed.

Two RV Hacks I Learned from Other Campers

In the previous quick RV hacks post, I wrote about my “hack in theory.” My idea was to draw chalk outlines around tow vehicle tires before unhitching so I could line the van up to the trailer at just the right angle when it came time to hitch back up again. The idea, in my mind, would make hitching a breeze. Or at least easier. But, every time I tested my theory I ran into issues—either rain washed away my carefully drawn tire outlines or the ground wasn’t conducive to being drawn on, such as grass or dirt.

Then during my stay in the Portland area on an afternoon puppy walk around the RV park, I saw some boards positioned in front of a fifth wheel. I didn’t think much of it later, on another walk, I saw the person’s vehicle parked between the boards.

The “aha” didn’t come immediately but when we walked by it several days later, it dawned on me what I was actually looking at. The person used the wood boards as a vehicle guide, the same way I envisioned the chalk outlines working. In this case it was for his daily parking rather than for lining it up to the trailer. But it would work. I haven’t tried it yet. (See all the excuses above.) But if I end up with a few extra boards at some point, I definitely will. And no worries about rain or type of parking surface.

My workamping buddy, Rhonda, taught me this one. A light rope on the ground around the perimeter of your rig can help prevent a mice invasion. Other mice-deterrents: fabric sheets and bars of Irish Spring soap. Because Quill is double-hulled molded fiberglass, I don’t have mice-inviting places under the rig for them to sneak in so I haven’t tried any of these. But I do see a lot of rigs with lights on the ground. Before Rhonda educated me, I thought the lights were for ambiance or finding your rig in the dark.

Protective Screens

Various areas of an RV can benefit from a protective screen. Screens protect your rig from bugs. Walk around the outside of your rig. Look at every vent and ask yourself if bugs could enter. Not only do you want to avoid them taking up residency—I heard tales of wasp nests in furnish areas—but you don’t want them to cause mechanical issues. After surveying your rig, the vents you found could probably benefit from a protective screen.

I’m guessing not all fall under the heading of “quick and easy hack.” So, I’m going to limit the hack here to the screen I installed. It was super fast.

The screen I installed covered the furnace vent. The kit came with two screens for the two vents, two springs and the tool you need to stretch the spring from your rig to the screen.

The spring has a hook on either end. It took me a couple tries to get it, but you hook the center of the screen. Then place the screen over the vent and, using the tool, stretch the spring until you hook it onto the vent.

When I was in Nebraska last summer, there were tons of bugs. I started worrying about the refrigerator vent. There are rectangle screens that can go over each slat in the vent. I’m not sure why, but they don’t make screens in the size I needed. Someone on the Oliver forum suggested hardware cloth (it’s a sturdy mesh) that can be cut to fit. I only needed a little and it’s only sold in rolls much larger than I needed. It’s still on my list, I just haven’t don’t it yet.

Haven’t had enough of RV hacks? Well, stay tuned because next week I share seven ways to dry a bath towel when you live in small space. I know! Did you ever think you’d read a post about drying towels? I started to include it in this post and had so much to say that it became worthy of its own post.

As always, if you have fast easy RV hacks to add to the list, please share in the comments.

Links to Reference SSL Blog Posts Above:

• Tips for Making RV Park Reservations
• Fast, Easy Low-Cost RV Hacks
• King of Roads: Columbia River Highway

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