Solar Oven Success Story

Today's experiment: cold this morning in the 50s with a sharp wind blowing. Sun bright so I aimed oven and it soon started climbing above the 100 degree mark. Put peeled, cut up butternut squash and potatoes in the pot with a little water (instructions say none is needed for vegetables) and they were tender in 3 hours. Temps hovered 180 to 200. It's like having a crock pot that runs on sunbeams! Go to www.SolarOvenSociety.com

Furnish Your RV Bathroom

In previous posts we began with the who, how and why of going it alone as a woman who lives and travels in an RV. Then came choosing the RV and now we are getting her ready for the road. Already covered have been the galley and bedding. See the sidebar to the right about ordering individual posts you missed.

Furnishing The Bath
In even the tinest RV the bathroom probably has at least a mirror and some cupboard space for storing towels and extra toilet rolls. If space is tight, keep everyday toiletries in a hang-up travel toiletries bag. When it’s open it’s like having a spacious vanity. When you’re finished with your toilette, fold it up and chuck it into any cabinet or drawer and it rides safely until you unfurl it again.

Most interior designers forget to make room for a laundry hamper and, if there is one, it is probably poorly ventilated. Early in your moving-in process decide where and how to stow dirty clothes. If there isn’t room for a real hamper, get a couple of laundry bags and find places to hang them. Doing laundry is another topic and that will be covered later.
For now let’s look at makiing the most out of the bathroom.

RV’s never have enough towel racks yet you need plenty of space to dry towels, the bath mat, swim suits, wash cloths and hand laundry. Here are thoughts on furnishing the RV bathroom.
* Add a second shower curtain rod to serve as a drying rack. A spring-loaded shower rod fits almost any available space. For drying light items, use a spring-loaded curtain rod.

* Retractable clothesline reels are sold in camping supply stores.
* Those popular shelf units that hang over the shower head aren’t a good idea in an RV. The weight puts extra load on the plumbing fixture and, swaying with road motion, the shelving abrades the shower stall surface. Don’t trust suction cup storage units either, especially with heavy or breakable bottles. They can break loose on bumpy roads.
* A wall-mounted hair dryer is a convenience and space saver if you have juice to run it. Get a household unit to run off 110 volts or do a search online for “12-volt hair dryer”. For about $15 you can get one that works off your “house” batteries.
* The shower pan or tub are good places to stash large or heavy items, such as potted plants, before you drive away. Protect the tender fiberglass surface with a rubber mat.
* Use fabrics as much as possible to soften the look and feel of a small cubicle. Add a plush toilet lid cover, a cotton shower curtain rather than plastic, and fabric window coverings rather than clattery blinds.
A Word About Public Showers
Many, many campers live happily without a bathroom for many reasons:
1. You’re paying campground rent anyway and that includes bathroom facilities. They range from the stark to the downright luxurious. Why haul around a bathtub when many campgrounds have hot tubs, hot springs , hot showers and a swimming pool with outdoor shower for after-swim rinses?
2. Without an on-board bathroom you don’t have to clean a shower stall or maintain all the complex systems that a bathroom requires.
3. Don't pay fuel dollars to transport large amounts of water (@8 pounds per gallon) and equipment you don’t need. The more lean, mean and green your solo travels, the lighter and more carefree you are.
If nothing else you’ll probably want to have a portable potty on board to avoid bathroom trips at night and in bad weather. It’s also good to have enough water on board for hand washing, helmet baths and the kitchen.
Here are tips on coping with campground bathrooms and showers.
* See information above about keeping all toiletries in a toiletries kit that hangs up. I also carry a handled bag with towel and change of clothes. A grocery bag is about the right size to carry easily and hang up on one hook if that’s all you have available.
* Bring a washcloth in a zip-top bag and a bar or bottle of soap plus shampoo, conditioner and other toiletries. Sometimes campground showers have a wall-mounted liquid soap dispenser, or a bar left by the last user, but there is the yuck factor as well as skin care issues that keep most of us loyal to certain brands.
* Wear good clogs in public showers to avoid picking up infections.
* Even if the shower stall is sparkling clean it’s a good feeling to spritz it down with one of those continuous cleaning sprays before you get in, and as a favor to the next user, after you exit.
* As soon as you return to your RV, hang up your towel and wash cloth in an airy spot. Many campgrounds don’t allow clotheslines so it’s a challenge to keep dampness and mildew out of your camper.

Next post: Making the Most of RV Storage Spaces

Ask a Bachelor

Have you ever wished you could anonymously ask a bachelor a question about how to get, keep or scrap a relationship with a man? Now you can. Go to www.AskABachelor.com

My New Solar Oven

To read the diary of my work with a new solar oven, go to
http://www.CampAndRvCook.blogspot.com

Furnishing Your RV Bed

In previous posts we covered the general topic of women as RV-ers–-how, why, when, where. Then we went into choosing the right RV for full-timing and now it’s time to address furnishings. We can’t say it often enough:
Living in an RV is different from weekending or vacationing in an RV. Living the good life is what it’s all about.

Bed, Bath and Beyond
by Janet Groene
copyright Janet Groene, all rights reserved

“Sleeps 6!” screams the ad for the typical RV, so your first problem as a solo act is to get an RV with the bed you want in a layout that is not chopped up into bunks and beds you don’t want. Much depends on whether you will live on board full-time, using every inch of space for yourself, or if you’ll have the occasional overnight guest.
If you need room to sleep your daughter and half her Girl Scout troop, keep in mind that people get up, get dressed, use the bathroom and otherwise need spaces to accommodate them, not just sleep them. There are other ways to accommodate oernight guests and we’ll discuss them in a future post.

Up to a point, unused beds are big, flat, empty spaces. Perhaps you can simply scrap the mattress and use the platform as a work space or a strage shelf. If not, look at what’s behind and under those unwanted beds to see if the entire bed can be removed to make room for a sewing cabinet, computer desk or something you can use. Such renovations can be tricky and may affect structural integrity, plumbing, wiring or vehicle handling, so don’t get in over your head.

We may have surprised you earlier by saying that the very first decision in buying an RV is whether to tow one or buy a unit with its own engine. Surprise #2: you can travel lighter and leaner if you settle for an RV with a bed that doubles during the day as a sofa or dinette. It takes a lot of fuel dollars to haul around a bed you’ll use only eight hours a day.

Beds are one more area where the solo RV-er’s needs are different. When a couple go RV-ing, it’s nice to have a separate bedroom where one spouse can sleep in while other can close the bedroom door without disturbing a partner, tiptoe into the galley and have a cup of tea while watching the sun come up. When you have a separate bedroom, one person can stay in bed with a cold or take an afternoon nap while a partner's life goes on normally. Living alone, however, this isn't a problem, ergo it's less important in my view to have a separate bedroom and a bed that is just a bed.

When the entire RV is yours alone, you can transform it from living room to bedroom and back whenever you please. Full disclosure: the bed in my own, 21-foot RV is a comfortable couch by day and a not-quite-double-width by night. I have lived in it for as long as eight months at a time, willingly making up the bed each night and stowing the bedding each morning rather than getting a larger RV.

Bedding
If your RV bed is a standard size, simply buy standard sheets. You may have to shop specialty stores or websites to find oddball sizes but ready-made sheets can be found in sizes ranging from bunk or twin extra-long to California King, both fitted and flat. Looks can be deceiving, so measure the bed to know for sure. Ditto pillow cases. They come in many shapes including full body pillow size.
If the bed is an odd size or shape as many RV beds are, you can sew your own sheets or buy a special bedding system such as Travasak, sold by RV and boating suppliers. Available in many sizes, colors and materials, Travasak combines a summer blanket, winter blanket and sheets that attach with Velcro for easy removal on laundry day.
In hot weather, sleep with the summer blanket on top; on cold nights the “winter” side goes on top. Everything zips together to make a “sack” that, unlike separate sheets and blankets, won’t come apart during the night.
A sleeping bag or other all-in-one bedding system is especially helpful if your bed serves as a settee or dinette by day and has to be made into a bed every night. Instead of wrestling with sheets and blankets morning and evening you just roll up the bedding system and stuff it into its own storage bag. When bedtime comes, pull out the bed , shake out the Travasak (CampingWorld.com) , RV SuperBag (rvsuperbag.com) or sleeping bag (llbean.com) and slip in.
RV’s in the showroom look too, too cute with their tapestry bedspreads and tasseled throw pillows. Then bedtime comes and you have take all this bulk off the bed and stow it somewhere. But who wants to haul around pillow stuffing and upholstery? If you can opt out of the bedding package, save the money and choose your own bedding based on washability, durability and ease of making up the bed.
A quilt or duvet makes a nice spread you can also sleep with. If you want to cover the bed with throw pillows during the day, buy empty pillow shams. Then stuff them with extra bedding, ski vests and other soft goods you have to store anyway.

Love great camp cooking recipes? Go to
http://www.CampAndRVCook.blogspot.com

Next post: Furnishing the Bath

Aussie Mother and Kids Camp Europe

Virginia Lowe is an Australian mother who traveled extensively in Europe in a campervan with children ages 1 and 4. She recorded their experiences through age 8 in words and art, creating a magnificent book aimed not just at parents but at teachers and other professionals. The book, "Stories, Pictures and Reality: Two children tell" (Routledge 2007) can be ordered at

http://www.createakidsbook.com.au
Prices are in Australian dollars.

Great Eating at the Wheel

Do you snack while at the wheel? Make your own trail mix to save money, reduce calories, add antioxidants, reduce chemicals and other junk ingredients and try lots of great taste treats. Go go http://www.CreateAGorp.blogspot.com