Bed, window and cabinet lining solutions

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Okay, we've got the Casita and now i find myself mentally decorating :) One of my questions is fairly practical. We will probably opt for leaving the rear bed in the Spirit made up rather than using the back dinette. We don't think we really want to sleep on all those cushions and would like a more substantial mattress. Anyone found anything to fit well other than an air mattress? Terry doesn't like sleeping on those - or at least the ones we have had in the past. I wish i could find the same mattress that came in the Skamper pop-up on my pickup, it is very comfortable. I noticed in some of the posts that one of you is using a feather bed - that sounds nice but surely there is other cushioning beneath? Would appreciate hearing the solutions the rest of you have come up with.

The other bed question i have is, how difficult is it to make up a bed with only one open side and in such close quarters? I have seen those sheet - comforter combo things that are all attached some way - are they called Bed Sacks? I was thinking there must be a way to make something like that. Does anyone have one and if so how are the layers joined together? I figured velcro or something similar so it could be taken apart for laundring, etc. I sew some so i could probably do something similar if i can find out how they are put together.

Next, I have never had cabinets with carpeting before so i am wondering what you do to keep the ones in the kitchen from becoming grungy. The people we bought the trailer from apparently just set their stuff down on the carpet so i spent yesterday scrubbing the insides of the kitchen cabinets with Blue Coral foam upholstery/carpet cleaner. (Great stuff BTW it did the job) I was thinking of the vinyl drawer and shelf liner stuff. Does that work or does it tend to make things slide?

Then there are the mini blinds...grrrr. If there is anything i hate to keep clean it is blinds. We live on a dirt road out in the country and there is lots of dust here. I try to eliminate things that collect it. Saw some old Casita brochures and there were curtains - really charming. Terry might want to keep the blinds haven't asked him yet (my fingers will be crossed when i bring that up) and in the case that he wants the blinds, what about valances? I was thinking there might be a way to fasten some sort of valance arrangement with velcro. Put the stick on kind on the upper blind rail and sew the other velcro on the valance. Don't know if that would work but don't know about trying to attach the wide curtain rods. (Hope this subject isn't too girlie for you guys.)

I did read the posts re the cold weather window covers and think that is a good idea and one i will eventually incorporate - i was even thinking that it might be possible to cut up a couple of the front windshield covers (the kind that those of us in the hot southwest use in the summer time). Some of them are made from material that seems like it might be a good insulator. It might be possible to put that stuff inside the quilted material - hmm lots to think about.

Will appreciate hearing any of your ideas or suggestions. ~Roberta

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Hi Terry!

1. featherbed mattress.

We've used one for years and love it! Pam made a sheet sack (sewn on three sides, buttons on top). Blankets and quilt easily tuck under featherbed (between featherbed and cushions.

Spend some money on a feather bed ... get one with good solid baffling so the feathers don't all slide off to one side. And we replace the mattress every 3 or 4 years.

Now, even with a featherbed mattress, this is still a pretty "firm" option ... but we have a firm mattress at home (which I wish was firmer!). The featherbed is plenty comfortable for us ... even on a 6 to 8 week trip (we try to take at least one long trip each year!)

2. Cabinets

Pam lines our dish cabinet with the rubbery, sticky, non-slip shelf stuff sold at Camping World, Walmart, even Dollar General. The rest we just stack stuff on the carpet. Both carpet and rubbery stuff keeps things from shifting around in transit.

3. Mini-blinds

You probably don't want to know how many years it took me to get Casita to replace those dated, dusty, moldy curtains with modern mini-blinds. We love them! Pam, however, is now lobbying for wooden-slat mini-blinds.

By the by, don't keep the metal mini-blinds down while underway ... they can scratch the window frames.

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We have a queen bed sack.

The sheet is velcro'd in and top and bottom is one piece.... Really big. We used it in the motorhome and is great for 'making up'. Since we have twin beds in the Casita it's no longer in use. If you want more construction details, holler, I'll drag it out and get the camera.

For curtains, can't say enough for window tint. We only lower the blinds at night. Have great visibility and privacy while travelling. A little tricky to get ready for the tint shop. I'll post the details if there's interest.

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I bought one of those bed sack kind of things or maybe mor a sleeping bag for two. maybe this is what your talking about. it's for a gueen, has zippers down both sides, but the bottom is attached so I can't take it apart to wash. haven't used it yet, so don't know how the washing past will work. I would have prefered some way of separating into two different covers, but no dice, unless I do it myself..hummm maybe I will.

I don't think mine has velcro for sheets.

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Bed:
Actually - I found the cushions on our Boler (despite the fact we're talking about 30 year old foam) pretty comfortable.

That being said however - I remember seeing (don't recall where) someone who went to a mattress maker and had one custom built to fit the back bed. Probably not freakishly expensive, but certainly the Cadillac of solutions.

Window Treatments:
I'd personally prefer they use pleated shades. That's what's in our Conversion van. They run up and down on strings that are anchored at the bottom of the window. No flapping around - they don't have to hang dead vertical (great on the front and rear windows!!!) and they are dead simple to use and have a very clean look to them.

Mike

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Charles said:
1.
Spend some money on a feather bed ... get one with good solid baffling so the feathers don't all slide off to one side. And we replace the mattress every 3 or 4 years.

R~ Okay that sounds like a plan and would make a nice topper for some kind of mattress. Still want to eliminate the cushions though and replace them with another type of "mattress". It may take me a while to find something so who knows in the meantime we may become accustomed to the cushions :).


Charles said: 2. Cabinets

Pam lines our dish cabinet with the rubbery, sticky, non-slip shelf stuff

R~ Good, i will get some. Glad you let me know that it works okay.

Charles said: 3. Mini-blinds

You probably don't want to know how many years it took me to get Casita to replace those dated, dusty, moldy curtains with modern mini-blinds. We love them! Pam, however, is now lobbying for wooden-slat mini-blinds.

By the by, don't keep the metal mini-blinds down while underway ... they can scratch the window frames.

R~ Ooops! The difference is probably where we live. We are in a very dry dusty climate - mold is not a problem here neither is mildew nor any of those rain or humidity related things. We have no close neighbors and thus no blinds or curtains on many of the windows in our house - bedroom windows are covered because the sun peeks in pretty early some mornings. I hate dusting anything. Maybe i can convince Terry to dust the blinds heh-heh.

That is a good tip about raising the mini-blinds. I don't think the previous owners did that because i noticed there were some marks on the blinds at the escape window - probably from the red handle rubbing. Guess the elastic straps that Casita puts at the bottom of the window to hold the blinds doesn't really work that well, eh? ~Roberta

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Window tint might be a good thing particularly in our climate. I have never tried the pleated shades but they really look nice and would probably work well too.

Thanks for the Bedsack info. I was wondering if it was basically a type of big sleeping bag. I think using fairly heavy duty velcro to join things at the bottom and the one side might work - the light weight stuff might separate too easy. Does the zipper go all the way around on three sides? (Edit: reread your post - zippers on the two sides - so the bottom is sewn together, right?) I used to make our sleeping bags years ago and may even have a sleeping bag sized zipper in my sewing supplies if i decided to do a zipper. I think that probably the sheets could even be stitched together at the bottom and then placed inside of a bag arrangement - mattress pad on the bottom and some sort of comforter on the top. The sheets could velcro to the bag to keep it all together. That way the sheets could be pulled fairly easy. Or i might just do a fitted sheet arrangement on the bottom and figure a way to velcro the upper layers to that and then would only need to tidy the top set since the fitted bottom would stay put. I am beginning to see lots of possibilities.

If anyone else has some good solutions, please jump right in! ~Roberta

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One thing about carpet on the walls is that you can hang just about anything on them using drapery hooks. http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/read.php...?TID=666&page=5

I originally used regular curtain rods, but decided to warm it up by staining some dowel rods, cutting to length, inserting screw eye hooks in each end. If you want to make a valance to use over the blinds, then just use regular curtain rods.

I'm using the provided cushions with a fiberfill feather bed. I opted for fiberfill even though I prefer down because I keep the back dinette made up all the time as a bed and if someone sits on it, it doesn't mash down as easily. The real kicker, though, is to use a high loft, good quality mattress pad on top of that. Use the two of these on the provided cushions and it will equal any pillow top mattress on the market. Nice thing is that it can be washed. I then keep a down comforter rolled up on the end for use on those rather cool nights. It doesn't get better than that!;)

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If you're in the market for a light, warm, and durable
blanket, I highly recommend the one backpackers use,
made of Polartec material.

I purchase 2 last winter from Chuck Roast. Polartec
blankets should be part of every fiberglass rig owner's
winter gear.

Go to http://www.chuckroast.com/store/blankets.html
for some quality Polartec blankets at reasonable prices, as
compared to LandsEnd or LL Bean (my personal favorite).

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Originally posted by Suz

I'm using the provided cushions with a fiberfill feather bed. I opted for fiberfill even though I prefer down because I keep the back dinette made up all the time as a bed and if someone sits on it, it doesn't mash down as easily. The real kicker, though, is to use a high loft, good quality mattress pad on top of that. Use the two of these on the provided cushions and it will equal any pillow top mattress on the market. Nice thing is that it can be washed. I then keep a down comforter rolled up on the end for use on those rather cool nights. It doesn't get better than that!;)

Roberta. We (which means I) recently got a fiberfill ''feather'' bed, too, for our Casita. We had been using a couple of ''self-inflating'' foam/air pads (about an inch or inch and a half thick), to smooth over the piping on the edges of the cushions, and it was a comfy enough arrangement (and easy to stow when we didn't want the bed made up), but the fiberfill bed is like sleeping on a cloud. (I will look for Suz's high loft, good quality mattress pad to put on top of it, though!)
:umbWe like having the option of putting up the large dinette, if the weather's rainy and we're going to spend much time indoors...

The elastic bands at the bottom of the blinds work okay, if you snug the blinds up so there is no slack. We travel with ours ''down,'' although Don's window tinting sounds like a good idea. :chin

The thing I absolutely hate about the blinds is the racket they make if I accidentally hit one in the night. :weep (So glad to know how much I flail my arms in the night! And all thanks to we-know-who...!)

:inbox Yep, one of these days I'm going to get some drapery hooks (that Suz has good ideas!) and mail those dad-burn blinds to Pam.

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Not sure if this is where this goes, except that we've been discussing feather beds here - both real and faux. A proven method for preserving featherbeds (including faux ones) and pillows is to never shake them....just hang them outside over a couple of chairs or whatever is available. Supposedly after a summer rain (something in the air restores the oils in the down feathers), but realistically, anytime you think about it. I like to put mine in the sun sometimes. You will be absolutely amazed how they 'refluff' themselves. So much so, that the pillows are hard to get back in the cases! It's not a permanet fix, but sure is nice for a day or so.

Almost anyone who has stayed in Europe will know this as it is common practice.

It think this is one of those 'for what it's worth' things. <img src=http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/uploads/3e05d074c9c1bsmilieshrug.gif/>

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Hi all,

Thanks for all of the great tips. Re the curtain/valance thing and using drapery hooks to hang rods. If i decide to hang just valances and to leave the mini blinds in place, are there large enough drapery hooks that will allow the curtain rod to clear the mini blind rail at the top? I thought the drapery hooks were quite small but if they come in larger sizes, than the ones i remember from the last time i used them for drapes, it might be doable. Mary, you might consider making the window covers for the windows as suggested elsewhere in this thread, that way you could raise the mini blinds at night and wouldn't bump into them :). I definitely think i am going to make some of those for the windows around the bed because whacking the mini blinds during the night sounds like something i might do!

I plan to check at Costco the next time i get down to the city for some type of feather bed. Got a mattress pad there not terribly long ago and it was one of the thick ones so i will see if they are still carrying those. I checked out the web site with the Polartec blankets too BTW. I have seen those around and have a polartec robe but hardly ever wear it because it is too warm for me. Have a feeling the blanket might be good if we were camping where it was really cold but otherwise too warm. I think i might like a polartec jacket to wear outside on really cold days because i hate wearing a heavy jacket, probably should look into that.


Roberta

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Roberta -

The hooks are small, they hold the rod up instead of the brackets that would be used on a wall. You get a curtin rod that will fit over the top of the blinds. Sorry, I do not have a scanner or I would draw you a picture and post it (I have a digital camera for my pictures). You might even be able to use a wide rod, but not certain about that. Hope that helps.

After the holidays are over, if you haven't come up with a solution yet, I'll start practicing with some ideas for you, then can take some pictures and send them to you.

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We are in a 2002 Scamp 5th wheel. We went to our local mattress company with our Scamp cushions for the bed and they custom made a foam mattress with a pillow top cushioning. I had them make it 1/2 inch narrower all the way around so I could make up the bed as at home(to give enough room to tuck in sheets and blankets. It cost us under $200 and since we plan to be on the road for approximately 5 months, we wanted to replicate our home mattress as close as possible. Check back with us to see how it worked out. It felt very comfortable for the few minutes we made up the bed. We will be camping in it within the next four weeks. Sue Flynn.

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Last year, I bought a Mountain Hardwear Windstopper Tech
jacket and it was the best $200 I ever spent on outerwear.

Go to http://www.mountainhardwear.com/ to read more
and read the reviews on http://www.outdoorreview.com

I was in MN this year and wore a Patagonia R2 vest under
my Mountain Hardwear Tech jacket and was very comfortable
down to 20 degrees.

LL Bean carries this Tech jacket also.

I'm a big fan of these fabrics, Polartec and Gore Windstopper.

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Before I knew that such things were available commercially, I made a double sleeping bag myself out of two comforters. Actually I just bought the comforters (imperfect ones that were inexpensive) and had an awning shop put in three zippers. The side zippers start about 12-18" from the top, and I had snaps put inside to hold the sheets in place. Nice and comfy :zz and the two pieces can be unzipped so they fit in the washer.

It wasn't any more expensive than buying a ready made bed sack and you can chose any color/pattern you want.:yep

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Carol:

Here's a bag that works both as a sleeping and comforter:
rei.com

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What I do is put a bottom sheet on whatever my mattress is, right now a cushion but sometimes a thermarest with a couple of backpack foam mats, using a couple of those elastic bands with clips on the end under the mattress to keep the excess sheet under control.

In warm weather, I use a flat sheet just pulled over me. In cooler weather I use one or two fleece blankets. In cold weather, I use a 20F mummy bag, unzipped, as a comforter. Haven't needed to use the sleeping bag zipped up yet, but it's there and I also have a warm watch cap if I need it.

Pete and Rats who use the stuffing from an old pillow to feather their milkjug nest

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Pete:

How's the thermarest to sleep on and do you put on top of
a foam mat? Are thermarest mats worth the bucks?

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Tom,

I have recently begun packing into the back country with our mules and donkey. One of the first things i was advised by friends and members of Backcountry Horsemen of CA, who are seasoned wilderness campers, was to buy the best Thermarest i could afford. I found it a good investment (pricey though) BUT one thing i discovered if your sleeping bag is made of slippery material you may find yourself sliding during the night :). I found some fairly wide, firm (well, firmer than what is usually found in places like Walmart) shelf covering material at Costco. I cut a topper for my Thermarest from that stuff and found it helped stop the sliding problem. Figure i will use the rest of the huge roll of shelf liner to line the cabinets in the Casita. I don't use another pad under the Thermarest when sleeping in my little tent, just the Thermarest is sufficient. I don't plan to use the Thermarest in the Casita because i feel i need to keep my various types of camping supplies separate for ease of getting ready for trips and for keeping things organized in the their own niche. So it will be the Thermarest for packing and probably some type of feather bed for the Casita.

Roberta