Learning by doing

[Mitzi Agnew-Giles]

On our month long trip, I learned these things

The toaster oven was used exactly once.

We did not really cook anything except for heating up bean burritos in the microwave2-3 times.
Well, once I made up Sos.
Never used the mini wok or. 1.5 liter pressure cooker.

The electric kettle heated water to almost boiling for coffee and grits just fine, much less stress on the generator than using the microwave.

Cold cereal worked fine for breakfast if I could delay it till 8;30 or 9 am and we had lunch by 11 or 11:30 (In the real world cold cereal leaves me with a low blood sugar slump about 10 a.m.- but in the real word I usually eat breakfast much earlier)

We used paper or plastic disposable plates & bowls for everything except the kitties water dish.

Backpacker showers (no rinse bath cloths either premade or made myself by mixing Kleenex nonwoven disposable hand towels a good squirt of baby oil, a squirt of no rinse skin cleanser and a capful or 3 of water) were extremely useful. I not only made up more of my personal mix but purchased the "professional" ones several times from Wal-Mart or pharmacies-and you don't need to use 8 washcloths for each bath despite what the instructions say.

I still believe in only a few outfits and doing laundry. Wound up not using my personal washboard but using camp coin laundry. The weather and water in Canada was just too cold

[likeair2me]

Great post! I am glad you made it to Canada after all you went through. The "be prepared for anything" causes me to over pack. I needed your post to remind me to leave the weight behind. .

[thrifty bill]

Interesting. We completed a month long trip a couple of weeks ago. We used the toaster oven a lot! What we didn't use was the microwave. We also used the television for a grand total of ONE hour. Spent a lot of time getting the mount just right prior to departure...

We also used our Keurig every morning if we had 120 (2/3 of the time). 1/3 of the time, coffee out, or occasionally on the stove.

I like my eggs and toast for breakfast. So if we had 120, we used the toaster oven, if not, toast on the stove top.


We did laundry once a week which has been our traveling routine going back a long time. We used the showers in campgrounds as well as their laundries. We did bring a wide variety of clothing, as we saw everything from 25F to 104F, snow to heavy rain to very dry.

No generator, no plans to get one.

We used our awning a lot, more than ever before. Rarely used the two bikes we brought along. Needed swim suits, I didn't bring mine....

Two thirds of what we brought we never used. Never used the portable grill (used it a lot on prior trips). We didn't use our dehumidifier either.

It was our first trip in our new (to us) trailer. Also our longest trip in time and miles. But we have been camping for decades. Surprised what we used and what we didn't need. Should have taken notes and unloaded a bunch of stuff from the trailer.

[Gilda]

Hi Mitzi,
Thanks for the reminder that camping can (and IMHO should) be simple. We, as former backpackers, are generally, simple campers except for, AHEM, a few "glamping" items to make the trip more fun and colorful.

Recently we flew to Anchorage, Alaska and had the trip of a lifetime renting a 25' RV. After camping in a 13' Scamp we found it to be way too large, but were looking forward to some of it's luxuries such as shower, hot water and a microwave, none of which we ended up using since we stayed at mostly "no-hookups" campgrounds!

Photos show the rig we rented AND the "glamping" blanket and (empty) pillowcases I brought in my luggage! The Buffalo Plaid added that special Alaskan touch to our RV interior and kept us warm on those cold nights!

[Patricia D.]

An interesting thread that points out a big difference between camping and traveling with your trailer and how each person' camping style is as unique as their fingerprint. I find the hardest to prepare for, especially where food is concerned, is a long trip but with an extended stay in one place. On the road I want fast and simple yet homemade but staying put, cooking is an important part of the whole experience. So I fall into the overweight 'be prepared' category and know I need to pare down.

[Kai in Seattle]

Always delighted to see we're not the only ones who have decided to go ultra simple--for us that includes a microwave, which we use a lot--we do our best to always have shore power...I doubt Paul will ever go for a generator.


We use a black 5-gallon bucket and a pop-up privacy tent which gives us solar hot water and a place to shower (using a bucket seat, a large plastic tumbler and back brush stored in the bucket) on days with some sun (dark blue buckets work OK, too, not quite as well) --or we do an "Elvis bath" AKA "whore bath" (pardon my English) in the trailer--use a bowl of hot water and a washcloth and just wash the essentials. Harder to wash my hair in the trailer but we have a large metal "basin" and it does work with a towel on the floor for splashing. Of course campground showers when it works out...which it does, sometimes.


So many small "life hacks" in Peanut! I even cut my hair to a classic 70's shag after our first trip in Peanut...much easier to wash when short.


We're getting used to all the little trailer hacks, and so far we tweak them after each trip; sometimes during a trip. One of these days, Alice! Pow! Right to the Moon--we'll have it all figured out. Ideas from all over--Mother Earth News from the 70's...FGRV...DIY Trailer News...and scrambled eggs done in the microwave. (So easy--get a paper or other micro-wave-safe bowl, butter it, put your eggs in and scramble them, microwave for a minute or so, re-scramble, re-nuke until done to your taste--voila.) No need to go without a hot breakfast if you have power.


You're all correct! Some things we never use and have taken out. Some things we've used once or twice; some things are indispensable. We just discovered a special kind of heavy metal wire closet hanger (sketch below--the seller said it was a "tie hanger." [??]) that we can hang book bags on for our reading--new innovation for us. We got the hanger for a dollar at a yard sale--looked like it'd be good to hang my purse but this is even better--we were chasing our books all over the place. Hope it's not too heavy for the rod!


Thanks for posting--all of you! Always love to read Trailer Uses in the Real World (like Trailer Weights in the Real World, another valuable thread here on FGRV!)!!


BEST
Kai

[Kai in Seattle]

Mitzi--Sos--is that what I think it is? Did you use the microwave? Hmmm...haven't considered making that for decades! Could work! What's the recipe you used--I can't remember!


Thanks--
Kai

[Mitzi Agnew-Giles]

SOS- yup.
I small jar of dried beef
2 tablespoons fat (butter, nargerine, veg oil etc)
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups milk

I like my gravy thick and tend to use more fat and flour. At home I use the big jar and I rinse the salt off the beef in a colander. Got permission from DH to leave it salted

Standard white sauce,melt butter, mash in flour, add a little bit of milk. For camping/hurricane I use canned evaporated milk. For this small dinner trying for no leftovers, I used the small cans and filled them 1 1/2 times with water also. This was the one time we used toaster, altho I had found milk lunch biscuits in Canada and DH wanted to use them, I pushed for thetoast. With 8 inch plates deliberately bought to fit in the microwave, we had to tear up the toast after buttering it. I'm sure I could have putit in white race or instant grits also (both of which we carried along) I have a titanium frypan and pot set-ffrypan serves as pot lid- it was too small for the gravy so I used the saucepot from the set on the electric 2 burner unit that came with the Snoozy.

We might have cooked more often had we been able tostickto the original schedule. With 10 days removed in the start of the trip for DH to train back to FL and look for his passport and the time in Philadelphia for the passport replacement service, and then the short days from having to have the snoozie's brakes worked on-twice- well, the longer stays I had planned for the campsites at the Unesco World Heritage sites and the layovers for living history tours went away. DH did get to see the excavated buildings aat L'Anse aux Meadowes butit took a great deal of pushing since he felt guilty about leaving me alone (I am starting to get better about judging if the stuff I WANT to do is POSSIBLE with my declined condition)

The seafood in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia was swimming thru the sea only a few hours before being served on a platter. My original plans were a couple of meals out each location, then I'd cook a couple for a day or two till we got ready to move on. With less time we only 2-3 days where I had planned 4-5 and so we just ate wonderful seafood out.

DH also complained about not having room inhis clothing carrier- I had packed him 2 outfits for COLD, rain pants and slicker, and told him to pack 3 outfits for lukewarm days. He brought 2 pairs of jeans and we rediscovered jeans don't dry when hung overnight. I gave up using the camp towels for my shower after the first 2 weeks- DH was using his nice terry cloth bear themed towel, why shouldn't I? They are difficult to get dried out and get a little fusty smelling after days of dampness too. But my theory is it takes both to make something work, when 2 are involved....Next time GFB can pack his own gear, I will let him learn by doing. He also refused to let me use petroleum jelly on his ultra dry skin when he was cold, I finally switched it from his shaving kit to mine.

I missed the sprinkle of savory/thyme I usually add at home to SOSbut DH didn't.

I told DHhe owes me 2 more weeks in Newfoundland. I want to visit mariculture farms and lavender farms and First Nation sites and Port Aux Choses and see the Dark Sky park for a couple nights.I want to see historical villages with what they call "animators" (re enactors).

Got to go now, there are a couple things to do before I get back to our retirement cottage (oh, and 7/2 when we drove back into FL the heat ws like a blow, almost drove me to my knees in the parking lot of our firt FL rest stop)

[Kai in Seattle]

Hey,Mitzi,
thanks for the recipe...agree about making food on the road without leftovers!


Sounds like you had some real trials...good to overcome them!


We haven't been out longer than 6 days yet...we're considering a 20-day trip late next spring. Good to know about towels not drying; something to consider.


We'll try your recipe here and think what to do about the toast...we have a frying pan and a small butane camp stove for outside...that could work.


I sure hear you about figuring out what is POSSIBLE in my own declined condition! The "heat like a blow"--but aren't you from Florida? Must've been hideously hot! Yeow! I know what you're describing, absolutely--


Good to read your post, much rich stuff there! thanks again! SOS for dinner soon!


BEST
Kai

[stevebaz]

Buy bath size microfiber towels they pack in 1/4 the space and dry super quick after being rung out. They feel weird and take a little getting used too. You feel like your being dried with a shammy. But they really work well.

[Lisa in Michigan]

We use Quick-Dry towels from Kohls (their sonoma brand). They are on the thinner side, but they dry faster than our regular towels though not as fast as microfiber towels.

[Mitzi Agnew-Giles]

Kai, yes, we are from Florida and in the 60s and 70s I lived here without a/c. Not possible anymore.The heat triggers respiratory problems like asthma.
Stevebaez, yes, those are th quickdry microfiber towels I had. I had to make sure DH wouldn't decide his towel smelled too musty and grab the other terry towel. Let him learn the hard way.
Boy Scout toast- melt butter in a skillet, fry a piece of bread till it is golden on one side and eat!

[Kai in Seattle]

Paul (and I) love the Boy Scout toast "recipe!" You don't even have to soften the butter first--as it'll melt in the skillet. It's perfect for us! Thanks!


Found the jar of dried beef...been there all the time, hasn't it?! and I never noticed. Thanks!


Kai

[Kai in Seattle]

The Buffalo Plaid added that special Alaskan touch to our RV interior --Gilda


As usual, Gilda, your glamping is right. Very Alaska!


Kai