Anticipating Spring

As the snow has come and gone and come again this winter, and temperatures go up and down, we’ve been steadily working on numerous mods for “Connie” — our Coneggstoga Wagon [so named because we pretty much have to travel over some prairie to get to anywhere else from Kansas City]. But I KNOW Spring is coming now because I found these little crocuses blooming yesterday.  YEAH!!!!

I’ve spent hours & hours searching Casita and RV forums for ideas to make our outings safe and comfortable. Seems I’m constantly moving, reorganizing, or adjusting what we’re carrying with us. This past week has been particularly productive tho — to the point of finally getting around to drilling our first holes in our Casita.

We started by making a pull handle to open the screen door without having to open the panel first to push on the screen door release. I got the idea here.

A shoe lace is tied to a hole in the screen door release, down thru an eye, across to another eye, and up thru a hole above the panel. This way the cord is out of the way when the panel is open & both doors are attached.

Then the cord (shoelace) is tied into a knob used to pull on a ceiling fan or light. Notice the handle next to the pull — that’s to pull the screen door shut comfortably. We also finally got the fire extinguisher moved out of the closet.

Next, we put a screen door latch above the screen door for those lazy afternoon naps with the door open.

We decided a peep hole (from here)might come in handy if there was ever a knock on the door in the middle of the night. That went along with making the porch light a 3-way switch. Got the instructions from here or here.

Peep hole is located above the middle of the window. From the inside above, & the outside below.

I like the look of the Dri-Deck on the shower floor — but I’m one of those barefoot people, so needed something soft.  Finally saw this mod to carpet a false floor, fitted to the shower floor, that works for us.

We finally found some blue metal camp dishes we liked, so I hung the cups in the “soffit” area above the galley. I’m going to make some “pockets” to hang from the soffit area to store medications, supplements, glasses, cell fons, etc.  They’ll be handy, viewable, but out of the way.

Jeff attached a stick to the water heater to use to turn it on easier, and I attached screens inside the door with a blue duct tape ‘tail’ to stick outside the door when the water heater is turned ON. I also inserted and molded wire screen behind the frig and battery vents. We bought the vents for the furnace tho.

I often curl up at the back of the trailer to read, work on my laptop (on a lap desk), or watch TV (on my laptop), so we installed this wire shelf, 10” deep 30” long, under the back cabinets. It can hold my coffee mug, the flat TV antennae, & TV tuner, plus a magazine or book, & even a laptop.  Unless we decide to sleep back to front, this shelf is out of the way but very convenient.

I originally tried gluing this handle in front of the water heater switch but that didn’t work, so we bit the bullet and drilled some holes to screw it in securely. Also swapped the water pump switch for a lighted one. Got instructions from here , here & here .

We discovered an old Coke case hidden in our basement and covered it with the outdoor plastic rug that’s been on the ground all winter (ugh).  There was enough left over to also cover the carpetted step, so now we not only have an additional step, but TWO areas to wipe our feet before entering the trailer.

I finally found some rubber bands and wrapped them around the plastic wand that turns the window blinds up or down.  Makes a 300% difference.

We took the first available break in the weather to see how our latest mods worked out.  We camped at Brown County State (KS) Fishing Lake Friday night, March 12. The lake was deserted and the wind was wailing out of the north. We slept warmly and used the furnace. I know lots of people complain about the noise of the furnace, but it didn’t bother us at all.

Saturday we drove up to Omaha NE/Council Bluffs IA to visit the closest Camping World to buy four stabilizer jacks.

We headed back south and spend a quiet, cozzy night (with electric) at Waubonsie State Park.