What do the Sages suggest as useful gadgets?

[J Mac]

Devil Dog, what do you do with the bacon fat?

[blond1]

What to do with grease/fat: Amazon.com: Camco 42281 Grease Storage Container: Automotive

[Devil Dog]

Bacon grease uses , for frying with. Like eggs , toast , I keep some in the fridge for back up in case the veggie oil runs out. Would work on the ball hitch if you had nothing else. It's a multi use product.

[scubarx]

A complete set of greased bearings and races (maybe two sets) with nut, washer and cotter pin for that time out in the desert on the side of the road with a smoking hub. Even if you are the most mechanically inept person in the world, having the right parts for the Good Samaritan that will inevitably come along will be the cheapest insurance you can have against bearing failure.

[escape artist]

Hi: blond1... Next time you make biscuits for sausage gravy, try using bacon fat instead of lard or shortening. Yummm!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of lake Erie

[blond1]

I'm a southern girl! I always use lard. But I make a great cheesecake using bacon fat in the crust and topped with candied bacon.

[Jubal]

http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f1...tting-162.html

[DavidF]

Jubal,

Thanks for the link to the older thread
Useful stuff here. My hope on this thread though was for the wise sages to suggest items they have found essential for rv camping.

Coming from tenting/backpacking there are quite a few items that people have suggested that I've found really interesting. For example a set of wheel bearings... Donna's washing line.

Packing lists are helpful as well!

Have a escape filled 2014..

David

[Brian B-P]

I understand that people carry spare bearings because many trailer owners have bearing problems, but do you carry spare bearings for you tug? Probably not, even though older vehicles had bearings just like a typical trailer.

An alternative is to not have bearing problems - that means packing and adjusting them properly. That in turn means ignoring almost anything you might read in an internet forum or see in a YouTube video, and instead following the manufacturer's directions (that's Dexter Axle for Escapes).

[gbaglo]

Or paying somebody who knows what they are doing and does it regularly.
Peace of mind.

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Or paying somebody who knows what they are doing and does it regularly.
Peace of mind.

I thought that is legal only in Nevada!!

[Donna D.]

I don't remember all the things the old thread says, but I suggest to you to not cheap out on comfortable outside chairs! Everyone "sits" differently. But I can tell you (for me), sitting at a picnic table for hours kills my back. A whole lot of the camping experience is outside. Be comfortable! And, when I said "don't cheap out," it's not so much about the dollars spent on chairs as much as it is the time to pick out good ones for yourself. They really do require a sit test.

[Ruthe]

Donna, we love your clothesline idea -- and I intend to spend a lot of time on the outside furniture. On our first cross country trip -- three months -- we had a Ford Ltd and a tent and two kids and no room for chairs and it definitely got old.

[gbaglo]

When choosing chairs, consider the weight as well as the comfort. I bought one of those zero-gravity chairs, but I've considered leaving it at home because of the weight ( and it's cumbersome ).
And, do try the chairs out. I left a couple chairs leaning against the dumpster in a provincial park. Top of the chair dug into my back.

[Donna D.]

I don't want to trash the OP's thread, but as I said... a clothesline for me is a necessity. Years ago, my child was a tween. We were camping for a long weekend.. and there was a pool. "Mom, I can't wear a wet swim suit and ewwww this towel is wet." Our campsite looked like a laundry facility with wet stuff draped over the propane tanks, hanging off the open door and hanging from suction hooks everywhere. NEVER AGAIN!

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

An alternative is to not have bearing problems - that means packing and adjusting them properly. That in turn means ignoring almost anything you might read in an internet forum or see in a YouTube video, and instead following the manufacturer's directions (that's Dexter Axle for Escapes).

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Or paying somebody who knows what they are doing and does it regularly.
Peace of mind.

Doing something regularly does not necessarily mean doing it well; after all, repair businesses make money by fixing stuff, not having it operate trouble-free for years. Certainly, get someone else to do it properly; the trick to getting that peace of mind is knowing if they are doing it properly or not. I have read statements in forums by people who claim to be professionals who definitely do it wrong. If someone says that you need to bring your trailer back to adjust the bearings after they get a chance to get seated, they probably are not installing and adjusting them properly in the first place.

[gbaglo]

My mechanic owns a boat and trailer so I have confidence that he's not just adept at oil changes.
I repacked the bearings on a boat trailer I owned once. It took a fair amount of time and was really messy ( no solvent tank and sprayer, like at the garage ). And, I couldn't get the nut on properly so the cotter pin would go through the hole. It was either too tight or too loose. Last time for me.

[Jim Bennett]

I always take a 30' length of 6mil rope for camp use. It is our clothesline, tarp line, or any of many other uses.

[gbaglo]

I've got the head off of a small sledge hammer. I tie my tarp line through the hole in the head and throw it up and over a branch. The hammer head is heavy enough to bring the rope back down through branches. Wrap the end of the rope around the tree trunk a few times to secure it ( friction and a couple knots holds it ). Lay the tarp over the rope and do the same over another tree branch. Gets the tarp high overhead.
I call the hammer head my "Tarpulator".

[Jim Bennett]

Did the hammer head ever come back down and knock you on the noggin. Would 'splain a few things.