Popup Gadget Storage, and Customization Ideas

Do you like gadgets, storage bins, little enhancements and upgrades? Just about everything on this page is available at The Container Store, Wal-Mart, or most hardware stores. The 1/2 circle trashcan and rugs came from Bed, Bath and Beyond. Spray lubricant products are available at auto parts stores. Family Radio Service radios are available from Costco, Wal-Mart, Radio Shack, Circuit City, and numerous WWW order sites.

One recurring theme you'll see here is our efforts to convert "wasted" space into usable storage. This allows us to keep more stuff on the camper, making it easier to be ready for spur-of-the-moment trips. There are lots of places on trailers where you can attach various sizes and types of storage containers to convert otherwise wasted space into storage for food and gear. Use your imagination.


I wasn't satisfied with the way my sink was draining, even with the fabulous Vacuum Breaker, so I relocated my sink drain hose and connector to the underside of the camper. I used the same connector that was in the original location. I also had a flexible hose gooseneck laying around so I added that to make accessing the connector easier.


Here's a picture of the new drain location in action. I use a short piece of garden hose to make it into the blue tank opening. Notice the light in the old drain connector location...


So, what do you do with the big hole that's left behind after the drain connector is relocated? Stick a light in it, of course! This is a snap-in 12 volt license plate light that can be obtained at any auto parts store. The drain connector hole is larger than the light, so I used marine epoxy to hold the light in place and seal the old screw holes. The switch is inside of the refrigerator access door, right next to the light. The 12 volts DC was tapped from the refrigerator's 12 volt supply.


Here's a couple of pictures of my new light in action.


A picture of the Yakima Basket Case we added to our roof rack system.


Here's our portable vanity. It's a surplus makeup and toiletry bag and a small mirror, suspended from the hanger loop attached to the ceiling.


Our new clothes hamper from Bed, Bath and Beyond. The rack is a kit that can be disassembled into two rectangles and four short pipes and stored underneath a bed. It accepts the standard size mesh bags.


Another use for the Coleman roof brace.


The 1999 Coleman Sinks feature a larger galley faucet than the 1998 models. The '98 faucets were short and stubby, making it difficult to fill lemonade containers and wash dishes. The 1999 version is longer and higher up from the sink, and the fixture swivels.

I found this "Laundry Tub Faucet" at the local hardware store for about $24. RV supply stores also carry them for a little more. It is an exact fit in the galley sink. Installation was a little bit difficult, since the sink had to be removed in order to get to the hose connections on the old and new faucet.


 


As shown below, Rubbermaid Sliding Pantry baskets are great for Pop-Up Campers. However, they are not designed for "mobile" applications. The small baskets that sit on top of large baskets eventually fall into the large baskets due to the movement and vibration of the trailer while on the road. This simple modification will keep the small baskets on top, where they belong. Just use some 3/16" threaded rod, washers and nuts to pull and hold the sides together. I use two on the large pantry baskets.


 


This little 1.5 horsepower, 1 gallon capacity Shop-Vac is great for longer base camp trips, ESPECIALLY at the beach! How do kids get all that sand in their beds, anyway?


 


My wife asked for an inside clothesline that's easy to put up, take down and store. This is what she got, a pre-measured nylon cord with a ring and snap that allow it to be put up or taken down in seconds. It goes between the bunk end tent supports across the middle of the camper. This same clothesline kit also fits outside between the end awning support poles.


 


Coleman uses little nylon "stumps" on the bottom of the dinette cushions to keep the cushions from sliding forward. The cushions are lifted to provide access to the storage area under the dinette seats. After repeated cushion lifting and replacement, the nylon stumps begin to chew up the wood frame for the dinette seats. Eventually, the wood becomes so worn that the stumps can no longer effectively keep the cushion from sliding forward. This little modification will prevent or repair this condition. This is a metal "repair plate", available in various sizes from hardware stores. Once installed, the repair plates protect the wood and act as stops for the stumps. Notice the chewed up wood underneath the plate.


 


You bought a pop-up camper, not a sauna. This heat shield idea comes from a neighbor popup owner at the Cape Hatteras, NC KOA. We camped there for a week in an open site right next to the beach. We had a great time, but it was hot. Even with the 13,500 BTU air conditioner running full blast, it was quite warm inside the camper during the day. The day before we departed, a Jayco pulled into the site next to us. The owner suggested using reflective Mylar film on the bunk ends to bounce some of the sun's radiant heat away from the vinyl tent roofs. He attached his with clothespins. Inside it makes a 10-15 degree difference! The tent ceiling is almost too hot to touch under full sunlight, with the heatshield it almost feels cool!.  Check out this page for more notes and pictures.

A quick update: the thin Mylar sheets didn't last too long before tears started to form in the material. Duct tape works fine for field repairs. I recently replaced all the Mylar with the thicker "survival blanket" products - essentially, they work using the same reflective material, but the material is laminated to a heavy duty polyethylene tarp with sewn edges and built-in metal grommets. These blankets are larger and cover more bunk end area.


 


My wife gets the credit for this cool gadget. It's a thin-wall PVC plastic tube approximately 1.5" in diameter. Officially, it's a drain tube, intended to go between the drain and trap on a sink. In this application, it's attached to the inside of our under-sink door with Velcro, and stuffed with about fifteen "T-Shirt" bags, those thin poly bags that most grocery stores use these days. "T-Shirt" bags make great wastebasket liners, and, they're free. This gadget lets us take advantage of more wasted space, and keeps the bags under control until we're ready to use them.  Check out this page for more notes and pictures.


 


Permanently mounted DC voltmeter, monitors the charge condition of the trailer battery. This meter is available from Radio Shack for about $15. I mounted it to the side of my long hutch, and tapped the "porch" light's 12 volt DC supply wire to feed the meter. In this location I can read the meter when the trailer is folded by opening the entry door. The meter dial is calibrated for 0-15 volts DC. A fully charged deep cycle battery should read at least 12.6 volts when you are not using any 12 volt appliances. It is normal for the reading to drop when you have some appliances on. I check mine periodically when using the 12 volt battery exclusively - when the reading drops to 12.1 volts or less  under no-load conditions it's time to stop using the battery and get a charge.


 


Camper Fan - a modified 12 volt automotive fan purchased from Wal-Mart. Details


 


Family Radio Service (FRS) radios provide up to two miles of range with no FCC license required. As you can tell by the name of the radio service under which they are authorized, they are designed for family communications. They're great for staying in touch with kids and other family members at the campground, and while hiking, biking or boating. They are also handy for shopping, carnivals, flea markets and car to car communications while caravaning, and when coordinating delicate trailer backing operations. They use any one of 14 UHF FRS channels at 1/2 watt effective radiated power. The Motorola Talkabout model is shown above. They're very easy to use, even for kids. We also have an assortment of carrying cases and pouches from Motorola. Click hereto go to my "FRS Radios and the Real World - What Can Users Expect" page.


 


Three aerosol sprays that you should not be without - WD-40, White Lithium Grease, and Silicone Spray Lubricant. The WD-40 is handy for keeping locks, latches and hinges lubricated, preventing corrosion of metal parts, and treating wet electrical connections. The White Lithium Grease is good for the tongue jack and screw-jack type stabilizers, ball hitches and coupler latches, and preventing corrosion on suspension and frame parts. Silicone Spray Lubricant is great for any location where lubrication is needed but oily residue is undesirable. I use it for the screen door storage tracks on my Coleman Grandview SP.

I keep a miniature can of WD-40 on the trailer. The other stuff stays in the garage for between-trip maintenance.


 


This little gadget is a homemade vacuum breaker. I noticed that the galley sink drains freely without a drain hose hooked up, but is very slow to drain when connected to the hose. The problem? The only air inlet for the system is the sink drain, which will not admit air when the sink is full (That's my theory, anyway...). Basically, this gadget allows the drain water to "dump" freely into a homemade PVC "funnel", then into the drain hose. Works great!
The homemade vacuum breaker helps to keep the sink draining, but I was still not completely satisfied with the way things were working. Sometimes, water enters the funnel too fast for the drain hose to handle it and the funnel would overflow. Other times, even with the vacuum breaker I'd still have slow or no performance when trying to drain the sink. I relocated the sink drain hose and connector to the floor underneath the trailer. Now, the sink drains very quickly, every time.


 


The little green square is a bubble level mounted to the coupler frame with PC-11 marine epoxy paste. A quick check after you park tells you how far off you are from side to side, and once you've found the perfect spot, you crank the tongue jack to get it just right. PC-11 is great stuff. It is the strongest adhesive I've ever seen. The marine version can even be used under water. I've used it to fix leaky pipes, concrete birdbaths, and cracked taillight housings. Naturally, I keep some on the trailer.


 


The bright orange things under the wheel are called Lynx RV Levelers. They are like giant Legos. Ideally, all campsites should be perfectly level. In the real world, they are not. These stack together in different heights to level your trailer if your campsite is crooked. Pop-up campers don't like crooked campsites. In this case, I needed three inches to straighten things out. Each leveler is one inch high. They stack up for storage in a supplied nylon bag. Wood planks also work and cost less, but these lock together and won't slip around while you are fine tuning your trailer's position.

The black plastic tray next to the door is for dirty shoe storage. If it's raining, we slide it under the camper.


 


Spice racks and small door pocket for storing spices, coffee, tea, etc.


More spice storage on the next cabinet door over, also notice the little stepstool for kids to get into their bed


This is a Rubbermaid Slide Out Pantry. The slide base is raised up 2" high with 3/4" dowel stock, high enough for the baskets to clear the outside trim of the cabinet. Originally the pantry just sat inside of the cabinet with no slide capability. (Thanks Deb!)


We used more Rubbermaid Pantry baskets in the cabinet closest to the door but none of these slide due to space constraints. The stack on the right is accessible from the locker hatch on the outside of the unit. This is were I keep the wheel chocks, crank, water fittings, gloves - anything I need to get to when the camper is folded down. You can't see it in this picture, but there is another Rubbermaid basket on top of the wheel well behind the baskets on the left. I attached two skinny bungee cords to existing frame screws to hold the basket in place. This basket converts the wasted space on top of the wheel well into another usable storage location.


This is a storage area underneath of one dinette seat. Stackable wire baskets are visible in the compartment. They hold our hoses, ropes, extra extension cord, tools and manuals. There is enough clearance to stack the baskets two high in this area.


This is the area underneath the other dinette seat - note the portable gas grill and the four folding camp chairs - and, room to spare!


This is a magnetic paper towel holder and magnetic notepad, stuck to the top of the inside stove. Both can remain in place when the unit is folded. The magnet is quite strong, more than enough to hold a full roll on a vertical surface.


 


When the stove is open, we just stick the towel holder here!


This linen box holds all of our towels and toiletries. It fits in the shower when the unit is folded down.


This is a cool little 1/2 circle trashcan that fits nicely against the shower enclosure or the wall next to the galley.


This "oriental" runner helps keep the dirt under control and feels good against bare feet on cold mornings.


Some sink gadgets - a scrubber holder, sponge holder and wire grid to protect the porcelain finish.


Another use for the stick on spice racks. This one holds dish soap, hand soap and hand lotion. The bottles are small, flip top squeeze bottles that save space, but provide more than enough product for a typical trip. We use another one on the cabinet door next to the shower, for body soap, shampoo and conditioner.

Home