So I have to admit the past couple of years we have paid someone to winterize and dewinterize our trailer, we are that scared! So this year we did pay someone to winterize but we decided to dewinterize. So this morning my husband hooked up the water and drained the system. We found out that there is a bypass on the water heater and had to switch that so we could test the water heater. All in all I think we did ok, and now can take off on our first trip of the year in a couple of weeks.
I have been replacing some of the caulk around the outside. The one thing I am noticing is that gummy stuff they put in the joints has shrunk up and allowed for areas to leak. This is frustrating to me and wondering why trailers are so expensive and there are cheap joints all around. I have asked the dealer if I am supposed to go around and caulk the edges and they said that was exactly what I am supposed to do. It just looks so messy and I am a perfectionists, trying to get past that. If anyone has any ideas on how to handle this I would love to hear it.
My girlfriend asked me how I cleaned my blinds in the trailer, I have to admit that I had never cleaned the blinds. This gave me a freak moment when I wondered how dirty are the blinds in my trailer, well I am happy to report mine are not dirty (although my mother would probably argue that). Thankfully because I wasn't sure how I was going to clean them, I will cross that road when I come to it. My only problem with the blinds are they are cheap and thin, therefore my kids have bent several of them. But I will replace them right before we decide to trade it off.
I am ready for the camping season to start, we still need to stock up on the staples. Small containers of condements, snacks, etc. This year I do want to try making my own trail mix but struggling how to do that and not spend $80 doing so. I will let you know if I figure this out.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Trailer preperation
Today we were able to install the new TV/DVD combo, under cabinet TV mount, and the pull arm for the screen door.
First the TV/DVD combo, we talked to our local RV store and was informed the wall we wanted to mount the TV on (on left in picture) has no support. They suggested we mount the TV right to the countertop. This was a fairly simple task and came out nice.
Next we mounted the TV to under the cabinet.
Right below the cabinet is a countertop we have been setting the TV on which must be taken down and put back up with each trip.
Now the TV is mounted and no longer needs to be stored during travel. This is going to make the setup and cleanup on camping trips just a little easier.
The next item we tackled was a pull bar for the screen door. We have a five year old and a three year old that struggle closing the screen door. Hopefully this will keep a few more bugs outdoors instead of indoors.
I will even enjoy being able to easily close the screen door. We found this item online at CampWorld http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/screen-door-cross-bar/35872 for $9.99.
A few minor caulking still needs to be done around the outside but we can hook up and take off camping on a moments notice now. The kids are super excited for the first camping trip.....only a few more weeks to wait. I do need to start reviewing my dutch oven recipes and decide which one we will try on our first trip of the year. Last year we only tried two recipes, both were delicious and I will need to post soon. Over the winter I did a lot of research and found a few recipes I want to try. I am against any recipe that will require several steps and me watching the oven for hours on end so that does seem to limit the number of recipes to try. But I did pick up a small digital clock/timer that we can use to time our cooking. Last year we used our cell phones, I had a constant fear of leaving my very expensive smartphone outside.
First the TV/DVD combo, we talked to our local RV store and was informed the wall we wanted to mount the TV on (on left in picture) has no support. They suggested we mount the TV right to the countertop. This was a fairly simple task and came out nice.
If you look carefully there is a screw on the right corner of the base and there is also one on the left back corner. This seems to be sufficient for support and we only had to drill two holes in the countertop.
Next we mounted the TV to under the cabinet.
Now the TV is mounted and no longer needs to be stored during travel. This is going to make the setup and cleanup on camping trips just a little easier.
The next item we tackled was a pull bar for the screen door. We have a five year old and a three year old that struggle closing the screen door. Hopefully this will keep a few more bugs outdoors instead of indoors.
A few minor caulking still needs to be done around the outside but we can hook up and take off camping on a moments notice now. The kids are super excited for the first camping trip.....only a few more weeks to wait. I do need to start reviewing my dutch oven recipes and decide which one we will try on our first trip of the year. Last year we only tried two recipes, both were delicious and I will need to post soon. Over the winter I did a lot of research and found a few recipes I want to try. I am against any recipe that will require several steps and me watching the oven for hours on end so that does seem to limit the number of recipes to try. But I did pick up a small digital clock/timer that we can use to time our cooking. Last year we used our cell phones, I had a constant fear of leaving my very expensive smartphone outside.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Bacon wrapped Asparagus
For the bacon lovers out there this one is devine!
Take a bunch of asparagus, fresh is better. Trim the ends and clean under cold water. Have one pound of bacon, the thick bacon I find works better. Wrap a piece of bacon around a piece of asparagus and secure with tooth picks. Once you have wrapped all the asparagus grill it on a hot grill around 400 degrees until the bacon is nice and crispy.
Your kids will devour these, I found this in several locations online and who ever came up with it is a genius! Here is a link to the recipe on Taste of Home http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Bacon-Wrapped-Asparagus
Take a bunch of asparagus, fresh is better. Trim the ends and clean under cold water. Have one pound of bacon, the thick bacon I find works better. Wrap a piece of bacon around a piece of asparagus and secure with tooth picks. Once you have wrapped all the asparagus grill it on a hot grill around 400 degrees until the bacon is nice and crispy.
Your kids will devour these, I found this in several locations online and who ever came up with it is a genius! Here is a link to the recipe on Taste of Home http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Bacon-Wrapped-Asparagus
Well as our luck would have it, we have not been able to work on our trailer. We were washing the trailer when we noticed one of the vents on the roof was completey broken. Of course it was one of the vents that is sealed into the rubber roof. Needless to say it is currently at the shop to be fixed, when it comes to the rubber roof we have not ventured into repairs yet. We struggled with a few leaks on the roof last year and it scared us to not try any repairs on our own. We are hoping to have it back this week so we can start stocking it for the camping season this weekend.
The weather has started to turn cold instead of the lovely heat wave we experienced in March but it was warm enough to try a new recipe on the grill.
Bacon wrapped cream cheese filled jalopeno's, on the grill! One word....YUM! We need to work on the grilling technique as there is a little trick to keep the cream cheese from leaking out as it melts, but as my husband said they were strangly addictive. This will go in the recipe box for the camper. I found one version of this recipe at http://mantestedrecipes.com/recipe/2753/bacon-wrapped-jalapeno-poppers.aspx but I did not use shredded cheese. I also found where someone suggested mixing in some powdered ranch dressing in the cream cheese, this I will try the next time.
I also ordered a RV maintenance book from Amazon, waiting for that to arrive. It is supposed to be a good all around go to book. We need something to help us become a little more familiar with our camper.
The weather has started to turn cold instead of the lovely heat wave we experienced in March but it was warm enough to try a new recipe on the grill.
Bacon wrapped cream cheese filled jalopeno's, on the grill! One word....YUM! We need to work on the grilling technique as there is a little trick to keep the cream cheese from leaking out as it melts, but as my husband said they were strangly addictive. This will go in the recipe box for the camper. I found one version of this recipe at http://mantestedrecipes.com/recipe/2753/bacon-wrapped-jalapeno-poppers.aspx but I did not use shredded cheese. I also found where someone suggested mixing in some powdered ranch dressing in the cream cheese, this I will try the next time.
I also ordered a RV maintenance book from Amazon, waiting for that to arrive. It is supposed to be a good all around go to book. We need something to help us become a little more familiar with our camper.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Yesterday we made a few more camping reservations for the summer, looks like our summer plans are shaping up. Received our new parts for the trailer yesterday so now we just need a warm weekend to put everything together.
The new thing on my to do list this year is to make my own trail mix for our camping trips. I tried one recipe I found online for the kids, it is mixing Teddy Grahams, mini marshmallows, mini M&M's, and Peanut Butter M&M's together. I then put about a 1/2 a cup into little snack zip lock bags. So far they are a hit with the kids. The one thing I have noticed is the Teddy Grahams get a little soft from the moisture in the mini marshamallows and the mini marshmallows dryed out little. But this doesn't have seemed to have phased my kids as they are thoroughly enjoying them which is the point after all. I need to pick up some items for an adult trail mix. I am thinking chocolate covered almonds, some dried fruit, different types of nuts, and maybe some granola. We will see what I find at the store and end up with.
The new thing on my to do list this year is to make my own trail mix for our camping trips. I tried one recipe I found online for the kids, it is mixing Teddy Grahams, mini marshmallows, mini M&M's, and Peanut Butter M&M's together. I then put about a 1/2 a cup into little snack zip lock bags. So far they are a hit with the kids. The one thing I have noticed is the Teddy Grahams get a little soft from the moisture in the mini marshamallows and the mini marshmallows dryed out little. But this doesn't have seemed to have phased my kids as they are thoroughly enjoying them which is the point after all. I need to pick up some items for an adult trail mix. I am thinking chocolate covered almonds, some dried fruit, different types of nuts, and maybe some granola. We will see what I find at the store and end up with.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
It is coming to the end of March and if you like to camp in SD you have to book your camping reservations 90 days in advance. I need to get ahead of the game and book some of our trips as many sites are booked up 90 days out already. We do like to go to a couple of camp sites outside of SD. Last year we visited Ponca, NE and really enjoyed the area. We have also camped at Camden, MN and last year Lake Shetek, MN. The benefits of camping in NE or MN is you can book campsites a year in advance in these two states, therefore their campsites do not book up as fast and you usually can easily get a camp spot. This is the bonus to the fact that the camp grounds are very nice and enjoyable for the whole family.
We pulled our Fifth wheel home from storage this last weekend and now we need to clean it out an prepare for the season. One of our to do items is we purchased a new TV and two TV mounts. We need to mount one under a cabinet and I do not foresee any issues with this. The other TV we will mount to a wall in the bedroom, have some concerns and have done some research on the best way to mount this. Both TV's are LCD therefore they are light weight but will need to see if there is any supports in the wall. Wish us luck on this endeavor. We also purchased a handle option for the screen door that gives a bar across the screen door to make shutting it from the inside easier, especially for little children. I will try to take pictures of our progress, we are going to attempt some of these items this weekend.
This is our first trailer we have owned so every thing we do is an adventure!
We pulled our Fifth wheel home from storage this last weekend and now we need to clean it out an prepare for the season. One of our to do items is we purchased a new TV and two TV mounts. We need to mount one under a cabinet and I do not foresee any issues with this. The other TV we will mount to a wall in the bedroom, have some concerns and have done some research on the best way to mount this. Both TV's are LCD therefore they are light weight but will need to see if there is any supports in the wall. Wish us luck on this endeavor. We also purchased a handle option for the screen door that gives a bar across the screen door to make shutting it from the inside easier, especially for little children. I will try to take pictures of our progress, we are going to attempt some of these items this weekend.
This is our first trailer we have owned so every thing we do is an adventure!
Monday, March 26, 2012
I am a California girl who convinced my husband two years ago to purchase a Fifth Wheel and start the family tradition of camping. We experiment with different cooking techniques and enjoy good food on our trips. Being the computer geeks that my husband and I are we found that it is hard to find information on Midwest camp grounds on the internet. I decided to start recording our adventures in camping and cooking in the great outdoors.
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