Sunday, March 12, 2017

Two Small RoadAbode Projects - Getting Ready for First trip of 2017


As a rule, we don't utilize RoadAbode for trips in December, January, or February. These months are usually too busy, or too cold to be travelling. Some of our favorite campgrounds and resorts are not even open during these months. Our first trip is usually planned for March, still too cold for some in our "neck or the woods." For those of us "Up North" it's a time to plan our summer trips, or look at some pictures of some of the fun we had in years past.
Winter months are also a great time to get some repair or upgrade projects done. This year, we treated ourselves to a new queen mattress at Christmas. Our old mattress was a spring mattress that needed to be replaced. Springs were starting t wear through!  What still made our bed comfortable was our great RV quilted mattress topper. Since last year we had purchased a twin size foam mattress for when we turn the dinette into a bunk, we decided to get the same style IKEA mattress for our rear bed. As usual, RVs are just a little different than home. Queen Beds. A standard queen bed in your home measures 60 by 80 inches. Though newer RVs now have standard queen size, (even king size) older RVs have either three-quarter queen, which is 48 by 75 inches, or a queen short, measuring 60 by 75 inches. RoadAbode has a queen short. IKEA does not carry RV mattresses, but we "customized" one of their queens for our bed. The model we purchased, the MINNESUND, is a firm foam mattress with a zippered cotton cover. We were able to unzip, and slice down the end of the foam with scissors to size, We just folded over the extra material at our feet. We could of left the length, except it would have made walking around the bed difficult.
New Mattress!
We also noticed at end of last camping season the ceiling material was starting to sag over top of the front bedroom. It looked that the moulding piece that held the poly resin sheet material just warped from the weight over the years, allowing a gap to appear. Three short sheet metal screws and a partial tube of adhesive latex caulk helped get it back in place.
One of the screws to hold it in place.

RoadAbode's "Finishing Specialist" taking care of the bead of caulk along the moulding
 A small project we did a few years ago which as proven to be very handy is a shelf above the microwave. I beleive we picked up at IKEA, a great place to pickup items for RV living. Their furniture and accessories are sturdy, and many built for small spaces. The shelf is just two simple brackets with a wide shelf. Great for holding some baked goods or other foodstuffs while camping. We usually don't use the shelf while travelling, but probably could with the addition of a non-skid mat and short bungee cord. Quick and easy to install, One thing you always need when RVing - more storage!
Our Above the Microwave IKEA Shelf
Looking forward to our next trip out!