Useful Gadgets

[Andy Douglass]

Here are some gadgets that we found really useful on our first big trip in our new camper (side dinette Hawk). These are just links, not some kind of amazon storefront:

Water Bandit:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EDOSKG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Allows you to attach a hose to a spigot that does not have a threaded connection. These spigots are really common in National Forest campgrounds, where we usually camp. It's just a rubber sleeve with a male hose connection. You thread it onto the female end of your drinking water hose a slide it over the threadless spigot. I was a little skeptical, but used it several times to fill our tanks and it works. You might have to sit there and squeeze it while filling, but I was able to fill our tanks without any help.

Hose caps:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BDEOGA2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Male and female hose caps that tether onto each end of your drinking water hose. Good way to keep dirt out of your water system. I like to coil up my hose with the caps off when I am done, propping one end of the hose over my side mirror while I coil, holding the coil above the hose end so most of the water drains out as I coil. Then I cap both ends and have an almost dry hose that is sealed for travel.

Dish rack:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00P9HE05U/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Small dish drying rack. The lid becomes the tray that the rack sits on, and the drain hole in the tray is very close to the edge, so you can have it draining into the sink without getting water all over the counter, and keeping the sink fairly open at the same time. It does take up almost the entire small cabinet below the water pump cabinet, but you can store items inside of the rack itself. I wish they made a round one that could be transported inside of our dometic sink, but I haven't found one yet.

Bulk tank adapter for camp stove:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0023F9YTS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

We have the camp chef everest stove, which only has two shortcomings: The flame knobs sometimes have a mind of their own, and the small propane bottles are expensive and take up space. I got this so that I could run the stove off of our second camper tank, and it works perfectly. Screws right to the brass regulator/adapter that came with the stove, and with a little careful placement, I can fit both the brass fitting and the new bulk tank adapter inside the stove when I close it up for travel.

Ice cube trays:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006IX7UQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Our Isotherm fridge came with one small ice cube tray, kind of like the old school aluminum trays with the insert that divides the cubes and brakes them apart when you move the lever. I always liked those kind of trays but the isotherm one is plastic and I cracked it the first time I used it. So I got two of these trays. They are small enough to fit side by side or stacked in the freezer compartment of our 130L fridge, and the fridge has no trouble freezing them. We put finished cubes into a gallon ziplock, and then refill the trays. We were able to stockpile a decent amount of cubes, with the ziplock on one side of the freezer and the stacked trays on the other side. These trays are a little warpy, but it didn't case any trouble.

Aluminum table:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0038Q9KCC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My parents have the "Regular" version of this which is a rectangle. I really liked their table because it is lightweight, heat resistant, and packs down into it's duffle about the size of a camp chair duffle. I decided to get the square version for some reason. I would get the rectangle one if I could do it over, but the square table is still a nice thing to have. It takes about 30 seconds to set up or break down. The frame on the square one does not fold down as compact as the rectangle version, and I think the rectangular surface is more useable for the patio/awning area, but the square one still works for us. The table top itself is just aluminum, so you have no trouble with a stove on it, or even setting down hot pans on it.

Trash bin
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003D3PP6K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Small trash bin that collapse to the size of a small dinner plate. Wedges in place under the counter overhang on the floor when we are camped and small Glad 4 gallon bags fit it pretty good.

 

[trikebubble]

Great thread.

I installed a Camco folding paper towel holder above the stove on the black fold-down bracket (on our front dinette Hawk) A full roll of paper towel will stay and fit when the roof is folded.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/CAMCO-Pop-a-Towel-White-Paper-Towel-Holder-and-Carrier/29764612

I also installed a simple dry erase note board beside it. Probably one of the best small additions I made. (We're always forgetting the things we need to purchase or put back in the camper, etc)

I also installed the Camco screen door bar. I find it really helps in closing the door, and i'm less likely to stuff my hand through the screen now.
https://www.amazon.ca/Camco-42183-Screen-Door-Cross/dp/B0012GTVVA
(Just a tip....make sure to size up/mock up this cross bar with your door CLOSED....not open...don't ask me how I now know this)

 

[Andy Douglass]

I also installed the Camco screen door bar. I find it really helps in closing the door, and i'm less likely to stuff my hand through the screen now.
https://www.amazon.ca/Camco-42183-Screen-Door-Cross/dp/B0012GTVVA
(Just a tip....make sure to size up/mock up this cross bar with your door CLOSED....not open...don't ask me how I now know this)

I purchased one of those as well after seeing that Bombsight had used it in his camper. I wanted it not so much for pushing the door open but for pulling it closed without having to open the clear plastic thing and pulling on that. I don't know if our Hawk has a different door on it for some reason, but it will not fit our door. The horizontal cross frame on our door is not wide enough to mount the bar to; the "ears" on each end of the Camco bar where the screws go through are too far apart. And if I make the bar long enough to mount to the vertical side frames of the door, it will interfere with the door closing. I actually cut the "ears" off of one end of the bar and was planning on drilling through the center of the bar end so that each end would be held on with just one screw through the center, but I didn't have screws that would fit at the time so I shelved it for now.

I ended up just putting a metal 3M command hook, rotated 90 degrees, on the latch side of the door. It works ok, but if the screen door is all the way open, its hard to reach the hook to pull the door closed, so I am going to mount another one on the hinge side:

 

[Andy Douglass]

...and I forgot to include my favorite useful gadget, the Easy Hitch Steps:

We got the pictured 3 step model, on which the height can be adjusted to accommodate different truck heights. It is powder coated steel so if weight is a concern, you may not want it. I can't find a weight right now but I seem to remember that it is 30 pounds. The list price for this model is almost four hundred bucks, but it is well-made, We are so happy with how convenient, and safe it is. No more wobbly step ladder taking up space in the camper while travelling. When I first put it on, the 15" width seemed like it was a little narrow, but after using it for almost 2 weeks on a trip, it is just about perfect. With a little care, you can actually walk down the steps without going backwards and without holding onto the grab bar.

This is a big purchase, so here is a little more in-depth info than the other gadgets:

Long lead time: Since we insist on doing everything last minute, my wife called the company about a week before we left for our trip after seeing that the website said to allow three weeks for delivery. She actually spoke to the owner of the company. He was not going to be able to get us one in time, but he had shipped one to another customer who was exchanging hers for a different model. So he called the other customer and made arrangements with her to ship hers to us instead of returning it, and he knocked fifty bucks off the cost. We received ours in time for our trip and it was in perfect condition. I don't know if the box we got ours in was the original shipping box, but expanding foam had been used to protect the steps, something which I have never seen but is kind of genius. The steps themselves were in a plastic bag, so there was no foam on them, but what a cool way to avoid having to make custom styrofoam packing pieces.

Weight/Noise: Like I said, the steps are powder coated steel so they are going to weigh more than most step ladders that you would use. The model we have has three steps. The top step is fixed, the second step folds up on its own hinge, and then the bottom step folds up over the second step and has a slam latch that holds it up. The step does not come with any kind of padding to alleviate any rattling between the parts as you do down the road. I had a piece of black sticky-backed foam in my bag of tricks, so I put pieces of that in various places where I thought it would cut down on rattles. It is pretty dense foam, probably EVA. To be fair, I never drove with the step before adding the foam, so I don't know how much noise there would be without it. You don't even see the foam because it is black, and it held up on our 3000 mile trip including some really rough mountain forest roads. I am obsessive about rattles and other noise, so my next step will be to address the tolerances between the hitch and the receiver. I put some beer cardboard in there while we were on our trip, but I plan on finding a more permanent solution. I was thinking about those paper thin plastic cutting boards or possibly nylon shims.

Locking hitch pin: The step has a built in bracket for mounting your license plate since it obstructs the normal plate location. When the step is folded up for travel, your plate is clearly visible. But now you have an expensive hitch step with your license plate that can be quickly removed by thieves. We haven't gotten one of those locking pins yet, but plan on it.

Height/Clearance: The model we got has 7 height settings. There is the main body which mounts in the hitch receiver of the truck, and then the step assembly which mounts to that with two heavy bolts. Adjusting the height is not going to be done without two wrenches, but that is a good thing as it beats having some complicated system for easy adjustment that will fail. Our truck is a stock-height 4x4 and I think we have the steps mounted just a little higher than the middle setting. We scraped the steps pretty hard going into a few parking lots and going over some water bars, but the steps weren't damaged. I still plan on raising them a little more before our next trip, so that the top step will almost be level with the door threshold of the camper.

Cheese grater: The treads have an aggressive pattern cut/pressed into the steel. This is a good thing for grip, and it also kind of functions like a boot cleaner if you want. But walking up the steps with bare feet is torture. Even our dog was a little hesitant about walking on them. I think camco makes carpet sleeves for exterior steps. I don't know if they would fit this, but it would not be hard to come up with some kind of padding.

Safety: I think one of the shortcomings of pop ups is the entry/exit. Not only do you have to watch your head, but you have to deal with a wobbly step ladder on irregular ground. Having fixed steps is really the only safe solution in my book. The steps are always in the same place regardless of what your truck is parked on. The only variance will be between the bottom step and the ground. Whereas with a step ladder, you are moving that variance to the top step, which makes it inherently more dangerous as you are higher off the ground when you are dealing with it. Is there anything wrong with using a stepladder? Not if it works for you, but if you want to eliminate any concerns about faceplanting while heading out to take a leak in the middle of the night, these steps are the way to go.

 

[trikebubble]

I purchased one of those as well after seeing that Bombsight had used it in his camper. I wanted it not so much for pushing the door open but for pulling it closed without having to open the clear plastic thing and pulling on that. I don't know if our Hawk has a different door on it for some reason, but it will not fit our door. The horizontal cross frame on our door is not wide enough to mount the bar to; the "ears" on each end of the Camco bar where the screws go through are too far apart. And if I make the bar long enough to mount to the vertical side frames of the door, it will interfere with the door closing. I actually cut the "ears" off of one end of the bar and was planning on drilling through the center of the bar end so that each end would be held on with just one screw through the center, but I didn't have screws that would fit at the time so I shelved it for now.

I ended up just putting a metal 3M command hook, rotated 90 degrees, on the latch side of the door. It works ok, but if the screen door is all the way open, its hard to reach the hook to pull the door closed, so I am going to mount another one on the hinge side:

I screwed mine into the slot that the screen secures into. The holes on the Camco push bar lined up pretty much exactly with that slot when the screen door was closed. Haven't had any issues with it so far

 

[Andy Douglass]

I screwed mine into the slot that the screen secures into. The holes on the Camco push bar lined up pretty much exactly with that slot when the screen door was closed. Haven't had any issues with it so far

Camco screen bar.jpg

Now I see. I didn't think of that when I was playing around with it. Thanks for the pic. Too bad I already mutilated one end of the bar.

 

[Vic Harder]

I screwed mine into the slot that the screen secures into. The holes on the Camco push bar lined up pretty much exactly with that slot when the screen door was closed. Haven't had any issues with it so far

Camco screen bar.jpg

I like your transparent screen door slider.... what is that part actually called? Does camco make them?

 

[PaulT]

Vic,

Make some measurements but this may be the set. https://www.campingworld.com/clear-screen-door-slide-set

My 2014 Hawk also has the Clear Screen Door Slide Set.
Paul

 

[trikebubble]

I like your transparent screen door slider.... what is that part actually called? Does camco make them?

My 2017 Hawk came with it that way.

 

[Vic Harder]

Vic,

Make some measurements but this may be the set. https://www.campingworld.com/clear-screen-door-slide-set

My 2014 Hawk also has the Clear Screen Door Slide Set.
Paul

Thanks Paul... that will work!