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Old 01-15-2017, 09:14 PM   #1
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Making your Coach - Your "Home Away From Home"

Hi - it's Julia - once again!

We are going to be "setting" up our "Home Away From Home" soon and there are a few things I would really love to know from all of the Experienced Travelers on the Road.

Do we need to have an Outdoor Fold Up Table and Chairs for Dining? Or do most sites you rent have an outside Dining Table for use during your stay? I am really hoping to enjoy as much Al Fresco Dining as possible on our Travels, and I have noticed when looking at Site Rentals, I do not see Dining Furniture on the Pads.

Do we need an Outdoor Rug/Floor Mat for underneath our Awning for use during our overnight/extended stays?

Do you use Melamine Dishes? Acrylic For Stemware? Do you recommend a Pressure Cooker or Crock Pot? What do you use for Cooking in your Coach? Pots and Pans?

Do we need a 50 AMP Surge Protector? Bought one, wondering if we need it?

We love to cook and are Foodies - how do you store your spices jars? Organize that skinny/deep pantry?

Any and ALL input will be greatly appreciated!
All my best and Thank you!
-DelandJulia
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Old 01-15-2017, 09:46 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DelandJulia View Post
Hi - it's Julia - once again!

We are going to be "setting" up our "Home Away From Home" soon and there are a few things I would really love to know from all of the Experienced Travelers on the Road.

Do we need to have an Outdoor Fold Up Table and Chairs for Dining? Or do most sites you rent have an outside Dining Table for use during your stay? I am really hoping to enjoy as much Al Fresco Dining as possible on our Travels, and I have noticed when looking at Site Rentals, I do not see Dining Furniture on the Pads.

Do we need an Outdoor Rug/Floor Mat for underneath our Awning for use during our overnight/extended stays?

Do you use Melamine Dishes? Acrylic For Stemware? Do you recommend a Pressure Cooker or Crock Pot? What do you use for Cooking in your Coach? Pots and Pans?

Do we need a 50 AMP Surge Protector? Bought one, wondering if we need it?

We love to cook and are Foodies - how do you store your spices jars? Organize that skinny/deep pantry?

Any and ALL input will be greatly appreciated!
All my best and Thank you!
-DelandJulia
You'll probably get all sorts of answers since this is the kind of thing that is driven by personal preference so here are our answers.

Many if not most sites will have a picnic table of varying condition. We have a folding table but rarely use it. DW claims it is for quilting but no quilter has ever appeared to use it. When we stay for a while we do set it up and use it for a BBQ table as well instead of the small table we carry.

We have a crock pot and a toaster. We use regular plates since that kind of weight isn't an issue in these beasts. We also use pretty good cookware for the same reason (Cuisinart?)

You definitely need the surge protector - there are lots of threads about this.

As foodies ourselves, we probably carry way too many spices and rubs and such. We use the large drawer under the cooktop and lay them down - works for us.

Enjoy - you'll find your own solutions as time goes by.
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Old 01-15-2017, 10:38 PM   #3
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Come to a rally and knock on doors and ask. People will probably invite you in and show you what they've done.


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Old 01-15-2017, 11:29 PM   #4
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Two unique ideas I've noticed for spices, (as a spice junky who likes to spice things up),

one was a brief case mounted under a cabinet, with the top screwed into the under side of the cabinet, so when opened, the bottom drops down to a 60 degree angle and all the spices are in the bottom, either laying flat or at a slight angle.

the second was to use double sided tape to attach a magnet to the lid, then attach a metal plate under the cabinets.

I have not tried either solution, but they both seem plausible solutions.
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Old 01-16-2017, 01:15 AM   #5
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We carry a folding table.
We often use crock pot / slow cooker. On travel days it rides in the sink, then provided a great meal upon arrival.
Also have an electric skillet that gets lots of use.
Surge protection = YES!
Dish material, dunno. Made of stuff that does not break.
Spices and such we don't have many, they ride in a drawer.
Yes, we have a outdoor 'carpet'. No one of those large heavy ones, rather a smaller lightweights one that easily rolls up for travel.
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Old 01-16-2017, 05:35 AM   #6
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We carry a small folding table. We've been to a number of RV parks that have no picnic table and some that prohibit putting a cooking grill on the table they provide. So our little table get used for the grill and other things.

We also have one of those large folding lightweight outdoor rugs. We don't always use it but often enough for it to be handy. Dogs like laying on it.

We have a crock pot and melamine plates but we use paper plates a lot. We have a set of Revere Ware we've had for years. Works great since we have a gas stove top. Our coach has a small tilt out spice drawer.
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Old 01-16-2017, 06:08 AM   #7
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We carry a crockpot that gets used a lot, folding table that is rarely used. Most places have picnic tables, but as someone else mentioned, a lot of them don't want you to set your grille on them. Our coach came with inserts for the double sinks, we have turned them upside down and sat the grille on them a couple times on the picnic tables.
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Old 01-16-2017, 06:12 AM   #8
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We carry a small table, but rarely ever use it now - not sure why??? Our spices are in a plastic container bottom that is located in a drawer, works for us. We use regular plates and have them in the round holder that you can get at any rv/camper type store. Our pots and pans live on the bottom two shelves of our pantry and yes, we have a crock pot, and an electric skillet. Surge protector, most definately - don't hook up with out one!

For just over nights or a couple of days, we won't bother putting out the mat - but it is nice for longer stays and when you are on grass/dirt. My advice is that you will know what you are missing after you get out there and "living". Everyone is different and what feels right for us, may not for you. Take care, and have fun! Lynn
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Old 01-16-2017, 06:20 AM   #9
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Julia-

We have:

Folding outdoor recliner
2 folding aluminum outdoor chairs
2 small folding tables
Weber Q grill with stand and cover
Lightweight outdoor rug
Plastic and paper plates
Plastic stemware
Metal and plastic utensils
Electric skillet
Crock pot
Toaster
Magma stacking pots and pans (very compact)
(their site may not display correctly- try this link from Amazon)

I looked at solutions for spice storage in our coach and haven't come up with one. For now we keep a small number in their bottles in the cupboard. I considered replacing the refrigerator door panel with a piece of magnetic stainless steel and using the magnetic spice cans, and still might go this way. It would give us a better place to hand the calendar, too.

Our coach has a Progressive Industries 30 amp hardwired "EMS," which is better than just a surge protector. Hopefully, yours is an equivalent 50 amp unit. Protection from poor AC power is essential.
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Old 01-16-2017, 07:18 AM   #10
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We use a crockpot routinely on travel days. It rides in the kitchen sink and smells good in the afternoons. Our pantry is very small so we use plastic containers to organize stuff. There is a large container over the bed with baking supplies. The cereal and chips are stored in the vanity slide cabinet. Spices are in a correct size container in a cabinet. The bathroom cabinets are full of small containers organized with meds, cosmetics, etc. this keeps everything organized and in place during travel. When packing, remember there are Walmarts every where. Pots and pans will need to be made for induction cooking.

Outdoor rugs are nice to carry, but most parks don't allow them on the grass. You will find that carrying a step to use when the coach front is jacked up to be level is handy. We use a step exerciser from Walmart, it is light weight and adjustable. I like flat folding chairs instead of bag chairs. They are more comfortable and store better. Chair side tables are handy and a grill table is required when the park has plastic picnic tables. Grills can damage the table top.

You will find that after a while you will need to have a garage sale to get rid of all the stuff you thought you needed, but never use. Have fun and safe travels.
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Old 01-16-2017, 08:04 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DelandJulia View Post
Hi - it's Julia - once again! There are going to be a lot of different answers as there are lots of different ways

We are going to be "setting" up our "Home Away From Home" soon and there are a few things I would really love to know from all of the Experienced Travelers on the Road.

Do we need to have an Outdoor Fold Up Table and Chairs for Dining? Or do most sites you rent have an outside Dining Table for use during your stay? I am really hoping to enjoy as much Al Fresco Dining as possible on our Travels, and I have noticed when looking at Site Rentals, I do not see Dining Furniture on the Pads. 99.9% of the parks will have picnic tables, but we do carry a small fold up table that I think we have used twice in 15 years. We carry 4 fold up chairs for "around the camp fire"

Do we need an Outdoor Rug/Floor Mat for underneath our Awning for use during our overnight/extended stays? I hate those grass killers, but do use one if we are in the dirt. I hate it when people put those out on beautiful grass and kill it for the next person. I carry and 18 volt yard blower to clean off concrete sites Ryobi ONE+ 120 MPH 18-Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless Hard Surface Leaf Blower/Sweeper - Battery and Charger Not Included-P2105 - The Home Depot

Do you use Melamine Dishes? Acrylic For Stemware? Do you recommend a Pressure Cooker or Crock Pot? What do you use for Cooking in your Coach? Pots and Pans? We use to use Melamine but switch to nice stoneware. No problems at all with them. We use drawer liner sheet between the dishes so the don't rattle when traveling. We have a small crock pot that fits in the sink while traveling and cooking, stores under the bed. Our wine glasses are Acrylic, got yelled at a lot on this forum, but I haven't broken one yet And the wine taste just the same to me.

Do we need a 50 AMP Surge Protector? Bought one, wondering if we need it? YES! a Progressive 50 amp Electrical Management System, not just a surge protector. If you bought one from Camping World try to return it.

We love to cook and are Foodies - how do you store your spices jars? Organize that skinny/deep pantry? Our pantry is the deep skinny one in the RBQ. The spices all fit nice on the top shelf, our pantry is about 4 foot deep.

Any and ALL input will be greatly appreciated!
All my best and Thank you!
-DelandJulia
Your first trip will be a learning trip. Watch what other campers are using. We found the Weber Q grill to be the most popular with other campers. We bought one when they fist came out and can see why the caught on, cast iron grate, easy to clean and constant even heat. Great grills.

We have been through so many sets of uncomfortable camp chairs, I began to think they didn't make good ones. Finally found the ones at Costco to be great.

Let the first trip, be a leaning trip, don't get frustrated, keep a running Walmart list for items you know you'll need and don't want to forget.
I envy you taking your first trip, it will be the most exciting....ENJOY!!!!

I forgot to add, save room for spices and rubs you can't get at home. We load up on BBQ rubs from Texas, Cajun Spices from Louisiana, seafood seasoning from the New England states, etc. It's half the fun of traveling.
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Old 01-16-2017, 09:51 AM   #12
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Do we need to have an Outdoor Fold Up Table and Chairs for Dining? - We have not had a site yet that did not have them but we do have a 4 person fold up table and 4 fold up chairs. I check before we go and take/no take accordingly.

Do we need an Outdoor Rug/Floor Mat for underneath our Awning for use during our overnight/extended stays - I say YES, we have that and an entry mat.

Do you use Melamine Dishes - We have that and hard (porcelain) plates. 80% of the time we use our melamine plates.

Acrylic For Stemware - yes

Do you recommend a Pressure Cooker or Crock Pot? - yes. It is great to put something in and then have it when we come home at night. If we do Kraut and sausage then we put crock pot outside.

What do you use for Cooking in your Coach? Pots and Pans - Yes

Do we need a 50 AMP Surge Protector - I did as the one in the 17's and newer or ONLY good for one good POP. I figure it as insurance. I can not comment on pre 17 models.

We love to cook and are Foodies - how do you store your spices jars - We have a 42 DEQ so to the right of the cooktop.
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Old 01-16-2017, 02:47 PM   #13
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Thumbs up Thank you!

I loved the tips and your ideas! I am always open to hearing from you and how you have set up your "Home Away from Home"! Thank you so much!
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Old 01-16-2017, 02:49 PM   #14
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Thank you! We are very excited on our New Adventures! I just hope our Dogs will like the Coach! They weren't to crazy about taking trips on our Boat!
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