Space Saving & Organization

[tconway]

I used to pop-up camp all the time as a kid and tent camp during my second marriage. While tent camping, I enjoyed the idea of pre-cooking items to make meal preparations easier. I usually always boil eggs to take along. Our first trip this weekend in the pop-up is going to involve sloppy joes, cabbage soup, and pancake mix already made up. Cooking inside will not be very convenient as our 801 model has a little pump sink and some counter space; we'll take our camp stove and use it outside on a table for this time I think.

I've been making a list of things that we'll store in the camper on a regular basis. Today will be a busy day of cleaning things up and organizing items that I would like to store in there. Due to space constraints, we're planning the following:

Liquid dish soap (smallest bottle they sell) to be used for all soap related functions;
we've decided to use the ice box for storage and I'll keep paper products, coffee pot, granola, crackers, cookies, etc. in there;
porta potty uses up the space in one of the available cupboard areas and I think there is one more area where I can put towels in;
we'll keep sleeping bags on the beds and probably put pillows in the storage area under the dinning area benches;
we'll take the regular cooler and the electric cooler that we bought from Cabelas and those will be filled the day before leaving;
we'll have two batteries, one that came with the camper for the winch and one for the electric cooler;
storing clothing won't be too much of an issue as we'll be by ourselves for the most part and can lay our packed bags on the other bed that won't be used and just haul in the back of the truck when the camper is folded up;
there was no awning with this camper (hardware there), but we have a fold up canopy that works great and a white folding table that we can set out front with our chairs.

My husband is really bugged about the idea that the shelf is not there on the outside that the cook stove sits on. There is the bracket or whatever you call it there, but no shelf. He also is looking for some kind of tee item or adapter that will allow him to use the large propane tank for the little propane stove. I'm not sure how to describe that one. He patched the crack in the vent cover but we want to replace that. Camping World said he had to take it off and bring it in, so we didn't finish that yesterday. He is going to Walmart today to get two new wheels.

The heater is iffy as to if it is going to work, but my husband is confident that won't be an issue once he starts concentrating on that. My son sells firewood and shakes his head at me cause I buy it at a convenience store on the way out. I'll try to remember to get some from him this time. We have a fire pit for our back yard that we can take if there is not a campfire area. I HAVE to have the campfire. We're getting closer to being prepared for the first outing.

[wahoonc]

I used to have a fancy pants fifth wheel with microwave, oven and 3 burner cooktop. I still hauled along a camp stove and cooked outside.

Check your inside stove and see if it can be removed and mounted on the rail outside. Some did that, some came with two stoves, and some came with a separate shelf. I wouldn't think the rail for the shelf side would be too hard to source. When I had my Coleman popup I used the original slide rail bracket and outside stove and built a larger top so I had more work area.

Just a heads up on using the pop up stove with the bulk tank... don't! They don't have a regulator (it is on the tank at the front) and is a lower pressure than a standard camping stove (I think). I use a regular Coleman LP camp stove on the picnic table for most of my cooking. I have an extension pole (tree) that fits on a 20# LP cylinder, which sits in a milk crate for stability. I mount a lantern on the top of the tree for lighting. What is really slick is at night right before you go to bed, turn the tank off and leave the lantern on and it will give you several minutes of light as it burns off the propane in the tree.

First picture is our typical camp set up at a nearby State Recreation area. We have water and electricity, no sewer. Bath house is 4-5 sites away. Second picture you can see the two stoves hooked up to the tree. We were providing support for 46 pageant girls that were camping that weekend. The lady in pink is my bride the other one is one of "our" girls. They are in the process of cooking up 25# of bacon and over 200 pieces of french toast.

Aaron

[tconway]

Thanks for sharing that great picture. Looks like they're having fun.

We don't have a built-in stove, just the Ozark propane stove bought from Walmart. I'm headed to Fred Meyers in a bit to see what I can't live without.

"I use a regular Coleman LP camp stove on the picnic table for most of my cooking. I have an extension pole (tree) that fits on a 20# LP cylinder," What do you use for the hose and adapter? I think I saw the tree gadget at camping world.

I think we have what you refer to as the "rail". We just don't have the shelf.

I only wanted to clean the canvas on one side of the camper today and only finished one flap of three so far. So hard on my back, so this is going to be a more lengthy project. I did get all the counter spaces cleaned and floor swept and mopped. I so want to take all the curtains down and launder them!

[wahoonc]

The hoses are designed to connect to the stove regulator where you would normally put the little 1# green propane tank, the other end connects to the tree. I believe they are called extension hoses. You want the one that goes from the distribution post to the appliance. Some of mine came off of Amazon. They come in different lengths. They do make hoses that will go directly from the tank to the stove.

Aaron

[DesertRat]

Doesn't matter what RV I've owned I always had some kind of BBQ to cook with outside.
Home Depot has a good selection of the propane hoses if looking for them. Wall-Mart will most likley only have the 5' one. Home Depot will have different sizes.