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How to use Magnets to Create a Comfy Dry Bath

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How to use Magnets to Create a Comfy Dry Bath

***WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD – Small parts (magnets). Keep away from children and pets.***
***WARNING: Magnetic Field – magnetic fields may interfere with pacemakers / other health devices.***

After you have converted your Wet Bath into a Comfy Dry Zone (see “How to Turn Your Wet Bath into a Comfy Dry Zone” if you haven’t done this already), turn toward magnets for a better way to secure your shower curtain to the walls rather than using hooks.

We initially used plastic hooks attached to the wall with Velcro in our Scamp to secure the shower curtain so we could pull it across the front of the toilet area to keep it dry while showering.  However, after using this system for a while, it became frustrating because the shower curtain often would slide off the hooks.

While considering a number of different approaches, the idea of using small magnets to quickly attach the shower curtain to the side of the wall stood out.  I have worked with small rare earth magnets on numerous projects in the past for securing hatches in model aircraft, so I felt comfortable that they might work well for this application.

The basic approach is to use the existing PVC rod in the Scamp (above the inside of the bathroom door used to hold the door curtain) to secure the door side of the curtain by putting a ring on it at the end.  Then, it’s just a matter of pulling the curtain across the toilet compartment and securing it on the other side of the wall with magnets (which quickly hold the curtain securely in place).  Because the Scamp has a rat fur type of headliner, the magnets are applied directly onto the fiberglass wall for a more secure attachment (top and bottom of the wall and along the wood door frame on door side).

I decided to use small inexpensive rare earth magnets which I purchased at Harbor Freight for less than $3 for a ten pack.  I ended up purchasing three packs (30 magnets) so I would have plenty of magnets to work with (remember, each connection uses a pair).

I chose to use hot glue to secure the magnets to the fiberglass because it is quick to apply and can easily be removed if necessary.  The downside is that the magnets can pop off if enough pressure is put on them. I purchased a mini glue gun at Michaels Art Supply for less than $3 along with some extra mini glue sticks.

I selected three mounting points at the top and bottom of the wall for the curtain to attach along with several points on the door frame to hold the curtain.  I used a pair of angled needle nose pliers to hold a magnet while I applied a bead of hot glue to the back and then, using the plier handles, pressed each magnet against the fiberglass (or wood) and held for a few seconds until the glue dried.  Installing the magnets is quick and easy!

To secure the shower curtain, just pull it across the toilet area and, using magnets, secure it to the wall along the areas where there are magnets glued to the Scamp’s fiberglass wall (and also along the wood door frame).  When the curtain isn’t in use, I leave enough magnets stuck to the door frame on one of the magnet locations so they are easy to reach when needed.  The idea is that the shower curtain is used when showering and then simply detached and rolled up and tucked on the door side when not in use.  You will find that this method works well for keeping the toilet area dry (along with the toilet paper).

We had a chance to vigorously test the new magnetic system on our recent 11 night trip from our home in San Diego to Lassen Volcanic National Park (see our recent trip report).  We found that the magnets work really well, but care needs to be taken when removing the magnets after showering to prevent the underlying magnets which are attached to the fiberglass wall from pulling off.  After a little experience, we learned that it’s best to slide the top magnet to the side rather than pull straight back.  When we adopted this approach, we stopped having any problems with magnets popping off.  However, when we returned from our trip, I glued secondary redundant magnets next to each magnet so that even if one pops off during a trip there are still plenty of magnet points to attach to.  9/4/2021 UPDATE:  I found the small round magnets pop off too easily from the fiberglass, so I switched to these bar magnets for the ones attached to the Scamp.  This seems to be much more secure.  Overall, we have found that this is an excellent solution to securing a shower curtain in the Scamp as it quickly creates a great comfy dry bath.

After doing everything in this article, you should have a reasonably dry toilet compartment after each shower!

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything correctly. 

Lassen Volcanic National Park (with lots of fun stops)

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Lassen Volcanic National Park (with lots of fun stops)
July 3rd – July 14th, 2021 (11 nights)

This was one of those epic Northern California summer adventures with the highlight being a stay at an otherworldly campground high up in the mountains surround by volcanoes and set on a beautiful lake.  Throw in some underground lava tube exploration and geothermal boiling sulfur pools and this trip is a recipe for a lot of fun!  And, best of all, it’s only about four hours north of San Francisco, right here in the United States!

Whenever heading north, our first stop is usually Santa Barbara to visit my cousin Jon and family.  The ride from our home in San Diego is usually about 4 hours.  But, on this strip, since it was the start of 4th of July weekend and a Saturday morning, we decided to leave really early to beat traffic.  We left at 5:30 a.m. and arrived in Santa Barbara at 9 a.m. making record time (3.5 hours)!  It seems not many people are on the roads this early!  We had a great day with my cousin Melvin and even tried an excellent Mexican restaurant called Tacos Pipeye which serves fantastic tacos, mole chicken, and enchiladas, for a very reasonable price!  We missed my cousin Jon and his wife Ida on this stop as they were on a Tesla drive trip out to Santa Fe, New Mexico, but we would see them at the end of the trip on our final stopover.

We usually break up the drive from Santa Barbara to Oakland with a middle stop in between (following our rule of driving no more than 4 hours per day), but since we wanted to experience 4th of July at my sister’s home in Oakland this year, we did the trip straight with just short breaks for gas.    We arrived in Oakland at around 12:30 p.m. (after a 6 hour drive) and used wood boards to raise the rear of our tow vehicle so that our hitch cleared the driveway transition, allowing us to get our Scamp tucked away in the narrow side yard space between my sister’s home and the bordering neighbor’s fence.  Since it was expected to be a very rowdy 4th at night, we felt like it would be safer in the driveway than sleeping on the street.  And, East Oakland did not disappoint – the mostly illegal fireworks started even before sundown and exploded all night long!  People were out on the street right in front of my sister’s home exploding firecrackers and igniting other illegal fireworks, so we were glad we weren’t sleeping in our Scamp out there this trip. Thankfully, with our ear plugs, white noise app, and the Scamp’s insulation, we were able to sleep soundly!  We had a great time with our family in Oakland, including a nice walk on Alameda Island the next day.

We met our San Diego friends Alexis, Chris, and Ben at Anthony Chabot Campground on Sunday (only a 30 minute drive from my sister’s house).  They rented a camper van and we arranged to have two adjacent campsites (#11 and #12) at this really woodsy campground overlooking Lake Chabot in East Oakland.  Although the campground is very close to Oakland, it feels very remote (a 20 minute windy road entrance).  Many sites are full hookup and under tall trees.  There are nice trails for walking and bike riding, including some that go down to the lake.  There is no swimming in this lake due to algae.  We had fun with our friends, went on a hike down to the lake, and even had some s’mores by the fire!  The next morning I was surrounded by a big group (rafter) of wild turkeys while I was writing my travel log at the picnic table!  They didn’t mind my presence and were just intent on looking for food on the ground.

We left for Russian Gulch State Park the next morning, a campground along the Mendocino coast about four hours north of San Francisco.  On the way, we stopped at the picturesque town of Healdsburg (just north of Santa Rosa in Northern Sonoma County) and had lunch in our Scamp.  We spent a little time walking around the charming town center and window browsing the quaint shops.  When we arrived at Russian Gulch State Park later in the day, we found our site #17 in an empty meadow, as it turned out the surrounding sites in the same meadow were closed during our visit.  There are no hookups at this campground, but there are water spigots close to each site.  There are great hiking trails here and we hiked the North Trail and Water Fall Loop Trail in the morning (which took us 3 hours for the 8 mile hike).  The trail goes through redwoods and fern forests and features a small waterfall.  In the afternoon, we walked the less rigorous Headland’s Trail (along the bluffs with spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean) to view the Devil’s Punchbowl.  This is a 100-foot by 60-foot sinkhole basin created when a tunnel penetrating inland from the ocean collapsed.  When the tide is high, the sinkhole becomes an explosive cauldron of sea water.  Although our friends Alexis and her family couldn’t get a spot at Russian Gulch State Park, they did find accommodation at nearby Caspar Beach RV Park (just a few minutes’ drive from our campground).  We enjoyed s’mores and hot dogs (and steak) with them (in that order)!  They are great chefs and provide fun company!  The next day we explored the coast including walking the quaint seaside town of Mendocino village, where I purchased a “Been Squatchin” tshirt (Big Foot / Sasquatch is a local legend in this area).  We did not spot Sasquatch on this trip though.  Note:  we had no HD TV or cell phone service down at the Russian Gulch SP campsite.  Instead, just a short drive up the hill to the parking spots next to the Ranger entrance booth provided cellphone service.

After a couple nights and fun times at Russian Gulch State Park, we left for Lassen Volcanic National Park (a 5 ½ hour drive:  7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.).  I find if we leave early in the morning on long drives and still arrive early, then it doesn’t feel like we’ve spent the entire day driving.  There were a lot of curves and climbs driving from the coast, crossing the mountains, descending into the Central Valley (Redding), and then ascending again into the mountains to get to Lassen.  Lassen Volcanic National Park is at over 6,000 feet above sea level.  We stayed at Manzanita Lake campground which is right on a scenic lake with volcanoes in the background (including Lassen Peak).  The first thing we did on arrival was dump ($8 honor system) because we had just stayed at Russian Gulch State Park without any dump station there.  The dump station is right before getting to the entrance to the campground and was empty whenever we passed by.  The weather was warm (in the 80’s).  After we first arrived and had lunch, we went to a ranger talk close to the Loomis Museum (at the entrance to the park).  Our site (#A17) was completely shaded with very limited sunshine (which helped tame the heat).  This meant that we needed to move around our solar panels during the day to maximize our charging.  We left the solar panels out overnight and did not have any issues with them being disturbed (or getting wet since the air was very dry).  The spots are nicely spaced out, and although the campground was full, everyone seemed to have a good amount of room around their own campsite.  We had to drive up the road about a mile to Mile Marker #14 in order to get a cell signal (there is a turn out with usually a few cars parked making calls).

There is a little trail to the lake from the campground and a nice walking path that goes all the way around its circumference.  It takes about an hour to walk the full lake loop, which is a nice easy flat walk along the water.  People were swimming, kayaking, and fishing on the lake and everyone seemed to be having a great time.  We weren’t able to bring our inflatable kayak on this trip as our tow vehicle was full due to having to haul items up to Oakland for my sister.  Although it was warm during the day, the nights were cool (60’s) and sleeping in the Scamp was very comfortable.  We enjoyed watching movies at night (see article “How to Watch Movies in the Wild”).  Our “Holy Grail Portable Grey Water Tank Solution” saved us a lot of hassle and money during our three days at Lassen.  Instead of having to completely decamp in the middle of our trip and drive the Scamp over to the Dump and spend and then set up our Scamp again at the campsite, we stayed put by using our portable jugs and dumped them along with our regular Black and Grey water on our way out of the park!

One relaxing and really fun thing to do at Lassen is to drive the 30 mile Northern – Southern route to the other end of the park, stopping along the way at various mile markers which have different scenic activities (it’s about an hour without stops each way, so allow at least several hours and take your time).  It’s recommended to download the NPS (National Park Service) app at the Google Play store for free before you go and also download Lassen Volcanic National Park from within the NPS app into your phone so you won’t need an internet connection to access all the park information.  It’s also a good idea to download audio files you can play on your phone about the park here.

There is a reasonably priced gas pump at the campground store (Regular Unleaded only), so it’s best to fuel up before taking the Northern – Southern route drive since there are no other gas stations anywhere close by.  Along the way you can see Choas Crags (an area with volcanoes and rocks covering the ground due to a volcanic eruption 1100 years ago), the Sulphur Works (hydrothermal pit of bubbling stinky mud), various lakes, great views, …..  We spent a little time at the visitors center at the South side of the park relaxing before heading back (there are refreshments and food for sale inside the center).  Another fun activity which doesn’t take too long is to drive to Subway Cave Lava Tubes (just about 20 minutes outside the campground).  It was 102 degrees when we arrived at this lava tube but, after walking down the stairs into the cave, we experienced very cool temperatures (the temperature inside the cave remains a constant 46 degrees year round!).  The night before leaving for our next campground, we hiked around Manzanita Lake under no moon to take some Milky Way images!  It was pitch dark and we wore headlamps.  We saw deer and some other night creatures along the lake trail!  We were rewarded by a stunning Milky Way which rose above Lassen Peak and Manzanita Lake at around 10 p.m.!  We dumped (including 3 Grey containers) before leaving early in the morning for Oakland.

After a four hour drive to Oakland, we reached my sister’s house around lunch time.  We decided to set up the Scamp in the driveway again since it worked out so well on the 4th of July.  After lunch we took a long walk along Alameda Island beach (watching some kite surfers) and then had A+ Burgers for dinner at my cousin Rebecca’s house in Oakland.  We also played some card games and Qwirkle with our family before leaving for Washburn Campground in San Simeon the next morning.

Washburn Campground is about a four hour drive from Oakland and is located in the San Simeon / Cambria area on the coast.  It is a “primitive” campground (only $20/night + $8 reservation fee), although there are water spigots here.  For us, since our Scamp has a bathroom and we have solar panels, the type of campground really doesn’t matter too much if we are only staying two to three days.  In any case, we filled up our Fresh tank at my sister’s house in Oakland before we left.  We had site #W264 which had plenty of sun for our solar panels!  The sites are well separated and the area did not seem crowded.  The campground is high up on a hill with a nice view of the mountains and ocean below.  We walked down to the beach from our campsite along the road and it’s only about a mile each way.  There are also trails but signs warned of ticks with Lyme disease and recent mountain lion sightings so we stayed on the road.  The campground area was overrun with “cute” ground squirrels and they were not very shy.  Some even jumped up into the undercarriage of parked tow vehicles (not sure what they were doing under there).  We made sure to keep our Scamp door shut so as not to discover any unwanted guests inside.  Our San Diego friends were camping in the adjacent campsite (San Simeon Creek Campground) and we met them there in the evening for some excellent chicken burritos and salad!  Washburn Campground / San Simeon Creek Campground has a Dump Station at the entrance and the charge is $10.  Since our Grey tank was only 50% when leaving and we only had one more night left on our trip (and we also had our Holy Grey solution just in case), we skipped it and saved the money.

Our final drive before heading home to San Diego was back to my cousin Jon and Melvin’s house in Santa Barbara.  After the three hour drive, we decided to go to Tacos Pipeye again with our cousin Melvin since we enjoyed it so much at the start of our trip!  Once again, it did not disappoint!  We also had a nice walk through downtown Santa Barbara before and after lunch.  My vegan cousin Jon and his wife Ida were back from Santa Fe and treated us to a wonderful homemade dinner (risotto and Beyond Meat burgers) that night.  And, we also got to see our cousin Carolina.  The next morning we drove back to our home in San Diego (4 hour drive) and arrived early enough to get our Scamp cleaned up and ready for our next trip!

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything correctly. 

No Hookups, No Problem!

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No Hookups, No Problem!
While going through my pre-trip checklist (see my article “Use Checklists to Prevent Problems”) right before heading out to Yosemite a couple of weeks ago, I noticed our heavy duty surge protector hadn’t been used in a while.  The surge protector has been sitting in its cardboard box on the top shelf of our garage cabinets and collecting dust for some time.  In May 2021, we were fortunate to be able to stay within the park at Yosemite (Upper Pine Campground), but had to plan for no hookups as the Yosemite campsites don’t have any (which is often the case in National and State parks), so we didn’t need to take the surge protector.  During the trip, we used our 100W solar briefcase (two 50W panels) every day, and even though our campsite was mostly shaded, there was always enough sunlight to keep our Scamp’s batteries well charged.

Our campsite at Yosemite also lacked any other hookups (e.g. water and sewer).  However, there is a central dump station at the entrance of Upper Pines Campground and drinking water spigots at each bathroom.  We dumped on the way into the campground and used our Holy Grail Portable Grey Water Tank Solution so that we didn’t need to move the Scamp all week!  I filled up our portable Grey tanks (four 5 gallon jugs) once during the week and drove them to the central dump early in the morning when there is little activity at the dump station and poured them out.  Filling our Fresh tanks was easy using our dolly and 6-gallon water jug.  The water spigot near our campsite was just a short walk away and the spigot had high pressure, so filling our Fresh jug was super-fast.  I made two or three water refill runs during our Yosemite stay.

Having had a chance to reflect back on the past year and a half since receiving our new Scamp 13’ using our trip log book (see my article “Take A Page From Star Trek and Log Your Travels”), I was surprised to realize how few times we actually used any types of hookups!  We sometimes used electrical and water hookups while staying in the driveways of family, but for the most part, our stays have mostly been at National and State parks where no hookups were provided.  And, these stays have usually been at locations where central dump stations and water spigots were available and our solar panels (along with our Jackery 500) served to maintain a sufficient charge on our Scamp battery.

Along with solar panels, we rely heavily on liquid Propane during most of our stays.  Propane does a great job of powering most of our appliances which can run on this gas.  Propane is efficient and can last a long time.  Appliances in our Scamp that can run off propane are the gas stove, refrigerator, furnace, and hot water heater.  The great thing about propane is that you can carry a lot of it (we always carry 2 Viking composite propane tanks) and it can be run without hookups.  One tank can usually last us over 10 days even in very cold weather when we run our furnace.  One just has to take care to follow proper safety protocols when running propane.  Small travel trailers are usually outfitted with combination carbon monoxide/propane detector alarms; the one in our 2020 Scamp 13’ is located near the front door under one of the dinette seats.  It’s essential that every small travel trailer have one of these alarms because carbon monoxide and propane gas exposure can be lethal.

After almost two years of travelling with our Scamp 13’ to mostly State and National parks, we’ve learned that during our stays water is usually available via spigot (or it can be brought in containers) and electricity can most often be provided by the Sun using solar panels (assuming good weather).  We’ve noticed that the Scamp’s electricity demands are not high (especially if using a battery bank, such as the Jackery 500 in which to run non-essential tasks like watching the 12V television and charging devices like phones, cameras, etc.) and propane can also be used to alleviate electricity demand by powering our refrigerator.  And, lastly, we’ve learned we can extend our time between trips to the Dump Station by as much as 5 or 6 days by using portable containers to hold Grey Water.  Ultimately, it’s the Black and Grey tanks that force us to a Dump Station (see my article “Why It’s Smart to be a Zen Boondocker….”).

So, instead of steering clear of campgrounds without hookups, embrace them and expand your options for adventures.  And, once you understand the constraints of your small travel trailer, you can plan your trips so that Dump Station stops occur when you need them (such as every five or six days), allowing you to stay in one place longer and more easily (by using portable Grey Tank containers which can be dumped independently of your trailer).  Happy Camping!

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything correctly. 

Yosemite National Park

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Yosemite National Park
May 10th – May 16th, 2021 (6 nights)

Yosemite is a must see National Park mainly because of its abundance of scenic beauty.  Waterfalls, huge granite sheer mountain walls, wildlife, and a beautiful valley with meadows and countless hiking and biking trails add to the immense wonder of the park.  If you can reserve a spot at one of the campgrounds in Yosemite, consider yourself very lucky as these spots are extremely difficult to get.  For tips on getting a spot, see my previous article “Winning Yosemite’s Campground Reservations Online Lottery”.

The drive from Carlsbad, California to Upper Falls Campground in Yosemite takes between 7 and 8 hours.  To make the drive easier, we decided to stop midway both on the drive up and way back home.  We stayed at two Boondockers Welcome locations, so the overnight stays didn’t cost us anything (other than the $50 annual subscription fee).  We stayed in the driveway of a nice home in Visalia going to Yosemite and at a miniature donkey farm in Bakersfield on the way home (this was our 2nd visit!).  Using this subscription is a great way to make trips easier and get some interesting experiences!

Yosemite has several campgrounds and we chose to stay at Upper Pines.  This is a fantastic campground nestled within the pines and having a sheer granite wall towering high overhead.  There are 240 campsites at Upper Pines and each has a picnic table, food locker and fire pit.  Although there are no hookups, there are bathrooms and access to drinking water from central spigots.  There is also a Dump Station at the entrance to Upper Pines campground.  We found the Dump Station to be completely empty throughout the day.  It gets busier around midday when people are checking in.  Although the campground has a lot of shade, there was enough sunlight at our site #126 to keep our solar panels out and charging our Scamp battery.  Site #126 was rated for a travel trailer with maximum length of 12 feet.  It is the responsibility of the camper to ensure that both the travel trailer and tow vehicle fit on the campsite pad and do not stick out onto the roadway.  With our Scamp 13’ and our Volvo XC40 (around 14’) we were still able to just fit by angling our tow vehicle slightly to keep the nose off the road.  A longer tow vehicle or trailer might have a problem in this short campsite.  So, it’s important to read the campsite description before reserving to make sure your setup will fit!

We made sure to use the Dump Station on entry to Upper Pines campground (which also includes a fresh water filling area) so our Scamp 13’ was completely dumped as well as filled with fresh water.  Fortunately, we carried our Holy Grail Portable Grey Water Tank Solution with us so we did not need to move our Scamp 13’ the entire 4 days at the campground!  On the morning of the 3rd day, I filled our 4 five gallon grey water tank jugs and drove them to the Dump Station and poured them out there.  We didn’t have an issue with our Black tank as it can generally go for about 6-7 days with two people.  Our electrical needs were taken care of by using our solar panel briefcase each day.

For just $26 per day, staying in Upper Pines Campground is a fantastic bargain!  It’s an easy walk or bike ride to sites throughout the Yosemite Valley, including Curry Village, the general store, Cook’s Meadow Loop, and Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls.  And, a lot of great trails, like the Lower Yosemite Fall Trail, Cook’s Meadow Loop, Mirror Lake Loop, Valley Loop Trail, Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall Trails, Mist Trail, John Muir Trail, and Yosemite Falls Trail are all easily accessible from Upper Pines Campground.  We chose to walk throughout the valley, but bike rentals are also available.  Alternatively, for a nice hotel within the park, plan a stay at The Ahwahnee hotel and expect to pay over $500/night!

The campground was very quiet but populated.  We had the opportunity of meeting a nice retired couple travelling in a van from Maryland (tent campers).  They invited us to dinner at their campsite one night (great salmon and rice dish) and we cooked them pasta on another night.  They are on a four month trip across the country visiting National Parks.   We were fortunate with the weather and crowds.  Every day was clear and sunny and afternoons were warm but not too hot.  We experienced dramatic starry nights and enjoyed watching the climbers’ lights as they scaled the faces of some very high vertical walls in pure darkness.  Our days were filled with long walks throughout Yosemite Valley and early morning hikes.  Our favorite hike was up to Vernal Falls – the most interesting part is a steep stone staircase that goes up to the top of the falls.  A rainbow forms across the stairs due to the heavy mist created by the water fall.  We ventured out to Yosemite Valley almost every night to enjoy the stars and engage in astrophotography.

Our four nights at Upper Pines Campground went by very quickly.  Yosemite is a great place to get outdoors and also relax.  There’s hiking, horseback riding, fishing, biking, boating, climbing, and countless other activities in which to engage.  We did speak to one of the rangers and he advised us that it does get like Disneyland in the summer with serious crowding.  So, if you can arrange it, go in early to mid-May because the weather should be good (although can be unpredictable), the water falls are generally raging, and it’s most likely going to be less crowded than during the summer months.  Yosemite National Park gets 5 stars!

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything correctly. 

Outfitting Your Small Travel Trailer for its Maiden Voyage

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Outfitting Your Small Travel Trailer for its Maiden Voyage
One of the great benefits of owning a small travel trailer is that it can be set up with all the basic essentials and, in turn, be ready to go on a moment’s notice.  Since there is minimal storage available in a small travel trailer, it’s very important to carefully select what is really necessary for your travels.  All of these things will need to fit in a small number of drawers and cabinets, like living on a boat or in a tiny home.  It’s likely that you will refine this list after having some experience in the field and learning your needs.  Just like at home, you will need items for each room / function within your small travel trailer.  

The Kitchen
You will want your kitchen to be fully functional and ready to cook meals and wash and dry dishes.  Essential kitchen items include a long stick lighter (and a backup lighter) to be able to light the gas stove.  The kitchen supplies we carry in our Scamp 13’ are:

Kitchen Drawer

  • Rubber Utensil Holder Organizer (washable)
  • Sporks (combo forks / spoons)
  • Tea bags / tea strainer
  • Scissors
  • Can opener
  • Rubber spatula
  • Wooden spoons
  • Metal Citrus Squeezer
  • Measuring Spoons
  • Long stick Lighter
  • Cutting knife with cover
  • Cutting board
  • Metal spatula
  • Coasters (Cork) (x2)

Cabinets Above Kitchen Sink

  • Paper Bowls
  • Paper Plates
  • Measuring Cups
  • Metal canteens (bowls)
  • Plastic cups/Bowls/Plates (reusable)
  • Metal Cups (for hot drinks like tea & cocoa)
  • Small Lightweight Metal Tea Kettle
  • Tupperware (x2) for food storage
  • Extra Microfiber kitchen towels (x2)

On Kitchen Wall

Cabinet Below Kitchen Sink

The Bathroom
It’s best to keep the bathroom as minimalist as possible because it’s small and room is necessary to move around.  In turn, the only items we put in the bathroom are placed in a space saving way.

Cabinets Above Dinette (x2)
The small cabinets above the Scamp 13’ dinette are a great place to store little things.

Main Upper Storage Cabinet

Lower Storage Cabinet

Once you outfit your small travel trailer with all the essentials, you will be ready to go on a moment’s notice.  You will still need to pack all your clothing and food for each trip, but will rest assured knowing you have all your key trailer supplies at hand and will not have to think about packing these items over and over again and you’ll live happily ever after!

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything correctly. 

Why it’s Smart to be a Zen Boondocker, Even if You Never Plan to Go Off-Grid

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Why it’s Smart to be a Zen Boondocker, Even if You Never Plan to Go Off-Grid
If you plan on using your small travel trailer anywhere other than at a RV park or home with hookups, it will benefit you greatly to have the skills to go off-grid (even if you never plan to do serious off-grid camping).  Many National and State Parks (as well as regional parks) offer no hookups (although shared water spigots are very common and sometimes central Dump stations are available).  On a recent visit to Joshua Tree National Park, we discovered some water spigots at the entrance, but no hookups at the end of the long road at the Jumbo Rocks Campground.  Taking ample water supplies for our kitchen and shower along with fresh drinking water made the trip there very pleasurable.  And having solar panels and a separate battery power station meant we didn’t need to worry about running down our Scamp’s onboard 12-volt battery.  Propane provided power for our gas stove, refrigerator, water heater, and furnace.  And, using our Holy Grail Portable Grey Water Tank Solution effectively doubled our Grey Water tank capacity and, in turn, staying capacity to about 5 – 6 days!

To make things even more interesting and enticing to be a Zen Boondocker, there is also often a significant daily rate difference for sites with and without hookups for campgrounds which offer them.  We discovered this on our visit to Oceano Dunes Campground in Pismo Beach.  Hookup spots (Electric & Water only) at this campground were $40 per night and only $25 per night without hookups at the time of our trip!  While it’s tempting to select campsites with hookups over ones without if they are available, there is often another substantial benefit other than monetary to choose a non-hookup site instead.  Hook-up sites are sometimes at newer locations within a campground which may be less scenic and/or with sites much closer together than older sites farther away from the utilities. For example, at Oceano Dunes, the hookup sites were much smaller and closer together all clustered at the front of the campground in a parking lot near the entrance.  And, the non-hookup sites were much farther back from the entrance in their own section with much more green space surrounding them (each with a picnic table and fire pit!) and alongside a scenic lagoon and walking trails.  So even when visiting campgrounds with hookups, it’s still a great benefit to be able to choose a non-hookup site and go for a few days without having to plug into an electric outlet, hookup to a water hose, or connect to a dump line.

Another great benefit of being a Zen Boondocker is that it makes staying on friends’ and family’s driveways and Boondockers Welcome sites nice and easy (even if they don’t have a water hose or electrical outlet at the driveway).  No problem!  We’ve found that for longer trips (e.g. travelling from our home in Carlsbad to northern locations like Lake Tahoe or even Oregon) stop overs at family homes in Santa Barbara, Oakland, and even Boondockers Welcome locations provide great break points to reduce overly long tiring drives.  So, being able to easily spend a night or two with no concerns about water, power, or dumping makes our small travel trailer truly self-contained and very useful.

Site availability is another factor which allows Zen Boondockers with small travel trailers more campground options.  It’s not uncommon for the larger sites with hookups to completely book out very quickly, often leaving the smaller non-hookup sites as “scraps”.  However, we’ve found these “scraps” to not only be more likely available but also often ideal and more desirable.  For example, at D.L. Bliss State Park in Lake Tahoe, we skipped the larger hookup sites farther from the lake, and, instead, opted for a tiny 15’ spot in the tent camping area.  The site we chose was the closest to the lake and had no hookups.  However, there was a water spigot close to the site and we were able to set up our solar panel.  It turned out the site was fantastic and we could see the water from our bedroom!  After looking over the entire campground, we felt our site was probably the best one because it was so close to the lake and had a fantastic view.

Factors for Zen Boondocking
Here are the essential factors to consider in order to become a Zen Boondocker and enjoy all of its benefits:

Conservation
We try to use water sparingly, but are not overly obsessive about it.  Many boondockers are super conscious about catching water and reusing it, taking bird baths or only bathing once per week, ….  Our philosophy is to be comfortable during our trips while still being able to extend our stays without having to relocate.  We do try to rinse our dishes outside if water is available and it’s allowed at the campsite.  But, we also take short hot showers at the end of each day and brush our teeth at the sink.  In order to compensate, we plan our trips so we are not dry camping more than a few days straight which means with the measures taken below it’s possible to be a Zen Boondocker and glamp out (2 showers a day, etc.) at the same time!

Food & Water
It’s helpful to know how long you will expect to be gone on your trip to help plan out your food and water needs.  Provisioning (e.g. store shopping) during the journey may be necessary if it is a long one.  We’ve found that for a 10-day trip, we can carry all the food and drinking water we need in our SUV.  However, we do need to resupply our fresh trailer water reserves during the 10-day trip around every four days (assuming we are carrying our two 6 gallon jugs of resupply fresh water for sink/shower/toilet).

Food
We always map out our trip before leaving and write down every meal for each day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner).  We turn on our Scamp’s refrigerator a couple nights before our trip and then fill it the day before we leave (our Scamp is stored in our home’s garage and has electricity).  We load most of our food into cardboard boxes and store them in our SUV.  We can carry up to 12 days (enough for 2 people) of food in cardboard containers within our SUV.

Drinking Water
We always bring two 4 gallon BPA-free water jugs in the back of our SUV for all our drinking and cooking needs when we go on a typical 10-day trip in our Scamp.  We fill these tanks at home by using our reverse osmosis system.  By carrying an additional 8 gallons of fresh water in our tow vehicle, we are effectively increasing our Fresh water tank supply by 67% (12 gallons Fresh increased to 20 gallons)!!!  This gives us a lot more fresh water supply.  Health experts typically recommend a person drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day (8×8 rule), which is about ½ gallon of water per person per day.  So, by using this rule, two people would bring 10 gallons of water on their 10-day trip (1/2 gallon/day x 2 people x 10 days).  We tend to drink slightly less water than this amount because we also drink coconut water, macadamia milk in our cereal, oat milk in our tea, sometimes soup for lunch, and we eat a lot of juicy fruits (like oranges).  So, for us, bringing 8 gallons of fresh water on a 10 day trip works out great (we always have extra water when we return home).

Fresh Water for Trailer
In addition to bringing drinking water, we also will fill two separate 6-gallon jugs if we are heading straight for a dry campsite (no water or water spigots nearby).  We use these to refill our Scamp’s fresh water tank (12 gallons + 6 gallons in hot water heater tank) when it runs low (usually after a couple of days with 2 people showering daily).  We stayed at a Boondockers Welcome location right outside Joshua Tree National Park which had no hookups.  Having the extra 12 gallons of fresh water to fill our Scamp’s Fresh water tank made a couple day stay smooth.  And, with our portable jugs, it was easy for us to refill them at a visitor’s center close by without having to relocate our Scamp.  We can go about four days before having to refill our Scamp’s Fresh water tank.

Electricity
It’s best to start your journey with your small travel trailer’s 12-volt battery completely charged.  We plug our Scamp into our 110-volt outlet in our garage a few days before we leave and keep it plugged in while we run our refrigerator before the trip.  The trailer’s 12-volt battery will also charge while we are driving since the Scamp is plugged into our tow vehicle and receives a charge.  To keep our 12-volt battery charged when we are at the campsite without hookups, we bring a 100-Watt solar panel briefcase and hope the sun is shining.  The solar panel does a great job of keeping our batteries fully charged during the day and provides enough power so our 12-volt battery can easily last the night.  We can still go a couple of days without the solar panel if we are careful to just run the essentials sparingly (LED lights, water pumps, fan, etc.).  To help reduce the draw on our Scamp’s 12-volt battery, we also carry an auxiliary battery power bank (which we also fully charge before we leave home).  Our Jackery 500 is a 518Wh lithium battery which we use for charging our phones, cameras, drone, television, and an electric toothbrush when boondocking to reserve all of our Scamp’s 12-volt battery power for essential devices/functions.  On longer trips between campgrounds, we usually place the Jackery 500 at the back of our SUV and charge it with the tow vehicle’s 12VDC port so the Jackery 500 energy is replenished during our drive.

Propane
Propane does a great job of powering all our appliances which can run on this gas.  Propane is efficient and can last a long time.  Appliances in our Scamp that can run off propane are the gas stove, refrigerator, furnace, and hot water heater.  The great thing about propane is that you can carry a lot of it (we always carry 2 Viking composite propane tanks) and it can be run without hookups.  One just has to take care to follow proper safety protocols when running propane.  Small travel trailers are usually outfitted with combination smoke / carbon monoxide detector alarms.  The one in our 2020 Scamp 13’ is located near the front door under one of the dinette seats.  It’s essential that every small travel trailer have one of these alarms because smoke and carbon monoxide exposure can be lethal.

Holding Tanks
These are the tanks that hold the Fresh, Grey, and Black water.

Fresh Water Holding Tank
The Fresh water holding tank has already been addressed above within the Food & Water section.

Grey Water Holding Tank
The Grey water tank is generally the Achilles heel for small travel trailers.  This is the place where used fresh water goes (e.g. waste water from the sink and shower).  For us two people (taking 2 showers each night), our Scamp’s twenty-one gallon Grey tank fills up in about three days.  To extend our time off-grid, I developed the Holy Grail Portable Grey Water Tank Solution.  Using this solution (which utilizes four 5 gallon jugs), we are able to almost double the off-grid capability of the Grey water tank.  And, it certainly is nice not having to limit campground visits to only 2 – 3 days due to Grey water tank size.  For the Scamp’s 21-gallon Grey tank, this system effectively doubles time between dumps from 2 – 3 days to 4 – 6 days (depending on water use).  And, it’s also really great not having to pack everything up and drive to a central Dump in the middle of a trip and then have to drive back to the campsite to set up the trailer all over again (which we had to do in the middle of our 3-night stay at D.L. Bliss State Park at Lake Tahoe).

Black Water Tank
This is the holding tank for the toilet – it holds sewage and waste water.  In our Scamp, we’ve found that the 9 gallon Black tank takes much longer to fill than the Grey tank.  Our Black tank usually takes about 6 days (two people) before needing to be dumped.  There isn’t really a clean way (pardon the pun) to extend the time between Dumps for the Black tank.  Some people dump this biohazard material into portable containers to extend their time off grid, but we choose to only drain Black Water at a Dump station.  In turn, our Zen Boondocking needs to be refreshed with a Dump every 5 – 6 days.

Conclusion
Being a Zen Boondocker will open up new worlds for you and your small travel trailer.  You will not only be able to go to remote off-grid locations, but, more practically, enjoy the many advantages of choosing campsites without hookups and extend your stays at these locations.  For example, you might be able to stay at more scenic and roomy campsites for longer periods of time at a lower cost than campsites with hookups.  And, visits to places without hookups (such as Joshua Tree National Park) will no longer be limited to just an overnight stay.  So, find your center, and become Zen with your Boondocking spirit!

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything correctly. 

14 Transformations to go from Camping to Glamping!

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14 Transformations to go from Camping to Glamping!
When the Scamp delivery driver pulled down our street with our new 2020 Scamp 13’ we were super excited.  We would soon have the “golden ticket” to stay within campgrounds throughout North America.  And, upon inspection, the Scamp 13’ seemed to have everything we needed for wonderful and comfortable trips.  However, although the Scamp does indeed have everything we need for our journeys, it took about a year’s worth of trips to figure out some critical enhancements needed in order for our Scamp adventures to go from Camping to Glamping.

(1) Cushions & Memory Foam Pad
The most obvious elements within the Scamp 13’ which absolutely needed change were the cushions.  The cushions are fine for sitting, but, for us, are too hard to sleep on.  In fact, on our first trip, I kept waking up because I felt like I was sleeping on a hard board (which brought back memories of a business trip to Shenzhen, but that’s another story!).  We thought an easy solution might be to just add a memory foam mattress cover on top of the cushions.  However, the 2” memory foam failed to keep us from feeling the “board” cushions underneath.  We considered thicker memory foam, but didn’t like the idea of having to roll up and store such a thick cushion each morning.  Ultimately, we decided to replace the cushions with ones which have softer foam inserts.  In addition, we wanted a covering material that was easier to clean (and wouldn’t hold dust) compared to the original cloth.  We found a great local upholstery shop and they crafted wonderful comfortable cushions with softer foam and fantastic “faux leather” covers which are great looking and super easy to clean!  We still use the 2” memory foam pad on top of the new cushions and find the combination provides a heavenly night’s sleep!  Click Here for full details on the cushion transformation.

(2) Double Sleeping Bag & Liner
Once you are out in the elements and have busy days, the last thing you want to do is to spend time and energy making up your bed every day.  And, for small travel trailers, it’s common to have a kitchen dinette table that converts to a bed.  So, making up the entire bed every evening from scratch with sheets is a definite no for us!  Fortunately, we discovered that double sleeping bags are very comfortable bedding and can be made up almost instantly (and store really well in our Scamp’s small cabinet above the larger coat cabinet).  The trick is to select the right size bag to fill the sleeping area.  We ordered the big 54” bed on our Scamp 13’ which is extra wide compared to the regular bed.  We found a really nice and comfortable bag called the Big Agnes Dream Island (rated down to 15 degrees F) that is also super wide and covers the Scamp 13’ 54” bed completely!  To make things extra comfortable and easy to clean, we also use a sleeping bag liner.  Liners come in all types of materials, but we chose one that is a polyester fiber, which is breathable and durable.  When we are done with our trip, we just pull the liner out of the bag and wash it at home.  The use of the liner means the sleeping bag (which may require a commercial washing machine due to its size) may be washed less often.

(3) Thermostatic Shower Wall Mount
All travel trailers should have these shower controllers as standard equipment and we would never go without one again.  Just set the desired water temperature on the controller and leave it.  The only thing to do when starting the shower is to turn on the water volume!  The water comes out your perfect temperature every time!  No more wasting water and time trying to adjust the water so it’s not scalding or freezing cold.  With the stock shower head, we usually spent several minutes each shower doing this type of fine tuning and wasting lots of water!  In addition, with the thermostatic valve, it’s easy to completely turn off the water while lathering up and then turn it on and resume without having to reset the temperature.  And, these types of wall mounts are relatively inexpensive and not extremely difficult to install.  Click Here for complete details on how we transformed our Scamp 13’ with a thermostatic shower wall mount.

(4) Powerful Water Efficient Shower Head
Most small travel trailers come with small shower heads that deliver slightly more than a trickle on a good day.  We eventually grew tired of how slow it took to rinse off.  After a bit of research, we found Oxygenics Fury and never looked back.  The Oxygenics Fury puts the shower back into RV showering!  We went from a placid drizzle with our Scamp’s stock handheld shower head to a real blaster with the Fury!  The nice thing is that the Fury actually conserves water and ramps up pressure by mixing air into the shower head.  This results in a really powerful efficient stream.  We’ve found showering takes less time as well since it’s a really fast rinse with better water flow.  It’s also super easy to install – just unscrew the old hose /showerhead  at the shower wall mount and screw on this hose / showerhead.

(5) Soap and Shampoo Dispenser
The floor on most small travel trailers is small enough without having to make room for shampoo bottles (which tend to roll around if you bump into them or leave them on the floor when driving).  Instead, use a wall mounted dispenser and just add your favorite shampoo!  This dispenser sticks to the wall of the shower with two way tape.  Just pop the top and fill with your favorite shampoo / liquid soap and cover and you won’t ever have to deal with rolling bottles on your shower floor again!  The dispenser has a nice pump button that makes it easy to squirt out shampoo into your hand.  We fill with a natural 3-in-1 Soap (Shampoo, Body Wash, Bubble Bath), eliminating the need for more costly and bulkier multi-dispensers.

(6) Paper towel holder (suction cup)
Having paper towels next to the sink is a great idea, but there is limited table space in the Scamp to hold them.  This paper towel holder solves the space problem – it has a strong suction cup and sticks to the wall above the kitchen sink!  We’ve had it in position over a year and it hasn’t come off the wall yet!  We use it extensively on every trip and really like it.  (One thing we did notice though is that it’s a good idea to secure the paper towels in a closet while driving or they tend to unroll by themselves into the sink!)

(7) Toilet Paper Holder (suction cup)
The wet bath in a small travel trailer has generally pretty tight quarters!  There’s usually a shower area and the toilet right behind it.  So, it’s a great idea to partition out the space and keep the toilet area as dry as possible (see article called “How to Turn Your Wet Bath into a Comfy Dry Zone”).  A great addition to the toilet area is a holder for toilet paper.  This will help keep it off the floor, from getting wet, and give easy access.

(8) Teak Shower Floor
To keep your feet elevated off the shower floor (which can be damp or wet), we recommend using a teak “mat”.  It is a really nice way to stay elevated from the floor while also allowing water to fall between the slits into the drain.  Additionally, it may provide some anti-slip properties versus standing directly on potentially slick fiberglass flooring.  We purchased this one (measure your floor area to make sure the mat you purchase fits).

(9) Two Propane Tanks
A single propane tank can last a long time when used occasionally for short trips in good weather.  However, we’ve found having two propane tanks takes the stress off wondering when the gas will run out.  We discovered this while on a trip to Oregon in October.  We were cooking breakfast and all of a sudden, the flame on the stove went out.  I immediately checked the gauge on our propane tank and it still showed Green.  Unfortunately, faulty readings like this are fairly common.  Fortunately, we had a second tank and as soon as I moved the switch over to the 2nd tank we were back in business!  At some of the locations on that recent trip, the temperatures dipped down into the teens at night and we would have been very uncomfortable had our propane powered furnace stopped working.  Now, we usually make sure both of our Viking tanks are filled before leaving on any long trips so we can be confident we will have we will have plenty of gas to power our:  hot water heater for nice hot showers plus hot water at the sink, refrigerator, and furnace.  Click here for more information on our composite Viking propane tanks.

(10) Battery Power Bank
A luxury item that could be essential depending on how you travel is a large external battery power bank.  The independent power bank can power many of your essential items while reserving your travel trailer’s battery power for your super essential items like lights, fan, and pumps.  We purchased the Jackery 500 which has 518Wh of power (which can power a lot of devices for a long time).  It has a 12V cigarette socket, USB ports, and even a 110V outlet.  We use it to charge our phones, drones, cameras, electric toothbrushes and power our 12V television in our Scamp.  It can even be used to run your portable air compressor.  You can charge it in your car while driving between camping locations, with 110V power outlets at campsites, and also with a solar panel.

(11) Solar Panel
A 100W solar panel is a great option to help recharge your small travel trailer batteries daily when camping without hookups.  We’ve found our solar panel can maintain our Scamp’s battery at 12.5V (a good place) for days on end as long as the sun shines. The solar panel may also be used to recharge your independent power bank.   Click Here for more information on our Solar Panel setup.

(12) Volt Television
Sometimes it’s nice to come back to your small travel trailer after a long day of hiking and watch a good movie.  After all, you can probably stay up as late as you want and sleep in the next morning!  Without the usual pressures of the outside world, being in the wilderness affords a nice opportunity to really enjoy some quality entertainment!  The main piece of equipment you will need to enjoy a good movie in your small travel trailer is a television (LCD TV) that is powered by 12 volts.  Being powered by 12 Volts allows you to use the TV off grid (e.g. no hookups).  This type of TV can be plugged directly into a 12V socket and powered by the travel trailer’s 12V battery or an auxiliary battery power bank, which is desirable when you have no hookups in the wild.  We enjoy watching: over-the-air HD TV when digital signals are available, services like Netflix and Amazon Prime when we have access to a WiFi network, and movies we download to our phones from these services and play back via a cable to the TV when we are in remote areas.  Click Here for a full description on how we watch movies in the wild.

(13) Electric Tongue Jack
One of the first few things we replaced on our Scamp travel trailer was our hand crank tongue jack.  The tongue jack sits on the front of the trailer and allows one to raise and lower the ball coupler so the trailer can be attached to the tow vehicle.  It didn’t take too long to understand how much cranking is required when hitching and unhitching the Scamp travel trailer!  Not only can cranking over and over be repetitively hard on your arm, shoulder and joints, but it takes a lot of time and energy.  It’s also the time when you want to be concentrating on other parts of the process and cranking the jack up and down can be distracting.  Fortunately, changing the tongue jack is super simple! We switched to a quality electric tongue jack.  Click Here for more information on how we went from a manual to electric tongue jack.

(14) The Holy Grail Portable Grey Water Tank Solution
We used to constantly check our Grey water holding tank level and limit our boondocking stays to just a couple of days to make sure our Grey tank didn’t reach its limit.  This also meant being super cautious about our water use even when water spigots were available at the campsite.  However, we discovered a simple and inexpensive solution by bringing along four 5 gallon jugs and some specialized equipment to almost double our Grey water holding capacity which allows us to go around 6 days without dumping our Grey tank!  Click Here for more details on our Holy Grail Portable Grey Water Tank Solution.

Well, sure, it’s entirely possible to enjoy your small travel trailer completely stock.  Similarly, many will say they are perfectly comfortable flying in coach class on 14 hours trips to the other side of the world.  However, having tried it both ways, we can definitely say Glamping is definitely way more fun and comfortable!  Glamp on!

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything correctly. 

A Bright Idea for Mounting Flashlights!

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A Bright Idea for Mounting Flashlights!

After a year of travelling in our Scamp 13’, the benefit of having a good flashlight within easy reach has been reinforced on more than one occasion.  When the Sun sets, it can get pretty dark out in the wild pretty quickly.  And, it’s not uncommon for us to be outside after dark to:  retrieve trip food and water from our SUV, watch the stars, and sometimes join friends for dinner around a group campfire.  At some of the places we have visited, it has been difficult to see even a foot ahead of ourselves (such as Anza Borrego State Park).  Without a flashlight in these extremely low light conditions, it can be hard to find one’s way back to the camper!  And, there are times when having a quick light is necessary to find a critical item or make an adjustment outside the trailer (such as switching between propane tanks).

For a while, we kept a traditional flashlight attached by 3M Scotch Fasteners (e.g. like Velcro) next to our dinette on the side of the sink.  It worked OK, but because the flashlight’s round head would not lay flat against the wall, we frequently bumped it causing the flashlight to fall onto the dinette bench or floor.  Then, we had a magnetic idea!  What if we could find a flashlight that would lay flat and, in turn, be less prone to knocking off the wall?  Well, we found such a light, and not only is it flat, but it also has a magnetic backing (as well as hanger)!

This rubber coated AlltroLite is small (3.7”x2.4”x1.3”) but packed with enough LEDs to be really bright!  There are two modes:  one turns on the 3 LEDs which face forward and acts like a traditional flashlight and the other mode activates 24 LEDs which turns it into more of a work light.  Not only is there a magnet on the back of the flashlight, but it also has a hook which rotates 360 degrees for hanging.  The flashlight is sold in a 3 pack and comes with the required 3 AAA batteries for each light.  We’ve found the lights to be very bright and nice and compact.  The LED bulbs are rated at 100,000 hours, so they are likely to last many camping trips!

The magnet added a new twist and we quickly figured that magnetism would be a good way to mount the flashlight to the Scamp’s wall.  We liked the idea of using the magnet instead of fastening tape because we wanted the flashlight to be as close to the wall as possible due to the desired corner mounting location being an easy target for brushing up against.  Also, the flashlight would be easier to pull off and re-attach to the mount with a magnet vs. fastening tape.  The only wrinkle in our plan was that the Scamp is a fiberglass trailer and its walls are mostly fiberglass, so a magnet won’t stick to its walls.

For the flashlight’s magnet to stick against the Scamp’s fiberglass wall, we chose to use a thin stainless steel strip taped to the fiberglass wall.  We chose a small piece of sheet metal stock which is very thin (around .02 inches thick) so the mount would keep the flashlight close to the wall.  Using a pair of metal snips, I cut a small strip (only about the width of the magnet and length about the width of the flashlight).  This ensures that the magnet has sufficient area to which to attach.  I also made sure to trim away all sharp metal corners for safety.  I then unrolled some clear double sided Gorilla tape (rated to support up to 15lbs!) and stuck the tape to one side of the metal strip (trimming away any excess tape extending over the strip with scissors).  After this was done, I peeled away the very thin Gorilla tape adhesive cover, attached the metal strip to the flashlight’s magnet (non-adhesive side) and then pressed the entire assembly (flashlight and steel strip) onto the wall (adhesive side facing the fiberglass) at the location where we wanted the flashlight.  Viola!  The flashlight now was secure on its mount hanging on the wall!   We are really happy with this magnetic solution and mounted one flashlight at the door entry and one inside, near bed.  Now, we have easy access to a light whether we are outside the Scamp or inside by the dinette!  This approach has been very illuminating and hopefully you too will come to “see the light” soon!

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything correctly. 

Recommended Post-Camping Trip Cleaning Rituals

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Recommended Post-Camping Trip Cleaning Rituals

At the end of each camping trip, and especially the longer ones, we come home with a dirty Scamp usually in need of a good cleanout.  We always prioritize bringing the Scamp back up to travel readiness as soon as we come home.  This way we know we will be ready to go on a moment’s notice next time and also don’t have to dread the cleanup days.  Additionally, doing the cleanup on the day of arrival eliminates the need for us to hitch up and pull the Scamp out of our garage for the cleaning.   In order to accomplish this task, we always plan to arrive back home midday so we can have lunch and then start the cleanup process.  We also usually wash our tow vehicle right after the Scamp on the same day.  We find with two people this is entirely doable.

To begin with and to make the entire process easier, make sure that your small travel trailer is waxed with a high quality wax.  If it’s a fiberglass travel trailer, like ours, use a premium marine wax on the fiberglass.  We waxed our Scamp 13’ with Meguiar’s Flagship Premium Wax right after we took delivery of our Scamp and continue to use this brand.  We find it easy to rub on and off and it provides a really nice shine and water resistant layer.  It’s also supposed to protect against UV damage and wear.  We’ve noticed the marine wax gives a nice gloss to our white gel coating.  Most importantly, just like the wax on a car, having a good quality wax coating makes it much easier to wash away the dirt after a camping trip.   Our plan is to put a fresh coat of wax on the Scamp before every summer.  Since our Scamp is stored in our garage and, in turn, not exposed to the elements when not travelling, it has stayed in really good shape.

The first thing we do when we pull up to our house after camping is to position the Scamp right in front of our driveway on the street.  This is the area where we wash the Scamp.  After parking, we disconnect the Scamp from the Tow vehicle so it doesn’t drain the SUV’s battery.  We immediately remove all the food out of the Scamp refrigerator and bring it inside our home so it can be refrigerated.  We also clear out all the clothes and other items we normally don’t store long term in the Scamp.  All dirty clothes go directly into the washing machine and the wash is started.  Then, we normally go inside our house, have lunch and relax for a few minutes.

After lunch, we open the Scamp’s fresh water drain valve (under the passenger side dinette bench) so that all remaining fresh water drains onto the street (to prevent algae and bacteria buildup which may result from water stored for long periods inside the Scamp fresh water tank).  We also open up the hot and cold water faucets for a few seconds to remove pressure in the system (on demand pump off) and then, using a ratcheted socket wrench, remove the anode from the hot water heater, and allow the water to drain out (see article “Drain and Clean Your Tanks Regularly”).  In addition, we use a water heater tank rinser to thoroughly flush out the sediment inside the hot water heater tank.  We set the anode rod aside on our garage work bench (or replace if over 75% consumed) for a day or two and let the hot water tank dry out.

We wash the Scamp with warm soapy water (we use car soap) and sponges.  We first use a strong spray of water to rinse off all loose dirt.  We then soak our sponges into the sudsy warm water and give the Scamp a thorough washing.  We use a small aluminum ladder next to the Scamp to reach the roof (be especially careful when on a ladder to prevent falls).  Areas toward the front of the Scamp generally have the most hard-to-get-off debris (like smashed bugs).  It sometimes takes persistent scrubbing to get off these bits (but having a nice wax coat makes the process much easier).  Our HD antenna also seems to catch the bugs fairly well!  With patience and plenty of warm soapy water, the trailer seems to clean fairly quickly and easily with two people working on it (especially a trailer as small as 13’, which is actually only 10’ when the 3’ hitch isn’t included).

After the outside of the Scamp is washed and dried (we use a couple of Absorbers to dry our cars and Scamp), we back the Scamp into our garage, unhitch, secure with blocks and rear stabilizers, and then turn our attention toward the inside of the Scamp.  First, we use a small broom to sweep out any loose dirt on the floor.  We clean the bathroom (toilet and shower) with natural disinfectant.  We remove the teak shower floor mat and toilet scrubber and wash them down outside and let them dry in the Sun.  We cleanse the surfaces of the kitchen stove top and dinette table.  We also clean the inside of the refrigerator and leave the door open so it can air out for a couple of days.  We pull out the sleeping bag, pillow covers, shower and dish towels, all dishware and utensils used on the trip, and wash in our home.  We clean the main floor area with natural disinfectant spray.  We open the rear window of the Scamp for a few days to allow fresh air in and moisture out of the camper.  We dump both Black and Grey tanks using our sewer cleanouts inside the garage (see article “Save Time & Money with a Home Dump”).  If we have time, we wash our tow vehicle and clean and vacuum the interior.  Lastly, we sanitize the Black and Grey tanks with Happy Camper (one cap flushed with 3 gallons of water in toilet and sink) – we leave in for a few days and then dump.  We charge up the Scamp battery with our garage AC overnight so that the battery is topped off.  Additionally, we recharge all the electric items we used on our trip (e.g. Jackery 500 power supply, cameras, and phones).

The next day, we usually refuel our tow vehicle and fill up our propane tank(s) at the local service station.  We secure the propane tanks back onto the Scamp when we get home and also resupply the Scamp with the clean sleeping bag, pillow covers, shower and dish towels, and dishware.  We also refresh the provisions of the disposable products we used on our trip (e.g. paper plates, paper towels, toilet paper, and the rubber gloves we like to use at dump stations).  Additionally, we insert the anode rod back into the empty hot water heater tank and secure it by screwing into place (using plumbers tape wound around the threads in the opposite direction the anode is turned).  Just remember, if you empty your hot water heater and store it empty, you must fill it right before you leave on your next trip to avoid burning out the heating element which may occur if it’s turned on with no hot water in the hot water heater tank!  The easy way to refill your hot water heater tank in your small travel trailer right before your next trip is to attach a hose directly to your City Water hookup port, turn on the hose (which pressurizes your trailer’s water system), and then turn on the hot water faucet at your sink.  When water starts spitting out the hot water faucet, then it is filled.

By maintaining these cleaning rituals after each trip, you will ensure that you will look forward to your next trip without having to think too much about readying your small travel trailer and will be ready to go whenever nature calls!  Cleanliness is next to godliness . . . .

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything correctly. 

Pinnacles National Park (With Fun Stops)

 150 150 gavin
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Pinnacles National Park
March 6th – March 14, 2021

Although Pinnacles National Park is one of the newer national parks (established in 2013), it was actually declared a national monument in 1908 by President Roosevelt.  It’s not as famous as and much easier to get reservations at than the most popular national parks, but offers some very compelling reasons to visit.  Located in Central California, this adventure is an easy reach from San Diego and allowed us some additional fun stops along the way.  Our stops included Santa Barbara, Pinnacles National Park, Pfieffer Big Sur State Park, Oceano Campground (Pismo Beach), and a final stop in Santa Barbara on the way home. We search for openings at national and state parks because the sites are often spread out and tend to be economical.  When planning our stay overs, we also consider our needs for dumping, water replenishment, and electricity demand.  We generally need to dump every few days, but can usually find dump stations at gas stations if they are not available at campsites (which they often are in at least a centralized dump station at the campground).  On this trip we were able to test my new portable grey water holding tank solution (stay tuned for a future article!) to double our dry camping days (from 3 up to 6 days) and did not have to use a gas station dumping area.

Coming from San Diego, both Central and Northern California are a bit too long of a drive for a nonstop trip.  Since we like to follow our 4-hour rule (driving no more than this amount of time), we generally plan a stop in Santa Barbara when heading to these northern locations.  Santa Barbara is about a 3 ½ hour drive from our home and my cousin Jon lets us stay in his driveway (and hookup to water and electricity).  On this trip we stayed on a Saturday night (both on the way up and on the way back) and were treated to two fabulous BBQ fish dinners (grilled Salmon and guacamole and chips) with all my cousins.  We also had time to explore the area of the Old Mission Santa Barbara and do some hiking in Tuckers Grove Park.  It’s always great to be able to combine a Scamp adventure with a family visit.  We really enjoy our cousins’ company and their driveway is in a very quiet neighborhood and very peaceful for sleeping in the Scamp.  Additionally, the property is surrounded by heavenly tasting oranges which provide a great, seemingly endless treat.

The easy drive from Santa Barbara to Pinnacles National Park took about 3 ½ hours.  If you go, make sure to refuel your tow vehicle right when you leave the freeway (in our case the town of King City) because there is no fuel once you head inland to the park.  Also, there are two entrances to the park and if you are staying at the campground you must use the EAST Entrance.  This is very important as there is no campground access from the West side and the two entrances are very far from each other (over an hour’s drive).  The ranger station at the East gate entrance was unoccupied when we arrived and we simply drove directly to our site (#69).  I chose this site because it is far away from the other sites and, as it turned out, is a fantastic campsite being extremely private and quiet (and very dark at night).  Site #69 doesn’t have hookups like sites at the busier RV area close to the park entrance, but the solitude more than compensates for this.  Additionally, we only were staying two nights so hookups weren’t necessary.  There is a water spigot close by the campsite and a central dump station at the park entrance.  We arrived with a super full battery charge of 12.9 volts (charged while driving), full Fresh tank, 50% Grey tank, and 25% Black tank.  We put our solar panels out in the sun and our Scamp’s voltage shot up to 14.1 volts and kept that up as it charged the Scamp’s battery.  We had a nice lunch after arriving and then walked around the campground.  There is a small campground store which offers some souvenirs and camping supplies.  There is also WiFi near the store ($10/wk, $7/day, or $3/hr).  We couldn’t get cell service or HDTV signals at the campground but the WiFi allowed us to send messages and make phone calls over Verizon service.  There are some benches near the store where it’s possible to sit and watch for Condors and make calls, text, and browse the internet.

Pinnacles National Park is home to the California condor and also the impressive Pinnacles rocks on the high peaks.  Pinnacles was formed by an ancient volcanic eruption.  The area sits along the San Andreas Fault and, as a result, has unusual rock formations.  There were wild turkeys in the campground when we were there and they provided some amusement with their funny noises and colorful fanfare.  The skies at the park can be very dark at night (we planned our trip during a New Moon so it would be especially dark) and provide fabulous opportunities for star gazing.

After having a very pleasant night’s sleep, we headed out early for a long hike on Condor Gulch Trail to see the famous high peaks.  This hike is moderately strenuous and a long hike from the campground but can be shortened significantly by driving directly to the trailhead entrance at the Bear Gulch Nature Center parking area.  On the hike, we saw quail, deer, turkeys, vultures, squirrels, and the Pinnacles Rock Formations.  It’s worth noting that you cannot see the Pinnacles rock formations from within the campground.  So, it’s really important to get out and see the Pinnacles.  The absolutely easiest way to do it is just to walk toward Condor Gulch Trail at the bottom of the campground and take the short walk to the viewing area (a bench that looks up at the Pinnacles).  After our 4 hour hike (about 10 miles round trip), we were ready to relax a bit.   We had a nice lunch and strolled around the campground and went to the condor observation bench and watched the vultures (we didn’t see any condors on this trip).  We were treated to a spectacular starry night and we spent some time seated outside our Scamp looking up and taking pictures.  We saw plenty of satellites overhead and even an incredible meteor race across the sky (seemingly for seconds as we had to rotate our heads to continue to watch it until it fizzled out).  The next morning we used the central dump station near the park entrance to dump before heading out to Big Sur.

Big Sur is only a couple of hours drive from Pinnacles and a great location for spectacular ocean scenery and viewing the redwoods.  We arrived at Pfeiffer Big Sur Campground around noon (although check in is at 2 p.m.).  Fortunately, the ranger let us in early and we were able to set up at our meadow site #77 and have lunch.  There is a water spigot next to site #77 and the central dump station is at the other end of the campground.  There are no electric hookups at this park.  There is almost no cell phone service unless you hike up to either Buzzards Roost or Valley View trails.  Alternatively, one can drive a mile or so South to the Big Sure Taphouse restaurant up the hill and get free WiFi.  We wandered after lunch and enjoyed walking through the redwood forest which sits between two sections of the campground.  We also purchased some t-shirts and souvenirs at the Big Sur Lodge (walking distance from the campground).  Wild turkeys blocked our way on one of the nature paths and we chose an alternative route.  They can get a bit feisty and chase you if you get too close (we don’t know what happens if they catch you though).  The next morning we had pancakes for breakfast in the Scamp and hiked up to Buzzards Roost (moderately strenuous mountain hike up switchbacks to top of mountain peak – 5 miles round trip).  There are some nice sweeping ocean views at the top.  We had a wild hail storm at night!  The campground was very quiet and we were the only ones camping in our meadow area.  We also hiked the Valley View Trail (2 miles RT) on one day which provided some nice ocean views at the top (and cell service).  We enjoyed watching movies at night (downloaded from Netflix and using the Jackery 500 to supply power to the TV).  On the morning we left, three deer grazed right outside our Scamp’s windows!  We dumped on our way out and headed to Pismo Beach.  Because the coast highway was shut down South due to rock slides, we had to double back North and cut across inland farm country to reach the 101 and then continue South to Pismo (about a three hour drive).

Oceano Campground is a bright and open campground right next to the Oceano Dunes beach.  The hookup site area (right at the campground entrance) offers sites close together and not nearly as nice and spread out as the non-hookup area.  We chose site #46 in the non-hookup area which is fantastic and has a trail right next to it leading to the lagoon and beach!  There is a water spigot right next to the site with a picnic table and fire pit.  We used our solar panels to generate all the electricity we needed and didn’t need to dump as we took care of that at Pfieffer Big Sur Campground the morning we departed.  There isn’t a dump station at this campground, but there is one a few miles away at the North campground.  There is plenty of cell phone coverage here as well as HDTV channels to tune into.  We enjoyed walking the lagoon trails and along the beach.  Oceano Dunes is the only beach in California where cars are allowed and we did see a number of dune buggies and ATVs driving out to the sand dunes for recreation.  Our friends Jim and Betsy live nearby and came out and shared a great Mexican meal with us at our picnic table!  We later walked along the lagoon path.  Pismo Beach and its surrounding communities (like Oceano) are beautiful quaint beach towns and we had a great time during our visit here.  I expect we will come back to this campground again in the future and stay a number of nights as there is so much to do (such as ATV rentals to ride up and down the sand dunes – when they reopen after Covid).

We really enjoyed this trip, mostly for its diversity (which included animals, plants, mountains, and the ocean).  Seeing the ancient volcanic geography and dark starry skies at Pinnacles was amazing.  And, experiencing the awesomeness of the giant redwoods and a crazy hail storm at Pfieffer Big Sur campground (as well as seeing wild turkeys and the spectacular coastline of Big Sur) was inspiring.  Visiting the laid back beach cities of Santa Barbara and Pismo Beach was also pretty incredible.  In addition to all this, we were able to successfully test a new portable grey water tank holding system (look for an article on this in the near future) and had a couple of misadventures! The door key twisted off inside the Scamp lock on day one of the trip (fortunately, we were able to continue our trips, albeit with the front door left unlocked for the remaining 8 days!).  A new electronic replacement lock will be the subject of a future article!  And our Maxx fan stopped working (although we called Scamp and the fix was simply resetting the fuse).  For all the adventures and misadventures, just getting out in nature every so often is definitely worth it as a great way to recharge (and this trip provided plenty of that!).  Highly recommended adventure!

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything correctly.