"Must have's" for vandwelling

[MN C Van]

You have to eschew those who use eschew

[Kaylee]

LOL!

Back to serious stuff for a moment...

What sort of bungie cords do you folks use for securing stuff for driving?
I've got most stuff strategically wedged, but really should bungie a few key items.
I've never bought bungie cords, so have no idea what features to look for. Should I just buy Walmart's cheapest or ???

[Flying kurbmaster]

You can buy the cheapest but my experience is that some tend to not last, the elasticity in them goes soon, sometimes the ends are not as good on some real cheap ones, those packages that sell several different sizes are real handy.

[Blacktank]

should be able to find a variety pack with different sizes,i like the ones with plastic ends,they dont scrap up paint like the metal ones do,for exterior i dont want it coming loose use those motorcycle straps or small ratchet straps

[rvpopeye]

I find bungees out on the side of the road.......
Those are probably not the best ones though,,,,they all fell off !

Then again , operator error may have been involved.

The straps are still found sometimes too but far less often....

[Roadtripp]

Great thread....I’m only 7 months late to the party this time. 
 I brought 3 of everything and bent the frame and broke the springs of my trailer. It weighed the rated maximum weight. That was a big lesson so I’m paring down more carefully. I drive real careful and kinda slow and made it 30,000 miles heavy until I didn’t see a real deep hole and it was too late. 
 It’s hard to get paper maps ahead of time when you don’t know where you’re going. I just want to follow the sun so I go that way. I call it “blue holing”. But I do pick up as many paper maps as I can when I get to a area I’m checking out. I’d say the road atlas for the States you’re visiting is worth having. I have Oregon and Washington so far. 
 Oh, here’s what I’ve been considering: Lots of dried food. Maybe I’ll start a thread on dried food. Any ideas? I’m thinking of making a dehydrator for next year, 2020.

[Snikwahjm]

A lot of states no longer give out maps at the unwelcome centers but some sites will have maps occasionally. AAA still has maps.

Sorry to hear of your broken spring. Lesson learned? I worry about my junk being over weight for my Connect but I think it is ok.

I have made my own dehydrators many times. They are more effective when it isn’t raining or high humidity. I bought ‘needlepoint plastic canvas’ from a craft store. I use those to put food on. They are floppy so I put pieces of board or dowels under to keep them from sagging. Then you need something to shelve the plastic canvas. If you are making leathers or drying purée you can use a cookie sheet covered with Saran Wrap. I used a wine rack from ikea to make a small dehydrater shelves. it held 4 or 5 trays. You can stack those and make more space. It is small but worked great. Stand it in an empty closet. Having dowels sticking out helps drape the cover so it has airflow and doesn’t get the cover into the food. After you put food on there you want to cover the whole things with a sheet or something. I’ve also used plastic but you don’t want air tight because it takes too long to dry. Then you need a slight heat source. An old fashioned lightbulb or two will throw enough heat. Take care not to overheat or burn something. The key to it working is having some thing to circulate air. Stand the whole thing under a clean ceiling fan turned on low. Check for sticky or dry after at least 24 hours. You can dehydrate about anything. You won’t get the same results as freeze dry but you can dry a lot of fruit and veggies. If you make leather pour it out of a funnel in strips. It needs to be kind of thick so it will peel off the Saran Wrap. If you just do sliced carrots or zucchini you don’t need Saran Wrap on the canvas. Foods that discolor won’t look very pretty... onions will gas your whole house and takes forever to go away. I haven’t done meat. Anything not totally dry will mold. If you use a closet leave the door cracked open to get air moving... if the closet doesn’t have a ceiling fan you will need some fan or another to ventilate/circulate the air so things dry somewhat evenly. If things don’t dry evenly you can rotate trays.

[Snikwahjm]

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/hutten-9-bo...-70032451/
This will make a small Dehydrator. Two stacked should work. I put mine on it’s side to make an extra couple tray holders. Ikea also has thin cutting boards that can be cut down to fit. They may also sag. Cover cutting boards with Saran Wrap for leathers... plastic canvas for other stuff. Banana does not dry like the banana pieces you buy. They won’t ook the same and will be more like rubbery than crisp. If your slices are too thin it drys faster but may not peel off as easily. If too thick stuff takes for ever or doesn’t dry in the middle. You could use a ladder to hold your trays - a sheets drapes nice.... clothes pins, safety pins or office clamps are your friend.

[Cammalu]

I would like to have a dehydrator but the elec used might be too much. I thought of not using elec because it’s so dry in Q but that powdered dust gets thru everything..

[GotSmart]

I would like to have a dehydrator but the elec used might be too much. I thought of not using elec because it’s so dry in Q but that powdered dust gets thru everything..

added  fiber