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Unusual but useful stuff for the Rv

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For those that like to burn wood, but may not be expert arsonists, here are a few items that really help.

1) lint from the dryer. Save this in a baggie. It is amazing. Use with small twigs etc to get it going.

2) cotton balls & Vaseline. This too works very well.

Both of those items are most likely already in your RV. If you plan ahead, the fatwood sticks are very good at lighting fires. The box I ordered from Amazon has lasted a long time. I use a small hatchet to break up the already small sticks into smaller sticks, as it doesn't take much.

Add a few cast iron pots and a Dutch oven, and your fire can easily become an outdoor kitchen!
 
If you plan ahead, the fatwood sticks are very good at lighting fires.
I had never heard them called "fatwood sticks," but looked them up and they seem to be identical to the "pitch wood" I have gathered and kept on hand since I was a kid. My dad showed me how to find it in old pine/fir stumps.

As @redbaron indicated, just a few small sticks of pitch wood/fatwood is all it takes to get a fire going, even in the toughest conditions. There's a small can full in the coach right now.

TJ
 
Yes, pitchwood is the forest product..aka natural name. Fatwood is the commercial brand given to the same product. It is amazing stuff. I usually carry a dozen in my backpack when camping in the back country, along with lint and cotton balls soaked in Vaseline. Guarantees any condition will make a fire.
 
Another "unusual" item I carry in the coach are military-surplus flight line coveralls. When I have to crawl in, under or around the coach or toad, they keep the dirt and sharp edges at bay. I suppose there are civilian versions as well, but the milsurp ones are fairly light weight, very durable and have a bunch of zippered pockets for tools, parts, etc.

TJ
 
tarp - haven't dirtied my new covralls yet.. Hopefully I will never need it to keep water out.
moisture detector, lp sniffer
 
The army/Marine Corps provide a very strong compact folding shovel, with a branch cutter on one edge. I got one for my metal detecting kit I carry. The saw works, takes some effort. I carry a hand sized pruner which ratchets and that works for most of the things I see in my way our 4x4'ing. I check the spot I'm going into prior to backing in, so any hazards are known before I tear something up. But the wind can change things and so be prepared for those things.

Home Depot sells a Tyvek paint suit for about 16 dollars, you can get ribbed cuffs for arms and legs. I keep two, the one I'm using, and a spare, once the zipper fails or I tear them up bad, I throw away the only set and then have the new set when I need it. It's getting harder for these old bones to get down or under the coach, so it does not get much use. I also keep a magnetized tray, for screws, nets/bolts when I'm working on something, so I don't lose them, even if I tip it over they don't get away.

Steel wool works excellent to start almost anything on fire, use the very fine size. At REI, and the like, you can get a tube of fire starter, I think mine is over 30 years old, as we don't like smoke from fires. I keep it to start the camping stope I used when backpacking, which runs on kerosene, make a hot flame which is excellent. I also keep that at home, and 1 gallon of fuel in case of SHTF problems.

I also keep a "road worker reflective vest" for those times I need to be seen outside alongside the road. That is in the jeep toad. I carry (when I can get them) disposable Lysol wipes to clean hands and hose bibs in parks on the coach front step so I don't get it dirty, and can sanitize the faucet for water. One can last a fairly lone time. I keep at least two spares under the tv cabinet.

I carry the normal stuff, oil, coolant, tranny fluid, WD-40 and 3M Dry Silicone Lubricant. Also some andro ant killer granules and go around the coach when we arrive to stop the little buggers from getting inside - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000QDEQ7E/?tag=rvf01-20 - .

All of us have junk drawers, pens, sharpies (black-blue-red). But here is one thing you might consider.
3 small LED flashlights, (500 lumens or so, bright enough to see, but not blinding) for getting into those spots after dark (for those of us who don't have docking lights-but), here is how I do it. I place two lights at the back of the spot, one on each side of the space I am aiming to put the rear of the coach, pointing toward the street, the last one I place pointing toward the drivers window at the point I want the coach to end up. So when backing in, I have in effect landing lights pointing at my mirrors, and as long as I stay between those lights, I will not run off the surface of the spot, since I know the light aimed at the side of the coach is where I want to stop backing up to, I can put that MH almost anywhere I want her, and not scratch anything, hit anything, and it's in the middle of the pad. I went across the country east and west alone, and this trick never failed me. Plus I can use the lights for other things and to check for low hanging trees, etc. before I place them on the ground.
 
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I heard about a guy that, get this, carries an entire 3D printer in his rig. I don’t know of anything else more unusual yet insanely useful.
 
I heard about a guy that, get this, carries an entire 3D printer in his rig. I don’t know of anything else more unusual yet insanely useful.
That dude is obviously insane!
 
Out of office reply: eating pizza. Will return shortly.
 
I carry a bicycle helmet for those times I need to crawl under the coach. I could make a wallet out of the skin I’ve left on various brackets under there.
 

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