What are /r/FullTiming's favorite Products & Services?

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First off: don't worry! You'll find your groove (and it'll be your groove). Until you have your own, you're doing the right thing: ask to borrow other people's :)

Between work and having a few small kids, we don't have the UNLIMITED FLEXIBILITY that we maybe dreamed of when we started full timing, but our basic flow breaks down like this:

• Plan to spend 1-2 weeks per campsite
• Limit our driving to no more than ~250 miles drive-day (typically on Thursdays or Sundays)
• Try to have next week's booking made by Monday or Tuesday
• If we know we need to be somewhere sometime (for a holiday or wedding or whatever): book early.
• Lastly: be flexible! We've had multiple campground stays where over the course of two weeks we had to move sites a time or two. It's never a big deal for us as it usually takes us about an hour to move (and hour and a half we if don't have full hook ups and thus dump between sites in the same campground).

I don't think full timers talk about the decision fatigue that can set in. While this lifestyle does offer tremendous freedoms, with that freedom (and intentionality) comes choice and decision. You'll be making a lot of decisions in the upcoming weeks and months (and years?). You'll make some bad ones along the way. Don't sweat it. You'll make some really unexpectedly good ones, too.

My family is pretty good at "big picture" plans. (We knew we wanted to spend this last winter in the southwest, but didn't really have specifics.) We charted a course using roadtrippers.com and were off schedule by week 2. It was fine, though. I keep two lists: one on my computer of places I plan to go and one in our car of places we drove by. Sometimes your research won't turn up a thing that looks amazing, but for whatever reason, you can't stop. Write it down and plan to swing by your next time through :)

Have you considered getting a few pens to create a type of fence around your campsite - it'll keep people from getting close enough to your camper and your girl that she should feel safer.

We traveled with 2 indoor cats (albeit in a 20' travel trailer) and stayed through Yellowstone/Wyoming through the winter (and summer). -16 to 98 F. (sorry for the F) They were happy as clams. We had a trap door for the litterbox. The smell never was bad.

We did get a few zips up tents and tunnels for when we had to clean or just wanted to get them out. I worked full time, and always left them behind.

cop+pasta+edit from my comment from 4 days ago.

Add Skirting - could be pretty easy to make some with a single 100 ft x 4 ft roll of Reflectix ( https://www.homedepot.com/p/Reflectix-48-in-x-100-ft-Double-Reflective-Insulation-Roll-BP48100/202092205 ). A bit of cutting and shaping around the wheel wells, hoses and storage hatches, and some tape/way to adhere it in place would be needed, along with maybe shaping a lip for the ground. But it looks like it could be rolled up and stored in a pretty small space when not in use.

Install electric heat tape to the hoses. Heat tape is fairly common actually and would keep your hoses outside from freezing. After the heat tape, encase the hoses in foam insulation to try and not be a freeze risk. Here's an example where some of the reviews mention how they adapted it for RV use:

https://www.amazon.com/Xarex-Regulating-Freeze-Protection-Heating/dp/B07YQ2DSZL

Lots of other good comments here. I'd add the reflectx or other insulating/barrier type products to the windows + skylights instead of just bubble wrap. If I was just trying to hold stuff in place without hurting the surrounding surface on a budget, maybe use wide painter's tape?

samesies - I got some like this (not those specifically, no idea - just first result that looked the same) https://smile.amazon.com/YITAMOTOR-BA15D-27SMD-Marine-Xenon/dp/B017SO8Q7Y/

We've been rocking all amazon cheapie replacements in our RV without issue for fulltime the last ~9 months. We lost exactly 3 LEDs - turned out I'd bought 6v bulbs rather than 12v - put some 12v bulbs in there and haven't lost anymore. I'm talking 70+ bulbs swapped to LED and not a single dud.

My only complain't about the cheap ones is their color reproduction isn't great - but I don't care enough to spend 10/bulb from superbrightled to fix that when I have ~45 ceiling bulbs I'd have to change.

I'm experiencing the same problem right now. This Video explains why Low wattage heating cable is the right choice.

Good luck

Well fire starting wise you stand just as good a chance of a fire in a residential house. Instead of foam falls, laminate shells your in a house that is made of wood, wrapped in a outer layer of a tar like substance that instantly burns if you ever threw one on a fire, and alot of plaster.

In regards to extinguishers. I find these the best. Problem with ABC fire extinguishers they damage metal. I work on planes for a living its why there are none in the aviation world of that type. They pit metal. Theres are good. Shoot out a 10 foot spray of non toxic foam.

Fire Extinguisher

Buy yourself additional fire detector for the room. Many kinds easy to get at any Home Depot or Lowes.

One should always be careful but chances of fire in a RV House or Fire are all the same about. Every check out your vechiles gas tank. Simply ABC plastic. Fuel hoses in a Truck are less same then propane hoses in a car imo. I added a external fuel tank to my beast used a simply knife to cut through the fuel line that i needed to remove.

Theres no magical cable that is in a house vs RV that shuttles power around. Its standard guage wire thats been dipped through a tank of liquid plastic as a shielding. Crimped here and there all in a circuit box that interfaces in with land line power.

Like all things in the world the simply seems magical.

Put a small space heater in the water bay, like this one: https://amazon.com/gp/product/B073CVL4V5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

4th picture shows that I think it's your solution here.

Camco RhinoFLEX 6-in-1 Sewer Cleanout Plug Wrench with Easy Grip Handle- Easily Loosen Any RV Dump Station Cap with Universal Design, 3" or 4" Male and Female Sewer Cleanout Plugs (39755) , Orange https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BDEP9S0/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_70ATS25MDZ0HA8M9ZGCQ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

As in a gooseneck trailer with a king pin?

If so, that was easy

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipODZq9BPAdCIJXFkLVz0B29ResXjLvWYTZVhv42ummpV2fpkKPv_Ai--hSXcRy-mQ/photo/AF1QipOKqKzsvyPxr6SkN8Ty-cf7bK8XaSxV3lAZUtYu?key=cC1nWkRDX2hVa3NfMC16QWJfTWU4aEZhYlJCNGtn

check out upwork.com you can pick up jobs for editing, programming, graphics, virtual assistant, pretty much anything. (I don't work for them... but I do use their service and have made over $30k on the side)

In a similar position, working online (planning to drive maybe once every 1.5-2 weeks?

I got this book and it's been beyond helpful!

https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Guide-Full-Time-Living-Retirement/dp/1091724377

Yeah, pretty likely a fouled regulator, but... If it's not freezing outside, Soapy water everywhere you think there may be a leak.

If you have time to wait for shipping, you can purchase an inexpensive propane detector like this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Natural-Detector-Portable-Combustible-Explosive/dp/B07FSVCSSL

We've not made the plunge... yet... but I've seen a few videos where this issue was addressed.

One thing I saw someone do was put a skirt all the way around their 5th wheel so that no wind could blow through underneath. They stated that it keep the space directly underneath warmer / prevent it from cooling as much when the air temp plummeted.

A single 100 ft x 4 ft roll of this Reflectix ( https://www.homedepot.com/p/Reflectix-48-in-x-100-ft-Double-Reflective-Insulation-Roll-BP48100/202092205 ) would be enough to make a skirting long to enough to seal off underneath any 5th wheel. A bit of cutting and shaping around the wheel wells, hoses and storage hatches, and some tape/way to adhere it in place would be needed, along with maybe shaping a lip for the ground. But it looks like it could be rolled up and stored in a pretty small space when not in use.

With something like that setup, you could probably find a way to dump heat from the inside out directly underneath, warming it up some, since it could retain the heat a lot better.

Another thing I saw in a different RV video was installing electric heat tape to the hoses. Heat tape is fairly common actually and would keep your hoses outside from freezing. After the heat tape, the hoses would be encased in foam, and not be a freeze risk. Here's an example where some of the reviews mention how they adapted it for RV use:

https://www.amazon.com/Xarex-Regulating-Freeze-Protection-Heating/dp/B07YQ2DSZL

I imagine there are a few details to both I don't recall, but look around on youtube and you should find examples of what other RV'ers did.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MI3PC0A/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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This is the exact one. Sorry for the slow response

Yep, sure does! Here's a DIY product in white: https://www.amazon.com/T-Rex-White-Urethane-SMR-1000W-K4-Bedliner/dp/B00RBVIOOK

I can't vouch for that product specifically, but from the reviews it looks like a couple of people have used it for travel trailers or pop-ups and claim good results.

I have a bunch of damage to my EPDM roof due to the mistakes of a previous owner. I've had the most luck with eternabond tape. This is a semi-permanent repair, as the tape is meant to last 10+ years.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002RSIK4G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have a 31 ft with a rubber roof and it is SO loud when it rains. I have a fan and a noise machine that does a good job drowning out sounds. I need it just in general because at campgrounds you can hear everything when you're trying to sleep.

Noise machine:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KUHFGM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_WXYqFbPE6R6DP

Welcome. That sounds weird about cooler without AC... As far as dehumidifiers go, we don't have large ones, we have 2 small ones similar to this one. https://www.amazon.com/Afloia-Portable-Dehumidifier-dehumidifier-Deshumidificador/dp/B07V43VJYT/

They work well, (keeping it at 45-50% now through summer in FL) we shut them off in the winter and will typically boil water to get humidity BACK in. We are 1 year into fulltiming so constantly learning.

Gray water yes, we typically run it out away from the RV with a hose and let it go on the ground. For fresh water we usually fill the onboard tank right before we get to a new spot and then make water runs with a 30 gallon water bladder as necessary. Usually a couple times a week.

What about something like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06VXZHRL4

I have no direct experience with it - it's been in my amazon cart for months - waiting for me to eventually pull the trigger.

Integrated router ( OpenWRT ) with a powerful radio. External antennas mean that you can mount directional antennas on the top of your rig - for even better reception.

CatchTheWave ALUMINUM WONDER POT Slow Cooker, 3 Quart, Oven Bakeware Cookware, Cooking Baking Cake Bread On Stove Top Gas, Made In Italy (Gas Not Included) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JL1JTXK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ngkQDb54D941T

This is what I use for baking. I have made bread and baked chicken and many other things. It works great.

I got this and hooked it up to an actual router via ethernet:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0195Y0A42/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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This is the cheapest one. Im sure you could get something more powerful if you're willing to spend the extra dough.

It says it's not rated for the distance I need, but that's horse shit. I'm about 300+ feet, through brush and forest, away from my parents 10 year old router and I can stream and game just fine. I've been playing Destiny 2 and Overwatch with up to 11mb/s download, and 10ms ping. This is from shitty satellite internet

I just ordered this one, but it hasn’t arrived yet: MOTOROLA Cellular-Connected MultiSensor Reports Temperature, Humidity, Water leaks, Acceleration/Earthquakes, Light Level, Power Loss, Model MC4000 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07LB7Z49D/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ilIvDb01MA5PJ

From reading up on a lot of different options this one seems like the most “no frills” with the best reviews. Ask me next week and I’ll report on how it works in my van.

Bug bombs and seal everything you possibly can (all the seams etc).

And bleach the shit out of your tanks. Dump a bunch on your grey and black tanks and then go for a drive with it. Add some borax too. Get it all sloshed around. Then get a tank cleaner wand (https://www.amazon.com/Valterra-A01-0184VP-Master-Blaster-Tank/dp/B000BGHYDO) and clean your black and grey tanks really well.

Bug bombs and seal everything you possibly can (all the seams etc).

And bleach the shit out of your tanks. Dump a bunch on your grey and black tanks and then go for a drive with it. Add some borax too. Get it all sloshed around. Then get a tank cleaner wand (https://www.amazon.com/Valterra-A01-0184VP-Master-Blaster-Tank/dp/B000BGHYDO) and clean your black and grey tanks really well.

City water with a pressure regulator and a water filter, like this. We still use bottled water for drinking, even with the filter.