Author: ReadyRovers

By: Kevin

Above our upper set of cabinets in our RV we have a lot of open space before the ceiling. We have used this space to store kitchen bowls and corningware, but between dust and airborne grease particles we seem to need to rewash clean dishes stored up there before using them. The space is also a bit narrow for some things to really be stored there, and some items must be moved prior to taking the RV out on the road.

Since purchasing our RV we decided that while it is nice, we do not expect to resell it for anything over whatever a dealership offers us for a sight-unseen trade-in for a newer unit (someday, maybe). Therefore, we have felt free to customize, revise, and alter the RV to best suit our needs. We are NOT afraid to drill holes in it.

So, this weekend we purchased the supplies to add an enclosed cabinet above our upper set of cabinets to really maximize the space and keep the dust and grease off our dishes.

To give you an idea of what I am talking about, this is what we started with.

I added a base of grade B plywood on top of the cabinets to span the distance between the L-shaped existing cabinets so we could utilize this empty space. I also did this to give the new cabinet a single, level bottom. I picked out some stain that would at least be close to the original cabinets, even if it did not match exactly.

Then I began building the door frames out of pine boards for strength and aesthetic appeal. The frames are attached to the original cabinets, the wall, the new plywood cabinet floor, and the ceiling to spread the additional weight out and not overload the original cabinets.

I made doors out of the same grade B plywood I used for the base because a 3′ x 2′ single board is insanely expensive and I had to buy a full 8′ x 4′ sheet of plywood, so I might as well use it. I don’t exactly have a garage to stash it in until my next project. A few hinges and handles, and we are all set to use it.

On this cabinet door, if I had made one single door, the swing of the door would have entered the path of the ceiling fan. To avoid fan strikes I made a larger door with a few inches of safety margin that can be opened with the fan running. The smaller door can be opened when the fan is off to allow better access to things inside the cabinet.

To give you an idea of the space inside the new cabinet, this is our 8-quart Instant Pot in its new home.

By: Kevin

For the past year and a half we have been using the wrap-around couch and dinette that came pre-installed in the fifth wheel. The couch offered plenty of seating for our family, but like factory RV mattresses, its comfort left much to be desired compared to our residential couch we had prior to moving into the RV. The table was adequate, but whenever we had guests over for a meal the table space became quickly cramped and no place to put any food once everyone’s place settings were on the table. Heather has voiced her dislike of the current setup a few times, but we really didn’t like our options. Typically we could have a small table with 4 chairs and a loveseat, or a wrap-around like we had. The alternative option really didn’t fit the needs of our family, so we left the wrap-around in place. Our current plan is to continue the RV lifestyle for at least a few more years minimum with this fifth wheel, so we would like to have a setup that we enjoy instead of simply tolerating since it will be our home for years to come.

Well, Friday on our way to see the manatees we discovered an IKEA store in Tampa. After viewing the manatees we circled back and browsed the store while the kids played in their free Play Land including a ball pit. We found a third option for our dinette dilemma and after taking some pictures and notes we headed home, escaping the IKEA store with a receipt totaling less than $50. At home we measured, diagramed our space on paper, and discussed the option. Yesterday we returned to the IKEA store, dropped off the kids in the Play Land and headed back to our potential renovation items. After confirming that it would in deed suit our needs for both function and comfort, we made our purchases and picked up the kids.

Back at home we quickly disassembled the dinette, zipping out screws and moving pieces outside. The entire disassembly of the dinette, with the assistance of Pie and Bug who were eager to help, took less than 1 hour from start to finish. The carpet was vacuumed and installation was started. We did lose some under-bench storage space in the process of the renovation, but between our recent underbelly reorganization/clean-out and the recent addition of our Annex, we can afford to lose some storage space under the dinette.

This is what we started with

The result of our renovation is a 3-seat sleeper sectional with chaise and a new table. The chaise lifts up to reveal storage within it, so not all of our prior storage space was lost. The bottom of the sofa pulls out and turns into a sleeper of pretty decent size. The table features 6 drawers (3 on each side) and 2 wings that can be used separately or together to create a table size from the minimum 10.5 x 31″ to a max of 31 x 60″ which gives us a great deal of versatility. It is also not fixed to the floor, so it can be turned and moved around as needed. The sofa is also not quite as long as the dinette was before, so we can actually store the table at the end of it and out of the way. We are very happy with our little conversion. I still need to seal the three exterior cabinet doors along the floor a little better now that there is no buffer between the doors and our living space, but that should be easy enough.

By: Kevin

As the weather starts to turn cooler, Florida Manatees start to congregate at Tampa Electric’s Big Bend Power Station. This is due to the warm water the power station discharges after cooling their power generation station. Since Manatees are warm-blooded mammals, they enjoy the warmer waters found there. This gives people a unique opportunity to view large numbers of manatees consistently in one location over the winter months. Tampa Electric has even built a large wooden boardwalk-type walkway over the water to allow visitors to view the manatees at their Manatee Viewing Center, adjacent to the power station.

While somewhat early in the season, we stopped by the viewing center on a cool morning to see if any manatee were there. We found a decent number of these aquatic animals floating around and enjoying themselves. The kids enjoyed seeing them in the water as well as learning about them from Viewing Center staff that gave our kids coloring pages and explained where in the manatee body the bones on a display cart could be found. While we only spent about an hour at the viewing center, we plan to go back a little later in the season to see how many manatees are there once the water really starts to cool down for the winter.

You can see the snout and front flippers of a manatee on its back in the water

By: Kevin

This post now brings us up to real time. We have recounted our past travels over the past year and a half and have reached our current location and time. We are living in Largo, FL and I am working in Tampa, across the I-275 bridge from us. We are enjoying visiting with my sister and her family who live in Clearwater, about 10 minutes to the north from our current campground. We carved pumpkins with my sister and her family, however unlike when we lived in Ohio and our Halloween pumpkins sometimes lasted a month or more outside, the Florida heat zapped the life from them in a mere 3 days upon which they were retired to the dumpster.

We enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast at my sister’s house and watched the OSU Buckeyes beat that team up north a few days later.

In return for inviting ourselves to my sister’s house all the time we were more than happy to host a birthday party for my nephew and a sleep-over at the RV including cookout, swimming in the campground pool, and a movie night for the kids.

We have been taking advantage of the warm sunny weather here in Florida, and have been bicycling sections of the Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail, a 44-mile long bike path that spans from St. Petersburg to Tarpon Springs before curling back south to East Lake, FL. I would like to cover the entire length of the trail from end-to-end before we leave the area, and we are about 2/3 completed at this time. Miss Kicky Feet even gets to come along in her car seat nestled in the bike trailer behind my bicycle.

We are now rapidly approaching Christmas. Our RV is adorned with a 3-foot artificial tree and a few strings of LED outdoor lights on the canopy and exterior of the RV. The church that we have been attending, Harborside, had their Winter picnic a few weeks ago, and since we will not see any natural snow this far south this year they set up a tubing slide with shaved ice to allow members to enjoy winter activities….while wearing shades and shorts of course.

The nights are starting to get cool…meaning that it is dipping below 70 degrees at night, and we will soon be wishing each other a Happy New Year. What will 2017 have in store for us? I don’t know, but am excited to find out, and see what new places we get to explore along the way.

By: Kevin

We are currently in Largo, FL for the winter. There are 3 bridges that crisscross Tampa bay in the area. At the start of each one is a sign that warns “Long bridge, check gas”. We traveled all three today and used the trip odometer to determine the longest of these three bridges is under 9 miles long.

First of all, if you can’t make it another 10 miles you really need to already be looking for a fuel station. 

Secondly, this spring we traveled across the oil fields of Texas where we could go up to 100 miles between towns that offered fuel…without any warning signs at all. “Long” distance is apparently very relative depending on where you are located.

By: Kevin

Over the past year and a half since we left our sticks-and-bricks home and started our RV adventure we have had to deal with laundromats. We have found some to be fairly nice, and some to be not so great. Some of the campgrounds we have stayed in have had laundry rooms, but like laundromats, some are nicer than others. One thing we have not liked is that we have no idea what was in the washer or dryer prior to us using it. We do not use fabric softener because it clogs the pores of fabric and makes towels less absorbent. However, if the last person to use the machine used it, we get a little in our wash anyways. One also must stay at the laundromat to tend to their clothes so they do not end up dumped on a table or floor or, even worse, someone decides they like your clothes better than you do. While we have never lost laundry to our knowledge, we have heard of people loosing nice shirts or expensive workout clothes from laundry rooms.

So, after a year and a half we decided we were done with the laundromat scene and wanted a washer/dryer for ourselves. Now, in an RV you have limited options. You can get a very expensive machine that will do both to save precious space, but you sacrifice the ability to wash and dry at the same time. The other option is to have regular household units, but sacrifice precious RV space…of which we have little to spare. Therefore, we did some searching online and came up with a third option. We could get a small box trailer and make a laundry room on wheels. This would also afford us some extra storage space and an optional place to haul the motorcycle if we do not want to have it in the back of the RV as we have over the past year and a half.

We researched trailers and visited a dealer, American Trailers, in Tampa FL. We decided on a V-nose 6×12-foot box trailer with an internal height of 6 1/2 feet so I can comfortably stand up while inside of it. The trailer has a single axle rated at 3,500 pounds which should be plenty for our use. We opted for two swinging rear doors instead of a ramp door that folds down to make entrance and egress easier on  a daily basis when the motorcycle is not involved.

Now that we had the trailer we had to move the RV forward on our lot about 8 feet and placed the trailer behind the RV. We went to Lowe’s and picked up a washer and dryer matched set. We opted for a gas dryer so we would not require 220 volt electrical service at our site, and if we really wanted to, we could even do laundry via generator. We did have to adjust the dryer to use propane instead of natural gas which only required changing one orifice and turning a knob on the gas regulator…however some disassembly was required to get to the orifice and regulator.

Once the washer and dryer locations were determined it came time to start drilling holes in our trailer that had been purchased just days prior. We would need power, water, and propane inlets, as well as sewer and dryer outlets. A trip to Camping World as well as Lowe’s made the installation possible, and with electric, water, sewer, and propane installed, we were ready for laundry to be washed. We are also appreciative to Heather’s grandparents who, whether they realized it or not, donated the two propane tanks, a water hose, and 2 sewer hoses to our project as we were cleaning out their RV and were preparing it for sale.

We also installed sheet vinyl flooring, electrical outlets, 12 volt lighting,  and shelving to complete the project. To finish off the trailer we placed some reflective striping and custom vinyl lettering on the outside to officially make it our own. Our trailer was now ready for use. To ensure a safe travel all shelving as well as the washer and dryer are secured to the wall/floor so they will not bounce or shift as we move to our next assignment. I am proud of my trailer conversion/installation, and Heather and I both LOVE having our own laundry room.

By: Kevin

Around the beginning of October Hurricane Matthew came ripping up the coast of Florida. It decided to make landfall in the Daytona and Flagler Beach area. While I was still in Rhode Island at the time, I watched social media and the news very closely to see how my friends from Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center (FHMMC) were faring during the storm. All of my friends fared well and little to no damage was reported by any of them. However, the beaches along the coast took a beating. I still have fond memories of swimming at these beaches, so after arriving in Florida a few weeks later we decided to make a trip to see what damage had occurred and to see if the beaches we love were even recognizable. The worst damage that we found was along Flagler Beach where the dunes were basically gone, some of route A1A that runs along the beach had been washed away or was crumbling into the sea. Boardwalks and beach access stairs had been badly damaged if they remained at all. While it did not look as though, except for a few roofs that were missing some pieces, buildings had been greatly damaged there was plenty of clean-up and reconstruction needed along the coast over the next few months. While in town we also took the opportunity to stop by FHMMC and visit with some friends before leaving town and heading back to Largo.

By: Heather

I have a better name for this post: New York City in August during a heat advisory from the perspective of a 37-week pregnant woman.

Thankfully the heat wasn’t as bad as it sounds, except for waiting for the subway. That was absolutely horrible. Below ground was like an oven because the subway stations just held the heat. The subway cars themselves were air conditioned but passing to and from them was like walking through an oven.

This day started early. Very very early. Before 6am is super early when you are accustomed to getting up around 10am. Our neighbors graciously agreed to let Dixie out a couple of times throughout the day, so we piled into the van and were on our way. After an hour and a half we arrived in New Haven, CT where we boarded a commuter train bound for NYC and after 2 hours on the train we arrived at Grand Central Station! Once there we waited in line to buy subway tickets and then hiked to the New York Public Library. It took us forever (and lots of stairs) to find the children’s section of the library but we finally found it. The kids loved the Lego lions near the children’s section.

Then we walked a few blocks to Times Square where the kids got pictures with a man in a Transformer costume and Kevin commented on the armed guards in front of the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. While force protection was most definitely in place around the city it was as subtle as armed guards could be and really did not inhibit our movements throughout the city, and we did not mind knowing someone was keeping an eye out for everyone.

Next we boarded the subway and headed out toward Battery Park where, once passing through a security check point, we got on a ferry to the Statue of Liberty. Of course shortly after we got off of the ferry it started pouring down rain. We all got soaked. Kevin does not really enjoy being wet but I didn’t mind the soaking rain and the kids had a blast! We did not go into the statue (tickets were already sold out when we got ours online) but we did stop and discuss its significance with the kids.

After the Statue of Liberty we went to Ellis Island.  We especially liked the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration and thought it was very informative. We listened in on a National Parks tour guide detailing the historical immigration process and conditions. The air conditioning was nice too and we were almost completely dry when we left there an hour and a half later.

Once back on solid ground we enjoyed some NY thin crust brick oven baked pizza and went to Ground Zero. The kids had us tell them an abbreviated story of Sept 11, 2001 several times while we were there. It was hard for them to wrap their brains around it and they had a lot of questions. Kevin had been to Ground Zero in March or April 2002, when rubble was still being removed from the site and the large hole in the ground was still surrounded by chain-link fence plastered with posters and missing person notices. It was a very different site on this visit.

After that we were all wanting a break, so we stopped at Magnolia Bakery to grab some desserts, and then went to a nearby playground where the parents got to rest by actually resting and the kids got to rest by running around and climbing and digging in the sand.

Key Lime Pie Deliciousness!

Next we did a whirlwind of walking which included the “Charging Bull”, Broadway, Gershwin Theatre, Radio City Music Hall, NBC studios, and the Rockefeller Center. By this point I was just following along (and trying to keep Bug from inadvertently running into the street.)

Before we left for the trip to NYC I had been admonished by my midwives to be careful, to rest, and get cooled down whenever I needed to so as not to go into labor in NYC. Most of the day even though I was tired and it was hot and we walked 11 miles, I felt invigorated with all of the walking and did not have too much trouble keeping up with Kevin’s long stride and never once felt like I might be ready to go into labor. The day actually went quite a bit better than I had expected and I went much further than I had expected to be able to do.

When we were planning the trip to NYC we decided very early on that we would take the train into the city to avoid even attempting to find parking in NYC. I knew it would be a problem. As we walked through the city I found some interesting solutions to the parking problem, including this interesting parking, uh, garage? I hope nobody has to leave early or stay late without advance notice!

We finished the day with a visit to Central Park and the Balto statue, where I grabbed a picture of the kids with a Pokemon Go character. On the way out of Central Park Kevin was using his phone to figure out which train we needed to catch, but kept receiving tips from passing strangers as to the location of Pokemon Go characters around the park. Apparently Pokemon Go is a pretty big thing around the country.

We were then headed back to Grand Central Station where we grabbed dinner from the food court just prior to it closing and ate our dinner while sitting on the floor of the terminal. From Grand Central we boarded the train to head back to New Haven and eventually home.

We were so tired on the train ride home that I did not even get any pictures of the kids totally conked out and sprawled across the train seats. This picture of Pie asleep on the floor of the RV when we arrived home at 1am pretty much sums up how we all felt.

By: Heather

Well, little Miss Kicky Feet had been toasting and roasting (and rolling and kicking) inside me for quite some time now. Around 40 weeks to be exact. I was surprised at how easy it was to find prenatal care while traveling. Granted, we only move every 3 months so it wasn’t as bad as some travelers. I saw a wonderful midwife in San Angelo, TX who was completely used to seeing women for a short period as they traveled through the area with the Air Force. I had an ultrasound in OH when we stopped through so that my mom could be there when we found out the gender. Then we came to Rhode Island.

I had always wanted a home birth. When we tried with Pie I ended up puking all through labor and could not stay hydrated and my midwives were not allowed to give IV fluids so it was to the hospital we went. With Bug I was living with my mom and a bunch of other people and it would not have been the best option, plus I did not know of any midwives in the area so we went to the hospital then too. I fully expected to go to the hospital for this baby as well. (I mean really, how on earth would I be able to have a baby in such a small home? and Kevin was especially against the idea of the mess) Despite being resigned to a hospital I really wanted to at least be attended by a midwife. I was kind of dragging my feet on finding a midwife in the area, so Kevin looked up a couple of groups that sounded promising while he was at work. The first one I went to see in their office, but I just did not like them for whatever reason. They seemed uncomfortable with my labor expectations and did not want to accept any of my previous care so I would have had to pay to have all of the same lab tests re-run and another ultrasound. We were paying out of pocket and this seemed ridiculous to us.

After spending several weeks dragging my feet again I finally went to see the other group that Kevin had looked up and they were wonderful! This group was not part of a hospital system but did have privileges at a nearby hospital.  When they heard about my previous aspirations toward a home birth they discussed it and said that they thought it would be totally possible to have a home birth in the RV and that it was bigger than many NYC apartments they had seen. They also told us that they would clean up the mess but it probably would not be as bad as Kevin was imagining.

At that point we were sold, and on the path to a home birth! I was so so super excited about this but I didn’t really want to explain it to any of my neighbors at the campground. Actually, I did not really want to explain it to anyone sooooooo I didn’t. Whenever someone asked where I was delivering I told them that my midwives had privileges at such and such hospital. Not technically a lie (she says sheepishly). At this point we were busy preparing. I had to find a place to keep Miss Kicky Feet’s diapers and clothing, and a place for her to sleep, and we had to assemble a birth kit which really wasn’t hard since we had most of the things on hand anyway. We also double made the bed with a layer of plastic in the middle and had bags packed for myself and the children in case we needed to transfer to the hospital.

When the big day came it started pretty much like any other but I felt just a little bit different. I was having some mild cramps but really I had no way to tell if it was just gas or very mild contractions so I went about my day as usual but started moving toward getting things cleaned up and ready just in case. I specifically remember laying on the couch playing legos with Bug with a small amount of cramping but then it went away. Later we went to the grocery store and I made dinner and Kevin went to work.

Around then I called the midwife just to give her a heads up. Really, nothing was happening but since my labor with Bug had been only 4 hours they had told me to call even if nothing was happening. She suggested rest and to keep her updated. After doing a quick clean up of the kitchen the kids and I all laid down in my bed and watched one of my absolute favorite movies: How to Train Your Dragon 2. Somewhere in the middle of the movie I downloaded a contraction timing app and by the end of the movie (when it was finally downloaded) I thought I might be feeling some mild contractions every once in a while so I timed them and this is what I got:

Hmmm…  At this point I thought it might be prudent to start calling some people. I texted Kevin saying he should come home from work and called the midwife who had an hour drive to get there. I also called my mom. I forgot to mention to you that my mom was driving, on her way from Ohio, to visit us. So far she had been there for all of her grandchildrens’ births but did not think that she was going to be able to be there for the birth of Miss Kicky Feet. She was very upset about this, and was hoping that her visit just might coincide with Miss Kicky Feet’s arrival. I called her too and asked her how long until she planned to arrive. This baby was not going to wait.

Well, everyone got there in pretty short order. Kevin arrived around 9:30pm, my mom at 10pm and the midwife at 10:15. By now I had gotten my children in bed in between leaning over the table or sink for contractions and I had turned our dinette into a bed and was cleaning a folding table to bring inside for the midwife’s supplies. When my mom arrived she asked when we would be going to the hospital. I hadn’t told her either. She was a little surprised when I told her we were not going to a hospital, but adjusted in short order. At that point I really did not have anything else that I wanted done so it was just riding the waves of the contractions which were starting to bite a bit more. I spent most of them leaning over my kitchen sink. Good thing I had cleaned that out. I didn’t need to be looking at dirty dishes during my contractions.

After that my memory is a bit of a blur. I remember keeping on top of the contractions by breathing and remembering to keep my muscles loose. Kevin and the midwife were relaxing and chatting on the dinette. I apparently had asked Kevin to play some music from the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack to help me relax, but they found the music a little dramatic, so after a while when I commented that I really didn’t even hear it anymore, they were quick to change genres of music. At some point my water broke but it was not a lot, not like with Pie whose water filled my boots at work. Shortly after, I re-met my dinner (again, thankful for the sink) and at some point I moved in to my bed. I had promised Pie that she could be there so she was in my bed too. Bug was sound asleep. Here I remember just being so so tired and wishing I could just go to sleep, but I couldn’t because these contractions just kept coming. The midwife suggested I try to sit on the toilet, so I did. She checked me again, saying I was 8 centimeters dilated which is how dilated I had been on the contraction before Bug was born and within the next few contractions I was suddenly pushing and she was crowning! The midwife told me to stand up but one foot was braced against the wall and I could not even begin to fathom in that moment what muscles I would need to move to begin to try and stand up. Thankfully Kevin, who was in the bathtub next to me due to the tight quarters of an RV bathroom, pushed my leg down to the floor and stood me up on my feet while half lifting me to a standing position. The midwife coached when to push and when to breathe and in a few moments she told me to reach down and take my baby from her hands! It was 12:15 AM.

Soon afterward we moved back to my bed where my new baby latched right on and nursed for the next hour straight while the placenta was delivered and the cord was eventually clamped and cut and such and the like. Pie had fallen asleep in my bed and slept through the birth but was happy to be awoken to meet her new sister. We woke Bug who was also excited to meet his new sister before promptly crawling back in bed, but did not remember it the next morning. Pie spent the next hour or so quizzing the midwife and her assistant on the use of all of their equipment while they cleaned up and then I got a shower while Kevin held the baby and the midwives pulled the top set of sheets and plastic sheeting off of my bed. By 2:00am we were all tucked in and headed to sleep with a brand new 7lb 5oz baby girl whose little feet had kicked right out of my belly and into our hearts.

The next morning, or technically later that same morning, we drove down to the camp office and showed off Miss Kicky Feet to the office manager. She was thrilled to see our new addition and asked us all about the delivery. When we told her Miss Kicky Feet had been born right there at the campground she told us we were now the second family that had had a RV home-birth since she had started working at the campground.