Tech & Travel Tips
Edited by Bill Hendrix, F761S

County Indicators

Being full-timers and constantly traveling in unfamiliar areas can be a problem when tornado warnings and other severe weather alerts are issued. Usually we know the names of nearby towns, but not always the names of neighboring counties. So we came up with an idea to help solve this problem. Now, whenever we arrive at a new campground, we highlight in yellow all of the counties on our map within a large radius of our location. This allows us to keep track of any tornado watches, warnings, or weather movement that might affect our immediate area.

Vance and Bonnie Clegg, F51388, Green Cove Springs, Florida

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Food Storage

I use empty Kraft mayonnaise jars to store my staples (rice, macaroni, brown sugar, etc.). These plastic containers have easy-opening tops, fit well side by side, and you can see what is in each jar. It is a great organizing method, and the containers are free once the mayonnaise is used.

Susan Lowe, F147205, Port Orange, Florida

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Window Prop

Getting out of your motorhome through the bedroom window in an emergency situation such as a fire is not an easy task, especially if you have to hold the window open with one hand. To make such an escape easier, we have a ¼-inch dowel cut to size that we have taped to the windowsill. If we ever have to get out through the window, the dowel can be used to prop the window open, easing our escape.

Heinz Fischer, F260114, Long Beach, California

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GPS Mounting

The suction cup mount on my GPS unit is made to stick to the windshield, which may be okay for a car, but not for my motorhome. I wanted to mount it closer to the driver's seat, away from the windshield, but the suction cup wouldn't hold on the textured dashboard. Hook-and-loop fastening material seemed to be the ideal solution, but exposure to sunlight softened the adhesives on the back of the material and caused it to lose its grip. Modeling clay and similar substances were too loose and messy. Finally I found the answer in a store's stationery aisle: putty-like sticks made to temporarily mount posters on a wall. Several of these sticks are included in a package, but one is enough to hold the GPS in place and, when necessary, it comes off cleanly.

Frank S. Winter, F114882, Manalapan, New Jersey

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