Folding Drainer, Tables and Rack

I got some more items for the van. 

I got this neat folding dish strainer on Amazon.

Folding Dish Rack 

I was using a silicone collapsible, but it was just too big and 
used up too much cabinet space. This is much smaller, and fits easily under the sink.
I like that it has a narrow draining tray to a single small point.

I bought these folding tables actually for my teardrop trailer. They are all aluminum,
including the tops so you can put hot items on them. They fold up to a little less than 
2" thick. I figure one is good to set down cocktails, the other is big enough to 
either eat on, or to set a grill on. They seem sturdy enough.
Folding Tables Large and Folding Tables Small

I got this hanging rack to stick on the rear bulkhead of the bathroom. What I like about 
this one, is it can be attached with 3M tape (so many are set up with hollow backs 
intending to mount with screws. There are 4 grippy things for broom handles, and for hooks.
All with adjustable positions. 

Hanging Rack

Little Guy T@G Kitchen Mods

My T@G Max did not come with any drawers, shelves or bins in the galley 

cabinet. I tried organizing it with a fabric tool bag, but it still looked like a 

big 'ole mess:


So I bought some 1/4" birch boards (3 1/2" x 24") this week at Lowes and 

decided to make a shelf and some partitions to hold all the kitchen ware.

Step 1 clear it out:

Step 2 build the bin for the dishware, glasses and utensils. I'm certainly 

not a skilled carpenter, but it turned out serviceable. It's velcroed to the 

back of the cabinet so it will stay put while traveling. I built the shelf so 

that it could be taken out to service the water pump. I used 3M red tape 

to hold quarter-round braces (was afraid to screw into the trailer's wood 

as there is a water tank and wiring back there). The shelf breaks down 

into two parts, held together with wood tabs and a velcro strip. It needed 

a leg for support, so I screwed one in made from a piece of quarter-round. 

Sounds flimsy, but it all fits snuggly and seems solid enough.

Step 3 load up my gear:

I like I can now get to all my utensils and they aren't all scattered in the 

bottom of a bag.

Now I have room for some pantry items under the shelf:


I also was having an issue with my folding table. The T@G only has 3 1/2" 

under the bed for storage. My table folded to 4" or so. So I found these on 

Amazon:




What is nice about these is that the tops are not plastic, but aluminum. 

So I can set my grill on the big one.

Oru Kayak

I went ahead and ordered one. I watched about a dozen youtubes on it.
No negative reviews found.

There is a video of a guy beating on one with a hammer, so they are fairly 

indestructible. They rate the folds at 20,000 cycles. The material is corrogated 

plastic - it's what they make big commercial signs out of, so it's UV stable 

and printable FWIW.

They have 2 models (both 12' boats) - the cheaper one is 26 lbs, the more 

expensive one is 28 lbs. By comparison, the AE inflatalble is 36 lbs plus 

your paddle and the rigid floor accessory - so I think it ends up 40 lbs. I 

have 2 FRP hard shells - the 12 footer is 56lbs and the 10 footer is 

35 lbs, for comparison.

The folded dimensions are 32" x 28" x13". The AE bag is a bit shorter, 

but it's much fatter. I think the Oru can lay flat in the back of my van 

under the bed. But I could also probably hang it from some 3M hooks, 

so I'll be thinking about that.

They have 2 prices - the original model is $1195, and the new model is $1495. 

I ordered the newer model because the seat is better, and it has stainless clasps 

and some other features. Pricey, yes.


It takes up a good amount of space in the back on my SUV.

But doesn't seem so big in the back of my van:

Laid down may work better, as you could fold the bed down:

32.5"x28"x11"
[

All the hardware appears heavy duty and a good quality. 

The clasps are stainless:

It unfolds easily, but it's plenty stiff. It will take a few foldings, and 

unfolding, to loosen it up. I'm leaving it assembled overnight to see 

if it loosens up a bit.


Took me about 20 mins to put it together the first time since it was so stiff. 

There was some grunting involved. The instructions are step by step and 

quite clear. The video was really helpful. No surprises.




Dry storage bag:


Foot rest:




The deep vee of the hull should provide a lot more performance and better 

tracking than my inflatable. 12' long x 25" wide.



Overall, I'm quite impressed with it. It's extremely rigid - almost indistinguishable 

from a hard-sided yak. Love the lightness - only 26 lbs. Easy to carry and you can hold it from the combing without any stretching or it coming apart.

Christmas 2014 Key West

So far I've been at Boyd's for a couple days and couldn't be happier with it, or with Key West in general. The weather is a perfect 80 degrees and low humidity and gentle breezes. The park is very lush and tropical. I was expecting a glorified parking lot and blazing sun, so this is quite the happy surprise.

I'm warming up to this inflatable kayak. It's been nice to have. Today I paddled out to the Atlantic (and back). For the life of me, I don't really see how these things fit back in the bag. After this trip, I may get a plastic tote to put it in.  On the trip down, the kayak bag was a nice wedge to hold my electric bike in place without it banging around in the back. It's been a real joy this trip. I was able to run from Stock Island all the way down to the end of Key West (near the cruise ship docks) down around Duval street and downtown and back around the US 1 loop back to Boyd's. I clocked this at 12 miles and still had full power when I got home. I really think this bike will go the advertised 50 miles.

Today I strung up some LED christmas lights I bought at K-Mart. That's about as festive as I'm going to get this year. I'm in good company though, as others are doing the same thing and the park is full-up. There are a handful of other B's of various sorts. The guy next to me has a Roadtrek 210, and there are 3 Sprinter based vans of various flavors. Most of the rest are big-rigs. It amazes me that they can park them in these close quarters.

This trip has been going so well, I've decided to extend a bit. I've headed over to Fort Myers Beach. The Red Coconut is a dreadful park. Just crammed together, overpriced, etc. All these supposed rules I guess are just for people like me, and not the regular population. So tomorrow I'm moving to the San Carlos RV park on the inland side of the waterway. I rode the bike over there and it seems like a lot more relaxed choice.

Just an update on the van. The Travato continues to perform above expectations, but not without incident. A few bits of information for potential Promaster/Travato owners:

Firstly, if you suddenly discover that you have no 12v power, look to the switch along the floor that is the main battery disconnect switch. It's in the perfect location for the dog to play with it and shut off all your 12V.  Of course, that doesn't come to mind until you've spent 30 minutes perusing the owner's manual.

Secondly, if your house sound/dvd system stops working (like it isn't getting any power), and you've checked the main fuse box, and still no solution, before you take it to a dealer, unscrew the front facia and pull out the radio. On the back side, is a hidden 10 amp fuse. Inspect that fuse and you'll probably find it's blown.  Simply replace and you should be back in business. Of course, you'll probably have to find a hardware store and buy a long shaft screwdriver.

Thirdly, the screen door on the Promaster/Ducato is probably the best in the business. It works extremely well. But, in your enthusiasm, you grab the door from the top of the frame, it will surely pop off the track. To fix is fairly easy, you unscrew the bottom piece on the door frame, snap it back on the track, and then replace the two screws. 2 minute fix that I had to do twice this trip. I found that this would happen opening the door from the inside of the van - your vantage point is much higher than outside the van, and your natural tendency is to grab the door from a high point. Simply grab it from the mid-point or lower, and you won't have a problem.

Lastly, I finally clogged the shower drain pump, necessitating removal of the filter under the sink cabinet and cleaning it out. The permanent fix is to put a faucet screen in the shower drain inlet which is a lot easier to periodically clean.  The drive train continues to perform flawlessly. 18 mpg traveling down Florida, 19 mpg on the causeway to and from the Keys, and 18 mpg again traveling across to Fort Myers Beach.

The only issue I've had with gray dumping was at Boyd's. At the back side of the park, there is a visible water level about 10" down in the sewer connection. So dumping was slow. You'd pump a little, then walk the hose back (lifting it) to empty it. Then pump some more, and so on.  The hardware on the van has worked flawlessly. But in this situation, a pure gravity dump would be quicker and less of a hassle.  At the park I'm at today (San Carlos RV Park at Ft. Myers Beach), the sewer connection is right at the back of the van, about 2 feet from my discharge. So I'm able to use my short hose and just pump it down. Almost the ideal situation.

A few pics from my trip of Key West and at Boyd's Campground. Last few were at Ft Myers Beach.Boyd's was a great place. The Red Coconut kinda sucked. San Carlos RV Park was great.

[

[

The weather was great for the most part. I went out paddling almost every day.

At first I didn't like the inflatable as it can be a snug fit. But I got some booties to wear 
on my feet and that freed up enough space in the thing for my feet and is much more

comfortable. Actually, the inflatable is more stable on the water than my rigid boat, as 
it's a bit wider. It's also plenty rigid, and having the inflatable floor option makes
it even more so. It's inherently a safer boat, as there are multiple chambers for flotation. 
Buy it here: http://www.advancedelements.com/advancedframe.html

At least a dozen people stopped by asking about it, as well as the van. Boyd's is a 
great park to use a kayak as there is a sandy beach area in which to launch it.
The weather station I also bought on Amazon and it's stuck on with heavy velcro. 
The outside sensor I stuck to the outside step. There is a space under the step where 
you can stick the sensor and when the step is retracted, the sensor is protected from
the elements.