T@B Camper Accessories

This post contains some affiliate links. If you click the link and make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no cost to you. You can read my full disclosure here.

As you've probably seen, my camper is gray and yellow. I decided I wanted to stick with that color scheme and decorate in gray and yellow as much as possible. Let me tell you, I've found a LOT of gray and yellow accessories, and I'm always looking for more. As pal Jeff says, "You have AAD: Accessory Acquisition Disorder!" I'm afraid he might be right. Oh well! Anyway, here are some of my favorite accessories and links to them (or something super-similar) if I've got them. Enjoy!

One of my newest acquisitions is this awesome Tervis tumbler! It has an adorable teardrop shaped camper on it with the phrase, "Not all those who wander are lost."  My friend Heather found it and recommended it to me. It was a great find, and I'm glad she showed it to me. This tumbler is actually perfect for (almost) all of my beverages: iced tea, morning coffee, vodka-club soda-lime on ice, and more. The 16oz size is just right, and the lid honestly stays on tightly with no dripping. I was surprised because it doesn't look like it would be a secure seal, but I give it two thumbs up!

Might as well continue in the beverage category? Next up, this totally fabulous enamel mug designed by my pal Michelle! Peace Love Camp, friends! Andy has actually claimed this mug. He really likes it for smaller cups of coffee in the morning, and he's been known to use it for adult beverages in the evening. Fine with me! I think it's darling! I'm going to take a moment to discuss the thermal carafe behind the mug as well. It does a good job of keeping our morning coffee warm until we consume the last drop! And...it's yellow. :)

Our next fabulous find are Happy Camper Silipint cups. The Silipint cups are awesome because they're a little squishy, rather indestructible, include measurements on the side, coordinate with lids to seal the top, and they say "Happy Camper!" I mean...really...

So these guys get used a lot, and that leads me to one of my most used, most favorite items: my yellow plastic tray. When I found it, Andy thought it was a silly purchase. What would I use it for? Am I buying it because it's yellow? As it turns out, it works really well to bring in food and beverages on a cold/windy/rainy day, and I use it every single morning and night to remove/put in my contacts and do my skincare and makeup! It was well worth the money to purchase, and I love it. I found this in a gift shop near Okoboji, Iowa, and I can't find a link to anything similar. Sorry! Guess you can covet mine or you can go poking around the world and find one you like. 

Next, how about that cute little pillow that was just perfect for my decor? This "Adventure" pillow came from Wal-mart, and now rides on our bed...

Let's go ahead and talk about my chevron bedding! Also from Wal-mart, this set is amazing. It's microfiber, which I've actually never been a fan of, but it is so comfortable! Sheets are smooth and cool, comforter keeps us warm on chilly nights, and it washes like a dream. I throw it in the washing machine after every trip, because it usually stinks like campfire, and all of it goes in the dryer as well. When it's clean and fresh, I remake the bed for the next trip. We chose Queen size, but I think Full would work, too. I just didn't want to have any arguments with it.

My mom bought the fuzzy gray and yellow blanket folded here at the bottom of the bed. She wanted to get us a camper-warming gift, and picked this out. We love it! Also machine washable, and a perfect snuggling blanket for a nap or a chilly night by the fire.

You can just barely see the corner of my rug on the floor. This comfy fella came from Ikea, and they have several colors and a few different sizes. I bought two so I could always have a clean one ready to go. They are machine washable, but they like to challenge my spin cycle. 😂

I redid the front bench area. While it was certainly cute, it wasn't very functional. New models of this camper come with a cabinet and countertop, and until we can get to Ohio to have that installed, we found these plastic drawers that fit pretty nicely. We used Command Velcro to attach the drawers to each other and the base of the bench so they wouldn't slide around or fall off. When we travel, we also use a small bungee cord to hold the drawers closed. So far, it's working really well.

This next item is just plain silly fun! A light up Marquee sign! It comes with a bunch of different symbols and letters and numbers. We like to get creative and take it with us. It doesn't travel particularly well (as the symbols slide right off the edges) but I found a bag that it fits snugly in, and that seems to do the trick. I can't find the exact one I bought, but this one looks pretty awesome, and it has more emojis than the one I got! (Hmmm...I might need an upgrade...)

Also on that little side table, you'll see my citronella candle bucket. Always, always have one of these guys along!

How about some whimsical yard decor? It's an easy way to let your fellow campers know you're friendly and fun, and you don't take camping too seriously.

We have this cool "Enjoy Life" flag my dad got us this year. (The back is backwards, so we always make sure to proofread the correct way to hang it.) We also have these awesome yellow flamingos. Normal people have pink flamingos, (well, actually, normal people probably don't have any flamingos, but you know...) but we needed yellow to match the camper. Turns out, our friend Kathy found these guys called "Team-ingos" at a local florist. I did find this link to them, but you'd have to buy 10. Maybe find 4 friends who need the same color as you?

I also got my craft on and made this custom "B@r T@b" sign with an inexpensive Rustic Camper garden decor sign.  I like it!

Paper towels are a handy thing to have when camping. They can double as napkins and also clean gross stuff that you don't want your towels to touch. I found this paper towel dispenser, and we use Command Strips to hold it in place. It's so convenient, and I don't have to find a place to store it.

Don't forget the bug spray, also in this picture. I like Deep Woods Off Dry because it doesn't make my skin feel sticky. It works for mosquitoes and flies for the most part, but gnats do not seem to be deterred by it. For them I use Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellant. It smells pretty good, but careful! It stings if you get it in your eyes or mouth! With my citronella candle, Off, and the Lemon Eucalyptus spray, I've got a pretty good cocktail of bug repellants. 😆


I did something kind of fun this year. I decided we needed some kind of signal to other T@bbers when we weren't towing our T@b to let them know we, too, were T@b owners, and that was probably why we were waving at them like maniacs. I found this custom vinyl teardrop camper and ordered it in yellow! It is on the back of our Jeep now, letting everyone know we're enthusiastic about our camper.

Finally, I'll leave off with a few of my favorite camping Tshirts. My friend Michelle designs these bad boys, and I think they're all fantastic! She has a TON, but I'll link to my two favorites:

First up, Glampy Trails. You can choose different colored tshirts to match your camper. I chose yellow, even though it's a much lighter yellow. It still sends the right message. 😊

My other favorite is #TheBestThings. Coffee, camping, and wine...they truly ARE the best things! Nailed it!

I'm sure there are so many more things I could share with you, but I'm surprised you held on and read this much as it is! I'll stop here, and in the future, perhaps I'll add a post of other, new, and different doodads I've found and love.

Thanks for reading. I hope you find something you didn't know you needed.

Happy camping!
Peggy

Marble Beach 09.29.17

The Okoboji area in northwest Iowa is quite a popular place to visit in the summer. We have avoided camping there during the peak season, and decided to do a last minute trip to Marble Beach at the end of September. Wow, did we ever time that right! There were very few other campers in the entire campground, and we had tons of space to ourselves.

The campsites are Marble Beach are not my favorite. There's no parking pad, and it's hard to tell where one site ends and another begins. Good thing we didn't have neighbors. Like, at all.

Darn close to empty! During the peak season, this place is packed with lots of big rig campers, and I don't think it's the kind of experience I'd enjoy. But for this weekend, it was private and quiet, and we took liberty with the space and spread out a bit.

Without a gravel parking pad, we thought the best use of the rug would be in the kitchen area. That way if it got wet or muddy, we wouldn't be standing in something gross. We did not count on the flies being as horrible as they were.

A close up of all the flies in one area of the rug. Multiply this by about 30, and you can guess how many there were...and that's just on the rug! We hung a couple of fly strips, which helped, but they were ridiculous.

As is our usual behavior, we went to a brewery, one we frequent often, West-O. Here's my artsy shot of my beer and my husband.

The beer disappeared quickly, but Andy stayed. 😆

For those of you who aren't beer drinkers, West-O and our favorite winery, Little Swan Lake Winery, have teamed up and offer each other's beverages to their customers. Love some local biz cooperation!

Back at camp, we spent the evening doing something else we normally do:

Knowing we were running out of good camping weather for the season, this fire sitting was important stuff, and we didn't miss a minute of it.

We had visitors two mornings in a row. No humans, just turkeys!

It was a sizable group, they made a lot of noise, and I think they made Fred and Lucy nervous.

Heh. Anyway, short and sweet visit to Marble Beach brings you this short and sweet blog post. Don't worry. I've got more trips to post about soon.

Happy camping!
Peggy

Camper Essentials for Security and Stability

This post contains some affiliate links. If you click the link and make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no cost to you. You can read my full disclosure here.


I belong to a few camping groups on Facebook, specifically ones for T@bs, and one of the most often asked questions of new owners is, "What are your camping must-haves?" I thought it might be a good idea to compile a list of what we use regularly and recommend to new owners.

Starting with safety and security seems appropriate, doesn't it? Once you've bought your tiny camper, you want to make sure you get to keep your tiny camper. As I'm sure you know, though, if someone wants to steal it badly enough, they'll find a way. You don't have to make it easy for them! Here are a couple of items that help deter theft of our trailer:

1. A locking wheel chock. We bought the Trimax Wheel Chock Lock. This serves two purposes, keep the wheel from rolling when your T@b is parked, and keep the wheel from rolling if someone tries to move it! You can see it here on the right side of the wheel. It reminds me of the "boot" that law enforcement uses on a car that's illegally parked.

2. A Coupler Lock. Once you unhook from your tow vehicle, you can lock your hitch so it makes it hard for someone else to hitch up and haul it away. We chose the Reese Towpower Lock Kit because it also included a locking hitch pin for the receiver. (It also included a lock to keep the coupler from lowering, but it didn't fit our unit.)

3. Locking lug nuts so tires can't be removed/replaced. Thieves are creative, and here's one more way you can keep them from getting their hands on your trailer. Something like these Gorilla Guard Wheel Locks might do the trick. Just make sure you have the right size for your tires.

My next category would be Setting Up. There are a few products that we always make sure to bring to keep the camper level and secure, no matter what the campsite looks like.

1. The BAL leveler. Do NOT leave home without this brilliant piece of equipment! Whoever designed this has my respect. What it does is act both as a wheel chock and a leveler. We use a hammer drill to raise and lower the device which fits snuggly around one tire. We put it on the side that's sitting lower than the other, and raise it up until the trailer is level.

2. The Jack-E-Up. This is a wonderful device that allows you to quickly remove your jack, jockey wheel, and handle when you're hooked up to your tow vehicle. No need to raise up the jack and hope that a big bump won't damage the jack or wheel! Here's a video we took as we removed the jack and wheel before we left our campsite. (The motor you hear is our tow vehicle.)

3. Extension cord. We chose one that matched the T@b (of course) but also rolled up and stored quickly and compactly. One like this give us an extra 25 feet. It has come in so handy when we're just a few feet too far from the electric post at the campsite.

4. Power Adapters. Electricity is not one size fits all. Our camper is set up to run on 30 amp, and sometimes when we camp, there is a 30 amp outlet, but sometimes, there's a 50 amp, and sometimes there's a 15 amp outlet. SO...we need power adapters. It's important to look for male or female connections when buying your adapter. Our camper has a male connection, so our power cord has a female connection on one end to plug into the camper, and a male connection on the other end to plug into the outlet. If we need to adapt to either 15 or 50 amp, we buy an adapter that has female 30 amp to male 15 or 50, depending on the adapter. We use this adapter for F30-M50, and this adapter for F30-M15

5. Jack Pads. Love these! We have four stabilizers on the camper that lower to the ground. On occasion (lots of times!) we have a wet campsite. We put one of the Jack Pads down and lower the stabilizer onto it. This gives it a big footprint and makes it more secure in less than ideal conditions.

6. Leveling blocks. Sometimes, campsites are not level. Like, at all. For instance, this spot in Colorado where the camper was at such an angle, the kitchen counter was almost at my shoulder! At 5'8", I usually don't have this problem.

When the site is this steep, sometimes you can't lower the stabilizers far enough to keep the trailer level. That's where these friends come in really handy! You can stack them up on the ground and lower the stabilizers down to them and keep the trailer secure and level. Bonus use: You can also use them as a shower tile if the campground showers aren't clean enough for your taste! We have found this pack of 10 is more than enough, and easy to bring and store in the camper.

Those are my main recommendations for new campers and glampers. In my next essentials post, we will get into some of the day to day items we use while camping.

Happy setup and camping!
Peggy

T@b Rally! 08.07.17

Our first rally! We were so excited!

We belong to a Facebook group for Midwest T@bs. In that group, people share stories and pictures, help each other with problems and questions, recommend different campgrounds and hacks, and they coordinate multiple rallies each year where the T@bbers meet up and camp together.

We had been looking forward to meeting people and sharing in some of our obsessions with the T@b. This rally was held at Sugar Bottom Campground on Coralville Lake in Iowa. We hadn't camped there before, but apparently it was a favorite of the group, so we knew it would be good!

We made a quick stop at the theatre on Thursday before we left to pick up some stuff we had left there, then off to the rally!

All hitched up and ready for fun! We arrived just as the sun was setting. To let you know how helpful and friendly this group was, one of the guys came over, walking his doggos, introduced himself, and asked if we needed any help setting up since it was getting dark, and it's much harder in the dark. We thanked him and said we were just going to get level and stable and call it good for the night. He then invited us to bring our chairs to the campfire at their site where many of them were already gathered. Awesome!

I bought some special wine, just for this trip called "Happy Camper Wine." I poured myself a glass and we joined the group.

I chose the chardonnay, and I would buy it again. I thought it was pretty good, and certainly added to the camping experience.

We enjoyed a short visit with everyone, promptly forgetting names as we went around the circle. By the end of the weekend, we had most of them down, and most people remembered ours, too!

The next day, I began snapping pics of our setup as well as some of the others. I got almost everyone's, but I know I missed a few. You can see, people love setting up their campers and accessories!

Our weekend setup. We made sure to use our fancy awnings to make sure The B@r T@b was at its cutest.

Notice all the stickers? Those are from parks he's visited. What a fun way to keep track of your travels!

This unit was super sleek in all silver! Isn't that visor awesome? It's like a hat for the T@b!

She also had a visor to match her T@b. Love the red and white. Also, we noted where her spare tire was mounted and thought it was a really good idea to move ours there as well, and we put it on our 2018 to do list.

Another yellow/silver combo, set up with their matching awning for more outdoor space.

Another visor, but they added cool Edison-style clip on lights! Very attractive!

Lots of flags and fun welcoming us to this site!

I lost the picture I took of  her T@b, but this is a gift made by one of her friends for her T@b she named "Sputnik." You'll have to take my word for it that her T@b looks just like this cool string art!

Another cool add-on, a fully enclosed tent! This keeps the bugs away, gives you almost twice the space, and adds quite a bit of privacy. I love the pennant banner adorning the front. Fun touch!

One last pic. His blue and white T@b was decked out in Hawaiian themed decor, as it was the theme of the rally. Bright and fun!

When I wasn't busy walking around gawking at all the awesome setups, people did come over to check out ours. As we were new, and nobody had seen ours yet, it made sense. A couple of things that stood out at our site were the Lagun table that attaches outside the T@b, and my insanely organized cabinets! It's good to be good at something, I guess. 😊

I took a little "me time" and walked around the absolutely huge campground. I knew it was located on Coralville Lake, so I explored.

What a lovely spot!

Lots of time spent sitting, reading, and chatting with our fellow campers. It was fun to get to know people who have a passion similar to ours. We especially enjoyed campfires at night with the big group.

Very relaxing, and lots of "early to bed" kind of people. We were usually the last ones in for the night!

On Saturday, we enjoyed a group breakfast with camper-themed pajamas, hosted by one of the Midwest T@bbers.

If you're looking past all of our goofy camping jammies to their camper, you will notice it's not even a T@b! Turns out, a few folks used to own T@bs, but ended up switching to some other brand, naming themselves SOBs. HA! Since they're such fun people and T@b fans, they keep coming to the rallies, even if their campers don't match anymore.

It was a lovely breakfast, and lots of layering over the cute pajamas as it was a little chilly!

That evening, we all participated in a potluck luau. I cooked a pork roast all day on the table outside The B@r T@b, using liquid smoke and salt to make Kalua pork, Hawaiian style. There were lots of amazing dishes, and some Spam dishes, and a few people even dressed for the event!

I mean, how often do you get the chance to wear a pineapple headpiece?  The ladies in their dresses looked lovely, and added to the fun of the luau.

Even Gracie joined the fun with her tiny lei around her neck! Sweet little puppy.

Sunday morning arrived, and since we had a pretty long drive, we were the first ones to leave. Lots of hugs, Facebook friend requests, laughs, and promises to stay connected were exchanged, and we headed home.

We did make one quick stop though, purely for a photo op!

This is what happens when a tiny trailer meets a huge frying pan! Iowa's largest frying pan was impressive next to The B@r T@b.

Thanks for a great weekend of memories, Midwest T@bs. See you at Sugar Bottom in 2018 if not sooner!

Happy camping!
Peggy