Ok, I’ll admit it; I am a gadget guy. I love gadgets and love owning them. So, what kind of gadgets do I use in my Travel Trailer? Well, as I think if the things I use, I realized that I have a lot of stuff that I bring with us.
We have a set of personal radios from Radio Shack. These are two-way radios that we use when I am backing into a space or if we are hiking. They are also weather radios and we keep one with us in the car to monitor any nasty weather that might be on the horizon.
Of course, I take my laptop. My laptop is a ‘desknote’ because it is pretty large with a 17” screen. In our previous trailer, I also used the laptop as a Television. That worked great and I was very happy with the hi-res screen as my own little portable HD TV. I built a stand that allowed me to set the laptop on for TV viewing. Also, the laptop can be used as….well…a computer! To lookup area sites, maps, etc.
My wife and I love movies and so when we are not outside roasting marshmallows or socializing with our camping friends, we are usually watching a movie. We especially enjoy an old black and white movie when we are going to sleep. We don’t carry very many DVD’s, but we do carry about 400 movies with us.
Now, you are probably wondering how we might be able to carry so many movies but actually it is quite simple. This is one of my favorite gadgets. It is a portable media player. This one is by Mvix and the one I have has a 700 gb hard drive. Here’s how this gadget works; you connect via USB to your computer and it becomes an external hard drive. 
You then rip your own DVD movies to the hard drive. Then, and this is where this gadget is really cool, the box is a stand-alone media player. You connect it to your television with RCA cables, either with the Component connection or composite connection. The box has its own remote and it works like a DVD player or VCR.
The next gadget is something I really appreciate. It is a rear view camera mounted on the rear of the trailer. Of course, now that I have a new trailer, I am going to have to mount it on the new one. Anyway, what I found is that even though I have trailer mirrors, when people tailgate me, I still can’t see them. With the camera, I know if someone is there so when I do a lane change, I can see if someone is there.
Then, there is my bumper mounted generator. Like the camera, I will have to fit that on my new trailer as well. The generator is a nice luxery. We don’t do much boondocking, but we have used it a couple times…..usually at a rest area where we want to use the microwave or have the AC running. We also used it one day last year when my son and a friend wanted to go to Six Flags and so my wife and I drove them and we stayed in the parking lot in the trailer with the generator running and with that, of course, the AC and my trusty laptop (as a tv).
When we bought the new trailer, one of the other cool gadgets it came with is XM radio. I am looking forward to activating that. I love old time radio shows and there is a channel that is dedicated to them. Since the XM radio is also portable, I look forward to having those radio shows on the drive!Then, there is the dust buster, the shortwave radio, the flashlight with a recharger and many other items.
As you can see, I really do like bringing some gadgets with me on our trips. You could probably imagine what kind of gadgets I have at home. They might actually fill all the storage spaces in our new trailer! My poor wife….I really don’t know how she puts up with me!
You know, I would love to hear from all of you! Tells us what gadgets you bring on your camping trips! I think it would be fun, educational and just plain interesting to hear what others use!
Happy camping and see you next Sunday!
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Robert
About the Mvix…
If you have room, there is a cheaper solution.
Phillips DVP5992, $50
Find any external hdd, 500gb usually runs about $100.
For getting copies of movies onto the external hdd, there are several FREE softwares (doom9.org)
Yes, it requires 2 outlets. However, you can store the USB External HDD somewhere far (as far as the USB cable you have) and just have the dvd where it would be normally. It is a little more work, but for 1/2 the price it is definately something to look into.
Brad
Have you tried Walmart in the material section sewing area, they have these things that attach to back of the rug. They don’t move.
Gale Galbreath
We have beige carpets in our 5th wheel and have bought large throw rugs to protect from dirt, etc. We can’t keep the throw rugs from “crawling” along the carpet. Is there a product we can buy to secure the throw rug onto the carpet? Thanks
Andrew Orton
I liked your idea with the TT at Six Flags, that’s how I’d go!
Bev Wilson
We travel to do art shows about 22,000 miles a year with dogs. Last year on 1 occasion our gererator had quit therefore the a/c quit with the dogs inside. We were lucky that very shortly we had returned to the R.V. & found it. I becamed very paranoid about the a/c stopping…After much research ….I found a company called Tip Temperature. A cell phone is hooked up by cable or by bluetooth. It will call another cellphone if the tempture rises or drops as set. The next time a month later after purchasing it…we were doing an art show in Virginia Beach,Va. At 1pm it called me an said there was a temperature alert it was 84 degrees…We had the r.v. parked at a campground it took me a half hour by cab to get back to the campground. The a/c had quit all the windows were closed it was 89 degrees in there. If I hadn’t had it my elderly dogs would have be dead…It saved their lives.. Their website is http://www.tiptemp.com B. Wilson
Larry
Where do I start, ok I have a MDT with pas thru bed storage and five storage boxes on my bed, four for my gadgets oand one for going to store. In the 5er three TV’s one is mine LCD 17″ in front of my desktop and can be taken outside to watch. Two Directv DVR receivers connected to all three TV’s. The LCD uses wireless remote for the LCD in my office and outside and the bedroom receiver. HughesNet dish with Directv on same dish. Dome dish on roof for all TV’s for short stops when traveling. Three Wireless camera on my desktop for outside of 5er. I think I will stop now.
Lug_Nut
David, This was sent to me but should have been directed to you.
Lug_Nut
New comment on your post #41 “Back Up Camera Driving Aids”
Author : Mike Feldman (IP: 76.88.210.102 , cpe-76-88-210-102.bak.res.rr.com)
E-mail : [email protected]
URL :
Whois : http://ws.arin.net/cgi-bin/whois.pl?queryinput=76.88.210.102
Comment:
Can David Kurtz tell me what brand backup camera system he used for his trailer?
Thank you
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Skydivn Bill
Yep, GPS, rearview camera, personal communicatiion handhelds, etc. But, my gadet fetish is more along the lines of cooking grills, stands, utensils, small(er) propane containers, propane hoses, regulators, hook-up. Not much interested in computing when camping though, and the over-the-air reception makes the little television that we want to see (evening news, weather) difficult – and I thought I understood wave propagation…
-Bill-
Clark Cupery
gadgets..Can’t live without them. We take the gps, video camera, digital camera and video recorders, etc. We enjoy the videos of our trips all winter long. Thanks for the blog and new ideas. Clark
bob
If you love gadgets and computers and having a good internet connection, or you travel with broadband through cell card or satellite, then a slingbox is a must. It must be hooked up to a tv source (cable box, old vcr with tv tuner which is connected to cable or satellite or a tv. This then is hooked to your internet connection through and ethernet cable. Load the software and you are set to watch your home tv on your computer. You change channels on the home device so if you don’t want the channel changed at home when you are on the road use an old vcr or rarely used tv. My children in various locations around the country watch my cable from their computers Only one computer at a time can be logged on and as the admin I can kick others off when I need to. A great device for general convenience but also when wanting to watch the regional feed appropriate to your desires like sporting events. You can also access with blackberry and several others and hopefully my iphone will be coming soon. Slingbox is available in a simple device for basic tv or more complicated and expensive to operate DVR’s and provide HD. An added bonus is the fact it provides you access to your tv source anywhere at home as well. On the deck and want to watch tv or in a room without a connection just turn on the computer and you are set to watch over your wireless network. By the way- Some Employers have already blocked the slingbox on their office networks.
Carol
Love those gadgets! One of my favorites is my GPS navigator on my Blackberry. Email, voice mail, web browser (with WI-FI) and traffic-corrected directions on my dashboard. How cool is that! PS. my friends think I’m a little over the top, too.
Howard
Good to find another gadget collector. Also love the XM. Some friends make fun of some of the things I think are necessary.