Hot Beverages, Climate Control, Flag Pole & Toys!

Our renovation projects over the summer were pretty massive, and we shared an overview of the bigger items recently.

With any renovation there usually comes some smaller changes. After all, in an RV you just don’t have room for carrying items that no longer make sense.

So in this post, I’ll introduce some of the newer products in our lives, and the old products they replaced as a direct result of the renovations.

Hot Beverage Switch Up

I’ve never been much of a coffee drinker (gasp!).. but I’d like to switch to getting my caffeine hit from more natural sources than the chemical laden energy drinks that we’re so prone to grabbing.

So with the addition of a hot tap – it delivers 180 degree water directly off our newly installed Precision Temp Jr. hydronic system – I decided to try a simple solution for occasional coffee drinking.

We’ve heard great things from fellow RVers about the Aeropress being a boondocking friendly option for a great cup of coffee or espresso.

This thing comes with a bunch of parts – which were confusing to this coffee newb. But I figured it out – put a filter into the bottom cap, twist it onto the bottom of the cylinder, place it on top of a mug, scoop in some grounds – then pour in some steaming hot water.  Then slowly press it down with the included syringe thingie after a few seconds.

I was really getting into the groove .. until… I think I accidentally tossed out the bottom plastic filter cap!  Oops. Seems this might be a common mistake, as Amazon carries a dual replacement pack.

Our hot tap also prompted us to donate on the Hot Shot, which we previously used for heating up a mug of hot water for cocoa and tea. Clearing up counter space is a good thing.

Portable Climate Control Switch-Up

With new air conditioners (with no heat strip or heat pump) and hydronic furnace installed on our bus, it was time to re-think our other climate control gadgets.

The PrecisionTemp TwinTemp Jr. can run off propane or electric, but it’s not nearly as powerful on electric.  So we still wanted to keep an electric space heater on board for when we have hook-ups and chilly weather. No point burning propane if we’re paying for electric anyway.

For keeping cool air flow is sometimes all you need to not resort to the air conditioner. We’ve had two small floor fans on board (in addition to two roof vent fans – a MaxxAir for the main living area, and Fan-Tastic 3350 for the bathroom), and both had become quite clogged with hair and dust. Instead of cleaning them again, we were on the look out for replacements

We were walking around Costco a few weeks back, and they had the Dyson Hot-Cold Fan on display for $299.99. Pricey.

It’s a blade-less combo floor fan and space heater. Not needing to take apart fans and constantly cleaning hair & dust out seemed like quite a bonus. And the airflow coming out of this thing was quite impressive, even at low speeds.

10 fan speeds, quiet, oscillation, tilting and a snazzy remote. Plus, it’s super narrow, making it more suitable for our precious floor space and putting in the narrow hallway to heat the bedroom.

We impulsively decided to pick one up, and so far have been super happy with it. It’s already kept us cooled off (more so than any floor fan we’ve ever had) in some warm temperatures, saving firing up the generator. And it’ll become a nice heating option when we’re on electric hook-ups.

We decided to hang on to our Vornado space heater for now, as a back-up electric option. The heat mode on it is super nice, but the fan mode is not nearly as breezy as the Dyson.

We gifted on our previous floor fans, our Mr. Heater Buddy Propane heater (it served us VERY well last winter) and the 200w Lasko MyHeat personal space heaters.

So, our portable climate control options now include the Dyson, Vornado and a 12v Fan-tastic Endless Breeze fan.

Flagpole Mounting

We loved our Flagpole Buddy system, both for flying our colors and raising directional internet antennas. We loved ours so much, that we upgraded earlier this year to the fiberglass 22′ pole, 2.0  mount and added on a solar globe.

Before the paint job, we had the mounting kit attached to the outside of the bus (it also has a nifty ladder mounting option if your RV has one). We really never were able to get enough distance between the two brackets to do a proper install.

So we just couldn’t bring ourselves to disrupt the newer clean lines and fresh paint job by having the mount re-installed.

That left us considering other RV-frendly flagpole mounting options, including a holder that goes under the RV’s tires.

But ultimately we decided on a hitch mount style. When we want to fly flags or antennas – it’s not a big deal to remove the Blue Ox Alpha tow bar we use to drag our Mini around the country. We usually store it in a bay during extended stays anyway.

We’re still using the same flagpole that came with our kit, but essentially – we’re no longer using the Flagpole Buddy system. Their special sauce is the sweet and simple mount. We do still highly recommend it if you have suitable mounting options.

Fun Entertainment Addition – jamstick+

After all the stress of this summer, Chris deserved a treat. He’s been wanting to learn to play guitar, but of course an RV doesn’t afford a lot of spare room for carrying around musical instruments. Nor do they provide a lot of sound insulation for practicing.

When he came across the jamstick+ on a Kickstarter campaign earlier this year, it seemed like the perfect solution! It’s super small, portable, geeky and arrived just as we were returning from Alaska.

It interfaces with his his iPhone, iPad and computer – and teaches him to play.

And best of all, I don’t have to listen to his practice sessions. That’s a huge plus in a small shared space.

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We’ve updated our RV Gear page with all the new goodies, so you can check out everything we’ve chosen to carry aboard that enhances our RVing lifestyle.

We’ll continue to integrate in reports over the coming months on other major systems on our bus we upgraded this past summer.