In my past camping life, back in the 70's, my ex made a two section lid for the trailer which converted into a camping kitchen with shelf & drawer.
Gosh, blast from the past - so did my Dad - wooden thing that sat on top of the trailer to make more space, then converted with removable shelves into the camp larder. He also made a cooker stand with aluminium sheeting on wood, and screw in legs. Plus one of the tables that folded together like a case...VERY heavy and the hinges bent so wasn't exactly flat... guess we should be more resourceful but it's such fun looking on the net...I've made a vinyl tablecloth!
------------- Camping - emotional resilience in action, a triumph of hope over adversity and antidote to virtual reality.
It occured to me whilst pumping up the air bed from the car that this could be a good way to flatten the battery or blow a fuse as I did. Not to mention that you have to pump the air bed up outside the tent because the wire provided is so short, what happens if it rains, yes I know what happens, you get the point.
So I have recycled a battery from an old model car and a suitable cable from an old laptop power supply (That fits the air pump),but with a generic plug on the end that also connects to lights an chargers etc. The result is a mobile power supply (the size of a fist) that will pump up the air bed in the tent out of any rain and then power lights in the tent all night. TRied this first step and it works fine. The next step is to charge the powerpack using solar panels (like those used in garden solar lights) and a portable wind generator made from an old desk fan. Costs so far is nothing.
Pictures of first mods (portable power pack and adapted cable for airpump) available on request.
Just a simple idea, but we rescued some off cuts of scrap copper piping (about 6inches long) from our bathroom refit, and threaded some spare guy line cord through them to make long leaverage tent peg pullers, they work really well with the line hooked under the peg hook, when they are really stuck fast in the ground, and it saves a bad back bending over all the time too.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Homemade gadgets
