Saturday, July 02, 2016

Water Bags and Dog Baths

Making do.

I am always crafting together systems to protect the RV from further damage.

In this case, we've had a lot of windy storms with winds up to 60 miles per hour. I love having my awning up and out, but it doesn't like high winds. Sometimes there is no warning before a microburst hits. Or even worse, if it sneaks up at 3am while the awning is out.

I tried those screw in stakes for tying down the awning. But frankly they require a lot of upper body strength. Their feasibility depends greatly on the soil type. They might go in nicely but never come out again or vice versa.

I finally abandoned the screw type anchors, they were just a lot more trouble than they were worth and they never once saved my awning from damage. I had no money invested in them, they were a used gift from a handyman in another park who collected up odds and ends that other campers left behind. Apparently the screw type anchors get left behind often due to their cantankerousness.


I came up with a super simple solution in the form of adjustable straps and portable potable water bags. Each water bag holds up to 10 liters of water. A liter of water weighs in at 2.2 pounds, so each bag can be filled with water to weigh 22 pounds. 99% of the places I camp come with spigot water. The water bags collapse flat and roll up when not in use taking up an amazingly tiny amount of storage room. Each one has a screw on cap that is larger than the spigot, so filling up is thankfully pretty easy.

Even at a third full, at about 7-8 pounds, seems plenty to hold the awning in place, but fear has often lead me to fill them to the max at 22 pounds. If I decide to put the awning away completely, I just undo the strap and I am ready to roll it up quickly.

Once in a while I camp at a certain Federal park that doesn't offer water at the camp sites. At one, I stayed longer than my planned 3 days, so my water tank became low. I used these bags to transport water back to my rig.

Everything has to do double or triple duty around here to justify the storage space. Because my rig has 14 windows, my storage areas are not grand.


After Harley's recent bath, his only clean harness vest was dark green. He sure blends in with outdoor surroundings. I have hiked with him off leash in the woods. He is hard to spot! Look how silky smooth his fur pretends to be.

Luckily he loves bath time. I have always tried to make it a comfortable fun time for him. I wash him from the neck down with warm water and Dawn dish soap, giving him a gentle massage that he loves.

I wish someone would wash me down with a gentle massage.

After he is squeaky clean from the neck down, I gently wash his head and face being super careful to keep water out of his ears. Now that we are almost done, I coat him with hair conditioner from the neck down. I do not rinse this out. I towel dry his face, put on his harness then let him roll around outside on his towel. Sometimes he roll son the grass too.

He shakes and shakes but only water from his head flies off. The conditioner is so thick, it won't fly off. I use the $1 conditioner from Dollar Tree. Lately I've had the coconut type on hand, so he smells tropical. He does eventually dry. The conditioner leaves his rough wiry fur silky smooth.

He prances around like King for a day.

Rumor is that Dawn dish soap kills fleas if left to soak for a minute or more on a dog. I don't know if this works or not, but we do seem to be perpetually flea free.

However, periodically Dollar Tree gets in flea and tick goop for $1. Generally it comes in 2 sizes, one for small dogs and one for large dogs. When I find this, I usually buy all they have left, typically about a dozen or so. It's hard to find, but you can't beat the price. Usually a day or so after his bath, I treat him with the flea and tick stuff. I guess it works and it's budget friendly, if and when you can find the stuff.



2 comments:

  1. Harley looks so good after a bath and he knows it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'll get your back if you get mine .....

    ReplyDelete


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