RV

Adventure, Camping, RV, RV Living & Cooking

Bring the Crockpot on the Next RV Camping Trip

Bring the Crockpot on the Next RV Camping Trip If you’re camping in an RV, you obviously have a lot of the luxuries from home such as a soft, warm bed, the kitchen, perhaps even a big-screen TV. But one of the best tricks that I learned this summer is to bring along a slow cooker. The last thing I want to do after a day full of fun outside either hiking, biking or exploring the Pacific Northwest is come into the RV and start preparing a big meal. This is where my slow cooker really comes in handy. By setting the slow cooker on low in the morning, we can simply come home in the evening and have a meal ready to go. Here are some of my favorite recipes that I like to prepare in the slow cooker when camping. Fire roasted chili This really is one of the easiest recipes. Simply take a couple of cans of fire roasted tomatoes or, if you’re really adventurous and you have a morning campfire going, bring along some raw tomatoes and simply roast them on the open campfire until they get a good chart. You can throw them in your slow cooker with the other ingredients and you’re ready to go. You want to put in about 2 tablespoons of chili powder, one chopped up onion, either 1 pound of ground beef or about a pound of chopped up bottom round steak or even cubed up Chuck steak without a lot of the fat so attached. Regardless of what meet you choose, it will get soft and tender throughout the day. You can even throw in some ground turkey meat if you want to be a little bit healthier. From here, add in whatever you want such as green or red bell peppers, garlic, and whatever spices you like. I typically throw in some oregano, garlic and onion powder, a good tablespoon of salt, a good shake of black pepper and maybe a little cayenne or red chili flakes for a little bit of heat. Set the slow cooker on low in the morning and go anywhere from 8 to 12 hours before you need to do anything with it again. About 20 minutes before serving dump in two cans of whatever beans you like. This could be black beans, kidney beans, navy beans or pinto beans. Give it a final stir and add water as necessary at the beginning and at the end if need be. Scoop into bowls and serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, avocados and cilantro. – See full recipe here Chili Colorado Another variation on this chili is my Chili Colorado. This starts in much the same way but I make sure that I use the cubed bottom round steak or another tough cut of meat with the fat removed. This will create chunks of steak in a similar sauce. I had about one more tablespoon of chili powder and a few more spices to create a thick stew with just the meat. Once you are ready to eat, spoon it into tortillas and top with sour cream and cheese. Of course, beefs stews, soups, chicken tortilla soup, chicken tiki masala, or even a slow cooked pork shoulder would be excellent. Twice as Nice Pork Pork shoulder is usually another one of my go to’s for the slow cooker. You can even put it in frozen. Throw in some sliced onions, garlic, orange juice, a beer or a cider and cook until the meat is falling apart. You can either serve this in tacos, with rice and beans, or make it into pork barbecue sliders. If you wanted to, you could do a large portion and then make two different meals out of it for a couple of days. A slow cooker is a genius way to cook while you’re on a camping trip. As long as you have electricity and you can leave it in a safe location during the day, there’s no reason you can’t come home to a delicious dinner in a fantastic smelling RV. For more tips on RV camping or information on RV rental please feel free to browse our website or contact us anytime. NW Adventure Rentals has a luxurious fleets of motorhomes and travel trailers, conveniently located in the Pacific Northwest at our Seattle location! Let us help you have a great outdoor vacation!

Adventure, RV, RV Ownership Tips

Tips For Using Your RV Refrigerator

Tips For Using Your RV Refrigerator Rv refrigerators run much differently than the one inside your home. An Rv fringe does not run off of a compressor or running parts. Instead of applying cold directly to the fridge the heat is drawn out of the compartment and absorbed leaving behind the cold. There are many things you can do to get the most out of your RV refrigerator to keep it running efficiently and doing the job you need it to do. One of the most important things is to keep the RV as level as possible when not in motion. The fridge does not need to be level during travel as the movement will keep the gases and liquids used to cool constantly moving. A stationary fridge will need to keep level to avoid these liquids and gasses from pooling in one side. The initial cooling process can take anywhere from four to six hours so you will want to turn the fridge on at least a day before you leave for your trip, and let it get to temperature before placing food items in it. Place any food you are planning to bring with you and store in the fridge in your home fridge or freezer first. You will want to place food that is already cold or frozen in the fridge to avoid it having to work harder to cool the items inside. Do not overpack or stuff the fridge completely full. A fridge needs to have space between food items to allow air to circulate through the inside. Boost air circulation by purchasing a battery-operated fridge fan and placing it in the front while angling it to blow air upward. The fan can improve circulation and reduce cooling time up to 50%. Outside temperatures will affect the efficiency of the refrigerator if it is cold outside you can turn the setting down. In hotter temperatures you will want to turn it up. If the weather is extremely warm try to park your RV with the refrigerator side in the shade if possible. Just like with a cooler, you will want to limit the amount of time you open the door to the refrigerator to keep the cold air inside the unit. It is also a good idea to keep a thermometer in the fridge to ensure it is running at a temperature of 40 degrees or lower to keep food from spoiling. For more tips on RV camping or information on RV rental please feel free to browse our website or contact us anytime. NW Adventure Rentals has a luxurious fleets of motorhomes and travel trailers, conveniently located in the Pacific Northwest at our Seattle location! Let us help you have a great outdoor vacation!

Adventure, Camping, RV, RV Ownership Tips

Calculating RV Propane Usage – Simple Calculator

Calculating RV Propane Usage – Simple Calculator When you are boondocking or planning on camping for a long period without using hookups an important thing to know is if you will have enough propane to keep things powered during your trip. Based on what we’ve learned from renting out our Seattle RVs, no one wants to be in the middle of an RV adventure and run out of propane rendering the stove, water heater, etc. useless. Here is how you can manually calculate/estimate how long the propane in your tanks will power the appliances in your RV: First you will need to know how much gas your tank/s can hold when full. RV propane tanks are full at 80% capacity to allow for the liquid gas to expand.When you have a tank filled after it is empty ask the attendant how much it took to fill. If you are renting an RV the RV rental company should be able to provide this information. Now that you know how much gas is in your propane tank you will want to figure out the BTU capacity of the container with a little multiplication using one of the following methods: -There are 91,502 BTUs per gallon of propane -There are 21,548 BTUs per pound When you have determined the total BTUs in your propane tank measured by your preferred unit of gallons or pounds you can now divide the BTU capacity of the propane tank by the BTU usage or demand of a specific gas appliance in the RV. (You can find the BTU demand of a certain appliance on the tag on the appliance itself or in the appliance owner’s manual.)This will give you the rough estimate you are looking for of how long you can power that appliance with the amount of propane in the tank. Here is an example of all the steps in action: If your RV propane tanks holds 14 gallons of propane gas when it’s full, you would multiply 14 X 91,502. The result is 1,281,028. Next you would take this number and divide it by the total BTU demand of any gas appliances you will be using. Keeping with our example, you add up the BTU demand of the stove, water heater, and heater; let’s say the total BTU demand will be 43,800 BTUs. The answer after dividing 1,281,028 by 43,800 is 29. In this case you would have roughly 29 hours of stove, water heater, and heat use before running out of propane. Another thing to remember is that you will need to keep the outside temperature in mind when calculating gas usage. The colder the weather the faster your propane will get used up. When temps are extremely cold below zero degrees the BTU hourly capacity can be reduced by 50% or more. For more tips on RV camping or information on RV rental please feel free to browse our website or contact us anytime. NW Adventure Rentals has a luxurious fleets of motorhomes and travel trailers, conveniently located in the Pacific Northwest at our Seattle location! Let us help you have a great outdoor vacation!

Adventure, Camping, RV

What Do People Do With Motorhomes Anyway?

What Do People Do With Motorhomes Anyway? Sightseeing and camping are great reasons to rent an RV and getaway, but beyond that what do people in RVs do to pass the time? What do you do on long stretches of road when you are stuck inside the four walls of the motor home and they seem to be closing in on you? It may be time to find an RV hobby. Something to keep you entertained whilst vacationing in your RV. Finding a fun RV hobby can give you: RV-ing provides travelers with time to do exactly the things they have always wanted to do. Here are some fun RV hobbies you might want to consider taking on: Some Tips to Take Your New RV Hobby to the Next Level What do people do with RVs? They make the world their oyster. They grab life by the horns and they live it. So rent an RV today and get out their and adventure! For more tips on RV camping or information on RV rental please feel free to browse our website or contact us anytime. NW Adventure Rentals has a luxurious fleets of motorhomes and travel trailers, conveniently located in the Pacific Northwest at our Seattle location! Let us help you have a great outdoor vacation!

Adventure, Camping, RV, RV Living & Cooking

Pie for Dinner? Filling Pie Recipes for Fall RV-ing

Pie for Dinner? Filling Pie Recipes for Fall RV-ing Who doesn’t love pie? It’s great anytime of year, but especially in the fall when apples and pumpkins are in harvest. There are so many different ways to whip up a tasty pie to warm and comfort you on chilly fall days. We have a great savory Shepard’s Pie recipe for dinner, and a classic pie staple for dessert to make the perfect fall RV dinner. Shepherd’s Pie Recipe Prep Time: 45 minutes Cooking Time: 45 minutes Serves: 8 You Will Need For Mashed Potatoes: For Meat Filling: Instructions Preheat Oven to 400 degrees. Wash, peel, and cut potatoes to 1/2 inch pieces. Place the potatoes in a medium saucepan and fill with just enough water to cover them. Place over high heat and cover until boiling, once the water is boiling uncover and reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes are very soft. This should take about 10 to 15 minutes. While the potatoes cook prepare the meat filling. Coat a sauté pan with the oil and warm over medium heat. Add onion and carrot to heated oil and cook about 3 to 4 minutes until they begin to change color. Add in the garlic and stir then add in the ground meat, salt, and pepper and let brown. Sprinkle the meat mixture with the flour and toss to coat. After about a minute add in tomato paste, broth, Worcestershire, and fresh spices. Bring to a boil reduce the heat to low, cover with lid, and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes until sauce is thickened. Meanwhile return to the potatoes. Drain the potatoes and return to pan. Heat the half and half in the microwave about 35 seconds until just warm. Mash the hot potatoes then add the warm half and half, butter, salt and pepper. Mash until smooth and stir in egg yolk until well combined. Add corn and peas into the meat and spread into an 11×7 glass dish. Top with the mashed potatoes. Place the glass dish on a parchment lined sheet pan and bake 25 minutes or until potatoes begin to brown. Let cool about 15 minutes and serve. Apple Pie Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 50 Minutes Servings: 8 Ingredients- 6 cups thinly sliced Granny Smith apples 1 tablespoon lemon juice Ready made pie crust 1 tablespoon butter 1 egg white Extra sugar Instructions- Preheat Oven to 325. In a bowl mix together both sugars, flour, and spices. In another larger bowl mix apples with lemon juice then add the sugar mixture to coat. Line 9 inch pie plate with one of the crusts and trim to fit. Fill with apples and dot with butter. Place the remaining pie crust over the top, trim to fit and pinch edges to join with bottom crust and seal. Cut slits in pastry then brush with egg white after beating to foamy. Sprinkle with extra sugar, cover edges loosely with foil and place in oven for about 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake 20-25 more minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Let cool. Now that your pies are cooked and the RV smells amazing, you are ready to enjoy a warm fall meal of favorite comfort foods. For more tips on RV camping or information on RV rental please feel free to browse our website or contact us anytime. NW Adventure Rentals has a luxurious fleets of motorhomes and travel trailers, conveniently located in the Pacific Northwest at our Seattle location! Let us help you have a great outdoor vacation!

Adventure, RV, RV Ownership Tips

How to Use the RV Water Heater Properly

How to Use the RV Water Heater Properly Generally, those who camp in an RV are looking for a little extra comfort while enjoying the outdoors. RV camping provides many comforts you generally don’t get with other camping styles such as: beds off the ground with sheets, privacy, protection from crummy weather, heat, air conditioning, a fridge, comfy chairs, a clean toilet, a kitchen, and hot water. Hot water/the water heater is probably one of the things at the top of the “Reasons to Use an RV” list for most people.The water heater in an RV allows for hot showers, and clean dishes. It allows for those comforting things we often don’t think about or take for granted at home. The water heater plays an important role in a comfy RV camping experience. Here are nine things that are good to know about RV water heaters: 2. Heater tanks come in different sizes. The most common RV hot water tanks are 6 and 10 gallon sizes, though there are larger and smaller ones. The larger the RV, the larger the tank you will want to have. 3. An RV tank is significantly smaller than a home water heater tank. The smallest home tanks range from about 40 to 50 gallons; around five to ten times the size of an RV tank. The hot water in an RV is going to run out much faster than at home. Remember to use hot water in the RV sparingly. Try turning off the water while soaping up in the shower, and fill the sink with water to wash dishes rather than just letting the faucet run. 4. You can take a longer hot shower simply by turning on just a small amount of very hot water first followed by the cold. 5. Special shower heads allow for longer RV showers. There are many shower heads that use less water in an RV allowing for the RV users to enjoy a little more time to freshen up. If you find an RV with one of these, it is a great bonus. They can also be purchased from RV camping stores. 6. Make sure to drain the tank before long seasons of non-use if you own your RV. You don’t want the pipes to freeze and crack during colder months when not in use. 7. Make sure the bypass valve is switched off before heading out on a trip after non-use. You don’t want to heat a tank with no water in it as you could cause serious damage. 8. Avoid corrosion with an anode rod. Using an anode rod re-directs corrosion from the tank to the rod. Anode rods are cheap (about $20 ) and can increase the life span of your tank exponentially. 9. If the water heater is on and working, but only lukewarm water is coming out of the faucets, check the hot and cold faucets to the outside and make sure they are off. Leaving these on can cause hot and cold water to mingle and keep hot water from running inside the RV. Knowing how the RV water heater works will help you to have a comfortable and more enjoyable camping trip. For more tips on RV camping or information on RV rental, please feel free to browse our website or contact anytime. NW Adventure Rentals has a luxurious fleet of motorhomes and travel trailers, conveniently located in the Pacific Northwest at our Seattle location. Let us help you have a great outdoor vacation!

Adventure, Campgrounds, Destinations & Itineraries, RV, RV Lifestyle & Travel

Try RV Camping in the Sol Duc Valley

Try RV Camping in the Sol Duc Valley The Sol Duc Valley is a gorgeous destination to RV camp in the Olympic National Forest, located just outside of Port Angeles and Forks. Sol Duc is a popular spot to camp, and is most well known as a great spot to watch salmon swim upstream to spawn as well as for the natural hot springs. RV accommodations can be found at both the Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort and the Sol Duc Campground. The Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort is the home of the famous hot springs pools, as the name implies. The resort offers cabins, RV camping sites, tent camping sites, restaurant, gift shop, swimming pool, and the hot mineral soaking pools. It is best to make a reservation far in advance due to the popularity of the resort, and the RV park in this location is only open in the summer. Sol Duc campground is a bit more rustic for those wanting to get out in nature. It offers picnic tables, fire pits, animal proof food storage lockers, accessible restrooms, portable water, and an RV dump station. The Sol Duc Campground is open year round, but only has access to primitive pit toilets and no access to water from November to early April. There are many great hikes to take advantage of in the Sol Duc Valley, but be aware that pets and bikes are not permitted on the trails. The Sol Duc falls trail is one of the most popular; it is just under a mile one way with old growth forest leading up to the cascading waterfall. It is a great hike for the whole family. Be sure to keep an eye on children near the falls as footing can get slippery and the falls can be dangerous when you get too close. Interested in watching the famous coho salmon? You can catch them leaping through the Sol Duc waters of Salmon Cascades in the late summer and fall. Salmon return to their place of birth in the Sol Duc river to complete their life cycle. The more popular leaping and jumping through the water to make their way upstream happens in late summer and spawning happens in the fall. Take a stroll through the Lover’s Lane trail and you may discover a pair of salmon spawning. Ready to start planning your trip to the Sol Duc Valley, to rest and relax in the hot springs or be wowed by the amazing local salmon? We can help you find the perfect RV rental for your trip. Please feel free to browse our website or contact us anytime. NW Adventure Rentals has two luxurious fleets of motorhomes and travel trailers, conveniently located in the Pacific Northwest at our Seattle location. Let us help you have a great outdoor vacation! Image by David Fulmer Flickr

Adventure, RV, RV Living & Cooking

Great 30-Minute Meals You Can Create in Your RV

Great 30 Minute Meals You Can Create in Your RV Taking an RV vacation is full of adventure and enjoying time with friends. If you like to fill your RV days with outdoor fun, you don’t want to get stuck in the kitchen using large amounts of time preparing meals. It is easy to feel that you may have to compromise on quality or taste of the meal in order to get something on the table fast. Truth is you can put together some amazingly tasty and comforting meals in under 30 minutes. We have some recipes that can be whipped up quickly and keep your crowd happy and energized for their next activity. Sloppy Joes Ingredients Directions Easy Comfort Chicken Casserole Ingredients Instructions Sausage Kabobs Ingredients Directions For more tips on RV camping or information on RV rental please feel free to browse our website or contact us anytime. NW Adventure Rentals has a luxurious fleets of motorhomes and travel trailers, conveniently located in the Pacific Northwest at our Seattle location! Let us help you have a great outdoor vacation! By jeffreyw (Mmm… sloppy joes Uploaded by Fæ) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Adventure, Camping, RV, RV Living & Cooking

How to Make Bread in a Flower Pot on the Campfire

How to Make Bread in a Flower Pot on the Campfire We can all agree that the best type of bread is freshly baked bread. Now you can have the best bread while you are on your RV camping trip! Of course you could just use your RV oven to whip up some bread and fill the RV with amazing smells, but we have another method to bring that freshly baked goodness to your camping meal. You may find it to be a bit more fun and adventurous and outdoorsy. Serve it alongside a nice warming soup during a fall camping adventure, as a side to a tasty meat main dish, or with pretty much anything. You could even slap some butter on it and just enjoy it by itself. Here is our fun method for baking bread over the campfire. You will need: Step One First you will want to clean out your flower pot. Thoroughly rinse the pot out with water. Once the pot is rinsed well, apply a thick coat of cooking oil to the inside of the pot and let it dry on the inside surface. This shouldn’t take long. After the first coat is dry apply a generous second coat of oil. Step Two Cover the hole on the bottom of the pot by placing a layer of foil on the inside in the bottom of the pot. Then apply a second layer of foil over the top of the first layer. Step Three Now it is time to add the bread dough. You do not want to fill the entire pot with dough; make sure to leave the top third of the pot empty to allow for the dough to rise. Once the bread is in the pot gently brush over the very top with some more oil. Step Four Cover the top of the bread-filled pot with foil. Make sure to get a generous amount of foil and leave it in a dome shape to give the bread some extra room to rise. Now you are ready to put the bread on the fire. Step Five Time to bake the bread! Place the flower pot directly on the hot coals of the fire. (You can even bake this on the BBQ grill!) Leave it there for about 20 minutes. You will know it is ready by the warm and fresh smell it gives off. Step Six Carefully remove the pot from the fire with a pair of tongs and some campfire gloves. Let the bread cool in the pot for about 3 to 5 minutes. This will help you to remove the fresh bread much easier and prevent it from sticking to the sides of the pot. Once you remove the bread from the pot carefully, you are now ready to enjoy it! Bon Appetit’! For more tips on RV camping or information on RV rental please feel free to browse our website or contact us anytime. NW Adventure Rentals has a luxurious fleets of motorhomes and travel trailers, conveniently located in the Pacific Northwest at our Seattle location! Let us help you have a great outdoor vacation!

Adventure, RV, RV Lifestyle & Travel, RV Maintenance & Care, RV Ownership Tips

How to Create More Sleeping Space in an RV

How to Create More Sleeping Space in an RV You did it! You found the perfect way to get away and relax with your family, camping in an RV rental. You found a great RV that has everything you need, except it could use just one more bed to comfortably sleep Grandma or the friend you told your kids they could bring along. Have no fear; there are some easy solutions to create a little more sleeping space in an RV! Cots This of course is the most obvious solution you may have already thought about. A cot can be lightweight, compact, easy to fold and store, and can fit in a tight space. They are a great option for camping trips and can be found at most outdoor stores. Collapsible Bunks A great solution for kids. They take advantage of vertical space in tiny spots. Kids find them fun and exciting, but they are also strong enough to sleep adults. Air Mattresses If your RV has a good amount of extra floor space, say an RV with a pop out side, an air mattress can be a great bedding solution. Air mattresses can be easily blown up with a pump and are lightweight and easy to store during the day. Some of them are actually quite comfy and you may find everyone fighting over who gets to sleep on it. Fold Out Lounge Chairs Some RVs have a corner open with space to fit a chair. In that space you can place a fold-out chair. It is like a sofa sleeper, but in chair form. There is just enough room to sleep one more person. Turn Front Motorhome Seats Into a Bed This is a popular RV hack you may have seen all over Pinterest. If you are renting a motorhome you can use the two captains chairs (the driver seat and passenger seat beside it up in the front by the steering wheel) in the front to make a twin size bed of sorts. Just grab a cot or board and mattress pad to fit across the length of the two seats when they are turned to face each other and lay down a sleeping bag and pillow or bedding. This is a great solution for kids and young and spry adults (those without aches and health concerns) who do not need an extra comfy place to sleep. Truck-Bed Bed If you are pulling a trailer with a pickup truck why not turn the bed of the truck into an actual bed? Place an air mattress, cot, or mattress topper in the back of the truck with some bedding. Of course you will want a truck with a canopy over the bed in areas and weather that are not great for open air camping. This option also gives some extra privacy like having your own bedroom. Make sure to be prepared for cold as there is no heat in the bed of a truck. For more tips on RV camping or information on RV rental please feel free to browse our website or contact us anytime. NW Adventure Rentals has a luxurious fleets of motorhomes and travel trailers, conveniently located in the Pacific Northwest at our Seattle location! Let us help you have a great outdoor vacation! Image By Flickr:Damien Cooke [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons