18 day trip tips

Our last stay was 12 nights (plus 2 travel nights) and we did laundry for our family of 4 twice. We also made 1 grocery run halfway through the stay.

We kept all drinks in a cooler outside the camper to make room in the fridge for food. We grilled a lot and used the crock pot and some skillet meals. We don't use charcoal so we have a baby weber grill that we take with us. I also aim for meals with simple ingredients: ie grill some chicken & add to prepackaged ceasar salads for grilled chicken salad. We also used paper plates/cups to cut down on the amount of dishes I had to wash.

We carry extra towels to reduce the number of times we have to wash. (Pop up hampers hold the dirty ones until we make it to the laundry.)

As someone else mentioned, command hooks are like gold in our camper. They are everywhere to hang towels, bags, keys....if we can get it off the floor/counters/furniture and onto the wall, it just feels less cluttered and more spacious. The kids have them next to their bunks with baskets/bags to hold their electronics, books, etc.

I also wanted to add something we learned about rain and awning. We have a sunshade and thought it was fine for rain but nope. Thankfully the first rain at Disney we were at the rig and we use a broom to remove the water and then pulled it in. Thankfully we caught it before it broke off or we would have been incurring a huge expense. We are cautious we always retract our awning when we leave. Because of that it also means if it rains everything will get wet. We fold up our chairs and put them under the slide and move the tables under the slide. We do leave the mat out it can get wet. However that being said if you are getting close to departure day, pay attention to the rain and your mat. For example this trip it rained a lot on us. We move the mat out on Friday morning to be in the sun. Came back and it was dry and folded it up and put it away before the Friday afternoon rain hit. Our first trip to the Fort and we are rookies as well, we left everything out, it rained and on departure morning we were not only trying to pack up but dry stuff off.

All great ideas and we use many of these during our extended stays. Last year we purchased a bar fridge which we placed outside under the awning. It provided a little extra fridge space and kept visits in and out of the RV for a cold drink to a minimum. The fridge will fit in the under storage compartment for transport.
This March, DH and I enjoyed taking our lunch to the park. We made a trip to Costco and bought lunch meat and sandwich buns. We discovered that the sandwich bun sent mouldy very quickly( 3 days) in the Florida heat. We bought more, sliced them and placed them in sandwich bags and froze them in the freezer. In the morning I would remove the frozen sandwich buns, prepare the sandwiches and place them in the lunch bag. By lunch time they were thawed but still cool and helped keep the rest of our food cool.

I 2nd the notion of a few trips locally. Get a notebook and write down things you have forgotten, or realize that you need. Plastic glasses and plates are way better than glass. Look for stuff at garage sales. Picked up a brand new sewer hose and fresh water hose for $2. When you go on 1st couple trips, see what other people bring for outside (folding table, chairs etc). Don't be afraid to ask questions.
By the way, did we tell you we like pics and trip reports? Enjoy your trip in your new home.

Our trips to the Fort are usually 2 1/2 weeks or more. We drive from Vermont so it makes sense to go for less frequent, longer stays. There are 5 of us in our immediate family, however we usually have Gram, Papa and a niece or nephew with us. As most people have said, use the outdoor space and think of the camper as your sleeping quarters.

That being said we will be arriving at FW on 7/16 for a 23 night stay and are in the process of packing/readying the camper. Our current TT is a 33 ft 2011 Salem. It has an outside kitchen with 2 burners, sink and refrigerator. We also bring a small gas grill and larger toaster oven. We find the oven in the camper to be too small to cook anything for 2 adults and 3 teens. We will bring precooked and frozen casseroles to accompany whatever we choose to grill. My DH will get a refillable mug and get his morning coffee at one of the refill locations. Normally we take a coffee maker, but with the refillable mug we don't need it as he's the only one that drinks coffee. That leaves room for a blender for cocktails. We also have very little drawer space, but have "cupboard/closet" space in the bunkroom and bedroom. I have found that milk crates fit nicely in each area. I can fit 6 in the bunkhouse and 4 in the bedroom. The inexpensive fabric drawers that you can get at Kmart or Walmart to fit milk crates turns the cupboards into drawers which are much easier for clothing storage. Afterall, who hangs their underwear or pj's? The milk crates then go off to college with DS. We pack 10 -12 outfits per person. We've been traveling with our kids since the youngest was 2/12 and he is now 19. I still find it best to pack outfits, including socks and underwear, in the 2 gallon sized ziplock bags. In the morning it is super easy to just grab a bag and head to the comfort station. It is more work in prep, but a huge time saver in the long run. Each person also has a mesh backpack with his/her toiletry items. So grab the backpack, ziplock bagged outfit and towel and off to the shower. The backpacks are then kept hanging in our screened in ez up along with clothes bars. Once back from the shower the bags get hung up, towels hung up, dirty laundry in hamper and ziplocks set aside for laundry day. I anticipate doing laundry 3 -4 times on this trip mostly to keep up with towels. We do take extra bath towels and beach towels. We bring a vacuum to keep things tidy. We use paper goods as much as possible to keep down the amount of dishes. Over the years we've acquired handy storage items that fit in the nooks and crannies so everyone has an area to keep their stuff and things get put away. We bring a router so that all of our electronics can be utilized (and bills paid). Surge protectors and extension cords. Awning and ez up lights, table cloth. I'm sure there is more, but we've been at it so long they seem natural at this point.

We have a 27 foot travel trailer with four of us (two growing boys, 11 and 15), and we usually camp most of June, sometimes at the Fort but other times at state and national parks. We don't use our tub/shower, so that's where we stash dirty laundry in collapsable hampers. I installed two extra shower curtain rods (the tension type) above the shower to hang towels to dry (such a huge help when it's rainy and they won't dry outside). Of course, if you plan to use your camper's shower those ideas won't work for you. The Fort's comfort stations are so nice, though! We also keep a laundry basket beside the door outside the camper to leave our flip flops and/or shower shoes so they don't end up all over what little bit of floor we have. It tucks up under our trailer step so it's out of the way. Also helps minimize tracking in sand. And if you've never used the Shout dye catchers (can't think of their exact name), they are a godsend because you can throw any colors together in the washer with one of those dudes and the colors won't bleed. I'm very particular about sorting my laundry at home, but that stuff has to go out the window on extended trips or else you'll spend your vacation doing laundry.

As for food, I cook a lot of stuff ahead of time and freeze it. Most camper freezers aren't very big (mine included), so I freeze things flat in ziploc bags after they've been cooked. It thaws pretty quickly since it's a thin layer, and all I have to do is either throw it in a crock pot to warm up or even nuke it in the microwave. Chili (for coneys, frito chili pie), taco meat (for tacos, nachos, quesadillas), pasta dishes (spaghetti with meat sauce, fettuccine with chicken), crumbled sausage (to throw in scrambled eggs or for biscuits and gravy), grilled fajita chicken with peppers...any of those things freeze well and make for a quick meal as long as you plan ahead and have the other items you'll need. Also, if you've never tried it, baked potatoes in a crock pot are the only way to go. Just wrap in foil and cook them all day. We can make a meal out of those with lots of different toppings. I also pour whatever marinades we like over frozen chicken or steaks in ziploc bags, then they are marinating as they thaw. All you have to do is grill them and not have to worry about remembering to pack lots of seasonings.

We've done these longer trips for almost 10 years now, and I STILL think of something to improve upon every time we go. I keep a small notebook handy and make notes to myself as I think of things or else I'll forget. As our kids have grown we've had to make adjustments, but just remember the most important thing is to relax and have fun. Even the things that don't go as planned can make for great memories!

When we hit the road for longer trips (i.e. a week or more) we start doubling some of our favorite meals that are easily frozen about a month before the trip. Things like lasagna, enchiladas, taco meat, soups, etc. We also like grilling up some chicken breasts and chopping that up for use on salads, quesadillas, etc. Between all of those plus a pack of frozen burgers, a pack of hot dogs, and some deli meats and bread we never go hungry and always come home with something left in the freezer and cupboards that would get us through another week.

Personally, I prefer if we pack lighter on clothes and do laundry once a week or more often if necessary.