I'm in need of help - we haven't even left (trial run next weekend) for our big trip and we need your help!

I bought a 4 piece non break  dinner set and have it sitting on the non slip rubber matting ( I have done all cupboards and draws as suggested), my question is - will it just sit there on rough dirt roads without moving or do I need to put the matting stuff between each plate so nothing moves?

she says -"It will just sit there"
he says - "You'll need the rubber matting between each plate/bowl"

thanks,

Fency 

Hi,

I have the rubber matting in between all plates and bowls, I sometimes forget to put them back in after washing up but we don't go on a lot of rough roads either.


Sandy

I would add a peice of paper towel between each plate when on rough roads.
On the hwy we just have tha rubber under & havent had any problems,However if you have a rear kitchen then I beleive it is a different story.
We have been told that the pitching of the rear causes many breakages of kitchen items.

As well as having the cupboards/drawers lined we also put small, drink coaster size, pieces of the non-slip stuff between the plates/bowls. Nothing moves on the roughest of roads/tracks.

Our experience is pretty much as Ron says, a small piece just bigger than the base of the plates/ bowls and they sit as though they were glued

those soft stubby holders are good for glasses too

Stubby holders are great for glasses ect and gawd you might even find a use for them at happy hour.
Misses reckons ive got a problem,  wonder what she means

well they were just floating around so I place a glass inside the stubby holder and then it fits snuggly in the coffee mug so 3 useful items take up the space of one. Space is at a premium in a camper.

-- Edited by Pam on Thursday 11th of February 2010 11:36:29 AM

justcruisin01 wrote:

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We have been told that the pitching of the rear causes many breakages of kitchen items.

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Isn't it strange, we have friends with a 'rear kitchen' and their experience is just the opposite.  In fact he has a free standing microwave and he travels with it unsecured on a bench sitting on some 'non-slip' matting, it has never moved.

I can believe it too because unlike a van with the wheels midships there would be less pitching effect.  Hence semi-trailers don't have wheels in the middle.

 

I bought some of those 'slide-out' bins and fitted them to all the kitchen cupboards in our van.  They are perfect for plates etc as in a stack there is nowhere for them to go, not even using the matting.  The plates are Corelle brand, meant to be almost unbreakable anyway.  Also very light.

If anyone is interested I could take a couple pics of the bins and post them.

Like others here I use stubby holders for glasses too and the only breakages I have had is when I fall out of my chair and drop the glass of red.  Very rarely trust me

Cheers Neil

I just go to Go-Lo.and buy the hard plastic sets.including matching glasses and cups.they just bounce around in my Campertrailer

non slip between each piece for us, with home made holders for glasses and mugs

Thanks to you all, I'm hoping my other half does not read the forum, he so loves being right.

 I'm off to buy more of that matting stuff - at least it's cheap

that's what we found, super cheap sells it by the metre square and you just cut off what you need, or buy the precut table mats at .50 cents each

Paper plates and plastic cups and glasses.........works a treat!!

Delta18 wrote:

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justcruisin01 wrote:

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We have been told that the pitching of the rear causes many breakages of kitchen items.

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Isn't it strange, we have friends with a 'rear kitchen' and their experience is just the opposite.  In fact he has a free standing microwave and he travels with it unsecured on a bench sitting on some 'non-slip' matting, it has never moved.

I can believe it too because unlike a van with the wheels midships there would be less pitching effect.  Hence semi-trailers don't have wheels in the middle.

 

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I would beleive that as well as a lot of the newer vans have the axles closer to the rear , has to be better.
It all comes down to the operator as some can wreck everything just going down the hwy.
We can leave folded towels hanging on the rear lift handle of the pop top & never fall off.
Mind you we have seen a bushtraker that had the A-frames bent & the ball coupling
riped off on a tared road,had it repaired & when he got to the dirt he riped the front & rear inderpendent suspension control arms out of the chassis on one side & ground it into the roadway.
Dont need to be around fools like that. 

 

I have 2 plate stackers in my cupboard large plates on the bottom going to  smallest on the top rack, when we're moving i just shove a pillow in the front of stackers and nothing has broken in over 3 years, one more week till we're on the road again, and who's counting.

I also use a plate stacker with non-slip matting on the bottom, and I just stack the plates on top of each other. I haven't lost any yet. I do place a corelle cereal bowl on top of the bread and butter plates, and 3 bowls fit on the second row from the top very snug with no movement. I don't have to pack anything with the stacker but there are a few other items packed around the plate stacker. I also place my microwave on the couch and cover it with a blanket to jam it between the couch back and the table. Whatever works I reckon. It's a matter of reducing movement and holding things firmly in place so there's no impact. It's almost an art form I reckon. I got my packing experience working on fishing and Murray paddle tourist boats. In those days we used wet tea towels to stop things sliding around the galley. Melamine is more durable, but Corelle is nicer when it's all I have for all uses. Paper plates are out unless I'm having a bbq. I do use acrylic drink ware though, which goes against the principles of some.

We took a beautiful corelle dinner set last time with sheets of slip free in between each plate. This time we are doing melamine for weight issues.

Melamine glasses etc as well. Same in the wine glasses BUT they are wine glasses, I can't drink wine from a normal glass.

We have a side kitchem in offroad pop top van. Have non stick liner in overhead cupboards. Stack melamine dinner plates on top of each other, with nothing in between, melamine cereal bowls on top of that. No problems in years of travel - and over some rough roads. Melamine mugs and plastic glasses go in next cupboard - no special treatment. I do keep the pepper grinder in a stubbie cooler because it tends to unscrew itself as we go, otherwise. I wrap the grater in non stick matting so it won't grate things it is not meant for!

Now my head is really spinning, mental note - protect wine glasses (very important) check the pepper grinder, check microwave....I have only just got my head around the awning switch - open or closed!  It must take an hour to double check everything before we move off - I am worried I'll forget the wind up arial!  Has anyone done that?

We have done a few silly things and we have a Jayco Hawke. So to get back in and fix things is a bit of a pain. 

Forgot the hatch a couple of times and didn't put the plug in the sink on a really dusty road. The inside of the van was like a big red bowl.

All comes with practice and you will find you will check some things and him others and a routine evolves but I know this much, its one hell of a lot of fun mate. 

We have written a checklist for hitching up that we go through every time, includes things like winding down the aerial, making sure the awning is secure, switching the fridge to DC, right down to stuff like getting a bottle of water out of the fridge and putting it into the car ...... Even though we have now hitched up and moved on heaps of times we still spend the little bit of time it takes to physically check each of the items on our checklist.

I use bubble wrap (small bubbles not the large ones) to wrap the microwave plate. also store the rice cooker (small plastic microwave type, not the self powered ones) and m/w veggy cooker in the m/w when travelling. Also have some Corelle crockery.

The Gnome wrote:

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We just stow the micro plate between the bench seat cushions .

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with a memory like mine I'd bloody well forget and sit on it

 

Nicholstones wrote:

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We have written a checklist for hitching up that we go through every time, includes things like winding down the aerial, making sure the awning is secure, switching the fridge to DC, right down to stuff like getting a bottle of water out of the fridge and putting it into the car ...... Even though we have now hitched up and moved on heaps of times we still spend the little bit of time it takes to physically check each of the items on our checklist.

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There's a good reason why airline pilots use written checklists despite being able to recite all the checks "even in their sleep"

A major cause of "forgetting" something vital is being distracted or interrupted,  even someone calling out "did you remember to ........." or "have you locked the ......" out of sequence.  If partners are double checking each other they should wait until each has completed their initial checks before "cross-checking" each other.

 

Firefly wrote:

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Forgot the hatch a couple of times and didn't put the plug in the sink on a really dusty road. The inside of the van was like a big red bowl.

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I've always remembered to check that the plug is out of the sink

Please don't ask embarrassing questions about the latch on the fridge though!!!

 

latch on the fridge, yep done it, latch on the pop top, yep forgot it, plug in the sink, yep forgot it, refuel the camper with gas pilot still on in the fridge, yep done it we've all been there done that, so far we live to tell the story but one day it will bight me!