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Your favorite gizmos


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We all have gadgets, gizmos, and things we use often but forget how handy they can be: for off grid my two favorites are:

the handy dandy German Military surplus " trinkwasser" water carrier 

And my Arb. Can't beat it for all the extra fluids and overflow. It runs of DC when moving and off grid, AC when on shore power. It will freeze if set that way or cool too your designated temperature.  Sips power like a gentle hummingbird.

What are yours??

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Cindy,  Russell and  "Harley dog" . Home is our little farm near Winchester TN

2018 Oliver Legacy Elite II - 2018 GMC 2500 Duramax 

"Die young - As late as possible"
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My favorite gizmos, in no particular order.

Rooftop solar, plus home made "portable solar", from cheap Coleman panels.

My conical shape tea kettle,  plus pourover coffee cone.

At our camping  property, the $100 ecotemp shower/water heater. Has worked for 13 seasons, with one small part replacement. 

This year's fave, as we are camping a lot on our property, this year,  a redneck deck from reused dock boards, and pt stringers, in three sections.  8 x 12 in total. Keeps our feet dry in the rain. Will make a great tent platform someday .

5 gallon stackable water jugs, bought many years ago.

 

 

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2008 Ram 1500 4 × 4

2008 Oliver Elite, Hull #12

Florida and Western North Carolina, or wherever the truck goes....

400 watts solar. DC compressor fridge. No inverter. 2 x 105 ah agm batteries .  Life is good.


        
 

 

 

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I’ve been pondering this question since it appeared. While not entirely clear on what qualifies as a gizmo, I’m pretty sure I’ve got a fair number of them. Still, it’s hard to pick a favorite..

But while replacing my very tired old Milwaukee Cordless wet/dry vac today I realized that this is my favorite gizmo.. for the truck, the camper, for dealing with disasters like the time I sort of flooded the Casita years ago… 

 

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Mark & Deb..2020 Elite II..Dearie..Hull #685..2016 Tundra

 

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Collapsible anything . . . . . we have a few: 

tea kettle

measuring cups

funnel

colander

mixing/serving bowls

cereal/soup bowls

bucket

storage cubes

packing crate

 

 

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Ray and Susan Huff

Elite II Twin "Pearl" - Hull#699; delivered December 7, 2020

2013 F350 6.7l diesel Super Duty 4x4 long bed crew cab

1UP-USA Heavy-duty bike rack

2017 Leisure Travel Van Unity Twin Bed (sold)

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You do realize that the title of your post has now embedded the song from The Little Mermaid in my brain...

My latest handmade gizmo is a fabric holder for grocery bags/trash bags.  The opening at the top is larger than the one at the bottom.  It hangs from a command hook placed high up on the left wall of the main closet.

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"Creativity is the fun of putting together unexpected ideas."  Hazel Edwards

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6 minutes ago, Nancy K. said:

You do realize that the title of your post has now embedded the song from The Little Mermaid in my brain...

For those who don't know the song.

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2008 Ram 1500 4 × 4

2008 Oliver Elite, Hull #12

Florida and Western North Carolina, or wherever the truck goes....

400 watts solar. DC compressor fridge. No inverter. 2 x 105 ah agm batteries .  Life is good.


        
 

 

 

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This screwdriver.  I think it's the perfect utility drawer screwdriver that will cover 90% of your needs - for when you don't want to go dig out the toolbox.  Compact, but pops out to a usable length, and has a good selection of quality German bits, which lock in place so they don't fall out.  I keep one in the trailer, one in the center console of the truck, and one in the junk drawer at the house.  

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24 minutes ago, Overland said:

This screwdriver.  I think it's the perfect utility drawer screwdriver that will cover 90% of your needs - for when you don't want to go dig out the toolbox.  Compact, but pops out to a usable length, and has a good selection of quality German bits, which lock in place so they don't fall out.  I keep one in the trailer, one in the center console of the truck, and one in the junk drawer at the house.  

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Oh boy! I need a few of those! 
 

Mark & Deb..2020 Elite II..Dearie..Hull #685..2016 Tundra

 

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48 minutes ago, Mcb said:

Oh boy! I need a few of those! 

You might as well get three if you want to stay in the race!😁

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2023 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5EB FX4 Max Towing, Max Payload, 2016 Oliver Elite II - Hull #117 "Twist"

Near Asheville, NC

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15 hours ago, topgun2 said:

You might as well get three if you want to stay in the race!😁

If it’s worth doing….. it’s worth over doing.. 

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Mark & Deb..2020 Elite II..Dearie..Hull #685..2016 Tundra

 

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Mine are all listed on the Oliver Trailer Outfitters page on Amazon .   We've even put in comments in the upper right comment box specific to how they work out or fit in our Oliver.

You can links to them here:    Oliver Trailer Outfitters List - Amazon

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2019 Elite II (Hull 505 - Galway Girl - August 7, 2019 Delivery) 
Tow Vehicle: 2021 F350 King Ranch, FX4, MaxTow Package, 10 Speed, 3.55 Rear Axle
Batteries Upgrade: Dual 315GTX Lithionics Lithiums - 630AH Total
Inverter/Charger: Xantrex 2000Pro 

Travel BLOG:  https://4-ever-hitched.com

 

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A stepstool is so handy. We have carried this one for many years 

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2008 Ram 1500 4 × 4

2008 Oliver Elite, Hull #12

Florida and Western North Carolina, or wherever the truck goes....

400 watts solar. DC compressor fridge. No inverter. 2 x 105 ah agm batteries .  Life is good.


        
 

 

 

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10 hours ago, SeaDawg said:

A stepstool is so handy. We have carried this one for many years 

I have to use a step stool to get to the contents in the truck bed.  We carry something similar.  MIke

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Texas Hill Country | 2016 Elite II #135 | 2020 Ram 2500 6.7L

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 7/9/2021 at 10:01 PM, Townesw said:

This folding step

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I got one of these when we first bought our truck. My sisters, mother & I were on a girls weekend. My mother could not step up into the truck. We even pushed her from her butt; no luck. I went to Target & got one of these. Now we use to reach DEF. :)))

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SGC & GRC

Hull 224 [2017]

2017 GMC Sierra HD Crew Cab Diesel

ALARDEFLGAINLAMEMDMNMSMOMTNJNCNDOHPASCSD   Map of Provinces I Visitedimage.png.f8ebba1142570e619cdfe801998f4b4d.png

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A favorite gizmo?? I love gizmo's & can always get distracted by anything with 'gizmo' in the title.

I do like our trash holder. It holds a plastic bag by pulling down the black things. I have it in the closet, on the left, with a plastic bag holder above it. 

I have a collapsible kettle & mini coffee bean grinder, for pour-over coffee.

 

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SGC & GRC

Hull 224 [2017]

2017 GMC Sierra HD Crew Cab Diesel

ALARDEFLGAINLAMEMDMNMSMOMTNJNCNDOHPASCSD   Map of Provinces I Visitedimage.png.f8ebba1142570e619cdfe801998f4b4d.png

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2 hours ago, sgcausey said:

I got one of these when we first bought our truck. My sisters, mother & I were on a girls weekend. My mother could not step up into the truck. We even pushed her from her butt; no luck. I went to Target & got one of these. Now we use to reach DEF. :)))

My mom is really short, too.

Paul ordered running boards for my Silverado,  for my birthday a few years back. Really helps my mom. 

I still keep a stepstool in the back. Just in case... I  still have to retrieve her walker cart from the truck bed.

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2008 Ram 1500 4 × 4

2008 Oliver Elite, Hull #12

Florida and Western North Carolina, or wherever the truck goes....

400 watts solar. DC compressor fridge. No inverter. 2 x 105 ah agm batteries .  Life is good.


        
 

 

 

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On 6/28/2021 at 12:23 PM, Mcb said:

I’ve been pondering this question since it appeared. While not entirely clear on what qualifies as a gizmo, I’m pretty sure I’ve got a fair number of them. Still, it’s hard to pick a favorite..

But while replacing my very tired old Milwaukee Cordless wet/dry vac today I realized that this is my favorite gizmo.. for the truck, the camper, for dealing with disasters like the time I sort of flooded the Casita years ago… 

 

1A994748-6D7B-42EA-BC10-67C84C4EC5E2.thumb.jpeg.525682bae3624e99f280172f6e6339d8.jpeg

Hard to pick a favorite? Which of those hammers always seems to be the one in your hand?

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2 hours ago, Mainiac said:

Hard to pick a favorite? Which of those hammers always seems to be the one in your hand?

The one for the job at hand.

Beautiful collection, by the way. 

It obviously represents years of work. 

2008 Ram 1500 4 × 4

2008 Oliver Elite, Hull #12

Florida and Western North Carolina, or wherever the truck goes....

400 watts solar. DC compressor fridge. No inverter. 2 x 105 ah agm batteries .  Life is good.


        
 

 

 

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Another favorite gizmo: a magnetic whiteboard calendar (CVS $7.99). Mounted on the closet door with Command strips. All pertaining info is written there. Also local reservation paperwork is held there. That gives local emergency numbers, as well as CG info (usually).

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1 hour ago, Mainiac said:

Hard to pick a favorite? Which of those hammers always seems to be the one in your hand?

Lol, it took me a minute to figure out what you were talking about…yup, I like hammers.   Depending on what I was  doing with it, any of the four with wooden handles in the upper left were my favorite..  They were made by an outfit named Douglas Hammers… I’m not sure they are still around.. 

somewhere on this forum there was a thread about stakes for tying down awnings (I think) and one of the suggested products came with a really cool looking hammer which I may need to pick up sometime… I bet Overland got one… or maybe two.. 

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Mark & Deb..2020 Elite II..Dearie..Hull #685..2016 Tundra

 

AZARCAFLMSNMOKPATNTXsm.jpg

 

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20 hours ago, Mcb said:

, it took me a minute to figure out what you were talking about…yup, I like hammers.   Depending on what I was  doing with it, any of the four with wooden handles in the upper left were my favorite..  They were made by an outfit named Douglas Hammers… I’m not sure they are still around.. 

Yes, and their framing hammer is a thing of beauty.

https://douglastool.com/tc20-ds

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2008 Ram 1500 4 × 4

2008 Oliver Elite, Hull #12

Florida and Western North Carolina, or wherever the truck goes....

400 watts solar. DC compressor fridge. No inverter. 2 x 105 ah agm batteries .  Life is good.


        
 

 

 

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