Travel Trailer Upgrades: Sofa Cover and Fridge Locks

A couple of helpful ideas for keeping the camper in shape. While traveling, the fridge needs to stay shut! And, we cover our couch when the cats come along.

It seems that every time we camp we have new items to buy for the camper. Some new additions include the couch cover and the door locks for the refrigerator.

The Sofa Cover

When we realized that our two cats would eventually have to come with us on our longer camping trips, I worried about the RV furniture. I wanted to cover the sofa and give the cats a place to relax.

RV camper sofa cover
RV Couch cover
Sofa cover RV side pockets
We can’t use the end flaps, but they have pockets.
Sofa cover backing
Backing is non-slip
RV sofa cover
Perfect for what we need

After much searching, I’m pretty sure I ended up buying this sofa cover at TEMU. I can’t find it now, or I would link to it. Temu was the only place that offered the style I needed. We can’t use the end flaps that are supposed to hang down over the armrests. Our setup has walls in the way. Otherwise this piece is perfect for our needs. We rarely sit on the couch anyway. We are always outside while camping!

RV Refrigerator Door Problems

After a while, our RV fridge door had a hard time closing. We took things off the door thinking it was too heavy. It still didn’t close right. Eventually, the plastic piece that closes the door broke off. Why plastic folks? Doesn’t something sturdier make sense?

We searched and found a place where we could buy the replacement parts (Furrion). My son changed out the piece – we had to buy a whole set to use one piece – and we now have a door that closes nicely. BUT… the paperwork that came with the camper suggests not traveling with food in the fridge – especially on long trips.

We always travel with food in our fridge..!!!! The camper is plugged into the house the day before we leave and we cool down the fridge. We fill it with food, place towels specifically to hold things in place, and ride with our food in the fridge.

It is a worry though. If the door opens, and bottles, jars, and whatever, falls out, it could be a big mess.

After the refrigerator door problem, we decided to buy a lock for the freezer and fridge. Because our RV refrigerator is near the wall, we were limited as to the type of lock we could use. We ended up getting this one (Amazon paid link), which uses a key to lock and unlock. One side adheres to the wall, with the other on the refrigerator, and freezer, door. We keep the keys in the camper.

We’ve been using this door system for a few months now and it has worked well.

RV refrigerator door locks
RV camper fridge door locks
Fridge door locks on wall
Door locks for fridge

Which RV Gadgets Have You Added?

I had planned to make this post longer, but now we are selling our camper. If you have any helpful ideas for making camper travel easier, please let us know in the comments!

Tent Camping in Florida

If you like to camp in a tent in Florida, we’ve seen some nice spots at campgrounds we visit. Here is a short list of what we’ve found for shaded, tent camping.

by Pam

Please Accept My Apology

I apologize for the bad way my blog is behaving. I am fixing things and appreciate my readers.

by Pam

Tent Camping in Florida

If you like to camp in a tent in Florida, we’ve seen some nice spots at campgrounds we visit. Here is a short list of what we’ve found for shaded, tent camping.

First of all, I do not tent camp. But I camp in Florida in my trailer and do check out the tent camping areas whenever we stay at a campground.

If you want to camp in a tent in Florida, I’ll say that you will find some pretty nice spots. Often the tent camping areas at campgrounds tend to be shaded.

Tent camping site with picnic table and lots of overhanging trees.
Tent camping site at Mike Roess Gold Head Branch campground. We love this section of the campground for all the privacy and shade.

Sites That Accommodate RVs or Tents

Many campgrounds will make all their sites available for either RVs or tents. There is a separate section for only tents because tent camping is usually cheaper. RV sites have hookups of electric and water, and rarely sewer. If you camp in a tent but want to have your own electric and water, choose a normal site. Tent camping areas have water spigots for drinking in various spots, but not at each site – *Sometimes they do. Mike Roess Gold Head Branch has water spigots at every tent site, and possibly electric.

Tent site at Mike Roess

Campgrounds With Shaded Tent Camping

Here is a list of the nice tent areas we’ve seen at campgrounds we have visited. The list is short and there are most likely many more. We camp mostly at Florida State Parks and the links go to my blog page about each visit.

  • Gamble Rogers, state park – ocean or riverside camping. The tent camping sites are on the river side, not ocean, and there are only a few spots. They are very shaded, whereas most every other type of site is all sun.
  • Mike Roess Gold Head Branch – state park. Big loop for tents under the trees. Looks like a beautiful place to tent camp, with spacious sites.
  • Juniper Springs – not a state park. Love the sites here, but there are no hookups for RVs. There is a separate area for tents, which is in the woods. Take trails to the springs and cool off!
  • Salt Springs – not a state park. We love to camp here because they have full hookups and a nice, clear spring for swimming. The tent area is very close to the springs, and it contains lots of trees and shade.
  • Silver Springs – state park, no separate tent area, and all sites are very nice, but have hard packed ground – not well suited to tents. Their cabins look great as well. No spring here to swim in, but the Silver Springs park is just up the road, with paddling on the Silver River (gator filled!).
  • Rodman Campground – state park, with separate, very shaded area for tents.
  • Payne’s Prairie – state park, has a fairly small area for tent campers. Park along the campground loop road and walk back to set up your tent. Sites seemed less private and closer together, but in the shade.

Many campgrounds will say that all sites can be used for either a RV or tent, but be careful. Sometimes campsites are not suited for putting up a tent. When the ground is hard-packed sand or gravel, putting in tent stakes will be difficult. We have noticed this at two campgrounds we visited. Usually there are rules about where tents can go, or if the site is small, the tent will have to be on the hard area.

Silver Springs campground is really nice. We almost had to tent camp here when our trailer was in the shop – until the last minute! Once we pulled into the site and set up the camper, we saw how difficult it would have been to set up a tent.

Another park that has a similar problem is Sebastian Inlet. My son camped in a tent and had trouble because of the hard packed ground. They do not offer a separate tent area.

I personally appreciate the hardness when camping in our trailer. Florida is mostly made up of sand, and it gets everywhere. Many campsites are mostly sand. We make use of our rugs always, but a hard ground helps.

Silver Springs campground campsite #52
Large, pull thru site with hard packed gravel at Silver Springs Campground

What to Expect

Many families choose to tent camp. I’ve noticed lots of kids, and younger families, which makes sense. Younger people have the energy to weather the elements of heat and cold. They want an inexpensive way to have family time together. Expect the tent area to be bustling with noise and people hanging around outside. This can be true for the RV section as well, but I tend to see more older couples there. And because they have an RV, often they will be inside for at least part of the time.

Most campgrounds allow animals, and nearly everyone brings a dog. We camp with two cats, and have only once seen a dog running off his leash. Be prepared for sharing space with dogs. Most campgrounds won’t put up with noise and barking.

Every state park site has a picnic table and burn ring. They may also provide a stationery, metal grill. Usually a bath house is nearby, but it could be a bit of a walk. Some tent areas contain their own bath house. Or, the bath house / bathroom is shared with everyone and not just tent campers.

Trail into the tent camping area.
Trail to tent camping area at Payne’s Prairie
Salt Springs – tent camping
dirt road in campground
The road in Fern Loop, Juniper Springs
Tent camping site Juniper Springs
Campsite for tents @ Juniper Springs

Always check with the campground online before you go. Sometimes trails will be closed or walkways in repair. Whole tent camping areas can be closed. We just traveled to Mike Roess Gold Head and this was the case. No one was in the tent loop.

If you tent camp and have any recommendations for fellow campers who may read this page, please leave a comment.

More Camping Stories

Please Accept My Apology

I apologize for the bad way my blog is behaving. I am fixing things and appreciate my readers.

I am not big on making new plans just because the calendar says it’s a new year. But this January brought big changes to my way of thinking. I’ve neglected this blog, but now I am finding many problems with links not working, and so I apologize. I am on it! Fixing most of my older, seashell blog posts will take time, but I am doing it. I like sharing information about the seashells I find and photograph.

This blog has gone through a lot of upheavals as I try to figure out how best to create an income. I want the blog to help people find my products, if they are interested in such things. I do not want it to be a salesy, “please buy my stuff” blog, with loads of advertisements. I will be adding one page with products that link to my Zazzle store.

Seashells by Millhill began as a fun blog about my shells. As a New Hampshire resident (when I started), I no longer collected Florida seashells, but I had a collection. My job was to create photography products to sell from a print-on-demand site (Zazzle). The products would feature (and still do) my shell photography. So blogging about my shells, while selling my shell photos on postcards, stationery and ornaments, seemed like a great idea.

When I moved back to Florida, my son and I began boating. That was when I found some really wonderful wildlife to photograph and share. The saltwater Indian River is only a few miles from our house, and we boated on all the good days. Blogging about our adventures was fun, but I have always had trouble with the technology part. I made mistakes by always changing things and I think that is how my links were lost. As I said, I am not tech savvy.

The worst of it is that I never realized how many links were broken! If you have been reading my blog and encountering broken links and 404 page not found headings, I am so sorry. This mostly affects the older seashell pages.

While cleaning up my Pinterest boards, I wondered why I had so few views and link outs. Well, this is why – the links went nowhere! I’m embarrassed. The items (free coloring pages) and stories I want to share have become very hard to find. I have a lot of cleaning to do.

My time was focused elsewhere for too long. We began camping locally and did less boating. I really got into my knitting hobby and blogged a lot about that on my old New England blog. One day, a few years ago, I decided that I needed to begin growing my own food. I turned one of my other blogs into a Florida gardening blog. Yes, I have too many blogs.

I hope you will not give up on reading my posts, and one day soon they should all work correctly!

Leaving you with some photo faves from over the years. Thank you so much for reading.

horse conch seashells
hermit inside tulip holding pear
Striped hermit crab
Striped hermit crab
living horse conch
Living horse conch