Making T1Nnie Winnie Home

When I thought about stopping in Mazatlan at Tres Amigos RV Park, I originally thought I’d stay a few weeks until just after the holidays.  But a few weeks ago, Contessa wrote about a fabulous deal that the RV park owner, King David, was offering—$350 for a full month.  Now that’s a deal too good to pass up for full hookups on the beach!

It’s been a while since I’ve done a full month at an RV park, but after the last few months of whirlwind activity in Chicago, and the rush to drive cross-county to get out to Algodones, I was really, REALLY looking forward to staying still for a month.  Not having to constantly pack and unpack the RV also meant I could set up the fun stuff (such as Christmas decorations!) and work on a few mods that I didn’t have time to do previously.

I discovered that the door latches on the front storage doors make great stocking holders for Mille’s and my stockings!



And the dash is a fun place to string my LED Christmas lights as the glass reflection makes it look as if there are twice as many lights!



I also brought some outside Christmas décor (but it had to be cheap, flat, and easy to stow!).  Since the park is hard surface pea gravel, I stuck my little Santa signs through the windshield wipers rather than into the ground!



Hard to get a good photo of my new mini table lamp, but I really like it.  I had a larger version of this lamp at my house, so this mini version feels like I’m bringing a bit of home with me on the road.



And finally, now that I have some nice ledges in front of the front storage cabinets, I can put out a few framed family photos when I’m parked for awhile!



On Saturday morning, my first order of business was to make my rear window screen mod that many “J” owners do.  The rear window is meant to be an emergency exit, so it comes without a screen or window holder from the factory, but my friend and fellow J owner, Suzanne, told me how to make a very simple mod using screen door material, Velcro, and a wooden paint stir stick.  Within 10 minutes, my new rear window was open and ready for business!



I lined the inside of the window with the soft side of the Velcro strips and then attached 4 of the hook-side strips to the screen fabric leaving the corners “Velcro-free” so I could remove the screen easily if I ever do need to make an emergency exit.



But otherwise, it’s easy to lift up the bottom portion to open and close the window, and the paint stick prop will sit nicely in the window sill when traveling and allow the window shade to be used.



I am SO glad I had my dealer install an extra 12 volt outlet on the rear shelf over the bed.  There were no electrical outlets in the bed area and I envisioned using the rear shelf for my Cell/Wifi boosting gear and perhaps recharging phones/tablets at night.  



But here on the hot Isla (daytime highs in the mid 80’s, and evening lows in the low 60’s), it also lets be hang my 12 volt Coleman fan/light over the bed to give some extra air circulation.  Good to have when a furry 80 lb dog is sleeping next to you!



I also brought along the cab window louver screens that I had originally bought for the Lynnebago Van.  These are working great in combination with the Fancher’s sun shade to keep the cab seats comfortable all day long without getting too hot and stuffy.