New Toy for the PU and New Trick (not SPUT)!

[labontefan]

My income tax refund was burning a hole in my pocket so I bought a new toy for the PU:

http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?s=0&c=7&g=72200&I=220D1210

I debated about this for a long time because I already had a small (13") TV set in the PU and a little DVD player. I bought both at Wal-Mart for about $130 ($80 for the TV and $50 for the DVD). However, even though the TV was small, it traveled in its box which was about 2 feet square and wouldn't fit anywhere except right in front of the door. Then when we got camp all set up, we had to find something to do with the box. Since there will be three of us (all women) in the camper for about 12 days at the end of the month, I figured anything I could do to save space would be helpful!

Also, this one runs on DC power as well as AC, so that means we don't have to fire up the generator if we want to watch TV for a few minutes at night. (The campgrounds at the racetrack don't have hookups.)

For those of you who travel with kids, this thing would be great! The speakers on the sides detach, and it has a travel case that allows you to strap it on the back of a seat, or hang it between two seats. (Check out the "More Photos" tab.) It comes with two sets of wireless headphones, and has jacks for two sets of wired headphones. It also has A/V inputs so you can attach another video source like a VCR or a video game. Gives the kids something to do while you're traveling, and then when you get there, you take it out (comes with a handy carrying case that holds everything but the headphones) and put it in the camper or the motel room. So far I really like it! (I've had it four whole days so far!)

As for the new trick...as I mentioned, we're leaving for a trip to the races (Charlotte) in a few days. We packed the PU today. We're planning to leave right after I get off work on Thursday. We'll probably get there about 11pm. We decided to go ahead and make up the beds, so that would be one less thing to do when we got there. Also, if we're all really tired, we can do the minimum amount of setup, grab our pillows and hit the sack! I was a little concerned about the possibility of rain while we were setting up camp. I'd hate to have to sleep in a damp bed! I have some of those thin plastic drop cloths I bought "just in case". But my friend suggested vinyl mattress covers. Since they have elastic on the edges, they might stay in place better. So we took a trip to Wally World this afternoon. Couldn't find king size covers (the Utah has two king bunk ends) but we did find queen size. We decided to give them a try. We thought that even if they didn't cover the whole bunk, we could cover enough to protect them while setting up. Well, with a little bit of stretching and not quite pulling the corners all the way down, they fit! And after looking at them, we decided it wouldn't be a bad idea to use them all the time. When you pull in the bunk end covers while popping down, any dirt, etc., that's on them gets on the mattresses (or on my comforter since I usually leave in on the bunk). After popping down the last time, the comforter was yellow instead of green due to all the pollen that came off the bunk end covers! The mattress covers were less than $8 each so I think they were a great investment!

[tlhdoc]

That is a nice gift for your PU.

[campingboaters]

NICE tv!  I hope my hubby doesn't read this thread or he's going to want that too!

That's a great idea on the plastic mattress covers.  I have two LARGE adult ponchos we keep in the camper for emergencies that when opened flat, would cover 3/4 of the king sized bunk and more than the full sized bunk in my old pop-up.  Luckily, it only rained heavy once when we were popping down, but that worked great too.  Unfortunately, we were never able to leave our bedding on the beds when popped down as it put too much pressure on the ABS roof of the Coleman camper. We were just concerned about getting the mattress wet, but IF you CAN make your beds at home, this is a great way to keep them clean AND dry!

[byrdr1]

Have fun at the races.. All of them you go to.
I will have to watch on TV this year. Everybody backed out at the last minute so we aren't going.. Wife doesn't want to go without her friends..
That TV/DVD player  was cheaper than my laptop, and thats what the kids have been watching DVD's on, in the truck. 120V inverter works great..
Randy

[birol]

How do you secure the laptop in the truck ? I thought doing the same, buying a laptop instead of a dvd player ...but if one brakes or anything, wouldn't it go flying around  ?

Have fun at the races.. All of them you go to.
I will have to watch on TV this year. Everybody backed out at the last minute so we aren't going.. Wife doesn't want to go without her friends..
That TV/DVD player  was cheaper than my laptop, and thats what the kids have been watching DVD's on, in the truck. 120V inverter works great..
Randy

[JonesFamilyJayco]

Great TV and DVD.  You will like that it also has a tv tuner so you can get local tv and when you camp at a place with cable, you can hook that up too.  

We have a small portable DVD player/screen that we use alot for both travel in the truck and camping.  It only plays dvd's; no tuner.  It would be nice to be able to check local news/sports and hook up to cable.

We will be setting up at Lowes on Thursday AM.  We will be at the Rock City camping site.  I will have to return home Thursday PM to get ready for work Friday AM (we live about 45 min away).  Once we return Friday afternoon, we will be able to stay for the quailifing/truck race Friday and the Nextel All-Star on Saturday.  I hope the weather is better this year!

Have fun and enjoy your new TV/DVD.

[labontefan]

We will be setting up at Lowes on Thursday AM.  We will be at the Rock City camping site.  I will have to return home Thursday PM to get ready for work Friday AM (we live about 45 min away).  Once we return Friday afternoon, we will be able to stay for the quailifing/truck race Friday and the Nextel All-Star on Saturday.  I hope the weather is better this year!

We're leaving tomorrow afternoon after I get off work...should arrive sometime before midnight. We're in Morehead Farms, Site #F69. (Not sure how we got that site, but at least it's easy to remember!   ) C'mon by! Just look for the Utah with the green & white mat (from the PUT store) and the dark green Durango w/Virginia tags. There's a PUT bumper sticker on the back bumper and the tongue of the PU!