Changes & mods during our trip to Alaska

I originally wrote this last fall(?) but didn't post it at that time. I decided to post it without editing:

More changes

Even after beginning our trip we continued making changes as we went. Many were prompted by learning about improvements others had made to their R-Pods.

• The stove-top cover. We use the stove very seldom. So it is mostly an obstacle in the middle of the counter top next to the sink. Others have found ingenious ways to cover it with a surface that is more useful. Our solution is a very plain cutting board from Wally-world, that is the perfect size to just cover the stove. We agonized about how to support it on the counter-top and above the stove and again the solution is pretty simple if not especially attractive. I bought a 1x2 board and screwed pieces of it to the cutting board on all four sides so it fits snugly on top of the stove. The knobs have to be removed and stored elsewhere, but it's secure and removable. We learned to store it elsewhere while underway when it bounced onto the floor on a bumpy piece of road.
• I bought a 'torpedo' level. I kept the level in the tow vehicle where I could quickly grab it when we arrived at a campsite and the trailer was where we wanted it. The first thing to do is level the trailer from side to side, and it's easiest to put the level on the side of the trailer to decide how many leveling pads are required. Once leveled we're ready to chock the wheels! Then, placing the level on the trailer frame by the tongue jack would get the fore-and-aft level 'close enough'. Using it on the counter-top would get even closer.
• I used the wrench provided to manually lower and raise the stabilizer jacks only one time before deciding to find a better way. It turns out a 3/4 in socket will work, and I had recently bought a cordless drill/impact driver set. With an 3/8in drive socket adapter, the impact wrench works great even if it's very, very loud. The drill also works and isn't as loud. I eventually used white lithium grease spray on the stabilizers which made them work much easier and quieter.   
• "Command" brand hooks. We used these several places in the trailer and tow vehicle, trying to organize things. Sometimes it worked pretty well, sometimes not so much. We found a stainless steel Command brand basket that is secured to the wall behind the sink. It helps organize things well, but we didn't quite trust it to leave stuff in it while underway. The nice thing about the "Command" items is that the "sticky" part is removable!
• Bathroom door mirror. We bought a large mirror and mounted it on the door using hollow wall anchors and the plastic clips. They weren't adequate and even after using bigger hollow wall anchors it wasn't satisfactory. Since then we got a larger mirror(to cover all the holes) that hangs from the top of the door and used velcro style Command strips to secure it on the door. Maybe it will work better. 
• We turned the dinette table. After seeing that some people modify their table by cutting it shorter, We decided to just turn ours. Then we moved it on the table legs so it was more evenly located over the seats. It worked pretty well, and just the small additional room made getting around each other in the aisle much easier too! The strap that secures the table underway had to be moved also.
• The bottom hinged door on the electric panel/converter would fall open if it was just barely touched. A piece of tape worked wonders. 
• Padding for the dinette and bed Sitting on the dinette cushions longer than about 10 seconds becomes uncomfortable. We thought some sort of cushioning would help. In our motor home, we cut up a closed-cell sleeping pad for under the cushions. Instead, we thought we'd try the interlocking floor tiles like they sell for playroom floors. We put them under the dinette cushions and the bed. They didn't help the dinette much so we've since then cut up sleeping pads and put them in the cushions. That seems better but we haven't yet used them to really know.