Slide topper bracing to reduce flapping in wind

Our coach has fabric awnings over the slide-outs, commonly called slide toppers. These are a feature of premium RVs to prevent debris and water from coming inside when bringing in the slides, among other benefits.

But one downside of slide toppers is that they can be noisy in strong winds, as wind gusts cause them to flap up and down. And in very strong winds one can get concerned that they could get damaged.

One solution for flapping slide toppers is to bring in the slides, perhaps only on the windward side. But that reduces the living space, so is a hassle. And we can’t sleep in our bed with all of the slides in, as the bed has to be raised up in this situation.

Another solution is to brace the slide toppers. There are a few ways to do that, but the easiest is to use a rope and bungees across the middle of the toppers.

While in Corpus Christi we had a forecast of nearly 50 MPH gusts, which is a bit more than I’m comfortable with, so I decided to try bracing the slide toppers.

I ordered some mini bungees and paracord for that purpose; I got crimson cord to match our coach:

Mini-bungees and paracord

To get the paracord over the top of the slides, I used the window awning pole:

Window awning pole

I tied a loop in the end of the cord, then temporarily taped it to the hook on the end of the pole:

Rope taped to pole

I attached the cord to the hydraulic beams underneath the slide via bungees, which let me adjust the tension as needed; it doesn’t need to be very tight, just enough to stop it flapping so much in the wind:

Cord attached to slide via bungees

(In the future I think I’ll get some tent rope tensioners to make that even more flexible.)

You can see the cord over the slide topper:

Cord

For the rear slides, which don’t have the hydraulic beams, the bungee is just hooked onto the bottom of the slide track:

Cord and bungee

This worked really well. The slide toppers still flapped a little when that wind arrived, but nowhere near as much as they would have without the bracing. I’ll definitely do this again for future high winds.

New mattress

Our Tiffin motorhome came with a fairly nice king-sized mattress on the bed, but it was a little uncomfortable.

As a Christmas present to ourselves, we purchased a new mattress. We purchased it online from MattressInsider.com; we got the “Luxury Gel Foam RV Mattress with Organic Cotton”.

Our old mattress was 72” wide by 75” long — what’s commonly called an “RV Short King”, being a bit narrower and shorter than a residential king (which is 76 x 80”). But the bed frame could support a 80” length; we used to use yoga blocks at the foot to keep it from sliding down. And I’m 6’1” tall, so a longer bed is better for me. So we ordered a 72 x 80” mattress aka a “RV King” size, 11.5” high.

Here’s a handy list of US mattress sizes (width x length), for reference:

California King: 72″ x 84″
RV California King: 72” x 84”
King: 76″ x 80″
RV King: 72” x 80”
RV Short King: 72” x 75”
Queen: 60″ x 80″
RV Short Queen: 60” x 75″
Full: 54″ x 75″
RV Three-Quarter: 48” x 75″
Twin XL: 38″ x 80″
Twin: 38″ x 75″

(There are other variations, too.)

Here’s our old mattress, with a topper in an attempt to make it a bit more comfortable:

Old mattress with topper

We had the new mattress shipped to Corpus Christi KOA. Unfortunately it arrived a week before we did, but they were very accommodating in storing it for us. Which was much appreciated, especially since their office was upstairs. When we checked in, a KOA maintenance guy helped cart it down to our coach:

KOA guy helping

Using the ADA wheelchair lift to get it downstairs:

ADA lift

Our old mattress; it was subsequently picked up by a local junk removal company, that said they’d donate it to a local charity:

Old mattress

The bed base has a split, as it can tilt the head upwards. The whole bed slides out from the wall at a press of a button, too, which makes it much easier to make the bed:

Bed base

If you peek in the gap, you can see a bunch of wires below the bed:

Gap

Wires

We also got a Hypervent Aire-Flow moisture barrier from MattressInsider, to put below the mattress; it is supposed to provide better air flow to help protect the mattress; probably not needed in our situation, but can’t hurt:

Moisture vent material

The new mattress box:

Mattress box

Mattress

Preparing to unwrap the mattress:

Mattress

Once released from the multi-layer plastic wrap, it very quickly expanded to its full size:

Mattress

Finally, we also got a zippered mattress protector to enclose the mattress:

Mattress protector

We are enjoying the increased comfort of this new mattress.

Corpus Christi KOA Journey

We stayed at Corpus Christi KOA Journey in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A high-service waterfront RV park.

Dates:

Check in: 2022-12-18
Check out: 2023-01-02
16 nights

Weather:

Mostly cloudy
High temps ranging between 36-72°F, lows around 25-62°F
Some strong winds, up to 47 MPH gusts

Noise:

No road or train noise, occasional plane noise
Some neighbor noise (especially a frequently screaming kid)

Site:

#48, back-in, concrete
Needed to disconnect toad; parked beside coach
Mostly level
Medium site: about 65 feet long by about 30 feet wide
Concrete patio, picnic table, grill, adirondack chairs, fire pit

Utilities:

50 amp power, fairly conveniently located
40 PSI water, conveniently located (we boosted with our water tank and pump)
Good sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)
We filled the water tank and put away the water pipes, filters, and softener for a few nights where the temperatures dipped below freezing

Internet (in usage priority order):

T-Mobile: 40-75 Mbps down, 5-9 Mbps up, 55 ms ping
AT&T: 44 Mbps down, 21 Mbps up, 37 ms ping
Verizon: 20 Mbps down, 5 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
Starlink: not used
Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

Garbage dumpster (near entrance)
Garbage pickup from site
Package delivery to office
Heated swimming pool
Private beach
Kayak etc rentals
Weekly propane fill on site

Our review on Campground Reviews:

A prime spot right on the water

We have a motorhome, but very occasionally, I wish we had a toy hauler. This place would have been absolutely perfect for that as we were backed right up to the Laguna Madre with views towards North Padre island. The first few days, we didn’t have a neighbor on the passenger side, so we had unobstructed views, and it was amazing. And then we got neighbors (with the world’s most obnoxious screaming children, which was not as relaxing…so ignore the label at the top of this page that says “no minors”), and the weather turned to freezing and windy, and we both got sick…so we didn’t get to enjoy the campground or the area as much as we would’ve liked. But before all that happened, I couldn’t believe this campground was only a “Journey” when we’ve stayed at KOA Holidays that had fewer services and amenities. The staff are all amazing and friendly, even going so far as to allow us to ship a new mattress there and help us get it loaded into our rig. It may be one of the pricier places we’ve stayed, but it was well worth it. We camped at Corpus Christi KOA in a Motorhome.

An interactive map of the RV park:

The campground map:

Map

Our site had a waterfront view — from the side and back, which isn’t as ideal as a front-in site, but the sites were angled enough to have a decent side view:

Our site

The patio site had everything including a propane grill (with tools), though it was too cold to want to actually use it:

Patio

Utilities:

Utilities

It was time to regenerate the water softener, which involves adding two containers of salt, then flushing it out for a while:

Regenerating water softener

A nice view out or window, at least when there wasn’t an RV in that site:

View out or window

Views from behind the site:

View

A pelican on the water:

Pelican

Working outside:

David outside

Afternoon view:

Afternoon view

Sunset view:

Sunset view

Info:

Info

Rentals:

Rentals

A well stocked KOA store:

Store

Playground and private beach:

Playground and beach

Private beach

A heated pool; a few brave people did use it (too cold air for us to want to swim, though):

Pool

Pelicans and gulls:

Pelicans and gulls

A deck; the map says that they want to add a fishing pier off here eventually:

Deck

A shore bird of some kind:

Shore bird of some kind

Grackle:

Grackle

Grackles checking out garbage awaiting collection:

Grackles checking out garbage

Paladin watching a grackle on our roof:

Paladin watching a grackle on our roof

The staff does a really good job of cleaning sites between occupants:

Cleaning sites

Other RVs:

Other RVs

An empty patio site, and houses beyond:

A patio site, and houses beyond

A nice-looking newer Tiffin Allegro Bus (a 45FP floorplan); we don’t want a 45-foot coach, but I would like that rear exit door:

Tiffin Allegro Bus

Nice paint job:

Nice paint job

This KOA only has one cabin (plus a rental house next door):

Cabin

Weekly propane delivery to sites; we took advantage of that to refill our 20 lb tank. They asked if we wanted to fill the coach propane, but we don’t have propane onboard — it’s an all-electric coach:

Propane delivery to site

A van selling tamales also came around (the office sent text messages to announce these visits):

Tamales

We tried the tamales, corn chips, and salsa:

Tamales

As seems to be traditional in our holiday stays, I got sick, with a 100°F fever for a few days, and other fun symptoms. Of course, I did an at-home COVID test, which was definitively negative:

Negative COVID test

It’s just a cold, but not the most fun way to spend the holidays. On the other hand, it’s a good time to have it, if I must, since we were here for a couple of weeks, and didn’t have any excursions planned.

Oh, just as I was starting to feel better from my cold, Jenn had her turn with it. It’s so romantic how we share everything.

The weather wasn’t great; we had several very windy and cold days, with several fun alerts:

Weather alerts

Hard freeze weather alert:

Hard freeze weather alert

Since we were here over the holidays, we added some festive lights:

Christmas lights

And a mini tree:

Christmas lights and mini tree

Mini Christmas tree

A nice RV park… probably not worth paying extra for a patio site we didn’t really use, but if the weather were nicer (and we weren’t sick), we would have enjoyed it more.

Video

Video: San Antonio, Texas to Corpus Christi, Texas motorhome travel timelapse

A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 163 miles from San Antonio, Texas to Corpus Christi, Texas.

Travel from San Antonio to Corpus Christi, Texas

We drove our coach 163 miles, about three hours of driving, from San Antonio, Texas to Corpus Christi, Texas.

The map route, heading southeast:

Map route

Leaving the campground, along the mile of dirt road:

Leaving campground

A fuel stop; a later one would have been better, but this location was cheaper:

Fuel stop

Paladin on the dash; not something we encourage. He was feeling a bit stressed about travel; sometimes he forgets about it:

Paladin on the dash

I-37 south:

I-37 south

Paladin on the dash again:

Paladin on the dash again

Fortunately it wasn’t too far to a planned stop for lunch, which gave him time chillax:

Stop for lunch

I like it when I spot a roadside diner with adequate truck parking:

Diner

This was Kuntry Korner cafe in Pleasonton:

Café

Menu:

Breakfast for lunch; not bad, if a little slow:

Breakfast for lunch

Back to our coach:

Back to our coach

Onramp from the service road to I-37:

Onramp from service road to I-37

Paladin on the back of my chair:

David and Paladin

There were several oil refineries near Corpus Christi:

Oil refinery

Our exit:

Our exit

Roadworks:

Roadworks

Buildings on stilts near the water:

Buildings on stilts

Our destination, the KOA:

KOA

Check in:

Check in

Our coach and truck when checking in at the office upstairs:

Our coach and truck when checking in

Being led to our site:

Being led to site

Upgraded TST TPMS display

One of the first accessories I purchased for our coach was a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS).

Recently an RV technology site called TechnoRV announced an upgraded display unit, that is compatible with the older system. The new one has a larger display, and uses a touchscreen instead of buttons next to the display.

Here’s the old unit:

Old unit

And the new unit:

New unit

I also got a weighted base, that attaches magnetically to the unit:

Base and unit

The unit on the base:

Unit on base

The new unit’s menu:

New unit

The old and new units next to each over; you can see how much larger and more clear the new unit is:

Old and new units

Video

Video: 2021-2022 motorhome travel timelapses in less than 6 minutes!

Was the 2022 timelapses video not fast enough for you? Hey, I understand; 38 minutes is quite long, even at 20x the original timelapses speed. This video combines both the 2021 and 2022 timelapse videos, and makes them eight times faster (i.e. 160 times faster than original timelapses), so you can see all our motorhome travel in less than six minutes!

2022 stickers

On the passenger-side slide-out, we have a large sticker with the Sinclair Trails logo, a map of the US showing the states we’re visited, and stickers with the SinclairTrails.com domain name and @SinclairTrails social handle:

States

The states sticker consists of separate stickers for each state, applied to a base sticker. Our rule is that we have to spend a night in a state for it to count (and only since purchasing our coach). Once we have spent a night in a new state, we add its sticker. So far, we’ve visited 12 of the 50 states:

States

Visiting Alaska is going to be a major project. And of course we can’t take our motorhome to Hawaii, but we’ll count that just by the next time we visit (and may or may not rent a camper of some sort, depending on how strict we want to be).

On the driver-side slide-out of the coach, we have stickers for each of the National Parks we have visited, that being another of the goals in our travels. So far, we have visited 27 of the 63 parks:

National Park stickers

Of course, we’ve also visited numerous National Monuments, National Historic Sites, and other classifications. With 423 parks of various types in the National Park System, not to mention parks administered by states, forest services, etc, we had to cap the memorializing of them somewhere! National Parks are the goal; others are gravy.

However, inside our coach we have a framed board with a wooden map of the US, around which we add stickers (and other objects) for any kind of attraction we visit:

States and stickers board

The wooden map has pins for states we’ve visited (in their capitols); the pins feature the state flags:

Map

Some of the stickers above and below the map:

Stickers

2022 special posts

While most of the posts on this blog are about travel, campgrounds, attractions, and modifications, I sometimes post about other topics. This is a summary of those posts from 2022.

As with previous summaries, for each I include a link to the corresponding blog post, and a sample picture; see the post for details.

Making a multi-year route map:

Introducing the Tiffin Allegro Bus 2016-2018 Owners group on Facebook:

Sinclair Trails logo:

Sinclair Trails merch!

Washingtonians:

Anniversary of buying our motorhome:

RV floorplan and square footage:

RV trip planning:

2022 modifications

We have done a number of modifications to our 2017 Tiffin Allegro Bus 40SP motorhome, to make it more comfortable as a full-time home, to improve the features, or to repair issues. This is a summary of some of the changes done in 2022; also check out the changes from 2021.

As with previous summaries, for each I include a link to the corresponding blog post, and a sample picture; see the post for details.

You can see all of the modification-related blog posts via the modifications category, with the earliest posts at the top, or the latest posts at the top.

Security cameras: