This is the second part of a multi-part series about preparing the camping trailer for spring camping.

My wife, Garnet, and I are preparing our 26-foot Hideout camping trailer for our first camping trip of the season.

An interesting and fun part of having the trailer ready to roll is making an instant and unplanned decision to head out for a local camping site for an overnight or longer trip.

Preparing the Hideout for travel, setting it up at the campsite, breaking it down for the trip home and unhooking it at home is a fair amount of work.

Conducting all of these tasks makes a camper want to stay put in one spot for more than one night.

This wouldn't bother me if we were going for some distance. It is necessary for travelers heading across country to move every day, of course, but we haven't pulled our trailer more than half-a-day's distance.

This restriction is self-imposed, just because we have no desire at this time to travel longer distances while pulling the trailer.

More of what we have learned

Refrigerator

We are relatively new to the RV world. We owned our first travel trailer for two years and this one for two years. At first we would empty all water tanks after each trip and shut off the refrigerator.

Last year a friend said he never shut off the refrigerator. An inspection of Internet websites indicates numerous variations to this theme.

Some individuals say they have used their RV appliance for 10 years and it finally gave out. Another said the average life is 8 to 10 years.

Our owner's manual says "If the refrigerator will not be in operation for a period of weeks, it should be emptied, defrosted, cleaned and the doors left ajar."

How many weeks are they talking about? The implication is it can run continuously and many RV refrigerators are.

However a local RV maintenance man told me he replaces several refrigerators each year.

Dishes, pots, pans etc.

What is needed inside a travel trailer? This was Garnet's department and she enjoyed stocking it with supplies.

The kitchen is as fully functional as the kitchen at home, so all of the same types of cooking utensils are needed.

She didn't duplicate every tool, but we have enough implements to conduct any type of cooking Garnet desires.

There are ample pots and pans, a smallish electric skillet, which is perfect for pancakes. The can opener is hand operated.

The trailer contains both good quality paper plates and bowls of various sizes.

Plus Garnet is constantly on the lookout for chip-resistant dishes of various shapes and colors.

This seems to be a treasure hunt for her.

We have both metal and higher-quality plastic silverware.

Ceramic and paper coffee mugs are stored in the shelves, along with plastic drinking glasses of various sizes.

We enjoy a morning cup of coffee, but, instead of using a percolator to make it, we use the relatively-new designed coffee bags.

A large percolator with the guts removed remains on the stove to heat water. I'm usually up first in the morning and get the water heating while beginning my morning writing.

I purchased a small, light-weight toaster, but have now bought a larger, sturdier one. The smaller one had fire written all over it.

Food

Garnet has taken pride in planning our camping meals and she deserves great credit in the results. We don't go hungry and, in fact, have too much food in the pantry.

Her idea, in the beginning, was to stock the trailer for any situation and keep it stocked.

After a couple of years, she is beginning to rethink this position.

"Think I'll go through the trailer and take out anything we don't need for a specific trip," she said recently.

Do we really need a full box of 100 tea bags, three cans of cream corn or five packages of instant potatoes?

Yes, tea bags don't weigh much, but do we need to take 100 of them on every trip?

Needed on a trip

Garnet's statement indicates she will take only what is needed for each meal on each trip.

If instant mashed potatoes are planned for the first-night supper, perhaps only one package is needed.

If we are going to be camping for three nights and this means nine meals, do we need more than nine paper plates?

I can imagine taking 25 plates in case friends stop by and share a meal, but we don't need 200.

The same goes for the plastic silverware; do we need a box of 100 each of knives, forks and spoons?

Garnet also seems to be watching which utensils she is using and how often.

This will serve as a hint of what she doesn't really need in the trailer.

If a particular serving spoon is taken on 10 camping trips and never used, does it really need to be taking up space in the trailer?

Next week: Garnet's interior design ideas.