What's your favorite (tiny, home-built) camping item?

[Laredo]

What cool small thing do you take camping (or use anyway) that would be a perfect tear gear item?

Bonus points: it does more than one task and you have (at least once) made your own.

[WarPony]

Well, my favorite camping tool is my Gransfors Bruks axe. I didn't make it but it is hand made in Sweden. It's so sharp, you can shave with it right out of the box!!!!!! I've cut branches with it and sliced meat, too!!

The "tool" I use the most is my Petzl LED headlamp.............. oh, and my styrafoam koozie to keep my PBR cold ............

Jeff

[Ira]

What cool small thing do you take camping (or use anyway)

Uhhhh....

Do we really want to go in this direction?

[bledsoe3]

I built a D.O. table (I stole the idea from Joanne). I've used it for my stove, BBQ and D.O.'s. Here's a picture of it in use at home.

[Gerald_G]

Welll besides the trailer itself, I have enjoyed baking on my home made reflector oven.

[Miriam C.]

Hey Gerald, Got a better picture of that. Neat!

[sledge]

yeah, I'd like to hear and see more about that too............ whats the deal laying inside that kinda looks like an Exhaust Muffler off a CB90 Honda or something.

[Laredo]

pop rivets, juice cans and a salvage toaster oven grill?
cool ... what about that handle?

[Gage]

yeah, I'd like to hear and see more about that too............ whats the deal laying inside that kinda looks like an Exhaust Muffler off a CB90 Honda or something.

That's the oven, I'll bet. Look at it closely.

[Gerald_G]

Yes the silver muffler thing (not off of my CX) is the oven. The rest of the picture is the fire pit at the campground.

Laredo, you are close, The oven is made from a couple of coffee tins with a third one used to create the joint, and some of the trim pieces to keep the edges from being too sharp.

I do not have a pop riveter in my garage, so it is put together with small bolts and nuts. I tried welding the first attempt, but there is not much metal on a coffee tin to work with. The rack is a cookie cooler from the dollar store, and the handle is just a chunk of unknown hardwood I had in the shop, also bolted on.

Here's a couple of more pics.

Here it is from the front...



And the finished bisquits...

[Miriam C.]

That is way cool Gerald. Thanks for sharing it.

[Mike C.]

Hey Gerald,

What Aunti said. That is really a neat use of items that I bet everyone has laying around. You have a very creative mind and I will be watching to see what you create next.

[Nobody]

Can't say I built this for the TD as it predates the Tear by 20yrs or so (I actually built it in the early 1980's). Things are somewhat better nowadays but back in the 60's, 70's & 80's many public C/G bath houses were shall we say, less than pristine models of cleanliness . Some (many?) shower floors were (or at least looked) so scummy/cruddy that my wife & I didn't want to stand in them (even with shower shoes) . I saw in Camping World catalog what was called the "Shower Caddy" & it looked to be just what we needed. Only thing, it was rather expensive for our budget (yeah, we tried to keep expenses low even then in order to do as much camping as possible) so I decided to attempt building one. I already had on hand some scraps of hard maple, brass hinges, screws, etc, so it was just a matter of duplicating the pic in the catalog. Folded, the caddy measures 12"x15 1/2"x4", & unfolded it provides a very sturdy 15 1/2"x 24" platform that keeps your feet 2" above a shower floor. The framework is full 1" thick hard maple, slats are 1"x1/2" maple, & all hardware is brass (beginning to tarnish/corrode now after more'n 20yrs of use). Modern epoxies were not as readily available then so I used 2-part marine 'Resourcinol' glue & brass screws for all the joints. It's been in a lot of water & still as tight as the day it was made. Don't remember the exact finish I applied, think it was some kind of oil based sealer??, but it's held up well (water still 'beads' up on it in the shower). Not only a good place to stand in the shower but it will carry your towel, washcloth, soap, toilet articles, etc, to & from . It's beginning to show some wear & signs of age but we still find it useful today