Ice Bucket

I did not buy a motorhome to rough it.  I bought it so we could be as comfortable as possible while we were out traveling.  So with that in mind, I like ice in my drinks.  Not just those of the adult persuasion, but I want ice in my water and my soft drinks.

So, how do I keep ice in my freezer.  The freezer has no problems making ice,  I just need a place to store it once I make it.  I need an ice bucket.

So we have been using a Gladware disposable storage container.  Why that as opposed to just a basket or bowl.  I wanted a lid so that none of the ice would spill out as we go down the road.  I also wanted to make sure any odors did not contaminate the ice.  And before I get yelled at, we don't have smells in the freezer,  I am just cautious.

I fill up the container with ice from the house before we leave on a trip.  That gives us 2 days of ice without any additions.  We make more ice every night so the bucket will remain pretty full.

I have used a 64oz Gladware (or in our case a Publix equivalent).  The key being it is freezer safe.  We made the mistake of using one that did not have that on the label and it cracked.

The 64oz deep container fits just right in the freezer,  Slides in and out without any problems.

Now with it being Gladware (or equivalent) I get a couple of other benefits.  First is cost.  It only costs about  $1.00 or less if you use the generic ones (like me).  The second is that it is pretty much indestructible,  we had several of them crack due to the cold (before I started looking for the freezer safe versions) but they hold up.  And lastly, you can dispose of them and afford to get a new one if it get dirty or you are suspect of it.  Food safety is not to played around with.  We bleach the inside of the refrigerator/freezer and the ice trays down between trips but being to easily replace something like this is great.

Storage Up Front in the Fuse

To finish up our tour of the storage in the Fuse 23a, I will go over the storage in the front of the Fuse 23a.    As you will see in several of the pictures we still have lots of empty space up here since there are so many other nice spaces to store things.

Over the couch is nice cabinet.   We have added some storage containers in the left hand side and have left the right hand side open for larger items.   The organizers came as an 8 piece set from Amazon.  They are the IRIS stacking bin, medium, clear set and were less than $20.00.  We are storing our dry goods and some of our other small food stuffs in the organizers.  In the other side we have been storing larger items and our grocery bags.  

We have been storing our food stuffs in three locations.  Most of the food goes in the refrigerator.  Not to keep it cold however.  We are concerned that if we leave food in the motorhome we will encourage bugs and rodents.  Keeping the food in totes in the refrigerator makes it easy to go in and out and limits any odors.  We are keeping some food in the cabinet over the sink, mostly bread and chips.  The rest goes in this cabinet over the couch.

Over the cab area there are two very large cabinets, one on each side with the TV between them.  I am keeping my outdoor stuff in the one over the drivers seat.  Things like my hat, backpack, camera, etc.  Those things we bring with us when we go out exploring.  In the cabinet over the passenger side I am keeping the porta-legs and a few other miscellaneous things.  At the moment it is pretty much empty.  One interesting thing about the passenger side storage is there is a air vent in the top of this compartment.  I don't know if it actually pushes any cool/hot air, but the vent is there.

This sort of wraps up the tour of the storage in our new Winnebago Fuse 23a.  There is so much space that we are not even coming close to using it all.   We have been amazed how well and how much storage Winnebago has placed in this 23 foot motorhome. 

Kitchen Storage in the Fuse

Continuing on my Fuse storage series I am going to go over the storage in the kitchen in the article.  I stay amazed at the amount of storage Winnebago managed to fit into the Fuse.

Above the sink and burners is a 3' cabinet with divider in the middle.   On one side we are storing miscellaneous  stuff. We are keeping ziplock bags, aluminum foil, dish detergent  and other stuff in a smaller version of the canvas organizers we use in the bedroom.   We are also keeping the convection rack and a few other things here.   On the side over the burners we are storing our glasses, coffee cups, baking tins and what not.

There are two large drawers under the burners.   We have put dividers in both of the drawers. In the top drawer we have our silverware, various cooking utensils, salt, pepper and takeout plasticware.  Also we have our catchall where the velcro, scissors, tape,batteries and such wind up.  In the bottom drawer we have out plates, bowls, oven mitts, hot pads, and other stuff.

The biggest storage area is under the sink.  In this picture you can see where we keep our trash can.  Our paper towel holder is mounted on the door.

With the trash can removed you can get a good idea on the size.   We put some shelves in.  We have a  5qt stock pan and a 12" fry pan and a couple other things.   

The canvas storage boxes are Sorbus White storage boxes.  They were 6 assorted sizes for $19.99 from Amazon.  We also uses some dividers from Amazon as well.  These are Practical home Grid Drawer Dividers from Amazon as well for $6.47.

The obvious thing that is missing is food.  Since the RV is in the driveway for these photos, there is no food so we don't attract critters. We are keeping our food in the refrigerator and above the couch.  That will be in the next installment of the storage series.

Bedroom Storage in the Fuse 23a

There is a tremendous amount of storage in the bedroom of the Fuse 23a just like in the bathroom.  There are drawers below both of the beds, storage in the cabinets above the beds and a large storage area under the foot of the drivers side bed.   I tried to circle them in the photo above.

Starting on the drivers side there is a large drawer under the bed.  This is my drawer and I am storing my clothes here.  You can see a pair of long pants, a pair of shorts, a bathing suit, some t-shirts and underwear.   It is a huge drawer and holds lots.  Right above it it a compartment to store the tabletops when not in use.

Above the bed is a large cabinet.  We have elected to put some canvas organizers in it and my wife prefers to keep her clothes/underwear/shirts in these instead of the drawer under the bed.  There is space for 5 of these organizers in this space.  These are from Amazon.   A set of 6 for $16.00.

Under the foot of the drivers side bed is a large storage area.  It is not the easiest to get to since you have to lift the mattress to get to it but it is a large amount of space. We are keeping the chair cushion for the front seat here since we do not use it often.  On a long trip we would probably keep any extra supplies here.

Under the passenger side bed is another drawer.  It is about 2/3 the size of the one under the drivers side bed.  This drawer is Sonya's.  We used a simple method to decide who got what drawer.  You get the drawer you can sit on your bed and get to.  She has not really used it for much so far.

Above the passenger side bed is some more cabinets.  We put in the same canvas organizers.  I am not using these much, but on the end I am keeping my shaving kit.    On this side there is only about 3/4 of the storage as on the drivers side.  The other space is used by the system monitors.  There is space for maybe 4 of these organizers on this side but we are only using 3 of them.  We are keeping the Fuse documentation and the divider curtain  in the space next to these monitors.  

Like with the bathroom, the Fuse has an impressive amount of storage for such a small RV.  I have been very impressed.

Bathroom Storage in the Fuse 23a

I have been impressed by the storage located in the Fuse.  Tons and tons given the size of the vehicle.  A huge portion of this storage is located in the bathroom.

Most of the storage is located in the drawers and closet located behind the toilet.   Now since we keep the Fuse set up for traveling you are going to get a real look at how and what we are storing so everyone is going to have excuse the lived in look. 

The closet is pretty big.  Designed to hold coats and shirts.  Not full-length dresses.  With that being said, when we punched the Fuse we expected to use the closet way more than we have.  As you can see in the picture, we are just storing odds and ends.  Our broom, swiffer, flip flops, some beach towels and the front shades.  A few hangers for the few clothes we have not been bringing are also in here.

Another cool feature we thought we would be taking advantage of is the built in storage along the side of the closet.  As you can see we are not using it.

The storage we are using is the two drawers behind the toilet.  

In the top drawer we are keeping all of the bathroom dos and ends that you just have to have.  Blow dryer, sun screen, insect repellant, and bottles of other stuff.

We decided to keep the towels in the bottom drawer.  When used, we are hanging the towels on the bar above the shower to dry.  So far the setup of the bathroom drawers is working out for us.

Not much in the medicine cabinet other than the first aid kit and some extra band-aids.  We have needed the extra band-aids for the blisters we have gotten.

And in the final space, under the sink we are keeping the extra Toilet Paper and some cleaning supplies.  Note that we have the TP stored in a large ziplock bag.  When we first got the Fuse we had a leak in the sink drain.  I got it fixed but we now have picked up the habit to protect one of our most precious supplies.

Like I said up top, the Fuse has lots of storage.  For a 4 day trip what we are carrying has been fine.   but we have plenty of extra space so we can expand as we find holes in our plan.

Under Sink Storage

The cabinet under the sink is 22 inches deep by 17 inches wide.  We decided to use this space to store two pots and a skillet plus their lids, a trash can, and space for a door mounted paper towel holder.  Originally, we just piled the pots, skillets and lids in the back of the cabinet – wedging the skillet’s lid against the back wall.  This worked, but if we ever wanted to get anything out we would have to remove everything in the cabinet

The solution came in a simple $20 plastic shelf made for under sink installation.( Range Kleen Large Under Sink Storage Shelves )  

It allows you to adjust the length of the shelving unit and remove parts of the shelf itself to allow for the plumbing.  We set the height of the shelf for our specific items and had no problem working around the plumbing. 

Outside Storage on the Fuse 23a

Storage is always a point of contention when looking at a motorhome.   A small motorhome like the Winnebago Fuse 23a has a small amount of storage.   Especially outside storage.   Now maybe its not such a big deal to some, but I want to keep some things outside of the living space and not track dirt and such in and out.   That is why the outside storage is important.

So I guess the real question I want to address today is how much outside storage does the Fuse have?
Per the spec sheet, the Fuse 23a has 23.1 Cubic Feet of exterior storage .   I will be honest and tell you I can't visualize what that really means.   So lets go over what space it has and how I am using the exterior storage.

The Fuse 23a has three exterior compartments for storage.   One dry compartment  under the slide behind the drivers seat.  And two on the rear left side.   There are two because one is a dry storage compartment and one is under the couch.   When I say dry I mean it is an isolated box only accessible from outside and any liquids will stay in the compartment.

The one under the slide and behind the drivers seat has internal dimensions of 60" Long x 21" deep x 12" high.   The opening to this compartment is 8" high x 43" long.

I am currently keeping all of the utility equipment in this compartment.  The Stinky Slinky box, the electrical adapters, 30a extension cord, the surge suppressor, the water hoses and adapters, the CATV cord and other stuff needed for the coach to connect to civilization.  There is plenty of room for all of this so  I think the size is good.

The dry compartment in the right rear of the coach has inside dimensions of 66" long x 24" deep x 12" high.  The opening is 8" high by 43" long.

We are keeping the folding chairs, outside carpet and other patio stuff here.  Things that might bring in dirt and bugs.   One key thing we have to recognize is that the opening to the compartment is smaller than the compartment.  Our folding chairs have to be coaxed in since they are the size of the opening, but once through the opening everything fits fine.  There is still lots of space for other outdoor items.

The second compartment is above the dry storage compartment and has inside dimensions of 43" long x 16" deep x 14" high.  the opening is 8" high x 32" long.

As you can see in the picture the flooring is brought through this compartment from the rest of the motorhome.  I am pretty sure any liquids, smells or bugs that make it in here would eventually get into the living space.   This space also provides access to the water pump for maintenance and the water tank is visible in the back.  I am keeping tools and some other stuff in this compartment.  It is mostly empty at this point.

All of the compartments lock and the two on the right hand side have latches to keep the doors open as you get things in and out.   The compartment on the drivers side does not have a latch to keep it open. I was conFUSEd about that until I realized that if you opened the slide with the compartment open, something would have to give and whatever broke would be expensive to replace.  Therefore, no latch (and I probably won't try to add one myself just to shoot myself in the foot later).