How do people store trash inside the T@B?

twocutes

Two weekends in the T@B CS-S and I've boldly put up a single key hook/tray and a paper towel holder.  I know it will take time to find the best placement for core items and storage.  How do people handle trash waste - garbage, recycling, compost?  I've seen the collapsible recyclable container with compartments.  I like it, but it seems too big to be inside and not get in the way.  Seeking tips from others that have already solved the question.  Thanks in advance!

belvagillespie

Beth, we use a very small nylon collapsible storage container from the automotive store for the interior. We empty it and then store in the compartment where the hot water heater is located. 

For the clamshell area we use a larger nylon collapsible container and I attach with a ball bungee cord to the bottom of the lock of the clamshell. Wish I had a better suggestion for you. I try to consolidate food and repackage into zip locks and small containers before we camp. 

Cyclonic

I use a collapsible waste bin with a plastic shopping bag inside it.  I empty it regularly or when I break camp.

moniraq

I keep a collapsible trash bag holder outside with a standard size kitchen bag in it. Inside, I have a cabinet door bag holder with a plastic shopping bag. I collect inside trash in it until it's full, then dump it outside. The kitchen sized bag lasts me pretty much all weekend long so I can just dump it before I leave the campground.

Wanderoo

Ditto to what Moniraq says.  Camping World sells the collapsible trash bag holders for about $10.  If you are in "bear" country, just put the collapsible container inside your TV for the night.

IACamper

We use shopping bags in a small collapsible wastebin and empty it daily. Years of camping taught us not to leave trash accessible to critters!

XPADREX

I bought a little rack that goes over the cabinet doors /valances over the windows. It holds plastic handled shopping bags. When they are full, I either dump them solo or put then in a larger trach bag I keep in the propane storage area.

belvagillespie

We do not store trash in our T@B clamshell. Hence, no garbage can. But I will say that I have a very small nylon container for stuff that needs a place to be when inside the T@B. 

scuba

I use a small kitchen trash container(about 30" tall). I set it outside near the clamshell with a bag in it while camping. It serves as a container for wheel chokes and small propane grill and other small items while in transit. When parked in driveway it covers tongue crank and helps keep trailer plug dry.

Wanderoo

Ditto, Walloe.  I do the same.

Michigan_Mike

I agree with what Sandra noted above as the critters (skunks included!) will scavenge your garbage if left out and unattended.  I normally either secure it (and all food sources) inside my vehicle for the night or pitch into the campsite receptacles or dumpster at the end of each day to eliminate the scent and temptation therein.  

And when in bear country things are different as all food needs to be properly stored and any scent remnants eliminated as much as possible.  If you've never camped in bear country you need to read up on the necessary precautions as it's important to be vigilant  in your approach to food - trash - scent, etc.  You can be fined in National Parks too if you leave coolers out or do not maintain your campsite properly.  

ChanW

Ha! Even if the trash is inside your vehicle, you have to be vigilant.

Last summer, we spent a few nights at Rollins Pond CG in NY's Adirondack Park. The (squirrels?, chipmunks?, field mice?) there are 'well trained'. 

We must've left the door to our truck open for ten minutes or so, while we unhooked and positioned the Tab. Something got into the cab and raided our travel munchies in that short time. Then we had the problem of how to get him out of the truck without inviting the rest of his family in! We probably took him to our next stop - hopefully he escaped when we took away his food supply.

Michigan_Mike

I got up early one morning in Traverse City, Mi at the state park to make coffee and had to chuckle as I watched a squirrel raiding an unopened bag of Oreo's a few lots down.  The squirrel chewed through the bag, snatched a couple up and climbed back up into a nearby tree and casually munched away before returning down for extra take-out snacks.  

Another no-no is to leave food inside a screened in area as we have had members report that squirrels and chipmuncks have chewed through the screens to get to the food.  I have seen chipmunks jump up into the galleys of Little Guys too and steal away with nuts left in bags!  Not to mention that both chipmunks, birds and raccoons all like dry dog food left out overnight in dog dishes.  

ChanW

Yeah, I've been wondering about the screen room. What use is it if I can't leave the dirty dishes in there til morning? ;-)

It might be better to leave the screen room open... or maybe leave the dog in there.

Nomad

I mounted two Command hooks in the shower and use shopping bags - just wrap the handles around the hooks. I bag gets full and there's no trash can around it goes into the TV until I hit the next gas station or wayside rest. I never store anything outside.

Michigan_Mike

I'd rethink the dog in the tent as my dog has spent time out there too but I'll be a bit more vigilant when camping.  They were discussing this over in the Little Guy forum and said that dogs have been killed by coyotes out in Arizona and recommended they be crated to protect them.  One woman's dog was even attacked killed as she walked over to the shower house with her pet.  

ChanW

That's a little crazy.

I wonder what kind of, or size, dog it was, and how often this has happened.

I do have a friend who lost their (smallish) dog (a Pug) to a coyote in their back yard in Phoenix.

Might be a good reason to carry a 'deterrent' of some kind. I imagine pepper spray would work on coyotes, if not something 'more persuasive'. 

And it's always good to keep that dog under control.

Michigan_Mike

I don't take any of it for granted as I have heard reports while traveling, spoken to people and seen many news accounts over the years.  When you factor in changing weather conditions, drought, etc. it does tend to change habitat for predators and I have seen bears in areas foraging for food and read reports of them and mountain lions attacking both people and animals, while searching for food when food sources in higher elevations have diminished.  I was in a National forest campground last year and the host warned me that a mountain lion was prowling the area and had been seen walking along the perimeter of the campground.  

http://www.necn.com/news/new-england/New-Hampshire-Dog-Fights-off-Coyote-Attacking-His-Owner-283117241.html

http://www.people.com/article/florida-teen-bear-attack-dog-saves-her-leah-reeder

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Mountain-lion-attacks-6-year-old-child-on-trail-5740141.php

This might sound crazy but a fried who lives out in Scottsdale was telling me a story about one of her friends who was out walking her small dog and had stopped to speak to a neighbor.  She said that all of a sudden the leash she was holding suddenly started moving upwards!  She looked up and a large owl had snatched up her small dog and was attempting to fly away with the animal, but she was able to pull the dog down to safety and without any injuries!  Now how crazy is that!?  

ChanW

Wow. That's nuts.

jkjenn

The coyotes in the east are a bit more aggressive than the west, actually, as they are  the coywolf, which are western coyotes that mated with wolves as they migrated east. I know they are a growing problem in the Finger Lakes. Our domesticated friends are always at a disadvantage against their wild counterparts.

I once had a kitten scooped by a Kingfisher. The birds of prey seem to be making a comeback as I have noticed a significant influx of turkey vulchers and hawks, even in my suburban neighborhood!

judymac

Squirrels carried dog food under the hood of both our vehicles and subsequently chewed wires.  
My engine light came on, the vehicle began  to sputter and the mechanic shocked me with at least 2 handfuls of dog food.  Can you say over $1,000 each incident?  I thought my dog was eating properly, NOT.
A hawk stole my kitten, another picked up a lady's poodle but dropped it back down to the ground.
I am a lover of wildlife but we should exercise caution.

Nomad

Over the two months of travel I don't think there's been a night I haven't had coyotes close by. Last night it was as little as 50 yards at one point. They seem to be the most pervasive animal in the country - they're everywhere.
I just ignore them and keep on shooting. But I'm not sure I'd let my pet out when they're close by and howlin.

jkjenn

Walloe said:

We have encroached on their land, and now they are trying to take it back.  If not for guns, we would be at a disadvantage in survival of the fittest.  Many do not consider animals to be smarter than humans, but I tend to disagree.  They have survived alot longer without technology.  They must be doing something right.  Still, when camping we should remain vigilant and realize the animals are only trying to survive too.

Actually, coyotes are not native to the east. The lack of deer hunting has created a situation where there is an abundance of food for them in the east, particularly in suburban areas. My municipality is struggling with what to do with the deer over-population. Cayuga Heights, NY is a real interesting situation. Residents opposed a controlled cull and now the coyotes are a bigger problem than the deer were.

I woke some coyotes up, who were none too pleased when my alarm went off to shot the sunrise at Cathedral Valley in Capitol Reef. It was an eerie thing to know they were howling at you. My brother was surrounded by a pack of them walking out of the woods into a field once in NY. He stared them down and they eventually left, but he said it took quite a while.

ChanW

OK, these are different coyotes than I know. 

The coyotes I've known were in Wyoming and Montana, and were very skittish and cautious, and humans were not something they wanted to be around.

We have coyotes around our property, here in western NY (rural), but we never see them, just hear them, singing at night.

We did see, dashing across the road here, a very large, very fast coyote looking critter, larger (and healthier) that the coyotes I knew out west. We thought it might have been an eastern coyote.

Jenn, where in NY was your brother?

jkjenn

Chan, I believe western coyotes are skittish. The brother in NY was in the Elmira-Corning area. The ones you are seeing are the coywolf variety. There is a PBS special on them on Netflix. One of my other brother had a couple under his tree stand while bow hunting this year.

ChanW

Thanks Jenn, we'll check it out.

Lyne

I camp at Edisto alot and it is famous for very brave racoons. The ones that stand in your doorway waiting for a grilled cheese sandwich. Well, My favorite camping treat is krispy kreme donuts. I buy a dozen and savor them the entire trip. I learned to never turn your back on your food at Edisto after I watched a racoon dragging the grocery bag with my dozen donuts into the woods, never to be seen again!

Mouseketab

We do the same as most others, large collapsible garbage can with big garbage bag for outside garbage, and at the most a grocery shopping bag hanging on a doorknob inside. However, we create so little garbage inside by only sleeping in there, that we mainly just pick up the few small pieces as we leave each time and put it in the larger garbage. I have actually only had two campgrounds where "critters" have gotten into the trash, but I usually do dump the garbage bag on a nightly basis into the common campground bin or in the back of my truck each evening.

bgualtieri

Patti - it's floor space. I would be tripping over even a bathroom sized bin on the floor (unless I put it in the bathroom, but then would have to put it back out to use the terlit). So we have the pop-up trash bin outside and just take stuff out there a lot. But we haven't camped in bear country yet......

I did think about a tiny counter top trash bin like I've seen for offices, like the ones they put out for coffee creamer trash at conferences

jkjenn

I generally use a grocery store plastic bad and tie hook it on the nob of the cabinet below the sink.  There is very little room for trash in a T@b,

USWildflowers

I use a Walmart plastic bag inside a Sam Adams 12-pack box. Fits under the table.