Our first trailer was a Rockwood A-frame foldable trailer, which came with a net pocket or two on its walls.  We found them so handy that we installed similar ones on our Rockstaff 21DS/2104s trailer.

We installed a pair on either side of the dining room picture window.  We use the table as workspace in camp, and the net pockets are useful for keeping maps, notes, journals and the like handy. 

We have a larger net mounted behind the seat on the pantry side of the slideout.  Here we store placemats and a kitchen dish drying pad. 

We have two more smaller ones above the “nightstands” in the “bedroom” where we store cell phones, Kindles, paperback books, charger cords, watches and other small objects.  Placed securely in the nets, they’re out of the way and don’t get knocked onto the floor in the middle of the night.

The net pockets are available from https://www.organizedobie.com/Net-Pockets

Trailers come with fire extinguisher as standard equipment, but at least on all the trailers we’ve owned, they tend to be rather small. 

The factory extinguisher in our Rockstaff 21DS/2104s was rated 5B:C, which means it’s good for small flammable liquids and electrical fires.  It’s not rated for trash, wood or paper.  It will put out a small grease fire on the stove, but not much more.

Following my wife’s “bigger is better, darling” lead, I installed a 3A:40B:C fire extinguisher.  In addition to being rated for flammable liquids and electrical fires, it’s also rated for wood fires.  Since the inside of the trailer is largely made of wood, I will hopefully have enough fire power to smother the flames to at least get safely out of harm’s way.  I mounted it on the floor near the door, directly below the factory extinguisher. 

Also next to the door, I installed brackets to hang a D-cell Maglite flashlight.  It’s in a handy location if we need to check something out or escape the trailer in the middle of the night. 

Above it is a cup holder bracket into which we can stick a bottle of bear spray while we’re in camp.  Haven’t needed it yet, but if we do, it will be easy to find.

Our trailer came with three, thin wardrobe closets complete with hanger rods.  The one in the slideout next to the dinette we use as a coat closet. 

I measured the length of the longest jacket we’d have hanging in there and installed a shelf at that length.  About a foot below, I installed another shelf.  The cubbyhole between the two serves as a storage location for a small space heater, rechargeable hand-vac and other miscellaneous things. 

At the bottom of the closet is shoe storage.  Fortunately, Dianne is not a shoe fanatic.  We both can go for weeks with three pair of shoes – hiking boots, camp shoes and sandals/flipflops.  A wire half-shelf in that bottom compartment adds a place for slippers. 

Finally, strapped to the side of the closet is a large golf umbrella, which comes in handy if we have to work outside in a downpour. The entire project took only a beer or two to complete.

The trailer also has two shorter closets on either side of the bed.  With rods across the top, they came ready for hanger-hung garments, but we needed a storage place for t-shirts, shorts, sox and skivvies.  We’ve seen where other Micro Lite owners have added shelves and boxes into the closet.  We stumbled on a drawer arrangement that works perfectly for us. 

On a reconnaissance mission to the Container Store, Dianne found some customizable mesh drawer arrangements.  Made by Elfa in Sweden, the parts are sold separately allowing us to put together a nifty set of drawers to hold our foldable clothes. 

First come the frames.  The extra-narrow (10 inches), closet depth (21 inches), 29-5/8-inch high frames fit perfectly in our closets.  To protect the bottom, we added the optional plastic feet.

We opted for three single- and two double-height drawers.  The single height work well for sox and dainties.  The double-high ones are good for t-shirts and shorts.  Optional stops allow the drawer to fully extend without pulling totally out.

To cap it off, we installed the optional white melamine top shelves, which provide a convenient space to store an extra blanket or more.

The drawers fit in the closet with the back of the top shelf touching the curving roof of the closet.  Small blocks of wood screwed to the closet floor keep the shelves from shifting forward or from side to side.  Remove a screw or two and the whole stack can be removed if necessary.

With the drawers anchored close to the bed side of the closet, there’s still room to hang a shirt or two on the closet rod.  We added webbing straps at the bottom to hold the rotating “end tables” in place for travel.

Removable vertical webbing straps keep the drawers from sliding forward during travel.

We’re quite happy with our closet drawers.  They’re extremely light weight and they allow us to pack quite a lot clothing into a small space.  With the drawers opening fully, everything is handy including those things placed in the back. Dianne earned a beer for her drawer discovery while I consumed another putting ’em in.

Unfortunately, these Elfa products are hideously expensive.  The retail price for what we installed comes to around $140 or so for each side.  Fortunately, Elfa products are frequently on sale at the Container Store.  We got ours at 30% off, which made them only bloody expensive. 

We typically spend three-four months in the trailer every year, so the cost was worth it to us.

We’ve made two big improvements and a pair of smaller ones to our front door. 

The first improvement was to install a Camco screen door bar, which cost about $15 from Amazon.  The handle provides an easy means to close screen door when the outer door is open.  It’s a very common fix that should have come as standard equipment.

The one-beer installation required drilling a few holes and screwing the bar into the door frame.

The second big improvement, a two-beer project, was to replace the stock door window with a Thin Shade window.  We’ve been camped in places where the morning sun has come blasting through the front window, blinding us as we’re trying to eat breakfast or work on our computers. 

The Thin Shade window has a built-in blind that can be raised to block out all light from entering through the window.  When not in use, it folds up into the window frame, totally out of sight.

There are two brands of Thin Shade windows commonly available.  We went with the Lippert unit (about $100 on Amazon), which is the same brand as the original.  The package included everything needed, including the clips one needs to remove the original window.

The AP Products brand unit is a few dollars cheaper, but one must contact the company to get the clips needed to remove the old window.  While the Lippert replacement goes back on without screws, the AP shade uses screws. I like the clean look of the Lippert.

The Thin Shade comes with see-through tinted glass, which most people prefer.  We happen to like the frosted glass for its privacy factor.  Instead of using the tinted glass provided, we just reused the frosted original. 

Two other two minor modifications were attempts to provide a means of keeping the door open on a breezy day in camp.  The first was to install a door-holder clip (about $10 from Amazon).  We used one of these on our old A-frame trailer with so-so results.  On this trailer, the clip proved far too anemic to hold in even light winds.

The latest thing we’ve tried to hold the door open is a bungee cord.  I simply replaced one of the door-clip screws with a small, screw-in eyebolt and did the same with one of the trim screws on the side of the trailer.  With an eight-inch bungee strung between the two, the door should stay open.

When not in use, the bungee clips on the wire rack, which we installed when we removed the TV.

The very first improvement we made to our new Micro Lite trailer was to remove the television. 

We go camping to be in nature.  Instead of watching sitcom reruns, we’d rather sit by the fire, sip a glass of wine and gaze up at the stars.  That’s why we rarely camp in RV parks, preferring instead to bunk down in state or national parks.

Removing the TV was an easy, one-beer job.  The TV slid off its mount and eight screws later, the mounting bracket was off. 

In place of the TV, we screwed in an adjustable, Rubbermaid FastTrack wire shelf bought at Lowes.  We use it for hats and ballcaps in camp.  The lower shelf holds coffee cups, wine glasses, a 12-volt clock, an indoor-outdoor thermometer and other odds-and-ends when we’re in camp.

Do we miss not having a TV?  Never.

If we want to watch a video or stream something over the internet, we can do it on our laptops or iPads.  And if it’s a sports event we want to see, we can always head for a sports bar or better yet, we’ll bring over a six-pack and watch it at your trailer.