I remember our first long RV trip took us to over 8,000 feet in Wyoming and later into Colorado and New Mexico to more higher elevations.  We learned that shampoo bottles and such can behave in interesting ways when taken from close to sea level to high elevations, especially when they are not very full so the air inside expands.
You would think we would have learned with all the mountain travel we have been on over the years but just today Diane cleaned up a mess from some hand lotion that had spurted its scented contents under the sink.  Over the years we have had problems with shaving cream, shampoo, dish washing liquid and once had a water spill where a gallon jug was only partly full and the plastic cracked from the altitude changes.
Going to lower elevation can also cause us to jump when a mostly empty and closed plastic bottle will make a loud sound when it collapses. 
We live with the challenges that altitude changes give us since higher altitude areas are very scenic, they are on the travel route across the continent, and higher altitude places are cooler in summer.  We adjust our Select Comfort bed when we stop, we live with going slower uphill, we live with lower fuel mileage, and we live with the little adventures like hand lotion spills. 
By the Way (BTW), if you haven't experienced higher elevations it is best to go to them gradually if you can.  Two to three thousand feet, then stay a few days, then another two to three thousand feet.  I remember going from sea level to 6,200 feet (Lake Tahoe on the California/Nevada border) by plane once and half our group had altitude issues by the second day including both of us.  A common problem in ski areas is people coming in and collaspsing on the slopes from the altitude change, especially in places like Santa Fe where the skiiing is around 10,000 feet and many of the skiers came from Texas.

-- Edited by bjoyce on Friday 22nd of October 2010 10:01:50 AM

-- Edited by bjoyce on Friday 22nd of October 2010 10:02:18 AM

Great advice, especially since we have a workamping position next summer at 9000 feet.

Will make sure we stop for a few days to get acclimated to the altituted.

Thanks,
Jo

Been at 10,000 ft in Utah and down to sea level and never encountered that. We only travel 200 miles a day so perhaps the change was too gradual? Or maybe our container lids were loose?

Thanks Bill that makes a lot of sense and also explains when I have flown by plane, on how sometimes the luggage that was checked in has the shampoo bottles and anything with liquids experiencing some leakage. The luggage compartment isn't as well pressurized as the passenger cabin. Coming from flatland, South Florida, I definitely experience the altitude change when I go out west. Going to Denali this year and Mount Ranier last year and doing some hiking I was amazed how quickly out of breath I got. It got better as the days wore on but boy what a difference!

When we first moved to NM from California we went hiking in the Sandia Mts.  Very miserable nausea.  No strenuous hiking the first week at 9000'!  Now, no big deal.  About the bottles...  Be careful opening yogurt containers from the store - Yoplait squirts me every time!
Pinon

We've been in Colorado and Utah for the last month anywhere from 6,000 to 10,000+ feet.  When we arrived at the first stop, we couldn't understand why our liquid hand soap container had leaked all over.  Then we opened our pantry and saw that some potato chip bags had burst open.  Containers of lotion, ketchup, tarter sauce, mustard, etc. all came gushing out when we opened them.  This is the first time we'd experienced anything like it, and we had to laugh.

Also, any strenuous activity such as hiking, biking, especially uphill caused me to be out of breath very quickly.  We were told by a park ranger that it takes about 4 months for your body to adjust completely.

We're headed to Dealth Valley in a week to below sea level.  I wonder if anything strange will happen.

I have lived at 9500 feet the last couple of years and the only problem I have had is with Pringles Potato Chips containers. When I open them up they make a loud popping noise.

Thanks for posting this helpful information about altitude issues. I think people find cooking at a lower altitude vs higher altitude different too. When I travel I always put items that could possible leak or explode in ziplock plastic bags. So...probably will do that same in our 5ver.

Cooking does change at higher altitude. We have friends who live in Santa Fe, New Mexico at about 7,000 feet and they found that wild rice does not cook at that altitude though rice does. They buy precooked wild rice at Costco in Albuquerque now. The higher the altitude the lower the boiling point of water, so it looks that wild rice needs a higher temperature to cook than boiling water at 7,000 feet. A pressure cooker would probably work, but I don't know. Baking is where altitude seems to affect cooking the most. I know Linda learned a lot about high altitude baking while she and Howard were in Colorado. The two below sea level places we camp, Death Valley and the area in southern CA that includes the Salton Sea, are not enough below sea level to make any difference on cooking.

And I thought it was just me. I once had more mustard and ketchup spurting from the containers than two hamburgers could handle. It was all fun anyway.

sand38 wrote:

---

And I thought it was just me. I once had more mustard and ketchup spurting from the containers than two hamburgers could handle. It was all fun anyway.

---

I've even noticed the "phenomenon" with our toothpaste here in our current position just outside Denver, CO. But, it should be normalized for pressure differences by now. I think our current problem with the toothpaste is the way we keep the RV cool (<62) at night compared to the approx. 72-74 during the day.

Paul