Space saving ideas for camper trailers

[madmule]

Hi everyone,

My wife and I are in the throws of planning our big lap around this awesome country kicking off next year with the three kiddies in tow.
Are there any of you who are willing to let go of your favourite space saving ideas for all the camping gear, clothes, cooking stuff and the like to maximise what to bring without having to stuff extra items on the roof rack?

We have the standard size 7x4 camper with the depth at 550mm so we can fit plastic tubs in there for dry foods, pot, pans and stuff and will probably end up packing the clothes bags in the back of the patrol hard up against the fridge barrier to give us more space in the trailer.

If you have great ideas that you are willing to share, I would be much appreciated!

Cheers,

Glenn

[Supersi]

We find that using square saucepans is of help in saving space, have a look at the link

http://www.caravanandrvworld.com.au/Accessories/smartspace-pots-with-lids-set-of-3

[scarps]

Hi Glenn, just our experience but we found large plastic tubs a challenge as thinking they would be convenient, we tended to try and jam too much in each, plus they can be heavy, bulky, awkward to move around. We ended up buying 10 medium size plastic tubs all the same size and keep the contents similar and clearly labelled.  i.e. Plates and cutlery. Everyday condiments. Pots and pans. Dry packet food. Tin food etc. Wet weather gear.
Yes sometimes it can be a bit of a pain to move one tub to find another, but this way we're only accessing what we need at the time and the rest stays packed away.

Hope this makes sense.

[GGV8Cruza]

It has taken a couple of years to get our gear to the place where it is know. Stackable pots, and a great kitchen with heaps of storage.

Go camping a few times and have a number of shakedown trips which will enable you to work out what suits best. Take a notepad each time and work out what you have missed and what's not really needed. 

Have a read of some peoples Blogs and trip reports who have already done the big trips, heaps of ideas there as well

GG

[paceman]

Go camping a few times and have a number of shakedown trips which will enable you to work out what suits best. Take a notepad each time and work out what you have missed and what's not really needed. 
GG

+1 for this technique.  to me, this is the best way to work out what works for you...

[Jon]

If you use any type of hard storage box/tub/container, make sure they are parallel sided, and the rims at the top are not huge. This way you will make the most use of your volume without wasted space in between.

Also use vacuum bags for clothing and blankets etc. Saves heaps of space.

[Aaron Schubert]

Make sure you use all the space in your car too - the bags that hang off the back of your seats are great, and there are often plenty of pockets around that people never use.

Also, balancing the weight is very important - you don't want too much weight on the towball or in the rear of the car.

Aaron

[whatsa]

I got three filing boxes for all the kitchen stuff
(coffee stuff tea plates condiments all the basic stuff you have handy.)
They sit at back of table leaving most of the table to do stuff

[#jonesy]

Be brutal and don't take something that "might" come in handy.
Try and find things that do more than 1 function.
Cheap fold up chairs take up less room than some of the more luxurious ones (it's also not the end of the world when they get stolen!)
Label all your tubs on each side and lid so doesn't matter from what angle you can tell what is in it.
Use compression sacks for fluffy things like pillows and sleeping bags.
Do a number of test fits trying different combinations. Don't know why but some are more space saving than others.  When you get it right, check your balance and take a photo
Keep little things to the side as they will fit in those awkward gaps

[BernieS]

If you need to carry a bucket or two as we do, get those that collapse or fold made from silicone.
Collapsible silicone  basins are also available if you need one for washing up.

[Redcherokee]

If you need to carry a bucket or two as we do, get those that collapse or fold made from silicone.
Collapsible silicone  basins are also available if you need one for washing up.

You can get collapsible kitchen colanders too.  I got mine at Harris Scarfe.

We don't carry normal saucepan lids as they are hard to pack.  We have some of those silicon lids that they sell at the shows. Put them between pans and they stop your non stick layer rubbing off so double duty.

We also use some smallish (4l?) plastic tubs under the kitchen to hold mugs, cutlery etc.  so much easier than digging through a pile of stuff.

Soft bags squish into spaces where a hard box won't.

[madmule]

You guys have given us some great ideas. We've only had the camper a few weeks and have just the one trip under our belts to date. I like the idea of trial and error to see what works and only pack what we really need rather than what we think we might need. We've got another trip planned going up to Exmouth for 10 days so that'll be a good test. We wanna rack up as many weekends away as possible to give everything a real test. Again thanks to all that have posted. Keep em coming!

[db]

I hate trying to find a spot for stuff, so everything (nearly) has a home. I looked for areas that were unused and looked for things that we wanted to take that fitted. For example our trailer has a lift up bed base and some cross braces under it that prevent packing up to the base. I was able to use that space to store a table and solar panels by getting some sheet metal folded up to make supports. Pretty cheap mod.

[madmule]

That is a cool mod db. I have frame work that I could do the same to for the solar panels. Not sure the table will fit under there though but a quick measure will sort that out.

[Brumbypt]

Get all your toilet paper, take it off the roll and wet it, squash it all together and let dry. It will then be able to fit into much smaller spaces.


Ohh sorry, you wanted sensible ideas, one of your tubs that you put things in, use it as a bath for the kiddies, so pack things in that tub that you will use at most camp sites.

also dont take everything, dont take everything that you have in the house now like we did..
only take the bare essentials, learn now how to cope with very little..


think not only twice about not taking stuff, but 10 times, if you wont use it every week, then leave it at home, or dont buy it.


There are good 4wd shops and camping shops all around Australia, if you think you will need something and cant do with out it, then you can buy it on the road. it might cost a little more, but you can use some of that money that you will save from not buying stuff that you will never use.

so you asked for smart packing ideas, first start with not taking as much.


Peter,
sent by telegram stop

[madmule]

Hey Brumbypt. I chuckled at ya dunny roll idea! Glad you were joking coz the misses wouldn't fall for that one . Ya right about packing only the bare essentials. Figuring that out is the hard bit. A lot more trips will sort that out. Also buying as we go is a good idea. If only I could fast forward to Jan 1 2015 so we can be in the road already!! Keen much?

[elle.mac]

When it comes to entertaining the kids all we pack for our three (6yrx and under) when camping to keep down taking too much - scrapbooks and pencils for them to write/draw/scribble, small pack of toys - currently it's a mix of cars and animals, a small tarp for them to build a cubby and bocce.  Takes up little room and encourages them to explore and use their imagination

[edz]

Not knowing the set up your towing, there is always a few places that you can attach a couple of gear sacks externaly or a roof top type bag on top of the trailer travel cover as extra carrying space .

[kiwipride]

I hate trying to find a spot for stuff, so everything (nearly) has a home. I looked for areas that were unused and looked for things that we wanted to take that fitted. For example our trailer has a lift up bed base and some cross braces under it that prevent packing up to the base. I was able to use that space to store a table and solar panels by getting some sheet metal folded up to make supports. Pretty cheap mod.

That sounds awesome. Do you have pics?

[Dingo0163]

Try using some of those zip up super market bags. They will hold a doona, sleeping bag , spare pillows or dirty clothes. It is surprising how much you can cram into one of these things. The best part is they are square so can be packed in without wasting space .

[madmule]

edz we were thinking about a roof rack bag. Good way to store out of season clothes. We have a full length one with a couple awnings hanging off em but that's it.

[madmule]

Dingo0163 we'll probably go with the vac sealed ones to maximise the space but I do like the idea of the dirty clothes going in one of those bags you mentioned. Cheers for that.

[GraemeL]

As mentioned, do a few shake down trips.

Mark everything with a marking pen, pack into the car and camper. Each time you use something mark it.
After a few trips, pull everything out and anything that just has the one mark on it, leave it out, because you probably won't need it.

Remember to keep an eye on the weights when loading the car and camper.

[db]

That sounds awesome. Do you have pics?

Here are some old ones.
http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=13875.msg249769#msg249769

[kiwipride]

Here are some old ones.
http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=13875.msg249769#msg249769

Great, thank you.