Question for Hard floor camper owners - Storage

[MarkVS]

From everthing I have read, seen and heard from people, hard floor campers are pretty well known for their lack of storge. I don't think it is a brand thing (well not at least all of the ones I have looked at, which is all of the 'big' brand hard floors), its just one of the limitations of Hard floor campers ?
It has always been one of the advantages of a soft floor.

I am keen to hear from Hard floor camper owners, any interesting/different ways you have stored items out side of the normal clothes etc. All of the more expensive brands have all of the basic items in-built so you don't have to worry about storage (power/lighting items, pillows, blankets, kitchen, pantry,  Weber or generator) etc., but I am trying to understand where people put the rest.   

So things such as:
Water filler hose
Camp ovens
Toilet tent and toilet seat
Shovel
Table & chairs
Spare parts
Wheel chocks
Wheel jack & wheel brace
Chain saw
Extra canvas/poles

Or is it a case of the car rear and car roof rack are the main carrier for all things extra ?



Thanks

MarkVS

PS..these statements above apply to hard floor campers under 2t. GEOFFA's Semi-trailer doesn't apply.   

[outbackogre]

Mark, I agree that soft floors have more space in terms of volume but it's all about how you access the space (ie, what you can get to without having to unload half your gear).  In this sense hard floors are not the disadvantage that many assume.  When I had a Tambo years ago I ended up partitioning the underbed storage so that gear was not piled on top of other gear and everything was reasonably accessible.  When I had a Cub Supamatic I learned to put different things in different spaces and managed to pack everything we (2 adults and a teenager) needed for a 5 week trip through the Kimberley.  We now have a Spacevan (mainly so we can leave the awning on and still pack our daughter's bedding on top of ours), and I will spend some time working out how best to use the underbed storage, the hinged lockers rear of the bed, and the front tool box.  We have a fridge in the car, but I don't want any other heavy items in the car or on the roof.

[JCOJ]

This is what we did when we had a hard floor:

Water filler hose - could fit in camper in offside storage area
Camp ovens - was in the car
Toilet tent and toilet seat - was in the car
Shovel - was in the car
Table & chairs - could fit in the camper in the rear tailgate area
Spare parts - winged it and didn't take any
Wheel chocks - stored in the jerry can toolbox that we had
Wheel jack & wheel brace - was in the car
Chain saw - don't have one
Extra canvas/poles

[WilSurf]

This is where store these items in the KK Sports RV:

Water filler hose = in the front box
Camp ovens = don't have one
Toilet tent and toilet seat = no tent as the KK comes with an ensuite, toilet in the front box
Shovel = in the front box or car
Table & chairs = in the car
Spare parts = don't bring any
Wheel chocks = front box
Wheel jack & wheel brace = in the car
Chain saw = don't have any
Extra canvas/poles = poles on the bed, canvas bag with ensuite and awning on top on the roofrack of the KK

[jk]

Next time your in the neighbourhood Mark, stop in and I'll show you in our Tardis  we can fit all manner of camping gear under ours 

2 x 110amp batteries under floor
2 x folding chairs with arm rests
annex
annex wall
silver tarp that covers the whole camper
2 x small tool boxes full of spares
2  x sleeping bags
camp oven
1 x slat table
1 x kitchen stand thingy
bag of 12v adaptor connections
bag with 240v extension lead......approximately 30m
bag for ropes and pegs
bag for water filtration gear
kitchen waste hose..........10m
C gear ground cover........approximately 7m x 3m
Alloy step cover
broom, dust pan and brush
rake
spare poles.........x6
day bed poles.....40mm x 40mm x 1.6m square poles and canvas cover
bag for 12v lights
step for fitting annex.........slides into side of camper and doubles as a coffee table
2 x mesh sun sails..........3.8m x 3.8m x 3.8m
That's all I can think of off the top of my head,

The rest is in the gullwing box,
1 x 40l Engel
1 x 75l Engel Combi
Food Box
Spare old towels etc
recovers tow eyes for rear of camper
Bag of odds and ins
box for cooking gear..........pots, kettles, fry pans etc
2 x 80w solar panels
1 x 120w solar panel
poles/braces for solar panels
Axle stand
3 x pieces of wood for jockey wheel/axle stand usage
Aussie Flag 

The small s/steel side box carries,

wheel chocks
camp fire tools
garden hose
1 x timber for jockey wheel

Cheers

Bloody hell I carry a lot of crap 


 

[MarkVS]

Bloody hell I carry a lot of crap 

But good to have around...

[Darren253]

In the KK, we had all of the listed items stored within the front and RHS gullwing storage lockers.
We found that we needed to keep cloths, bedding etc in the car as the under bed area was filled with longer term food items, kids stretcher and blankets etc.

We took way too much stuff and rational packing is the key to a hard floor...

[muzza01]

I have heard many times how there is more storage in the soft floor than the hard floor. I have never owned a soft floor so I can't compare. We have camped with friends that have the soft floor and I agree that they have more room for bigger more bulky items but their storage area wasn't as much as I had presumed.
My fridge is too large (95lt) for my two fridge slides on the CT. I have a large poly tub in each fridge slide. One is full of food the other has items like, lights, spares pares, tools, shower, wheel chocks, electrical cables for lights/solar, first aid kit etc.

My stuff is stored:

Water filler hose.                      Toolbox on CT
Camp ovens.                            I don't use as much now I have a 4 burner stove top but I would store         them under bed. I take my Ozpig sometimes. It is stored in the back of the Cruza.

Toilet tent and toilet seat.          Ensuite is in the Cruza, toilet potty is in toolbox on the CT
Shovel.                                    Bolted to roof rack
Table & chairs.                          Back of Cruza
Spare parts.                              CT
Wheel chocks.                           CT
Wheel jack & wheel brace.          Back of Cruza
Chain saw.                                 Back of Cruza
Extra canvas/poles.                     Under bed in CT

Also stored under our bed in the CT is:
All crockery plates, cups glasses bowls etc in one tub
All saucepans 3 or 4, frypans 3 and cutting boards in one tub
Normal cutlery is stored in the slide out kitchen cutlery draw but extras such as numerous sharp knives, peeler, can opener, tongs, egg flips wooden spoons are in another tub.
Extra canvas for the 3 walls of the annexe and poles.
Tent pegs and ropes
Lights is and cabling.
Broom and dust pan

[V8CRSA]

Can you store much stuff on top of the bed on most hard floors ?
We are thinking of upgrading and are also very interested in the storage, our son sleeps in a swag that we just lay on top of our bed in the CC before we pack up.
Would this be possible with a hard floor ?

Matt

[RWW]

I have only just bought my hard floor so really haven't had any experience as yet, but will find out soon enough.  I am resigned to most things having to go into the back of my dual cab, but I am ok with that.

I have pole holders behind my tool box. 
I intend to store all the annex / floor canvas in a waterproof bag and tie it in between the hard floor on the roof of the camper in transit.
Solar panels should lay flat and safely on top of the bed before folding up.
Fridge (when I buy one) will remain in it's slide at the front of the camper.
We have 2 half bed sliders under the bed, will most likely store linen, first aid etc in there.
We will probably make up a storage box for kitchen items to live in the car.

Rest I am really not sure of yet...

[wilson79]

I have only had our FF hard floor about a week so I am still working out where things can go, but it has heaps of storage.
I store all the canvas under the kids bed in the tub of the trailer as well as the solar panel, I store my Country comfort hot water set up including hoses in the drivers side rear storage hatch, The fridge box is HUGE and I have a 50ltr Waeco and currently a 60ltr esky as a pantry for pots, pans and food.
I store all our cutlery cups,plates etc. in the draws of the slide out kitchen.
It also has a large tool box on the front which I have put some tools, toilet and power leads,( I still have heaps of space left in this tool box I could easily put wheel chocks, spare parts in here) on the other side of the slide out fridge all I have in there at the moment is camp oven and small folding table. and I am looking at mounting my shovel on the stone guard. I store all our Annex LED lights in the tub of the camper as there is a shelf as you climb into the bed, Under the step into the bed I currently have all the ropes and pegs. there is a huge pole box in the fridge area as well where I store all the poles excluding the middle one for the main annex as it is too long, it slides on an angle in the main tub of the camper as well..

I store all our clothes in the car, although they would store easily on the floor in the trailer. I also keep our camp chairs, chainsaw if I take it and any other bits & pieces in the car..

[GeoffA]

..these statements above apply to hard floor campers under 2t. GEOFFA's Semi Proper trailer doesn't apply.

No fair....

Don't forget the all-important space allocation for refreshments Mark 

[jk]

Can you store much stuff on top of the bed on most hard floors ?




Our Cape York Explorer Extreme Camper doesn't have a lot of room on top of the bed. We have a mattress topper on the queen size bed so we struggle to fold the camper up with annex still attached, there's no room for anything else on the bed at all.
All hard floors are going to be different in this regard, I'm sure some of the others will have more room to spare on the bed when folded up than ours !!

[RWW]

We have set up our rear fold properly yet, but when we picked it up last week it had some of the annex and all the poles on top of the bed.

[GeoffA]

Probably not allowed to say......but, we carry our folding moulded table on the bed......

[MarkVS]

Can you store much stuff on top of the bed on most hard floors ?

JK,
from what I have seen,most seem to be similar..there isn't much room...in essence, you have the pillows, and whatever you can fit to that height elsewhere on the bed..eg..flat chairs, or defalted ground mats...but beyond that, for the ones I have seen, not much more.

MarkVS

[Terry W4]

I load under the floor front and rear awnings, large tarp, 3 tubs with dry food, wine, beer, daughters bedding, other linen/towels, Portillo and toilet tent. In the pull out pantry all of the condiments, cultery, jams etc. plates, cups etc. under the sink in the pull out kitchen washing up stuff. On the rack (when folded up) weber baby Q and gas bottle, 3 chairs, stretcher bed for daughter, and levelling ramps. We make up bed before we go cover it with a water proof blanket and put a collapsible table on it. In the draw bar box is extension leads, clothes line and pegs, levelling blocks of wood, jockey wheel. Behind another door we have our battery system (also under floor) where I store the water hose.

[alnjan]

Storage options will differ between the different types and sizes of hard floor campers.  Classic example is take a look at the Cub Camper range. 
http://www.cubcampers.com.au/   
http://www.cubcampers.com.au/pdf/speclist-complete_2012_07.pdf

Junior and Kamparoo, being the shortest campers, there is only the under bed storage and if you include the slide out kitchen and pantry, there is not a lot of room left. 

Supamatic and Spacematic are similar design but with a longer body there is more room to store items between the end of the bed and the end of the trailer.

Spacevan and Supavan are similar but taller units and allow room above the bed height of the camper.  Do a search there are a few on Myswag.   

We started with a Kamperoo that did not have a raised bed as such, a bit like a empty box trailer with a lid on it.  Made a raised bed to have a storage area underneath and the bed made up ready for when needed.  Due to ailments we found the distance from the floor to the bed was impractical for us and moved up to an older Supamatic.  A slightly bigger camper but offered more practicality  for us.  From the ground step onto the now hard floor, step onto the floor of the trailer where the bed height is a more convention height. 

Our Supamatic came with a 60 litre three way fridge freezer but as we already have to other fridges I removed the fridge from the camper giving us a clear storage area across the back of the floor of the camper about 60cm wide.  Means I can store a lot of the bigger stuff there. 



So what do we store in the Camper.  I wouldn't know what the bride has stored away in there but the kitchen is always stocked with utensils. 

Under the bed as best I can recall: Cgear matting, table, chair, toilet tent, folding pantry, lights 12v and 240, broom, rake, dust pan and brush, small clothes hanger and whatever else I have forgotten. 

On the step at foot of bed: toilet, large tarp to cover camper and annex, second fridge (if needed), and whatever else will fit.

Bed is left made up and the only thing pack on the bed is the folding solar panel which still allows the camper to close with the annex attached.  Pillows are stored in a Spacecase, along with a solid Icebox contianing non perishable food, which are secured to the top of the camper in the roof/feet metal box frame work which can double for carrier assorted items like firewood, firedrum etc. 

In the toolbox on the drawer bar is the usual stuff, pegs, ropes, chairs, leads, bigger ropes etc. 

For your lit of items:

Water filler hose - camper in front of slide out kitchen
Camp ovens - Bride uses saucepans etc stored in camper
Toilet tent and toilet seat - tent under the bed and toilet on floor at foot of bed
Shovel - vehicle
Table & chairs - under bed camper and moulded set in vehicle as well
Spare parts - tool box and vehicle
Wheel chocks - toolbox
Wheel jack & wheel brace - vehicle
Chainsaw - vehicle if needed
Extra canvas/poles - on floor at foot of bed - must make pole carrier

[Rumpig]

From everthing I have read, seen and heard from people, hard floor campers are pretty well known for their lack of storge. I don't think it is a brand thing (well not at least all of the ones I have looked at, which is all of the 'big' brand hard floors), its just one of the limitations of Hard floor campers ?
It has always been one of the advantages of a soft floor.

I am keen to hear from Hard floor camper owners, any interesting/different ways you have stored items out side of the normal clothes etc. All of the more expensive brands have all of the basic items in-built so you don't have to worry about storage (power/lighting items, pillows, blankets, kitchen, pantry,  Weber or generator) etc., but I am trying to understand where people put the rest.......Our generator goes in the front storage locker as does 2 power leads also, our pillows usually go in the back of the fourby and the kids take theirs in the back seat of the vehicle to have with them.

So things such as:
Water filler hose...Drivers side storage box
Camp ovens...Front storage box
Toilet tent and toilet seat...Drivers side box
Shovel...On side of fourby's roofrack in the brackets designed to take a shovel
Table & chairs...Table goes in the back of camper under the sliding draw that's under the bed, chairs are in the space case i have on top of the front storage area
Spare parts...Don't take any for the trailer usually, in the back of fourby for vehicle spares
Wheel chocks....In the space case on front of camper
Wheel jack & wheel brace....In the fourby, no special jack for camper just use the fourby's one. The trailer wheel winder is in the storage draws in back of my fourby
Chain saw....Either in the front storage box, or i've just bought a small space case to go on roofrack just for this and a few other items to go in
Extra canvas/poles...Don't take extras, all i need fit in the proper locker for the poles between front storage area and main camper body

Or is it a case of the car rear and car roof rack are the main carrier for all things extra ? ....Car rear gets our kids clothes bags, we can't fit all our and theirs clothes in the draw under the bed on touring trips.



Thanks

MarkVS

PS..these statements above apply to hard floor campers under 2t. GEOFFA's Semi-trailer doesn't apply.   

[muzza01]

Can you store much stuff on top of the bed on most hard floors ?

We only have room for the mattress topper, sheets, blanket and quilt. One of the major storage advantages the hardfloors have is on top. We carry our solar panel , ladder and canoes on top of the CT in the racks.  I have already worked out we can fit and strap down 3 ARB style large space cases on top for when we want storage of extra food for our 2 week trip bush next year.

[Rumpig]

Can you store much stuff on top of the bed on most hard floors?

with our KK I have our bed left made and a very thick sleeping bag on top, on that we have the kids single self inflating mattresses side by side and their sleeping bags go on top of them. Last thing that goes on all that is the vinyl cover sheet which is pretty thin in size, and that's al that'll fit on or it won't close up.
If we didn't have the kids stuff on the bed we could leave the quik awning attached when we pack up, but we need to remove it due to those items taking up that area it could fit in. The awning goes in the drivers side storage box.

[GeoffA]

Probably not allowed to say......but, our 2.4m awning stays attached......

[Stewart]

My husband and I  have a Cub Supamatic with single beds  it has taken us a while to find a home for everything  but we can store most things in the CT .

All our clothes fit in the wire basket drawer units  we got from Bunnings  and put at the end of each bed.

Under one single bed are the sleeping bags, spare sheets, towels, beach towels, power cords (240v and 12v), 12volt shower, radio, gas heater top,  12 volt lights for the annexe, electrical spares, two parkas as well as the 12volt  battery system. The second bed has the kitchen and pantry roll out as well as the camp oven, kettle, colander, spare bowls for serving, extra  large saucepan,  some back up pantry items for long trips and the medicine box. 

Between the beds and drawers  we fit two folding tables, two small folding stools,  our pillows, Ozpig and annexe walls.  The ensuite shower  tent and broom go on the bed which is always left made up.  The annexe  is left on when closing the trailer.

Our  slide out pantry and kitchen  storage take enough cutlery and most crockery for six, a wok,two saucepans, a griddle plate, fry pan and utensils as well as all our pantry staples.   Anything that has a short shelf like like veggies or bread, are in the car in  stackable plastic tubs. The tubs are  stored under the kitchen when we are camped.

The front storage box has the toilet, spare gas bottles for our fridge, annexe floor , big  tarp  annexe, ropes, pegs, wheel chocks, jockey wheel,  extra poles for the tent windows, filler hose, folding step and two collapsible buckets. 

In the car, two folding arm chairs, fridge, wine, beer, and some basic recovery gear. We don't take a chainsaw, we can carry firewood in the car, or in  a roof basket.

[MarkVS]

We have set up our rear fold properly yet, but when we picked it up last week it had some of the annex and all the poles on top of the bed.

We only have room for the mattress topper, sheets, blanket and quilt. One of the major storage advantages the hardfloors have is on top. We carry our solar panel , ladder and canoes on top of the CT in the racks.  I have already worked out we can fit and strap down 3 ARB style large space cases on top for when we want storage of extra food for our 2 week trip bush next year.

Thanks.

The Bed and the top of the camper seem the obvious places...but if we go hard floor, I am trying to keep the amount of 'unpacking' that is required each time, to a minimum. Stuff on top of the camper, as good an area as that is, needs to be taken off an put back on each time. 



Kerry and I love sitting under a big canvas awning, love the weight factor, love the towability, love kitchen outside....can live with a little extra packing/unpacking, but if it is too much, then we are no better off than our soft floor...and have to look at the next step up. (Hybrid)


MarkVS

[GeoffA]

..........
Kerry and I love sitting under a big canvas awning, love the weight factor, love the towability, love kitchen outside....can live with a little extra packing/unpacking, but if it is too much, then we are no better off than our soft floor...and have to look at the next step up. (Hybrid)