Advice needed re efficient storage in small motorhome

[Gwendolyn]

We are new to motorhoming - but have been lifelong campers / trailer tenters / caravanners. We will be going to mainland Europe for 3 months and would like tips about best ways of storing everything we need in our Autosleepers Symbol. By 'need' I mean books [lots of] / DVDs / computer / 'emergency' food / talking books for travelling days / comfy outside chairs and /or loungers..... oh yes, and I like nice clothes as well as the usual 'scruff stuff' for travelling /campsite days.

What has worked for you? We did a month in France last Autumn, but not sure we got it right. With a large tow car for the caravan, we have been used to the luxury of being able to take loads of 'stuff' [including keyboards so I can happily play my fav pieces - with headphones on of course]. I find it hard to 'travel light'! Help is needed!!!

BTW we have bought a Kindle - step in right direction.

 

 

[mel wood]

We also were tent campers with quite a large car. Then we had over 6 years with VW Auto-Sleepers Trident. For the past 2 years we have had an Auto-Sleepers Symbol.

 

The only advice I can give is decide what you want to take, spend time at home packing each cupboard and storage space to see what will fit where.

Inevitably you will want to take more than you have space for so work out what is ESSENTIAL for YOU. (We would like to take easy chairs but there is no room so we take sunloungers which fold flat and camping chairs for outdoor dining.)

 

A cardboard box can be filled with items and placed in the passenger footwell when on site, giving extra capacity. We don't turn round the driver's seat so are also able to store items on it when on site.

 

[lennyhb]

We are ex caravanner's and there is still at least one box in the garage of stuff removed from the caravan. After changing to a Motorhome I am now firmly convinced that 99% of all caravans travel well & truly overloaded.

 

When we first got the van we realised there was no way we could carry all the stuff we had in the caravan. We started by loading all what we thought were essential items. After each of the first few trips we realised we really did not need all this stuff and each time we got home we unloaded unnecessary items/junk.

 

Anything that takes time to get out & set up is unnecessary, with a caravan we would stay on sites for a week with the van we rarely stay anywhere more than 2 nights & rarely use sites.

 

 

[Guest Tracker]

If your Symbol has under locker drawers or racks then if you lift the seat bases you will find around and behind them is lots of space into which odds and ends can be srored with or without a separating divider so long as you store so that nothing falls over and jams the drawer.

 

Narrow storage bins can be created on the walls around the loo and below seat level.

 

From memory I think the wardrobe and gas locker also have possibilities that AS never envisaged!

[scramblers]

You can fit additional exterior boxes but these do not come cheap, have a look at the Benny Box website

 

http://www.beenybox.co.uk/index.html

 

Or mount a box from Halfords on the roof (provided the roof can take the additional weight) or on the rear of your motorhome in place of a cycle rack.

 

However, please remember you have a finite weight that you can carry, and the only way that this can be increased is if you have the motorhome upgraded to take the extra load.

[Mel B]

Last year we changed from a 7.14m motorhome to a 5.99m motorhome, so had to condense some of what we used to take with us.

 

We tackled the rear garage first - we knew we needed our bicycles and our 2 inflatable canoes plus the pump, paddles and life jackets and that they HAD to fit in the garage, which they did, along with a small (coffee type) and larger (dining type) table and our outside chairs. Once we'd identified what we MUST take with us, it was then a matter of going through the other stuff we usually carted around, out came the 'spare' little table, extra this and extra that, and the 'we may need that one day' stuff that had never been used!

 

The same went for the stuff in the living area - we didn't need loads of plates, cutlery, spatulas, fish slices, cups (why did we need 8?), pans etc, just because we had room for them we tended to carry them, but again they just added to the clutter and made getting stuff out that we did use a pain in the bum at times. Using small sized bottles of sauces, shampoos etc can free up lots of space for other items. Even if you need a larger amount for the period of time you're going away, you can just keep small bottles 'ready at hand' with the remainder in out of the way places so they're not taking up your easily accessible storage space.

 

I'd suggest the first thing to do is to have a really good shuftie round your van, look into every corner/space you can, see what gaps are lurking behind 'cosmestic' panels, and other 'wasted' areas that you may be able to utilise, it's surprising what places you can find to tuck stuff into.

 

Then, once you've done this and have a 'pile' of stuff you must take with you, find suitable places to put it all, once you've done that you can then take some of the other 'non-essential' stuff that you find you have spare room for.

[LordThornber]

I'm convinced that less space is easier to manage than more.

 

When we changed from a PVC to our present coachbuilt, it was a case of, wow what are we going to do with all this space?

 

Fast forward 7 years with it and yup, all the space is full. Just like Mel, with stuff that you might need one day. Madness.

 

Martyn

[Symbol Owner]

Hi, Gwendolyn and welcome to the forum.

You don't tell us which model or age of symbol that you have. If, like mine, it is pre-2007 and on the X2/44 Boxer chassis, then the following comments apply. If you have the modern Symbol on the X2/50 chassis, then I am not so sure that these remarks are so apposite.

Anyway, if you take a look at the website:www.motorhomeandaway.com you will find an article entitled 'Our Autosleeper Symbol' detailing five years experience of living with one and the various ways in which the owners adapted to and coped with the space available.

Our own tip would be to use the double bed only -- if you are both short enough -- we are 5'9" & 5'4" -- which means that you can leave the spare bed cushions at home and use the space thus made available to accomodate two shallow plastic underbed storage boxes -- into which you should be able to put a fair amount of 'nice' clothes! Walking boots (in a supermarket carrier bag) store very well in the gas locker.

The lift-up flap over the back doors will take a fair amount of paperback books/maps/guidebooks/campsite handbooks etc. -- but you have probably discovered this already!

 

Hope this helps,

 

cheers,

 

Colin.

[Gwendolyn]

Thank you all so very much for the advice. I am summarizing here what I have learned, and done…. [and incorporated tips from other Forums as well] and perhaps others may pick up on tips which I have been given.

 

GENERAL:

 

2/ 3 uses for everything; take a good look at nooks and crannies in Motorhome; make inventories; chuck out anything you didn’t use on a trip; compromise!!! … all good stuff.

 

We do use the double bed and leave out the extra bed bases. We did remove the heavy china crockery and replace with lighter plates etc.

 

STORAGE:

 

Bought more stacking boxes which fit snugly under the bed.; bought vacuum bags.

 

A deep wine carrier [bought in France] I find sits well in the tall, narrow cupboard adjacent to cooker. It holds cans and tins as well as bottles and keeps them in place instead of stacking them and having them falling out every time I open the door!!

 

The locker above the cooker is very deep; I am short - every time I opened the door, stuff fell out – dangerous really. So I have found 2 square jute bags which fit beautifully, stores stuff well and the bags can be lifted out by the handles when I want to retrieve stuff.

 

In the wardrobe, we still have the hanging shoe holder we had last Autumn - I stuffed socks etc into it, but they kept falling out – so I have bought some of those mesh zipped wash bags, so I can see what’s in there and they stuff nicely into the compartments. [Wardrobe is rather narrow at one point and won’t take hangers, so the hanging ‘shelf unit’ is ideal there]

Trouser hangers, coated in non-slip stuff work well – can hang a good few items on one hanger.

 

Like the suggestion of the cutting off tops of plastic 2 litre bottles and using them for storing stuff – I have used that idea for bringing back collectables bought at Vide Greniers in France – never thought of it as a way of anchoring stuff safely in the ‘van.

 

TABLES:

 

We are going to remove the two [heavy] tables, which we found awkward, thus relieving space in wardrobe and behind 3rd seat, and in the ‘ledges’ where the legs are stored. We will use a very light fold up ‘TV table’ from Ikea – it sits snugly behind 3rd passenger seat fastened with a bungy.

 

BACK BOXES:

 

We did have a Fiamma Cargo Back for our month’s trip in France. But we have decided that we need to take bikes [have another post on this subject] so have to re-think storage for stuff that was in there…. We may try taking one of our largish plastic boxes with a lid which we can put outside once on site???

 

We may take a toilet tent or a quick erect tent which we still have amongst out camping gear.

 

“ENTERTAINMENT”

 

As I said in the OP, we have bought 1 Kindle. Need another… and yes, we did decant all DVDs into a plastic wallet.

We will not be taking a TV but we do have a gadget to ‘convert’ lap top to TV – we use it in UK only.

And we do take an external hard drive [loaded with films], and ipods.

 

ONE USEFUL TIP??????:

 

I am rather short and my feet just dangle when seated in the [non-adjustable] passenger seat. Very uncomfortable. Solution:

Bought a plastic box with a lid, filled it with books and put a piece of carpet on the top. Comfortable seating position and added storage. If we take Kindles, the box will hold other stuff…..

 

OTHER STUFF:

 

Going to hunt down some Lifeventure towels as recommended.

 

Thanks for the timely reminders about payloads…. As caravanners we are well aware of need for vigilance. But it doesn’t harm to be reminded.

 

Things I will not compromise on:

 

1) Plastic glasses …. UGH! Must have glass for my wine!!!

2) Dried food…. Rather shop as we go.

3) Clothes…. Although being a lifelong Camper etc [once – in the 60s - I was part of a group which won the all Wales Ranger Guide challenge – back packing throughout the Principality] I do draw the line to too much in the way of camping, “technical” clothes….. ‘posh hippy’ is more my style…….

Although my husband was cheered by some responses.. so he feels he can cut down on clothes. I’ll use the space he leaves!!!

 

I so enjoyed some of the humour- loved the suggestion of leaving OH behind to cut down on weight and space? An idea perhaps – except he does the bulk of the driving!!!!

 

 

Thanks again all,

Cheers

Gwendolyn.

 

 

 

[PetMice]

You can buy roll-up musical keyboards with various "voices" etc from about £20. I haven't tried them but did think about it! Amazon do them.