# Packing your motorhome



## brightsparkretired (Sep 26, 2008)

We have a Swift Freestyle 580pr & havn,t packed it yet for a trip. It looks as though we will have problems trying to fit everything in. Has anyone any spacesaving ideas or tips i.e. additional units that can be installed on the vehicle to overcome some of these problems.
Tel


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## SpeedyDux (Jul 13, 2007)

Well,

Every trip I've done (and that's not many because I'm still a beginner) I get back and unload the gear I haven't used. It gets consigned to stay in the garage and gets crossed off the packing list. Another "must-have" piece of kit I wish I hadn't bought.

Less is more. Travel light if you possibly can. You will be amazed at what you won't miss when you are travelling.

Cheers,


SD


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## lifestyle (Apr 27, 2008)

Just take a pair of shorts,t-****rts, and trainers, no socks.
That should do the trick :lol: :lol: :lol: 

Les


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## greenasthegrass (Oct 27, 2007)

Hardest thing we found was towels, storing them and drying them. I now take two batches and second week dump the old ones - dry if poss (I would use a tumble dryer on a site if I had to) in the garage in a bin liner.

Did pretty well with clothes last year just imagined I was camping and kept it minimal. 

Storing of bottles well thats another tale - got one of those bottle carriers or 3! Depends how much space/garage if you have one and storage the van provides. Also if there are more than two of you.

Greenie


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Storage*

Hi

Sometimes, removing items from packaging can help, for instance take breakfast cereals out of the cardboard box. I have also found the cab door storage pockets good for carrying bottles.

Russell


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## tubbytuba (Mar 21, 2007)

Where does the Meerkat go? 
Or should I visit compare the Meerkat storage.com ? :lol:


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## randonneur (Jan 25, 2007)

I have just bought 2 microfibre towels from Decathlon and these fold up to next to nothing and dry very fast and are not quite bath towel size but are very generous. You can wash them through and dry them quickly. QVC also do microfibre towel packs for about £25. The ones from Decathlon were a bit expensive at 9€.


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## 92859 (May 1, 2005)

*packing*

Greetings,

I use different size plastic storage boxes that fit in our lockers, also some large plastic boxes that go in the rear under lounge storage area.

We have never had any problem with storage in the last two 'vans, always had space leftover!

We always took what we needed, not what we wanted, this saved weight as well, as the payload can get eaten up with too many clothes, boys toys, shoes, pots and pans..........................

......................just take the essentials!


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## Alfa_Scud (Sep 27, 2006)

We're gradually getting round to a similar way of thinking as Greenie - i.e. imagine you're camping, which in a way you are.

You don't need loads of clothes, especially if you're moving about. After all who's going to know that it's the 4th time time you've worn that shirt? Well, I suppose the cloud of flies could it away  8O !.

I managed two weeks away last year with 2 pairs of 3/4 pants, 2 pairs of jeans, 2 pairs of shorts & an assortment of about 47 different shirts & t-shirts, oh no that was Sandra, I had about 7 different ones, plus a fleece & waterproof. A pair of Crocs, a pair of trail shoes (boots under seats), & a pair of trainers.

We travel fairly light i think, just the bikes on the back & if it won't fit in the cupboards / lockers it doesn't come. I refuse to get into the habit of carrying things in the shower room & on the floor.

But then again there are only two of us in a sub 6m van.

_Edit: we also use the microfibre towels as mentioned, they're easy to dry too. We got ours from Home Bargains for the princely sum of One English Pound! we keep four of them in the van _


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## oldtart (Mar 18, 2006)

Thanks everyone, I've picked up some good ideas. My downfall is always taking too many clothes! A friend who travels virtually full time advised me to make a list of the clothes I wore whilst away. I did this while we were in Morocco and was surprised how well I managed. I put clothes to soak in a Moroccan bucket with a lid (22 dirhams in the Marrakech souk) as we were travelllng and then rinsed and hung them out to dry when we stopped at the campsite. I certainly won't be taking as much next time. Can anyone tell me where I can buy tops - blouses and T shirts that dry quickly and dont look too creased when dry? I don't do ironing in the motorhome!!!


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## Senator (Apr 24, 2008)

Hi

Having been caravanners for many years has helped with the 'travel light' principle.

We have six overhead lockers in our van, one of which houses the crockery and one I am fortunate and privileged enough to have to store my cloths and bits and pieces in! My wife has the use of the other four. Sometimes I can also have a pair of shoes in the bottom of the wardrobe. 

I like our van to be un-cluttered, so like others we ditch items that are not used and eventually you end up with the essentials, preferably with a home somewhere in the van. It was a struggle at first and I don't like things to be able to fly around when travelling so the less you have the easier it is to pack away when you need to move.

When our daughter comes with us the un-cluttered principle goes out the window as she has the luton which then soon spills over to everywhere else. But I guess you need 150 CD's, all that hair and make up stuff and a fresh bag for every day - don't you?

Mark


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

A good investment, especially if you are going over 2 seasons, are the roll up vacuum space saver bags.

You can put your cold ( or hot) weather gear in one, roll it up to exclude the air, and get a virtual flat pack of clothes that you can squeeze in anywhere. Remarkably enough they don't come out too crumpled either. They're also useful for spare bedclothes and towels if you're on a long trip.

It is important to make sure you get the *roll up* kind not the ones that need a vacuum cleaner to evacuate the air. Betterware, JML, Kleeneze, Wilkinsons all have them.

Have you tried microfibre/ sports towels ? We made a heavy investment in them when we started and have gone back to standard towels because neither of us ever felt properly dry using the microfibre ones.

G


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## buttons (Dec 19, 2005)

Two options 
1. Only take what you really need for the trip. Get a third party for a 2nd opinion. 
2. Upgrade to a 9m Tag axle.  

My daughter travelled Aus for one year with just one rucksack and returned with it full of washing.


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## sallytrafic (Jan 17, 2006)

I agree with most of the above re towels we find that old towels are best they absorb ok but dry quicker. 

We have a policy of ironing as little as possible at home so that we see what can miss the ironing pile and hence what is most suitable for away.

Imagine each item you take having to defend in a court of law its position in your van. 

Get an eBook that saves me kilos


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Storage*

I love the bit about the 9m tag axle - yes, get one of those - and you still have to plan the packing carefully! I blame Jenny to be honest - her Paddington Bear takes up loads of space.

Russell


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## gromett (May 9, 2005)

As I am about to fulltime it has been a biggy for me.
* I have converted all my DVD's into mpeg for the computer.
* I have bought a sony ebook.
* I have got rid of all my 'whites' only buy coloured clothing that can be washed at the same time. Also avoids the problem where you put on the white tshirt only to spill stuff down it and have to change immediately.
* I have got rid of outside stuff that I never used or used rarely such as the ground sheet and the windbreaks.
* Cables and chargers have been replaced with a single charger DC-DC unit and these are all in a plastic box under the floor instead of having a locker all to themselves.
* Fitted a NaturePure water filter so I don't have to carry around water bottles in the fridge.
* Bought a net with plastic suckers, one for fixing to the mirror in the bathroom and the other for the shower to put regular use stuff in leaving more cupboard space free.
* T-towels are used to pack cupboards.
* Buy an all in one toolbox and got rid of the multiple toolboxes I normally have.

Karl


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## oldtart (Mar 18, 2006)

Thank you Karl for this info. The whites only is a good idea for both of us! Where did you get your nets, please? We have the Nature Pure which was great when we were in Morocco


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## gromett (May 9, 2005)

I bought the nets from a local £ shop.

Karl


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## oldtart (Mar 18, 2006)

Thanks. I shall have a search for them. As we also spend a lot of time on our narrow boat and space s at a premium they sound a great idea for the boat as well.


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## dikyenfo (Feb 16, 2008)

Now I know why I tow a small trailer - one that matches the MH and everything goes in that including BBQ gas bottles and cooking parafinallia.It means that 26 large wi ne boxes are no problem and it makes the MH very light on its feet. Also no problem with roadside inspections. Simples!


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## oldtart (Mar 18, 2006)

Well we haven't got to that stage at the moment - and we mange to get the boxes of wine in!!


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

brightsparkretired said:


> Has anyone any spacesaving ideas or tips i.e. additional units that can be installed on the vehicle to overcome some of these problems.


Not the most elegant of solutions but we have a set of hanging pockets hanging on the bathroom door and they are so useful. They hang on a set of overdoor hooks ( a neater set than those shown here !) and they are screwed into the door at the bottom. Available from camping shops.

Door pockets

We also have these ( from Amazon) over the back of the cab seats to carry all the guide books and maps to hand.


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## MrsW (Feb 8, 2009)

We have stackable saucepans (4 in all) that have removeable handles - just 2 handles for all 4 but they live in the knife drawer whilst the pans take up only half the space under the cooker. We have had them for 25 years though, but I have seen similar recently (although I can't remember where). 

Be careful not to hang too many thick coats in the wardrobe if the electricity distribution thingy is in there - we did at Shepton in January in temperatures of -9 and the heating was working overtime. Well, it was to start with until the whole electric thingy over-heated with the spare heat from the space heater as it was too well insulated by the coats and it tripped itself off, taking nearly 45 minutes to cool enough to reset itself!

Make use of a roof box for things you must take (but will probably never use) and then they won't be in the way on the trip. For food use boxes like the Lock and Lock boxes which stack easily for all dry stores to optimise the space in the top cupboards which can then be filled to the gunwhales with relatively light items. The boxes are clear enough to see the contents without labelling them. Just remember to keep tea /coffee/ much used items at the front for ease of use.

We use enormous bath sheets and find if we shower in the morning and then hang them from the spare bed over breakfast they soon dry and can air in the wardrobe where the heater keeps everything nice and warm. In the summer of course they dry outside when the sun comes out (Can anyone remember when that happened?)

Sorry not to be very technical, can you tell I'm a woman?


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## Suenliam (Mar 22, 2006)

After nearly 20 years of motorhomes we still can't get the amount of clothes thing right  

We now choose the space to put them and then take as many as will fit in. If we start with the clothes rather than the space we will need a trailer for them alone! Actually, every holiday he says he will take half the amount of last time. Then takes more :roll: 

With me it's handbags. Well you wouldn't want to see a gal with brown shoes and a black bag would you 8O 

The trials and tribualations of motorhoming :wink: :wink: :wink: 

Sue


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## lifestyle (Apr 27, 2008)

We have just taken everything out of ours, getting ready for our new one.
I just could not believe what we had , our lounge and kitchen are full up.
Looking what we took out ,2 elecy kettles ,5 pans ,elecy hob and elecy grille for out doors 2 tables (not including the one with the mh ) 5 disposable bq`s ,4 chairs enough tin foods to last a whole season ( she calls them emergency rations ) .
Not included clothes and bedding 
I am getting concerned a little now, our new mh has a lot more space.
Never mind :lol: :lol: :lol: 
Always look on the bright side of life :roll: :roll: :roll: 

Les


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## MyGalSal (Dec 8, 2008)

oldtart said:


> Can anyone tell me where I can buy tops - blouses and T shirts that dry quickly and dont look too creased when dry? I don't do ironing in the motorhome!!!





> Rohan do a good selection of lightweight gear. A quick wash, rinse, hang up in shower overnight and dry in the morning. Also base layer type tops from Blacks etc, those that 'wick', Berghaus, North Face etc all very lightweight, don't crease and wash and dry overnight.
> 
> Sal


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## jiffyman (May 11, 2005)

Thank yourselves lucky you probably have quite alot of space!!! :lol: :lol: 

When we last used our MH, we managed to squeeze everything into it that we thought we would need...

On getting 2/3rds of the way to the destination, one of the Leaf Springs snapped..... So, it was the Man in Yellow Van to the rescue, got home, packed as much in the car as we could, including the tent.....

If we had a pound for evertime we said, 'Where's the.... oh, in the Camper!!!' it would have paid for the new leaf springs!!

We tend not to overload with alot of food to minimise what there is in the cupboards, as we are never very far away from a supermarket etc...

Again, as said before, you probably wont know anyone you are going to meet, so take minimal clothing, only you will know if you have worn it two or three days in a row!!! :wink: :wink: :wink:


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