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Old 09-18-2014, 05:22 PM   #1
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Name: Conrad
Trailer: Bigfoot 3000 & Barth "slide-in" truck camper
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eBags for packing

I am trying to find better ways to organize food and canned goods which need to be kept low. Further I needed a better way to organize clothes.

For years I've used large zip lock bags for packing my sea bag. They work great in a wet environment like a boat but sizes are limited for larger items. These might be better suited for wires , cables, chargers, and batteries. I have purpose made dry bags for larger items but these don't pack well.

Recently I discovered these eBag suitcase organizers. They are fantastic. I may order another set of the mixed sizes. I do not seem to run out of uses for these organizers.

The different sizes make it easy to fill any nook and the colors and see thru webbing make it easy to identify what is inside. And they weigh nothing.

I read the wash well also though I have tried that yet.

Between these and getting rid of the microwave, I have freed up a lot of space in the camper.

It is a game changer such that I everything should be reorganized.

I will probably repurpose my hanging locker into storage for dry and canned goods, with a space on top for my backpack. The old TV slider drawer which I used for clothes will fit an Engle freezer. I would be thrilled to have more freezer space.

I have a small hanging locker forward. It is a bit narrow for hanging clothes but might work. But do I even need a hanging locker? Another shelf or two in there would be welcome. These bags would fit well in there also and eliminate spilling everything out to find one item.

I hang wet clothes in the bathroom and I have hooks for frequently used clothes like coats. So a neat way to organize clothes will be a big help.

If I move light stuff like cloths over the dinette I could repurpose the hanger locker for canned and dry good and still have space for the backpack. I never would have thought some little thing like bags would make such a big difference.





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Old 09-18-2014, 05:26 PM   #2
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I love the mesh organizers. I have several sets in different colors. They're great for keeping like items together and they do seem to create more room. Terrific for travel of any kind.
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Old 09-19-2014, 07:02 AM   #3
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Hi Conrad,
I don't know what you mean by "ebag suitcase organizers". Are they something like this http://www.containerstore.com/shop/t...riesOrganizers ? I use inexpensive lingerie bags with zipper tops for things like socks, gloves, knit hats, tee-shirts, underwear, etc.. While I understand that men might find the name of the bags to have too much of a feminine association, they are really only net bags. I find them at Target for about $2 each. I've often thought that colored net drawstring bags from Oriental Trading company would work well too. These Neon Net Backpacks - Oriental Trading or these Mesh Beach Bags - Oriental Trading My husband and I carry one duffle bag each for clothing and store them under the bed. Roll each piece of clothing and everything is easy to find and relatively wrinkle-free (not a big concern while camping).

We never looked back after converting our hanging closet to shelving. It's provided plenty of space for everything. I use clear plastic shoe boxes to contain all sort of small items. See the photo of my under-sink cabinet. They fit in most any nook and crannie, are stackable and are water-proof if you need to take them outdoors. http://www.containerstore.com/shop/c...&mr=shoe+boxes

I also don't understand your need for "better ways to organize food and canned goods which need to be kept low". What do you mean by "low"? We keep our canned goods and unrefrigerated food in milk crates. We keep perishable food in the trailer ice box and in a cooler in the car.
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Old 09-19-2014, 07:23 AM   #4
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Perhaps its the difference in needs for someone that owns a truck camper versus an all molded towable?
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Old 09-19-2014, 07:53 AM   #5
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These folks ain't cheap, but they make a product that is well nigh bullet proof. I use them for sub-dividing my clothing etc. in the big suitcase or travel bag and when I get there my shirts and pants and jackets are still neatly folded and everything is where I can find it. I got lucky with my shopping and found them at reduced prices, so I have accumulated a bunch in several sizes to organize my packing quite well.

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Old 09-19-2014, 11:36 AM   #6
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It's best to keep heavy things low and store lighter things higher up--even in a trailer. As Donna mentioned it depends on your type of camper. Mine is a truck camper and I put the heavy stuff in the bottom half. My vertical clearance is 11.5' of so. I'm glad to have a dually going around corners.

Regarding the hanging locker. I need more space so I'll remove everything that I can and measure for shelves probably on both hanging lockers.

The bottom half will be my canned good storage. The clothes that won't fold up well are going in the house. I will carefully evaluate my clothing needs and find places for those.

I may add a few drawers. I could use some smaller drawers to organize spare parts better. Despite my best efforts, my tool and parts drawers are always a mess-- even with cardboard dividers. Shallower drawers would be a big help.

Two of my drawer under the dinette constant slide open. I use bungee cords to secure the front. However I decided that attaching a bungee cord to the back would work better. Sort of like a spring loaded drawer. If I could move my tools higher up where I could see them better that would be a big help. Then the other two drawers could become food storage.

All this could change if I get a better idea.

It is interesting how things get better over time. The more you use a camper, the better organized it gets.

I love to see the clever ways people use to make camping better. These sorts of projects are as much fun as camping itself. I find myself smiling every time I use something I built or modified myself.





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Old 09-19-2014, 12:00 PM   #7
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Adding drawers

Drawers make a difference on a number of levels, they provide organization, easy access and good visibility.

We've added 5 pull out drawers inside and 2 pull out drawers outside under our Scamp 16. They do provide easy, defined access.

We use the two underneath the trailer floor, outside drawers for seldom accessed tool storage.

As well as the added drawers, we have converted an underneath the kitchen counter cabinet to a pantry with two pull out shelves for canned good storage. This relatively low storage is located over the axle, easy access with all cans visible.

We're a big believer in low weight, with our air conditioner, one of our heavier items, at floor level of our hanging closet. Storage above the air conditioner consists of a dirty clothes hamper compartment with lighter dry food storage on shelves above.

We also have two pull out plastic containers with covers for clothing storage in the center couch storage area.

We do have a full width over the dinette storage cabinet and a storage cabinet over the end of the couch, these higher cabinets contain mostly 'fluff', bedding and clothing.

I suspect that how well we towed with our CRV was partially related to how well we stowed items in the trailer, low weight, close to or above the axle.
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Old 09-19-2014, 12:49 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Green Frog View Post
These folks ain't cheap, but they make a product that is well nigh bullet proof. I use them for sub-dividing my clothing etc. in the big suitcase or travel bag and when I get there my shirts and pants and jackets are still neatly folded and everything is where I can find it. I got lucky with my shopping and found them at reduced prices, so I have accumulated a bunch in several sizes to organize my packing quite well.

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I use the Eagle creek cubed packs & similar products in the trailer, as well as for back packing/kayaking and when I travel to ski races where everything needed for two or more weeks on the mountain is stuffed into one large rolling duffle - they really help to keep items organized and not toss every thing around when digging into a large bag & pulling everything out looking for a clean pair of socks for example. I have used the lingerie bags as well but find they don't hold their shape as well or compact items down as well as the zippered cube type holders. In the trailer I only have on large cube box under the bed for clothing so having items separated out within in it helps to keep it organized as well.
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Old 09-19-2014, 01:08 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Night Sailor View Post
I am trying to find better ways to organize food and canned goods which need to be kept low.
I added wire shelving to the bottom half of my tall closet and turned that into the food storage area. Took a few trips to figure out the position I need to set each shelf at to get it to work out well based on my standard pantry items.

To keep items organized on the shelves and to stop cans etc from rolling around I put in a few wire baskets that look somewhat like the photo below - one for the can goods, one for small packages of items such as soap mixes, another for spices etc. Another for bottles such as pancake syrup, honey etc. I have one shelf without bins that I store large bagged items such as chips :-) and bakery goods on. Has worked out well.

Living and camping in black bear country has taught me that leaving food in a car or truck over night may not be the best of ideas. Bears have broken into cars & trucks in my neighbourhood to get at nothing more than a child's cracker left on the back seat. If you and the food are in the trailer they will be far more reluctant to try and get at it.
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Old 09-19-2014, 01:30 PM   #10
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Small things.
Ginny and I carry two sets of badges, one set in the car and one in the trailer.

The set in the car are for church, a tradition in our denomination and useful as we test churches across North America.

The trailer set are for Escapee events where badges, as a courtesy to others, are usually worn at Escapee events.

The Escapee badges hang on a coaster on the back of the over couch cabinet door, convenient and defined.

It's nice to find stuff, particularly small stuff, without digging thru a drawer or bag.

I know some may find this extreme but it demonstrates how we organize.

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Old 09-19-2014, 01:31 PM   #11
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Oops forgot the picture

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Old 09-21-2014, 09:00 PM   #12
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I find the mesh lingerie bags Room Essentials® Basic Mesh Lingerie Washing... : Target to be sturdy and convenient; you can see the contents, they breathe thereby avoiding mold and they lay very flat. A BIG PLUS is that they are $1.49 as opposed to those other high priced cloth boxes of which you speak. Ultimately, though, we each need to find our preferred method of organization.
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Old 09-22-2014, 05:48 AM   #13
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I really like this idea for storing items in our Casita, but we would only use this for essentials like clothing, a few small tools etc. Our trailer, as equipped from the factory, is somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,000 pounds. We weighed items for a normal one week trip, including food, water, propane, etc. and it came to about 350 pounds of supplies for two people which is much more than the spare tire and jack which so many vehicle manufacturers delete from vehicles today in order to "decrease weight and increase fuel mileage" but I would rather have the spare in place of food. We have visited many areas of the U.S. from East of the Mississippi to the west coast and found food prices are very close if you shop carefully at discounters like Costco, Walmart, Sams etc., so in place of carrying things across country like heavy canned goods, bottled water, etc. we shop locally when we reach our destination. Now I realize not everyone is concerned about weight but with our former tow vehicle (Chevrolet Traverse) we wanted to keep things as light as possible and place most items near the floor, utilizing upper cabinets for lightweight clothing.

This is just another person's view on the RV lifestyle and I don't expect others to follow the lessons we have learned in more than 35 years of RVing.
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Old 09-22-2014, 05:56 AM   #14
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Talking The cheap way

I guess you could call me cheap. I like to think of it as being environmentally friendly, but I like peanut butter jars. They are plastic, so do not break. They have a screw top, so do not open, and pack together nicely because they are all the same size and shape.
They are lighter than glass. We keep our sugar, tea bags, instant coffee and decaf, hot chocolate, the little condiment packages, ketchup, mustard, mayonaisse, all in peanut butter jars. If one really wants to be fancy, you can use Goo Gone to remove the glue from the label.
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Old 09-22-2014, 06:30 AM   #15
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We're also big users of plastic over glass. Weight is only one reason, another is breakage. In our first year of RVing glass breakage on rough roads was an issue, the vast majority of all kitchen items are now plastic..
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Old 09-27-2014, 01:08 PM   #16
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How about some pictures Norm? I bet you were clever adding those drawers.


Quote:
Originally Posted by honda03842 View Post
Drawers make a difference on a number of levels, they provide organization, easy access and good visibility.

We've added 5 pull out drawers inside and 2 pull out drawers outside under our Scamp 16. They do provide easy, defined access.

We use the two underneath the trailer floor, outside drawers for seldom accessed tool storage.

As well as the added drawers, we have converted an underneath the kitchen counter cabinet to a pantry with two pull out shelves for canned good storage. This relatively low storage is located over the axle, easy access with all cans visible.

We also have two pull out plastic containers with covers for clothing storage in the center couch storage area.




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Old 09-27-2014, 01:28 PM   #17
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Preparing a 1991 Scamp under Modifications contains all my modifications. I'd be happy to provide pictures of specific drawers.
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