Caravan Virgin's First Question
Hello Everyone
Just purchased our first ever caravan, and a complete novice, in fact I have never slept in a caravan before!
My first question is regarding storage while on the move.
What do people do with all their kitchen equipment while on the move? I was considering buying plastic boxes to put under the beds so things can't slide about and get broken.
Advice most welcome.
Comments
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in the kitchen drawers, as at home?
we have six large lockable kitchen drawers (and another under the fridge/freezer) where we store all our kit.....kettles, pans, steamers, toaster, slow cooker, crockery, cutlery, tins, chopping board, draining board, place mats, tall cereal boxes....etc, etc....
just like our kitchen at home....
you're right not to be thinking about high up....low is better and safer, no doubt....
good luck with the new van...
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We have one roof locker which is fitted with several racks to hold plates and mugs securely in place, otherwise we have the pots under the cooker and the cutlery, utensils and other odds and ends in the 2 cupboards under the sink.
Bulky items go under the seats or the bed.
For food we use roof lockers for things like tea, coffee, cornflakes and packets, but nothing heavy. Any tins or jars are stashed low down, where we have some pull-out wire baskets.
Fresh food goes in the fridge. For bottles we have a cool box that travels in the car.
So like BB we carry everything in the cupboards where it lives when on site.
Likewise with clothes, bedding, towels and toiletries.
The front chest of drawers is a great place for odds and ends and pens and paper etc, but we do try to have a clear out every so often.
Caravan spares are in Ikea boxes under a seat, along with a few tools.
In the front locker, as well as the gas bottles, we can fit in the Wastemaster and some other lightweight things.
The Aquaroll and awning bits go in the car , as do any heavy tools and things like the trolley jack.
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Hi and welcome.
The one big difference between storage at home and in a caravan is the massive amount of movement in a caravan when on the move, so always try to pack things so that they will not move and damage other things when travelling. Also use towels and such like to pack things and then use the towels when you get there. Enjoy your caravan.
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good tip from CGB, tea towels are good for keeping things from bumping together...
i also have all drawers lined with that soft stuff especially made for the purpose...works pretty well...
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As others have said plus buy lightweight plastic plates and utensils as far as is possible.
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As others have said, visit a caravan accessory shop and pick up the cup storage accessory, the preformed tray for cutlery, the plate racks, the wine glass holders, the list goes on.
I also line most of my cupboard bottoms with 'non slip gripper roll' cut to size (thicker is better), but importantly everything has a place and packed away to reduce damage on the move.
At the end of any trip though, I always open a cupboard door with caution ready to catch anything that wants to come out. This goes for the fridge also as my wife stacks it full.
Heavy items such as pans and some tinned food is always carried low in the cupboards below the sink, but most canned food and drink is carried in the car due to weight and brought in when on site.
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All good tips above although I prefer lightweight crockery such as Corelle or the new lookalikes from Argos and Ikea.
I also put "Locking the Cupboards" on my check list - if you have any - its all too easy to forget to lock them! Don't take too much stuff to start with - it soon builds up and you will wonder how! I keep the kettle and baking tray in the oven for travelling.
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I agree with most of the ieas here. For packing clothes though rather than anything rigid we find the big green bags sold by Tesco or similar ones from other supermarkets a better bet. They are far more flexible and if storing in seat bases or under beds can be squeezed into place better. If you unpack into draws and lockers they fold completely flat, so are more convenient to store or you can use them if you do a big shop.
It is really a matter of common sense packing other things fairly tight and as low down as possible. There should be a rack for crockery and a cutlery draw in the caravan.
If when you first use the caravan do not be afraid to ask others for help as most are only too wiling to assist.
If you go on u tube you will find a few videos to help hitch and other things you need to know.
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Another caravan virgin here, but we've found after years of plastic mugs when tent camping that hot drinks just taste so much better from ceramic, so have a couple of teatowel-wrapped mugs we don't mind too much about; we also carry plastic back-ups just in case! I reckon our caravan, while it's tiny, will probably manage that much extra packing.
Have fun :-)
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Totally agree about tea/coffee tasting better out of ceramic pots. Similarly, got to be glass to drink wine/beer out of. We buy from Ikea where it is ludicrously cheap, keep it all in one of their cardboard boxes and replace if it gets broken which is very rare.
Nothing at all (apologies - except wheel clamp) is stored on our floor area while in transit. All in the cupboards/under seats/lockers etc. All got its place but there again there is only 2 of us in a spacious 4 berth.
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All good tips here. We have been caravanning for many years and our only breakage has been one glass. You will be tempted to take too much! We do not have dedicated tumbler storage so we put the mugs in a plastic box and then put the glasses in them wrapped in kitchen paper. The wine and other bottles go in those cardboard wine boxes you can get in supermarkets. Saucepans go in the space under the oven. Tea, coffee, cereal in a high cupboard. Food (tins etc) in a low cupboard. TIP: if you hang clothes in a wardrobe on hangars hang them up with the hangars facing alternate ways, this will stop them falling off. We also have one 'dirty' and one 'clean' under bed storage. The 'dirty' one already has the water heater in so tools, spares etc go there and in the other 'clean' one the bedding, towels etc. Just remember; heavy stuff as low and near the axle as possible, light stuff high and heavy stuff low. We put the awning, Aquaroll and grey waste in the car as these are probably the heaviest or bulkiest things you take thus saving precious loading capacity in the caravan. When loaded check the nose weight to get it as near as possible to the max allowed either by the car or hook whichever is the lower (probably 100kgs but check) I try to get 90kgs+ nose weight. The CC handbook has good advice on loading and with experience it will become second nature. All that goes on our floor when travelling are the steps and handles for the steadies and mover.
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Good advice Wildwood, but we are just a couple and in a Tiguan. A third passenger on the back seat would almost certainly weigh more than an awing which we put as far forward, with the seats down, as possible as I don't want to dirty my rear seats
and it will not fit on the floor space, it is a Kampa; a 'conventional' awning would probably fit on the floor.0 -
As a caravan novice myself I would just like to point out that one thing you might want to do is first is to weigh your van, we did and had a shock. With just a “few odds and ends” in the van we were well over weight so we then had to rethink what we could carry in the van. We are now down in Spain and with the load in the van just right towing down here was a pleasure.
Good luck and good towing.
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