Packing Your RV Storage Area

The RV storage area or garage can become one of the more unorganized areas in your RV. Things get piled in, broken items crammed in the back, that place where things haven’t been used in over a year and probably never will be used again. If you’ve owned an RV for at least a year, you know the drill. For those new to the RV lifestyle or maybe a reminder for those who have camped for much longer periods, here are a few tips about packing your RV storage area.

Evaluate

This may seem counter intuitive, but my first tip in packing your RV storage area is to pull everything out and I mean everything. Clean out the trash, throw away any broken items. Then start the evaluation. I lay everything from the garage outside of the RV where it’s easy to view. Eliminate those items where you have two of something and only one is used. Most of use carry things around year after year and have never used and probably never will – stop hauling it around. There may be instances where you may need certain tools or the manual crank for the slides. These are worthwhile emergency items, so determine what is important and what is unused garage clutter.

What’s really needed

Here are a few items that Joan and I use in our RV travels. The list may vary depending on the time of year, but these are the basics.

1. Chairs. Purchase a good quality camping chair, well-made and something that has a slide slant in the back to make sitting comfortable. Also, carry the amount of chairs for those traveling in the RV. For Joan and I, that’s two. We find if visitors come by, we sit at the picnic table or for the evening campfire, everyone brings their favorite chair.
2. A small folding camping side table. We have a both a plastic and aluminum version. The plastic table was retired this year. Just wasn’t used. So out it goes. These folding tables are very easy to store and perfect between the camping chairs for drinks or the place for your noon meal outside.
3. 6 foot folding table. This is our outdoor kitchen. Folds into a 36” by 30” square, but unfolds into a 6’ table with space for the grill and cooking utensils.
4. Two outdoor camping rugs. A large 9’ by 12’ and a smaller 6’ by 9’. These are handy to keep sand and dirt from tracking in the camper plus providing a nice area for the sitting area outside. We have the two sizes to minimize placement in the grassy area of the camping spot.
5. A portable air compressor. This may seem like overkill, but we often travel for several months, moving every week or two. Checking and maintaining proper tire pressure is important for safe and trouble free travel. With truck and 5th wheel, we are 56’ in length and it’s difficult to find a place to air the tires, plus our tires require 110 lbs of pressure. Not something you’ll accomplish at a convenience store and we don’t want to fight the lines at a truck stop just for air.
6. Tools. Everyone’s needs are different, but we carry those items for basic repairs – cordless drill, small socket set, pliers, wire cutters, camping hatchet, screw drivers, etc. We store in a small tool bag where everything fits.
7. Satellite dish and stand. We have a Winegard X2 for our Dish Outdoors service. Takes up a good bit of garage space, it’s lightweight, easy in and out. The RV is our home and we want TV entertainment as we travel.
8. Electrical cords, hoses, cleaning items, disposable gloves, paper towels, etc. These are those miscellaneous list of items that are similar, yet unique to the RV you own and your travel lifestyle. My recommendation is to find a location that’s easy to access, where each item has its place and the item can be hung or stored when not used.

We review the RV garage storage area twice a year. The first effort is the longest trying to determine what you really need for RV travel. The next time, is less and every time thereafter is minutes. In the video below, it took less than an hour to pull everything out, vacuum the space, toss what wasn’t needed and replace in an organized fashion. Now everything fits, it won’t move around and break, and most of all, it will be easy to access we less time to set up and store again as we travel to the next campground.

Products discussed in this video

Core folding camping chair – https://amzn.to/2Xb8Wbv Cozy quilted seat; padded hard arms provide extra support and comfort.

Folding camping table – https://amzn.to/2X8vrxT Made from sturdy aluminum, it doesn’t rust regardless of the weather. We use at our camp site and the beach.

9′ x 12′ Camping Mat – https://amzn.to/2RikxQH This allows us to place 4+ chairs and a couple of small camping tables to enjoy the company of our fellow RV travelers.

6 X 9 Camping Mat – https://amzn.to/2IKbi7M This mat is great to use in closer areas near the entry of your camper.

Porter Cable Pancake Air Compressor – https://amzn.to/2IfJklx 120 volt, 150 psi max tank pressure.

 

Not sure about what RV accessories you need as you start RV travel? Check out our RV Accessories page where we have listed a wide range of products from essential items to those “nice to have” RV products to make RV life more enjoyable. Every item listed is being used or has been used by Joan and I as we’ve traveled across the country in our RV.
 

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