This is a question that many new and experienced RVers struggle with every day. How can we find more space in our very small campers for all our stuff?
There’s only one answer to this question if you find yourself running out of space in your RV. You need less stuff. You can’t build an addition to make your camper bigger. You need to work within the space you have. This means maximizing every bit of free space you can find and getting rid of everything you don’t need. If you’re heading out for a week-long vacation, this will be an easier task. If like us, you’re moving into your camper full-time, it’s much more challenging, but it can be done.
We downsized our three-bedroom house into a 28-foot travel trailer. It took a lot of effort, and in complete honesty, we do have some stuff stored in our shed, but our shed won’t be traveling with us. Everything we really need is stashed somewhere in our trailer. It’s a matter of deciding what it is you truly need, and getting rid of the rest.
We downsized our three-bedroom house into a 28-foot travel trailer
The RV floorplan that you choose can also have a big impact on how much storage space you have. One of the reasons we picked the Avenger 32BIT was the huge amount of storage space it offered. The full-size closet by the door is great for hats, sweaters, coats, and shoes. The rear bedroom is separated by a standard door, flanked on both sides by deep, floor-to-ceiling pantry cabinets. Finding the right layout for your RV is a big key to making everything fit.
However, you may already have an RV and you’re trying to make it work. There are a few options for adding external storage to your camper. Most travel trailers have a hitch receiver on the rear bumper. We use ours for bike storage, but I’ve seen cargo boxes and such mounted here. It won’t add much space, but if you need a few more cubic feet of space, it might be an option.
If your camper is a travel trailer, you also have the back of your tow vehicle. If you have a pickup truck or large SUV, you’ll have extra space for stuff. The challenge here is weight. I don’t like having very much in the bed of our truck when towing our trailer. Payload numbers are the key to a safe towing experience and I don’t want to overload our tow vehicle.
Many people will use this space for large, heavy items like totes and such that don’t fit in the trailer. This is a mistake. If you must use the bed of your truck, or cargo area in your SUV, use it for lightweight items that won’t impact your payload capacity.
How do I maximize my travel trailer space?
This is the better question to ask. We know that RVs offer a fixed amount of storage and there’s not much we can do to expand upon it, but we can maximize the space we have available.
The basic idea here is to make sure we only have the stuff we need and ensure that stuff takes up as little space as possible. Everything needs to have its place. Everything is stored in some sort of bag, box, or container to keep it organized. Here are a few things we’ve done that may provide you with some inspiration:
I switched to e-books. It wasn’t easy. I much prefer paper books. I expect many readers feel the same. But books are heavy and even a small collection can take up a lot of valuable storage space. I can carry an entire library on my tablet and it takes up no space. I did have an e-reader, which is better for reading, but my tablet doubles as an alarm clock, streaming device, game console, educational tool, and child pacifier.
Buying stuff in bulk is great, and cost-effective, but we don’t have the space.
We stopped shopping at Costco, which still makes me sad. I love Costco, especially now that free samples are back. And they’re committed to keeping the hot dog and pop combo at $1.50 forever. Buying stuff in bulk is great, and cost-effective, but we don’t have the space.
Instead of a once-per-week Costco run, we try to hit the supermarket three times each week. We buy things in smaller quantities more often. I expect it’s costing us a bit more (I haven’t done the math) but it’s worth the added price to have everything fit in our small RV fridge and freezer.
We don’t do leftovers. We make a conscious effort to cook the right amount of food because we toss whatever isn’t eaten. There’s simply no space to keep leftovers, and I hate wasting food, so we really try to get this right.
We limit the amount of clothing and footwear we each have, and laundry is a twice-per-week commitment for our family of four. Clothing is generally lightweight, which is always a plus in an RV, but it can take up a lot of space. By limiting what we have, we cut down on the space (and the inevitable clutter) needed.
How do I organize my camper cabinets?
Even when we find the right balance of stuff and space for our camper, there is the ongoing challenge of keeping things organized and in place, especially when we’re bouncing down the road. Two of the biggest things we’ve discovered are that square things stack better (no kidding?) and something that you might think belongs in a cabinet may work better somewhere else.
I think organization is something we tend to over-complicate. It really is quite simple. Have less stuff. Use square boxes.
Everything that isn’t square gets put into square containers. Everything in the storage space under the bed is in crates to keep it organized and secure. The pantry cabinets are stacked with plastic bins, each containing a specific set of items. One is for first aid, one for stationary, one for craft supplies, one for school stuff, and one for spare batteries and small electronics. You get the idea. These things wouldn’t stack very well on their own.
I realize our square storage philosophy seems obvious and you’re probably right. I think organization is something we tend to overcomplicate. It really is quite simple. Most RVs are square boxes (even you, Airstream). That means that most interior spaces are square boxes. It makes sense that the best way to maximize storage space is to put everything in square boxes.
It’s a fine example of Occam’s Razor. The simplest solution is usually the best solution. Have less stuff. Use square boxes.
Thinking Outside the Box for RV Storage Ideas
One thing that did surprise me was the solution for our plates and silverware. When we first moved into our RV, the plates were in the cabinet and the silverware was in the drawer. it was always disorganized.
A family member gifted us a set of plastic dishes in a wire basket with space for silverware. It now sits on our counter. As far as I am concerned, those two things (dishes and silverware) will never see the inside of the cabinet again (except on travel days).
Yes, counter space is the most premium of all spaces inside an RV, but having this one square foot dedicated to items that normally take up a cabinet and a drawer is a good trade-off. I may be overstaying this particular issue, but the takeaway here is that just because something belongs in a cabinet in a house (or we think it does) doesn’t mean that we can’t try something different in our RV.
Maximizing the amount of useful space in our campers is a challenge. We tend to have a lot of stuff that we think we need and struggle to pare it down to suit our limited storage, but it can be done. The simple truth is we actually need a small fraction of what we think we need. Believe it or not, we have a family of four living full-time in a 28-foot travel trailer and empty storage space that we’re not using.
