storage advice needed for KZ 16RBT hybrid TT - new owners

Thanks for all the posts. unfortuately, I am off on a week long business trip starting tomorrow, and the trailer is parked in a friend's lot. When I come back we are then headed out to our first campground - Lost River in the NH White Mountains. We won't have long in the morning on Saturday to pack, but fortunately the camp is near to a larger town with stores if needed. Should be a good learning experience for us - only two days, but we'll learn how to work all the tanks, the dump site, and see how we do in the trailer with the dogs. I'll report back after our adventure!

I have a hybrid as well (19SBT) and storage is limited. The hanging shoe thing is a life-saver, we use two on the outside of the bathroom wall by the bed. We've learned to slim down what we pack and typically go on two week trips.

I have to add we've only used ours once so far as we just got it. I'm sure we'll work out the details as you will. I think there's potential above the windows for small things but right now we just have a single (worthless) shelf.

Please share any good ideas you come up with!

This is a "don't do as I do, do as I say" thing.....if you find yourself bringing something in, try to take something out. When we moved from our HTT to our TT, I found that 5 tablecloths had somehow migrated into the cabinets. Hmmm. That Dutch Oven mentioned earlier. DH had enough tools in the HTT to build a complete unit himself. When he got started going through it, most of it went back to the garage. We put "Rocky" on a diet and did a fine job of thinking about whether it was something essential or just something we'd toss in. We always had a "just in case" supply of food. If it was suddenly pouring down rain and we didn't grill, we could open a can of something or a boxed dinner. Remember that the cans weigh a lot more than the boxed items.

Your frig is smaller than the one we had in both trailers and it is really easy to get it cram packed. It won't work as efficiently unless it has some good air flow. I was the guilty one for filling our top shelf in the frig completely with canned drinks....we usually only had a couple each over the whole weekend, so why pack maybe 15 or so?

Be sure to try to get in at least one Camp Driveway before you actually head out for real camping. Have everything you think you'll need and don't go back into the house to retrieve something you forgot or didn't know, make a list. Suggest starting with the kitchen....can opener, a couple of knives, etc. Get together a First Aid Kit and a good bug spray. Don't forget a copy of your dog's rabies certificate and be sure he/she has a nametag on the collar with a cell phone #. Remember the leash and the poopy bags. You'll learn a lot at Camp Driveway. This is for real.....we camped across from a couple with an obviously new-to-them pop-up. I'd bet they made 10 trips back into town over the weekend to pick up things they either didn't know or forgot. A list is a lot easier and cheaper on gas.

So for now, we'll likely find you hanging out in the organizer section at Walmart....Enjoy!

Oh, also on the bathroom door we have a "coat rack" on the outside, so on the inside the shoe holder and the outside coat rack. We also have used a LOT of those little sticky 3m hooks for the dog leash (by the door), behidn the stove (for kitchen utensils and hot pads), etc.

We bought a shoe storage hanging bag (not sure what the name is) but it's for shoes, and it is made of fabric and hangs on the door. We hang that on the inside of the bathroom door, and in it we store all of our bathroom necessities, and on longer trips we stuff our underwear and socks in the empty "shoe holders"

Store bowls, paper plates, etc inside the microwave... anything that's light enough to not damage the door if it slides around while you're towing. That will free up cabinet space for heavier items.

If this is just for weekend get aways, you might not need all that kitchen stuff ... it sounds like you're loading up more for a long road trip. I'm the same way, my poor camper is overstuffed with basically a downsized duplicate of my house, which reminds me I need to work on that :)

Regarding dog leashes, chargers, etc. What is your tow vehicle doing? I have a canvas bag I load up with cords and chargers for all my gizmos, the dog's leash is usually on the dog or laying in the back seat of the truck. Same for food and water bowls ... if we're parked somewhere for days, i'll set his bowls out near the camper, otherwise they're in the footwell in the backs seat.

its probably bad practice, but my tow hitch lives in the receiver, last time I tried to take it out, it's rusted in pretty good, so I don't worry about it. of course, I just use a simple ball hitch, nothing fancy.

btw I have a 20 ft KZ, so those four extra feet do make a big difference I suppose

enjoy it!

Thank you. Yes, there is limited underseat storage but I have already wiped out some of that with sewer and water hoses, chocks, tools, etc. The "basement" on our trailer is very small and is the same area as the largest underseat storage. One of the underseat areas has the potable water tank and water heater, and another has the furnace, so again, limited storage there...and that's it. The main storage areas are then the cabinet next to the microwave up high, the cabinet under the stove, some space in the cabinet below the sink that is cluttered with plumbing, and the two small upper cabinets to the right of the door. Things we'll want to leave in the trailer (list is growing) are:

kitchen items - knives, paper plates, mixing bowl, salad bowl, pot and pan, plastic utensils, spatula and spoon, lighter for stove, salt, pepper, paper towels, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, broom and dustpan, and ??

bedding material (does not take up space when camping - store in plastic bag in the bathtub

basement - hitch parts when not towing, small tool bag, water hose and fittings, sewer hose attachments, gloves, bleach, charcoal, and ??

sewer hose in bumper.

Other things - bug spray, sun block, books, chargers, dog leashes, bowls, dog food - in upper cabinets or under seat in available space.

what are the other essentials? anyone have a good list for a small TT that only goes camping on weekends - not one we are planning to live in for extended periods of time?

Kayaks, clothing, and other stuff go in the back of the truck...when we get there I agree we can use the extra bed to store clothing, etc. unless our kids come along.

Hi again...took another look at some other pictures/dealers with your same trailer and spotted a couple of things I hadn't seen before. Looks like above the front bunkend you have a storage area that runs along the top and has netting to keep things in place....that's a dandy place to store blankets or fleece throws, etc.

It was hard to tell in one of the pictures, but looks like they have NOT done you a favor with the electric outlet in the kitchen area...it's right next to the stove. Is there one on the end of the cabinet next to the dinette? If not, you're going to need to come up with something safe and level to set a coffee maker, etc. There may be a cover available for your stove that would fit well. Some folks get something like a large cutting board either wood or plastic. That does mean you can't use the stove at the same time unless you set it over the sink. Current countertop appliances have MAYBE a 2' cord and really not handy. Sometimes these designers just don't think. You could use an extension cord to get to the countertop area, but not sure that would be very safe. If you have a handy person around, you might check into adding an outlet near the work area. It would need to be a GFCI.

Another plus for your new trailer is the nice window over the kitchen area....like that!

On your earlier post you mentioned using the shower rod for hanging clothes. Suggest you are very careful with this weight. I would use the containers and fold clothes even if they have to go in the tub. For coats, sweatshirts, etc, we just put up a couple of nice looking nickel-finish hooks. They were easy to get to, but still out of the way. Believe DH used plastic anchors with any screws he put in and we never had a problem. Same for towel rods or rings.

Is there any storage available under the seats? Did you just prefer not to use that if it's available? FWIW, it does make a good spot to store things like a toolbox or other things you need to have available, but not necessarily at arms reach.

Will you be using both bunkends regularly? If not, the unused one is a great place to stow things while you're set up at the campground. We used the front bunk as our bed and opened up the rear for more light and openness...stowing things in the rear bunkend has most things out of sight and keeps the camper looking neater. You can also add a couple of those hooks on the wall area in that bunk for extra coats, etc.

There seems to be a lot of folks looking for a nice, smaller trailer and I think yours has a lot to offer. Congrats.

JimNH wrote:
Posted this on the TT side, and was told to post here as well.

We got a new (hybrid) TT, and tried to start filling it up with our stuff last night. With no drawers, and only a few accessible (not under seating) cupboards, organization is an issue. Thinking we need to buy a bunch of sterilite type plastic storage bins in the right sizes, but other suggestions are very welcome - esp. if you have the same or similar trailer! Thanks!

Yup bins are the way to go. I have a 3 drawer sterilite tall organizer inside the closet, and a smaller two drawer that sits on top of the fridge, in the nook where the smaller AC would normally go (i have the rooftop ac)

The drawers above the fridge are held in with a bungie cord that is fixed on both ends to 3m adhesive hooks which are on either side of the drawer.

KZ installed a 4 drawer organizer inside one of the kitchen lower cabinets which is awesome.

I also have 4 "under bed" type storage totes in the basement, they stack up nicely and slide in and out easily through the 12" tall openings.