Handling home office equipment - hanging files

[Railronnie]

We are spending several months at a time in our RV. I have tried numerous ways of keeping personal files. My hanging files jump off the rails while traveling and fall down into any file drawer, file box or file container I have tried. Anyone have a hack for keeping the files ON THE RAILS? I have seen hacks with clips to keep them from sliding, but I want them to STAY ON THE RAILS. Any ideas???

[Scottiemom]

I was never a fan of the hanging files. We were landlords the 17 years we fulltimed and I needed file space. We had opposing couches in our Phaeton, so we had one removed and put in two recliners, then had a custom file box built by an Amishman in Nappannee to place between them. It had full extension drawers. Plenty of room for all the files I needed and nothing ever moved that was inside. We had it made with two tops using a piano hinge. So when I needed a desk, the recliner was pulled out and I turned my kitchen chair around, flopped open the top and had a desk where I could work and not take up table space. Great setup.

Dale

[TMBLSN]

Railronnie wrote:
We are spending several months at a time in our RV. I have tried numerous ways of keeping personal files. My hanging files jump off the rails while traveling and fall down into any file drawer, file box or file container I have tried. Anyone have a hack for keeping the files ON THE RAILS? I have seen hacks with clips to keep them from sliding, but I want them to STAY ON THE RAILS. Any ideas???

In all seriousness, go paperless. No need for any papers to reference. I have papers that I file away for records (mostly just taxes, but even most of that is digital), but I don't have any papers that I need to reference, it's all digital.

[RetiredRealtorR]

Second Chance wrote:
We use something like this and it keeps the hanging files in place very well during travel:

Hanging file box

If you have a lot of files, you may need several.

Rob

Good idea. That's what we use. But buy it from Target, not Amazon. About 30% cheaper. (Yeah, we learned long ago that Amazon rarely offers the best deal).

[LMHS]

I used to use the little skinny bungee cords to keep the files on the hangers in file cabinets when moving. I used one pair of cords over each end of the metal frame.

[wildtoad]

If you have a file box like the one referenced above which has a lid, I would think folding a towel and laying it between the lid and folders would keep the files in place.

[valhalla360]

We have a single draw file cabinet for items that can't be paperless. Packing it full seems to work OK.

But as others have said, unless you really need a physical piece of paper (say a truck title or such), avoid it. Non-critical paperwork (receipts, utilities, etc...) we take a picture and save it to a portable hard drive (we do back up the hard drive periodically also).

[JimK-NY]

When I started as a full timer, one of the first steps was to go as nearly paperless as possible. I even bought a small wand style handheld scanner so I could convert any paper files I received to electronic while travelling. My few paper files were stored in interoffice memo envelopes.

[Matt_Colie]

I had to move such a box several times. The first time, folders did jump off the rails. Then I packed the top with several layers of bubble wrap and even the box that fell upside down stayed engaged.

Matt

[Second_Chance]

We use something like this and it keeps the hanging files in place very well during travel:

Hanging file box

If you have a lot of files, you may need several.

Rob

[opnspaces]

Trying to think outside the box. Since the hangers have to lift up you need to find a way to prevent them from lifting too high.

My first thought is maybe an appropriately sized piece of plywood that lays flat across the top of the files and fill the gap. When the drawer is closed the files can't jump up to unhook. When the drawer is open just remove and set the piece of plywood on the floor to get it out of the way. Thinking further the plywood probably doesn't even have to be thick enough to fill the gap between the hooks and the top of the cabinet. The weight of the wood alone might be enough to keep the hooks in place.

[SAR_Tracker]

Load a hanger-box (like a Bankers Box) with your files, then stand it on end. Put the lid on!

[PartyOf_Five]

The back of our C bounces a lot, even when overloaded. Maybe you can keep the file cabinet in the truck. I've found banker boxes to be a better option, but really going (more) paperless has been the most convenient.