how do you carry your stuff in the TC

[monicarick01]

I just sold my 43 foot toy hauler 5th wheel and am down sizing to a TC. But I am wondering where do you put the camping chairs and coolers and fire wood. How about the generator that I see so many people talk about. I see they say do not get the optional generator and us that spot for storage but then I wonder where do they keep their portable one. I realize that I cannot bring all the stuff I use to bring, that is the point of down sizing but there are a few things that need to be brought. I have been searching for hours and cannot find any forums that talk directly about the big storage problems only the little ones. Thanks for any input.

[monicarick01]

I would say you have just about everything one would need!!!!

[JoeChiOhki]

Like this:

[Airstreamer67]

Darn, there's always somebody with a scale to spoil all my plans 🙂

[monicarick01]

Lots of great IDEAS, but I just weighed my truck and camper and I am 680 pounds over weight in a DRY state of loaded, so I will be bringing nothing with me except my thoughts, sorry honey and kids.

lol

[GoinThisAway]

realter wrote:
Goin--I wish I was as handy as you. Why the holes in the shelf? Is that a skylight in the last picture? Nice sized.

The holes in the bottom shelf of the overcab wardrobe are for two reasons. These shelves sit flush with the top of the adjoining bin so I need to be able to lift the shelf to access the storage space underneath. The holes allow for both air circulation and a way to lift the boards. I was amazed at how much stuff I can keep in this space. In this space under the bottom shelf on just one side of the bed I store 4 rolls of paper towels, 3 boxes of tissues, and 6 rolls of toilet paper.

That is a skylight you see over the table in the last photo. It adds a lot of light but if I had ordered the camper I would not have gotten it. It is right at the top of the stairs so makes getting on top of the camper a bit more difficult. Of course this wouldn't be a problem if they'd put the ladder on the other side over the less visible kitchen window where it should be. But that's another story!

About the only tools I have for my woodworking projects is a ruler, a square, a couple clamps, a miter saw, and a 12V drill. Almost everything I've built can be removed without leaving visible holes. That way if it doesn't work out the way I think it should the first time or if I just change my mind on how it should be I can try again.

[kerry4951]

Its possible to gain alot of extra storage space in most TCs by using a little ingenuity. My TC came with some pretty nice storage but I was able to gain even more by utilizing areas that I felt were just wasted space or not adequate. Here are a few things that I added over time. None of them cost very much money, since I did them myself.

Shelf unit built in where it was just empty wall space to the left side of bathroom door

Factory pantry shelving on slide out rack

New wider shelving on slide out rack increased can storage 3-fold

Factory wardrobe without shelving

Added shelving which we like much better

Headboard area before:

Headboard area after:

Sliding double doors. Great place to store bed linens and pillows

Built rack along side of kitchen cabinet to hold just the pan lids. Its out of the way and hidden from view.

[realter]

Goin--I wish I was as handy as you. Why the holes in the shelf? Is that a skylight in the last picture? Nice sized.

[GoinThisAway]

wnjj wrote:

JumboJet wrote:
Here is how I carry some extra items:

You probably want to roll the awning up while travelling, though. :B

And I'll bet that red ladder used to be tall enough to reach the top of the camper :B

Getting creative about how to pack it all in is part of the fun of a TC. Add shelves to the cabinets, a shoe holder pocket thingy in the closet (for small items), plastic bins for organization, etc. To make use of unused space I even replaced the decorative panel over the entry door with some plywood onto which I attached a paper towel holder, spice rack, hat/glove bin, & book/magazine rack. On the outside I use a hitch haul under the rear overhang of the camper that can carry my wood leveling blocks, a bin with my sewer hose & fittings, and a bin of firewood. (I only carry kiln-dried lumber fragments that can be gathered from just about any construction site, after asking for permission of course.) I've also added a small 2' wide deck across the back of my TC on which I could fasten extra gear if needed ... but haven't needed it yet. Two of my main objectives are to minimize how much stuff I need to put away before I can hit the road and to keep stuff out of my way so I can use the TC facilities enroute without moving or climbing over things.

Shelf added to kitchen cabinet.


Dividers added to bedside bins.


Shelves added to bedside wardrobe.


Back wall before modification.


Back wall after modification.

[FireGuard]

I just finished loading up my 21' TH for a 3 day trip to the beach. This allows the use of the p/u bed for firewood, chairs, etc.
Because small THs don't have a great deal of storage, I also make use of the plastic storage containers. You can separate items based on useage and they are easier to store, tie down and have access to.
To answer your question, when I'm "travelling" I much prefer the Lance to towing a trailer, even a small one.
I have as much storage in my Lance 981 as my Ragen 21FB, minus the "Toy" area.
There are numerous areas to store items in the Lance that you don't realize until you clean it out.
What works well for me is towing my Jeep Cherokee. I have a large storage rack on top, can carry a lot of stuff inside and if I feel like taking my dual sport M/C, I can carry that on the hitch of the Jeep.
The best part is that I have a smaller off-road capable veh to drive when I set up camp.
It also provides another place for the dogs to hang out or sleep.

[realter]

I envy you folks with the nice big trailers behind your truck campers. I've been on a diet all summer, so meals consist of powdered meal replacement, plus a cup of veg and a cup of fruit. All this fits in a cooler along with drinking water. I have a canvas bag purch from LLbean, with a change of clothes and a bathroom kit, all packed and ready to put into the camper. I'm usually by myself, so don't have a fire, so no wood necessary. So I have the cooler under one arm, and the canvas bag under the other. I just leave a few clothes in the camper along with a sleeping bag and light weight blanket, plus some silverware and dishes. My nice chair is always on the floor of the camper. I feel bad that nothing is in the overhead cabinets. What wasted space!!! The freedom of traveling light is xlr8ng! The only thing missing is my WIFE.

[steve68steve]

We have a hitch-mounted cargo tray which I sometimes haul wood on. I've also put a big rubbermaid tub on the floor of the camper filled with firewood. We heat our home with wood, so it's hard to justify buying camp fire wood... plus it's always been too wet to burn when we have.

If the dogs are with us, we haul the chairs on the floor of the camper and the dogs in the back seat area of the truck (removed the actual back seats). If dogs aren't with us, we put the chairs in the back seat of the truck, and I stash the chairs at night in the back seat of the truck regardless of dogs - they're with us in the camper at night.

We have a cheapo bike rack for my wife's Honda Fit which is very easily hooked up on the front of the truck on frame elements under the hood. If we're taking bikes, they go on the front bike rack.

We often take day trips or go to drive-in movies in wife's car. Our lawn chairs hang perfectly on the bike rack. That being the case, I've thought of hauling chairs on the front of the truck, but I think they'd block my radiator and my chairs would get painted with bug guts.

If I had a generator, it would go on the cargo tray or in the back seat, as dictated by dogs, weather, and security concerns.

[deltabravo]

portscanner wrote:
I also went from a Toy Hauler to a TC.

My $0.02
* Eliminate the unneeded stuff.
* I occasionally pull a trailer (with the toy I used to put in the Toy Hauler)

Same here.
I wanted s a TC so I could camp and haul my Jeep places. So I sold the toy hauler and made a huge down payment on a new truck, then 3 months later I bought the camper. I've had the camper for 4 camping seasons now.

with the toy hauler, I'd haul stuff like generator, tools, firewood, etc. in the back of the truck - I had a canopy, so it was secure and out of the weather.

Bedlam wrote:

Having a TC is so much more flexible than our TH since you can take different size garages with you based on need or no garage at all. Even with a 20' garage, my overall length is 45' which still makes getting around easy. When nothing is hanging off the hitch, I am only 22' bumper to bumper.

In addition to wanting a TC so I could haul my Jeep on a flatbed, it got to the point where it was just me camping in the toy hauler, and the toy hauler was overkill for one person.

I haul a cooler or fridge in the backseat of the truck (crew cab).

There's not much that needs to be stowed in the camper, but sometimes I put stuff on the bed.

The rest of my stuff, including the toys that used to be in the toy hauler, end up in the little garage

Which garage I take with me depends on the length of the trip, what I plan to do at my destination, or how much other stuff I need to haul:



Sometimes I take the big garage:

[Geewizard]

crosscheck wrote:
Welcome aboard.
Now where do you put all of that stuff that seems so critical to camping?

Our gennie goes in a rear side compartment which has a sliding tray. Easy to slide in and out.

Lots of the other stuff goes into the folded down back seats in the crew. We boondocks a lot, sometimes for a few weeks so we fill up the back seats with:

1) 20# bottle propane and small BBQ.
2) tub of firewood
3) small gas can for genny which almost never gets used.
4) tool box, socket set,
5) 3 paddles for the canoe, 2 life jackets.
6) extra liquids( drinking water, beer, wine, pop,)
7) tub for bike helmets, extra boots and shoes, camelbaks, bike tools etc. bike pump.
😎 2 large comfortable zero gravity lounge chairs.
9) dog food and the dog if staying in BC or Canada.

Behind the seats, emergency stuff like tow chains, come-a-long, 2 shovels, 20 ton jack, rope, bow saw , hammer.

Everything else gets stored in the camper itself. Hardly know the stuff is there.

Dave

Ditto in my 8' Apex. I just discovered the wonders of removing the back seats in my double cab pickup and all the stuff I can put in that space! I had an extra 30# propane tank under the dinette. Folding camp chairs and a table on the dinette. Bicycle on receiver hitch rack. It all works well.
I also went all LED lighting and with one Group 27 battery and the 120W solar panel, I don't use the generator at all. The microwave took a hike since I hardly ever used it. And that saved big on generator use as well.

[DianneOK]

We went from fulltimig in a 40' fiver and FL60 to our sig rig. It was not hard to downsize at all. Kitchen has 2 plates, bowls, etc, 3 pots. Nearly every thing does double or triple duty. 2 folding chairs and table in the back seat of the truck, radio equipment in the truck. Cooler back there if we carry one. Generator is built in.

Linens....one set of sheets, one set towels each. Clothes for a week. Basement holds a small shovel, outside towels, folding step, extension cord, two awning hooks, lynx levelers.

We are still eliminating stuff, simple is better....