Effective RV Storage Solutions for Small Spaces

If you currently live in, or are considering living in a small travel trailer, van, or bus it’s important to get and stay organized! Here are some simple and inexpensive RV storage solutions to help.

Plan Ahead

Before you get into your ideal set up, there are a few planning steps you should set aside some time to think through. If you’re already moved into your rig, no big deal. It will be easier to fully plan because you already know the full list of items you will be storing.

Weight Distribution

Before you put anything anywhere, it’s important to consider where you distribute weight in your rig. For example, if you have overhead bins, lighter weight items should go there. Heavier items should go as low as possible such as under bed storage. If you have any particularly heavy items, place them over the axles.

It’s also important to consider evenly storing items from the left and right sides of your trailer or van. You don’t want to have all of the heavy items on one side, stressing your axles. Similarly, you don’t want to overpack everything in the back and leave the front open. Think as evenly as possible between the four sides.

Weight distribution is a huge road safety factor, and should not be handled lightly. Research your vehicle’s load capacity as well as the tow vehicles capacity. If you’ve been on the road for awhile and have no idea if you’re over limits, stop by a CAT weigh station to find out.

Seasonality and High Usage

The next important consideration for RV storage solutions, is to think about which items you will frequently and infrequently use. If you will be traveling throughout the year, you should store things like winter clothes somewhere tucked away. I use my truck as seasonal storage, and put my winter items there during summer and vice versa.

If you don’t have a secondary storage location, like a vehicle, that’s okay too. In this case you’ll want to think about having your commonly used items on top or in front of uncommonly used ones. There’s nothing worse than reorganizing, and realizing you packed something you need on the bottom of a bin. And believe me – it’s easy to lose things even in small spaces!

Plan for Movement

This one is a little harder to plan for until you actually get out there on the road. However, there are some common sense things you can plan for.

For example, consider where you will store things when in movement. Nothing should be left out on your counter tops, unless it’s secured. If you have items in overhead bins, arrange them so they can’t fall out. Lock any inside doors, including the refrigerator.

You can add easy drawer locks like these to help you prepare, in case your rig did not come with them.

Maximize Wall Storage

Depending on your rig, there are many RV storage solutions for your walls. Here are some of my favorites!

Shoe Racks

Since I have an airstream, I don’t have the option of nailing things into my walls. So I have to stick them! Which is very nice because I can easily move things around until I find the perfect place.

I found these shoe holders on Amazon and they work so perfectly for me. They allow for easy access and I use they actually double as book storage!

Hooks

One thing I’ve learned in my two years of full time RV living, is that you really can’t have enough hooks. My Airstream had a few hooks built in, but I’ve since installed at least 10 more. There are many options for stickable hooks to fit your weight and style requirements.

Velcro

Velcro is a super RV storage solution hack. Most likely you’ll have many things that shift while driving. Decorations, pots and pans – really everything under the sun. To solve some of this, use different types of velcro underneath or behind an item to prevent it from moving or bouncing.

Suction Cup Trays

Since I have aluminum walls, these suction cup trays are amazing RV storage solutions for me. I can’t speak on how they work on other surfaces, but for Airstreams they’ve been great. I use them in my bathroom for extra storage and in my ‘bedroom/office’ for other random things.

Utilize Containers, Baskets, & Bins

These items are perfect RV storage solutions because you can find endless options to meet your size and style requirements. Here are a few ways I utilize containers in my Airstream.

Packing Cubes for Clothes

Personally I think the best hack is using travel cubes for your clothes. You can get various sizes for each type of clothing – shirts, underwear, pants etc. They can fit in so many places, and they allow you to easily grab what you need. I keep mine on my various overhead bins in my Airstream. It allows or easy weight distribution and keeps the load light enough for the overhead.

Cabinet Netting

If you have any type of cabinet with doors on it, you can utilize cabinet netting. They come in various sizes, and depending on the size you can install them on the doors or inplace of them.

My airstream had a microwave that I got rid of after a few months to increase storage, and I installed netting in its place. I love it!

Layered Storage Cabinets

For any cabinets that you may have, I highly recommend getting some type of rack to allow for stackable storage. In a sense it doubles your storage and allows easier access to items.

‘Russian Doll’ Storage

I named this one myself! Russian Doll storage just means, storing items inside other things. This is especially handy for when you’re driving, or for the small items that need to be easily accessible.

For example, when I’m driving I store my soap and sponges inside my sink. I have small items like lighters and chapsticks inside my oven mitts that are hanging from a hook. I also stuff various bags inside of each other to make things look less cluttered.

Collapsible Items & Furniture

I touched a little bit on this is my article about cooking on the road. Getting collapsible measuring cups, bowls, and basins will save on storage space.

Other collapsible items I recommend are small chairs, tray tables, and pet bowls to name a few.

Lighting

Another important RV storage solution worth mentioning, is lighting. For the deep cabinets and coobie holes, I recommend motion sensing, recharging lights. They’re light-weight, fit almost anywhere, and won’t drain your battery.

When every inch of space is being utilized, it’s important to actually be able to see where something is. This prevents you from having to pull everything out when what you needed was actually right in front.

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