Undercarriage storage bins

D

denisewilliams63@gmail.com

Newbie
http://tinyyellowteardrop.blogspot.com/2015/12/sylvains-little-guy-shoe-storage-hack.html

Considering this for our 550. We put our shoes in a plastic bin under trailer overnight. This would get them off the ground and protect from moisture. Has anyone done anything similar to their Camp Inn?
 
We use a plastic shoe box with cover to store our shoes. Like you, we keep it under the teardrop when we're camping. Has worked well for us!
 
We also use plastic boxes under the camper for our shoes, but I like this idea so much, I forwarded it to our good T@B friends. Not sure the "tracks" will work on our Camp-Inn's, since the storage wells under the mattress protrude into that space.

jamie
 
Huh. Cool. And it keeps the creepy-crawlies out. We use all weather fabric shoe boxes inside on the open shelf. Works well, but no matter how careful we are, some amount of debris sneaks in - especially sand. Hate sand on the bed cover. Your idea looks much better and we do have the taller version of the trailer...but what about road damage to the boxes?

Sue
 
jsl said:
Huh. Cool. ...but what about road damage to the boxes?

Sue
Click to expand...

My read of the information on the link is the storage boxes are removed during transit. Still, I expect the tracking system would soon get covered with grit/grime and result in tracking problems.
 
Once we decide to camp I take my shoe/ boots off and switch them.out for the crocks, pretty much bomb proof, leaving she/boots in car. At night just put crocks under trailer or just leave them out like I said bomb proof! The idea of storage underneath is cool but just one more thing to worry about when breaking camp. Dont allow any shoe storage in camper for ob ious reasons. The side tent when up does make it easier for my wife when up, but routinely we follow the above....
 
I am curious - why is it important to "get shoes off the ground"?

I understand, I guess, in scorpion country, but perhaps I am missing something.

I put my shoes directly under the trailer, and the only issue I've had is if I did not put the shoes "under" the trailer and it rained during the night.

This seems like a solution looking for a problem, but perhaps I am naive.

Seems like Ron/Missy's solution is best, which is to adopt the use of "camp shoes" and leave those under the trailer when not wearing them. That's pretty much what I do. I don't leave my good hiking shoes out overnight, though I think the risk of theft is pretty close to zero.
 
Under the trailer seems to work for us although once (Trinidad SP in Colorado) we discovered furry thieves who stole my slides and one flip flop that were stored under the trailer. After a thorough search the flip flop was found under a tree next to a ground squirrel hole. Never found either of my slides-down the rabbit hole I suspect. Invested in a pair of crocs thinking they would be heavier to haul away.
 
skybear4 said:
Under the trailer seems to work for us although once (Trinidad SP in Colorado) we discovered furry thieves who stole my slides and one flip flop that were stored under the trailer. After a thorough search the flip flop was found under a tree next to a ground squirrel hole. Never found either of my slides-down the rabbit hole I suspect. Invested in a pair of crocs thinking they would be heavier to haul away.
Click to expand...

HAHAHA, I never thought the varmints would steal the shoes.
 
I had a cute puppy steal one of my Crocs from our campsite and he left it at the restrooms building! He was a stray and apparently unhappy we wouldn't/couldn't adopt him!
 
Yep, varmints of all sorts out in the wild woolly. Open toed Crocs or flip-flops are fine if you want to leave them outside and aren't worried about four legged thieves (I sometimes leave my Crocs on top of the fender), but anything that could make a snugly home for scorpions, spiders, mice and snakes...well, just easier not to have to inspect your shoes each morning.

Everybody finds their own way to do things. Whatever works for you is great. Just enjoy yourselves out there.

Camp On,

Sue
 
I agree that we all have our own way of doing things. One person's "brilliant idea" is the next guy's "stupidest thing ever" - Different strokes for different folks!! (and even some of my own ideas which I thought were "brilliant" have turned out to be just plain....er...not well thought out. So....)

I hope I didn't come off as "judging" the shoe storage idea. I honestly didn't think I understood why someone would do that. Camping in California is not the same as camping in Florida, for example. I did wonder if it was scorpions or spiders, but I was wondering if I was missing something. I'm not as bothered by spiders/scorpions/snakes, so I wouldn't choose to spend any time to find a solution to that problem. But if you do care about such stuff, I certainly understand why you'd want a solution.

I do hate WET shoes, however.

-Al
 
Using a storage container of some sort for boots/shoes/sandals is probably something we all do. How/ where we store it is driven by location and weather conditions.

Bob
 
Oof! Never heard of camp shoes being stolen by critters - that's not a good surprise! I wonder how many people have lost them to a wind storm, too?

We have astro-turf door mats we put under our camper doors - we like them because they don't get water-logged and they're easy to shake off (most of) the dirt/sand that collects on the bottom (and they're made in USA). If we don't set up anything else at camp, we always put out our door mats. So far, we haven't had them blow away or any other calamities - but then most of our camping has been in the Midwest. I remember one campsite (car camping) in Joshua Tree where everything but the cars blew away!

We usually orient the mats long-ways so we can tuck our camp shoes (Crocs) under the camper when we go to bed and then pull the mat forward to retrieve them when we get up.

If we know it's going to be nice, we'll sometimes put our camp shoes on our fender tables.

I brought some shoe-boxes for our camp shoes on our first couple of trips but we never used them and now they're lost in Tim's shop. But I'm sure you only have to lose your camp shoes once (or step on a creepie-crawlie) before you change your habits.

We usually wear our Crocs in camp and keep our hiking shoes (and a pair of socks) in the car - note: they fit perfectly in a large Rubbermaid dish tub in the back seat foot well - easy to find and helps to keep any mud/sand mess contained.
 
Well, we did it. We'll let you know how it works out, whether it was overkill, etc. when we've used it on a trip. Had we known we were getting summer in December in Kentucky we would have already put it to the test!
 
I understand what you are saying Alcat. Up here in Washington we have dew. Lots of dew and shoes are very wet in the morning if left outside. In Montana where my daughter lives there is no dew. Everything is very dry in the morning if it hasn't blown away.lol I have one of those folding canvas boxes that I put my shoes in and when not in use can be folded and put under the couch cushion. I am glad I got the 560 just for the reason of the extra room to put stuff. Haven't camped in the southwest yet and dealt with the scorpions and snakes.
As you say different things work for different folks. I am always glad to hear of new ideas and some times they are so good that I can't believe I didn't think of it and sometimes I realize they just won't work for me. I was so excited about my invention to raise the table to counter top height. I love it and haven't had my table at dining height since I made it. No one else showed much interest in it. I am always about making things easier and handier. I love to invent and build. I don't want to carry extra stuff. But?? Still considering the propane campfire. Loved it when someone else carried it.
I am amazed at how well I am able to organize with the little storage I have. I never seem to have it filled up. I do have totes in the car with extra paper towels, plates and other extras. I have a tote for bread, chips,extra canned goods and just stuff. Less is more.
 
Pat, as we travel full-time, we try new things and often they're from the forum! Everyone is so creative! We're in a 550 and we have pretty much maxed out on storage space. Our car is full too!
 
I did consider this undercarriage storage after giving it some thought and considered it maybe useful not for shoes but other stuff< however after looking at the bottom of our 560 not sure it is possible without some major modifications. The interior under mattress storage drops down beyond the frame of the trailer and with out extending the frame down to accommodate the C Channel don't think it is possible...oh well worth a look. If someone has a solution I am all ears....R
 
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