storage?

[Pine 3]

We just looked at the first trailmanor we have ever seen in person. It was a 1993 2518. It seemed very small and did not have a lot of storage. What about a 2619? Do they have more storage. Where do you put stuff? Do the couches have storage underneath? Things like food pots and pans coffee pot?Thanks

 

[countrygirl32082]

Think compact...nesting pots and pans and lids. There are compact french press coffee makers...I have one can't remember the name though and the camper is folded and put away currently. Our camper is larger and has a tremendous amount of storage.

If you do not have the hanging cabinets then you could build some. Scottie built one recently and it came out very nice.

 

[connbk]

Storage in 2518

We just finished our first trip as a complete family - 2 parents and 3 teen-aged children in our '97 2518. The trip was 10 days covering the northern mid-west in the heat wave.

Storage space is limited. We used an "action packer" (rubbermaid box with lid) for storing dry goods, and a supplemental cooler for lunches and snack during the day. Both cooler and action packer were left out of the trailer under the bunks during the day and at night at camp. We packed our clothes in duffle bags, and slid the bags under the table bed at night. We also used the shower/tub for storage as we were showering at the camp showers, rather than in the trailer.

Space is a little tight, but workable even with 5 adult sized people traveling in the trailer.

 

[knoxjere]

Storage

We originally had a 2720 (there are only 2 adults) and storage was a little tight, but we managed. We went to Florida for 3 weeks and did not have any problems. We bought some hanging shelves. One hangs over the bathroom wall by the kitchen sink and the other over the bathroom wall by the bed. We stored food (mostly lighter stuff like cereal boxes, etc.) on those. Now we have a 3023 and there is more storage in it. We have also found over time that there were things we took, but never used, so we took some stuff out. It will just take some experience to decide what to take and how to pack.

Link to shelves:
http://www.meijer.com/s/neu-home-over-the-door-2-shelf-rack-with-hooks/_/R-45151.

We also bought a hanging towel rack to hang over hall-bathroom door to hang towels.

My DH shops Goodwill for stuff like that and has found some real steals!

Stacking stuff and collapsible things (like bowls, colanders etc,) also helps.

 

[PopBeavers]

Anything that does not fit into the TM I carry in either one of the two full sized trucks.

Probably not a solution for you.

 

[T and C]

We just looked at the first trailmanor we have ever seen in person. It was a 1993 2518. It seemed very small and did not have a lot of storage. What about a 2619? Do they have more storage. Where do you put stuff? Do the couches have storage underneath? Things like food pots and pans coffee pot?Thanks

With the larger TM's, 2720 and up, there is quite a bit of storage under the cabinets. All RV's are a compromise. With the TM you give up some storage space to gain the advantages of light weight, no sway problem, and low profile which REALLY helps with gas mileage.

That said, our model has two couches facing each other, and some have a front dinette with facing benches. When on the road all sorts of lighter stuff can be carried in the space between those seats. Folding chairs, blankets in plastic bags, and so forth.

As some have said, the removeable hanging cabinets are useful. I don't think that the 2518 had a hanging locker/closet across from the bathroom. We carry more than clothes in there.

Some have added pull out shelves to low cabinets, or just use plastic storage bins that slide out for convenience.

Many use the bathtub for a storage area. We frequently do. A caution though, anything with sharp corners that is heavy could wear a hole in the tub as you bounce down the road. We tried carrying the microwave in there with blanket wrapped around it. It got wet once, so now we just carry it on the floor of the bathroom.

We don't bake anything in our oven. My dermatologist says I must wear a brimmed hat when outside. So, I travel with my camping/hiking hat and also a nice "Sunday go to meeting" hat. (We frequently visit a local church when camping) I put the good hat in a plastic bag and keep it in the oven. We could just take it out if we wanted use the oven for cooking.

Then there are the over the wall hooks that folks use. We have a few. One board member posted photos of how he put removeable shelves over the bathtub.

Funny, our TM was a move up from a truck camper. We were thrilled with the storage spaces after a few transcontinental trips with the camper.

Tom

 

[PopBeavers]

Go backpacking for a few days. When you get back you will be amazed at how large the TM is.

 

[CeeWoo]

Go backpacking for a few days. When you get back you will be amazed at how large the TM is.

LOL-ain't that the truth!

Soon as we got back from our first trip a couple days ago, we removed the 'closet' that lays on the floor during travel and stands on the rear counter top next to the bed in our 2720sd. Just took too much of the floor space during travel. We're gonna try some plastic 'milk crates' to keep stuff in on the floor when moving, and stack them on the shelf like little cubes. We just don't normally camp with clothing that needs to be kept hanging.

 

[PopBeavers]

LOL-ain't that the truth!

Soon as we got back from our first trip a couple days ago, we removed the 'closet' that lays on the floor during travel and stands on the rear counter top next to the bed in our 2720sd. Just took too much of the floor space during travel. We're gonna try some plastic 'milk crates' to keep stuff in on the floor when moving, and stack them on the shelf like little cubes. We just don't normally camp with clothing that needs to be kept hanging.

We use the closet all of the time. I hang all of my shirts, three to a hanger. While traveling the two pillows are jammed inside. At the bottom are the sandals.

I can barely pick it up when it is on the floor. If you d not struggle to lift it then it is not full.

 

[Bill]

Wayne -

Ha! I did the same thing on a couple trips. Works great - except that the heavy load caused the brown plastic slider to pull out of its screws into the bed frame. Fortunately it was an easy fix (discussed elsewhere) - but it was annoying to have to do it. I gather you have had no such issues?

Bill

 

[Pine 3]

Thank you all for the 411. It all sounds great. We are picking up a 2619 inFlorida. We have not seen it yet except pictures but it looks very well loved and takencare of. We currently own a compact Ii. It is 13 foot. But one thing it does have is cabinets but only 1 bed.The table turns into the bed and I have to stand by the door so my Dh can make the bed. So this camper will be an upgrade defineatly.

 

[countrygirl32082]

Ohhh are you getting the one from the St. Augustine Camping World??? I went in it Saturday and it is in perfect good as Brand NEW condition. All the next owner needs to do is wash the out side. It looked like it has never been slept in and it is a 2009.

 

[Pine 3]

We found.ours on rvtrader. It is a 1997 2619. From the pictures it looks great. Well cared for. It is in Jacksonville. the couple want to give up camping. We looked at one in our area but it was in real rough shape. We already own a 1973 compact II. It is 13ft. And it needs a lot of work. We just want to camp.

 

[countrygirl32082]

That is awesome. I am sure you will enjoy it!

 

[happybeebob]

We found.ours on rvtrader. It is a 1997 2619. From the pictures it looks great. Well cared for. It is in Jacksonville. the couple want to give up camping. We looked at one in our area but it was in real rough shape. We already own a 1973 compact II. It is 13ft. And it needs a lot of work. We just want to camp.

CherylTh: Our TM is a 25/18 and just got back from camping for five days up in the Central Oregon Mountains. There is not as far as I am concerned a real big difference between the 25/18 or 19. When we originally bought ours the gentlemen had the closet not attached which naturally we put back in when arriving back home after purchase. It now sits on a storage shelf in the garage as we get more use with the plastic drawer units that you can buy at the bigger hardware places. We get three of them to sit on the counter where the closet used to be. You can then lift them down one by one and proceed to stretch a bungee cord from the handle on the bathroom fold down to a handle on the three drawer built-in chest. Holds them all in place.
The wife puts all kinds of cooking stuff around the oven area and keeps a rubber tote in the bath with nested pans. We put our sleeping bags on end in front of the pota potti for travel. We also keep a few rubber totes in the dinette area. Our use is just camping so far and being 68 it makes the camping a 100% better experience for us as we can still go to our favorite places but with much shorter set-up time as compared to tent. We loved it but cannot handle that type anymore. We had one extra adult besides the wife and I on this last trip and so bought an tension curtain rod along with a couple of panels of curtains for modesty and everything was great. Ours is rated for six people but I would never go over four and not use the dinette for a sleep area. Old and slow need more elbowroom to get in or out. It's all going to be trial and error for you but in the end it will all work out on the storage issue. This forum is very good for suggestions.

Bob

 

[Redhawk]

There was only DW and myself that used our 2619, so we stored a lot of stuff on the floor in crates and suitcases when traveling that was moved to the front bed when we set up. We also removed the wardrobe and never used the hanging cabinets. We had plenty of room, but it is a bit of trouble moving the stuff everytime we setup. We liked the 2619 a lot though... congrats on yours and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. You'll come up with your own methods for packing.

 

[Brittany Dogs]

LOL-ain't that the truth!

Soon as we got back from our first trip a couple days ago, we removed the 'closet' that lays on the floor during travel and stands on the rear counter top next to the bed in our 2720sd. Just took too much of the floor space during travel. We're gonna try some plastic 'milk crates' to keep stuff in on the floor when moving, and stack them on the shelf like little cubes. We just don't normally camp with clothing that needs to be kept hanging.

I removed the closet within 15 minutes of ownership of our new TrailManor. We instead use flip-lid plastic boxes and in our 2720SD three of these boxes line up side-by-side perfectly on the counter where the closet would have been. One box has my clothes, one box for DW clothes and one box is the dry food box. This is suitable for the weekend campouts. On longer trips a second dry food box stacks on top of the other dry food box. The nice thing about these boxes is that they stack so nicely in the truck without sliding off of each other.

We generally have no ability to open up the trailer to load it up with clothes and food before we leave.