Emptying the van (1 Viewer)

[Gina M]

Am I the only one who has been so shocked by how much stuff we have in our van. We decided to empty it out completely last week as it was going in for repair work to the floor. The stuff we tipped out has filled the floor of our conservatory and our dining room and both rooms are big !! we are climbing all over it all, pots, pans, duvets, blankets, throws, pillows, towels, the list is endless, half of it has never been used.

 

[Langtoftlad]

Yes
[emptying prior to part-ex]

 

[Bailey 15]

lol we've done exactly the same filled our hallway, unbelievable what we carry!!
Most of it is for 'just in case' but that never happens
We are going to be ruthless when putting it back, if we didn't use it last season it's now coming with us this season

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[Gina M]

its a nightmare, tempted just to shove it all back in when the van comes back, wonder if I could ram it all back in under the bed

 

[Gina M]

lol we've done exactly the same filled our hallway, unbelievable what we carry!!
Most of it is for 'just in case' but that never happens
We are going to be ruthless when putting it back, if we didn't use it last season it's now coming with us this season

I did promise I was going to sort everything into 3 piles, 1 for the bin, 1 for Ebay and 1 back in the van

 

[Lenny HB]

Know the feeling, emptying ours for change of van, dinning room half full only taken about 10% of the junk out.
Leave the garage or hab door open unattended for a few minutes and the gemlins sneak in all the suff you don't need and never use, well that's my theory.

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[scotzsue]

Yes
[emptying prior to part-ex]

Ditto

 

[Anthea M]

At least 4 IKEA bags full and that doesn't include the garage chairs table bikes bbq etc! Every time I buy something new I say I will recycle something from the van! But now I've got a large bag on the home wardrobe full of things too!!

 

[Gina M]

Yes
[emptying prior to part-ex]

brilliant, bet you can't wait for your new van

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[scotzsue]

For every 1 thing i take out John puts 2 in. Nightmare, am waiting in trepidation for him to need some of the things I have removed and secreted in the garage at home.

 

[Anthea M]

I think about the weight but then buy everything plastic and hope that helps!

 

[Jo662]

Yes we fill our motorhome with stuff we may need.
Never do and dont think ever will most of it!
The worst thing to do is go to motorhome shows,we always
see something `handy` for the motorhome!

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[Minxy]

I usually have a good shuftie round about a week before we're due to go away for our long holidays which means that twice a year I'll look through stuff and remove items that haven't been used or are duplicated, this means I not only free up some space, I also 'remind' myself of where stuff is!

I'm gonna do it again before our next long holiday in April and slim down/remove more of the extra/back-up bits, especially culling the number of dog toys which never get played with as the dogs usually want the same ones again and again, same with the large number of dog bandages etc which are in there due to our Romy having a nasty habit of damaging her dew claws when running around like a mad thing, however she doesn't throw herself around as much now she's 13 so not so likely to need 'fixing' quite so often!!! Then there's the kitchen utensils, extra bowls, pans, and loads of clothes that never get worn and other stuff ... so that'll be another load that'll come out ...I never throw/give them away immediately 'just in case' I decide I've been tooooooo ruthless so they have to be stored ... usually in the workshop or garage (cupboards just for this purpose!) ... so then these 'new homes' have to be sorted out in the future ... it never ends!!!

 

[wigster]

Hope your floor repair goes well then you can see what really needs to go back in etc

 

[DavidG58]

back in our caravanning days we once made the mistake of doing an exchange on the way to a trip away, so did our swap over on the dealers forecourt

time consuming and mildly embarrassing, took us about an hour and that went in quickly, had to redo it when we arrived on site

never again, but we haven't really learnt anything, still carry masses of 'stuff', never should have bought a MH with a large garage

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[dave newell]

Emptying your motorhome annually is a great idea, especially if you do it just before taking it for a hab inspection. It makes my life so much easier if I don't have to empty lockers, garages etc to gain access to do the job.

D.

 

[Pia]

We had an Eriba caravan which was quite like a Tardis....loads of stuff now all bagged up ready to go into MH later today. I've been ruthless...during the change over......much of what is allowed 'house room' in the MH has to have at least 2 uses to qualify for a place. I used to have a 'just in case' food cupboard...not any more...a couple of tins and a packet of couscous and that's it....one can always buy food every where in the world...why carry a load of food stuff from home...makes no sense to me at all.....one of the most exciting things about travel is trying local food.

 

[Anthea M]

We had an Eriba caravan which was quite like a Tardis....loads of stuff now all bagged up ready to go into MH later today. I've been ruthless...during the change over......much of what is allowed 'house room' in the MH has to have at least 2 uses to qualify for a place. I used to have a 'just in case' food cupboard...not any more...a couple of tins and a packet of couscous and that's it....one can always buy food every where in the world...why carry a load of food stuff from home...makes no sense to me at all.....one of the most exciting things about travel is trying local food.

Good luck with you handover today post lots of photos and enjoy your weekend!!!

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[Shrimp]

We live in our van so every now & then I go through all the cupboards, sort out all the bits, throw stuff out and if it hasn't been used for a few months bin it!
Very often a good sort out & re-pack is quite an eye opener!

 

[Mags52]

We did a huge clear out before we left for this latest 6 month trip. Some stuff we've had to replace so now we've got two of them. Some things we've made the same mistake before and now have three of them. The biggest mistake we made this time, believe it or not, was not bringing enough clothes. Never done that before. It's surprising how many seasons you see in six months, even in southern Europe.

 

[eddie]

Everytime we change our van we empty everything out, shock ourselves and vow that we will go through everything with a fine toothed comb before loading everthing back on

When this happens we End up with a pile of crap that is either not thought necessary or, duplicated

Then my memory kicks in (or out) "Oh bugger, that was lucky, nearly went away with that set of cooking pans, I will pop 'em in the locker "just in case"

So everything ends up back on the camper over the next few weeks

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[REKERLY]

We are downsizing from 'Grandad van' so no Luton to thrown things in, not so many lockers, from 6 berth to four berth with electric drop down bed so no high level lockers!! Really need to rationalise what will go back in as hallway, second bedroom and garage full of stuff. Most stop buying tools, bits and bobs from markets as have at least three of everything so far!!! Collecting new van next week so watch this space, Cherry

 

[Welsh girl]

Had to empty the van ready for the new one to be delivered. On a campsite. Our pitch looked like a jumble sale. Good job it wasn't raining. Have to do the same for a hab check. Every year.
Always shocked by the amount we carry. We DID have a clear out on the last change last July but have bought stuff since. I never learn.

 

[jemhorn]

Same here, loads of stuff we don't use or need. Smaller van on order so will have to be ruthless and only take what we need. gotta leave room for the golf clubs though!

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[Kingham]

Emptying your motorhome annually is a great idea, especially if you do it just before taking it for a hab inspection. It makes my life so much easier if I don't have to empty lockers, garages etc to gain access to do the job.

D.

Always emptied ours fully before annual hab servicing and I'm fairly certain it was a condition of it going in.

 

[Lenny HB]

Dreading the new van with about 1300kg payload SWBO already takes a huge pile of cloths which 90% never get worn.
I could open up a ladies clothing shop at every stop. Probably won't sell much as she is only size 6/8.

 

[busby]

Always take too many cloths,,tend to wear same shorts and t shirt most of the time,,,BUSBY..

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[Lenny HB]

From our tugging days when the car broke down near Montélimar. Only took the essentials home!!!!

 

[Polar bear]

When I decided to replace van last year I weighed every item in van including wife. I removed stuff that had not been used for years. Now loaded new van and checked weight and I can now carry up to 500k of wine back from France without going overweight on payload RESULT.

 

[Kingham]

....I removed stuff that had not been used for years....

I hope that last comment didn't include your wife (who you dared to weigh and survived to tell the tale)

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