Storing Stuff!! Please read...it's complicated this question...! (1 Viewer)

[Shaggy]

Hello All,

Most of my initial questions have been answered simply by searching this forum, but I have one, that I can't get an answer to, or rather that I can't phrase properly in the search box!?

"Do you keep all or most of your gear (tools, electric & water kit, BBQ, chairs, windbreaks etc etc) in your MH all of the time, or do you remove anything not bolted down each time you return to a home base or storage? If you do remove things, is it for security reasons or to prevent against cold, heat, damp etc. We will be fully alarmed and parked on home driveway when not touring and the MH insurance covers the price of anything kept on board, but I'd be keen to know any best practices you guys might use?"

Thanks in advance

Andy

 

[Robert Clark]

All my 'bits' stay in the MH all year round
The only thing we remove in the winter is bedding and cushions

 

[CWH]

I suppose it depends on where you live and how secure you feel.
Some people clean & refresh and get everything back in the MH to be ready to leave at a moment's impulse. Others have had MH's ransacked (or even stolen) while parked up on their drive.

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[Neckender]

I'm different and I like our motorhome tidy and spic and span, So I tow a small trailer and keep every thing chairs, recliners, awning, bbq, etc in there and when not in use locked up in my garage.
We are restricted with what size motorhome we can get on the drive, so can't get a bigger van with garage.

John.

 

[tonyidle]

We leave everything in including canned food and clothes kept just for motorhoming. The van is kept on my gated frontage. I drain down for the three months we don't use it, leave all locker doors open, and have a small heater controlled at around 10 degrees C on all the time.

 

[Leltel]

We keep our motorhome fully equipped, never had any problems, we can just fill the fridge and get away for the weekend then, all year round

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[Gellyneck]

Food and clothes are the only things we take out of the motorhome between trips. We'll the keys also, obviously!

 

[Eeyore]

We don't remove anything bar dirty clothes, fresh food and gadgets like computer and kindles that we use at home. We also empty all the water between trips as we prefer using fresh water when away. In winter I open all lockers and internal doors, put cushions on their sides and do the necessary for taps and drains. We do use it all year round.

Having terrible memories we keep a set of everything we need specifically for the van. When I've washed bedclothes, towels etc after a trip they go in an Ikea bag ready for next time. IKEA bags are excellent for carrying things to and from the van and handy for underbed storage too.

 

[Shaggy]

Thanks for all the early replies! I think that I'll be storing on board all the time, bar electronic kit, food and clothes. Saves me a load of work making garage space too!

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[FIDGET]

Hi, Like others,90% left on board, just remove dirty washing /bedding, electrical bits & bobs,most of our clothes ( just leave a change of clothes on board ) ensure dirty water empty& toilet emtied & refilled. some food left on board as we do use it for day trips.
Then come Nov drain down , sort cushions & Wash van. ready for March.

 

[Coolbeanz]

Is it advisable to remove all cushions? Our MH will be unused from now until March and will be parked on our drive. I didn't remove them last year and all was fine but am I tempting fate?

 

[Judge Mental]

Is it advisable to remove all cushions? Our MH will be unused from now until March and will be parked on our drive. I didn't remove them last year and all was fine but am I tempting fate?

In over 25 years have never removed cushions...

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[Don Quixote]

Being Ex military, we turn MH round within 2/3 days of returning home, so it's ready to go at a minutes notice. Full fuel, some water, food, clothes, tools etc etc and cleaned inside and out.

 

[Eeyore]

If you take any tablets or inhalers etc on a regular basis its worth making sure you keep some in the van all the time and don't rely on remembering to take them with you when you go away. A copy of your prescription, the one you get from the chemist, is also handy to keep in the van with them.

 

[pappajohn]

If you dont intend using stuff at home why remove it ?

Seems a waste of time to me.

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[TUCANO]

Remove everything here except the mattress now as it is a hell of a job doing it on my own

 

[movan]

What's the best way of keeping a small amount of heat going in the mh for the three months it in storage on the farm ... no EHU ? If you don't remove clothes and cushions might the mice not take advantage?

 

[TUCANO]

Can't understand why the mice would want to wear your clothes, am I missing something

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[RS_rob]

We park ours on the road & keep it fully stocked unless the temp drops below zero otherwise its fully loaded & I even have to nip down to it to borrow tools, booze & food.
It takes me 15 minutes to get ready for a snap weekend away but it takes Mandy all week & some.....

 

[TUCANO]

movan,

My van sits for months over winter without any heating and I have never had a problem with damp etc.
I leave all cupboard doors open and the roof Hekkies are open a little to allow a through flow of air, I take it for a 6-7 mile drive once a fortnight to keep the essentials moving around though.

Norman.

 

[mitzimad]

fully loaded and ready to go at all times
ours is our emergency store ,at home we often pop out for something weve run out of indoors usually booze at silly o clock

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[TheBig1]

the van always sits on the drive ready to go. just empty house fridge into van add clothes, tablets and laptop. in winter months the locker doors are left open and seat cushions left on edge for airflow with an oil filled radiator set at about 10 degrees

 

[mjltigger]

+1 for ready to go. We always try to leave a site with fresh full and wastes empty. When we get home we take out rubbish and laundry then it's ready to go next time. In winter open taps etc in case of freezing but otherwise the same.

 

[jollyrodger]

On standby mostly just fill the fridge replenish the beer/wine stocks ,clothes in and ready to roll .
Though frustrating this year waiting for hospital appointments .

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[yodeli]

I do remove all kind of food even tinned food.
I wash all duvet/cushions/ beddings...etc... and then replace them in those special bags with special little tablets in (mainly against moth) and smelling Lavender against rodents.

Amazon product ASIN B00L8IJQ7G
I leave all the tools and stuff like pans and cutlery plates etc... and also clothes BUT they are in strong plastic boxes with same little tablets in.

I put black pepper along all the walls( no use to put any in the middle as rodents only go along walls) and a few drops of all the oils I bough which are (supposed) to be rodents repulsive: mint, peppermint, sage, camphor, citronella and eucalyptus.

Those who are recent members on here will wonder why I do all this, but last year I had a major problem with rats. So this year I have decided to take no risk and have all the chances on my side. It doesn't mean they won't come but at least I will have done my best to keep them away.
I also put black pepper and piment everywhere under the bonnet on all the flat places and also down on the engine cover.
I have prepared a rectangle of wood that I have varnished and stuck it under the van where the heater takes air. Inside the heater is now fully covered with a magnet sheet so that no hole is available for the little devils (last year when my dad took the front of the heater off, we found rats' poos and pees right behind going into the flexible hoses).

Like others I empty and clean black tank and grey tank, empty the boiler as soon as temperatures go down.
I check all the places with very special(Terry's) damp meter to make sure there's no major leak .

That's about all

Amicalement

Frankie

 

[TerryL]

We take out food, personal clothing, bedding needing washing and the electronics we use at home, give it a clean then it's ready for the next trip. The bedding is either stored in the spare bedroom in vacuum bags or returned to the van, which is kept on a storage site 15mins away.

However once a year we empty EVERYTHING out, ready for the service and hab check. Once that's done we only put back what we used in the previous year (except of course the emergency gear) - helps to keep a check on the weight. We use the van all year round, rarely stands still for more than 3 weeks.

 

[Popeye]

Leave everything in except clothes, leave the heating on 24/7 and she's ready to rock and roll after just 2 days of Jackie changing beds and otherwise re-stocking items for refrigeration.

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[FIDGET]

I suppose you just sit back & let poor Jackie do all that while you sit on your puter!!!
Have a great time at Pembrey, when are you off to France.

 

[Popeye]

I suppose you just sit back & let poor Jackie do all that while you sit on your puter!!!
Have a great time at Pembrey, when are you off to France.

(in this order) Yes, she's not poor, Yes and thank-you, tomorrow, oh France, not too sure but certainly before the end of the century.

 

[Minxy]

When we get home we empty out the dirty washing & bedding, electronic bits (such as camera/pcs/sat nav etc), opened food & soft drinks which needs to be used up/will go off, and any personal stuff such as tablets, glasses etc. We then empty the fresh water tank, waste tank and toilet cassette, clean it throughout, remake the bed, restock the cupboards and it's ready for the off again. How long/much use it's had will determine how long the restocking/cleaning will take and how through it needs to be, eg if we've only been away for a few days and the bedding etc was fresh when we left we won't strip it out if we're only going away for a couple of days next time. We keep a stock of clothes in the camper at all times so usually just need to put back in the washed clothes and underwear etc.

We've just come back from 6 weeks' holiday so it's being well and truly emptied and cleaned at present and will have everything put back in ready for our day trip to the Lincoln show at the end of the week.

Over winter we don't bother to take anything out - all the soft furnishings stay in and every couple of weeks we'll take it out for a run round to keep the mechanicals 'sweet' and make sure there aren't any problems, it also gives it a good airing and if the weathers good in the meantime we'll open the roof vents and let it enjoy the fresh air! We've had MHs for many years and have never found the need to either put heating or dehumidifiers in, or removing the furnishings and there have been no damp issues - our regular 'airing' and runs out is what I think ensures that we don't have issues though.