Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I'm finishing up my TD design and was thinking about the galley and storage compartments. I see a lot of beautiful galleys with lots of stuff like microwaves, gas stoves, coolers, kitchen pots/pans after camp has been set up, but all I envision is a huge mess of all the stuff that shifted and bounced around on the journey. Does all this stuff stay nicely stowed because everything is tied down or do you just deal with the mess when you get to the camp ground? Not only does it seem reasonable to tie everything down to keep stuff from breaking, but keep from ruining the beautiful work that you spent so much time creating due to abrasion do to stuff sliding all over the place. Does this ring true for anyone and that you have to tie ALMOST everything down?

Unless I have driven off a curb or hit a pot hole, the stuff in my galley stays where I put it. The interior of my galley cupboards and drawer are lined with rubber non-slide liner, and the pots and pans cupboard is so full there isn't room for stuff to move much.

That said, I've arrived in camp a couple of times with everything in the galley all ahoo, but I try to avoid it.

If you're having problems, try filling the empty spaces in your cupboards and cabinets with towels, pillows, foam, etc. so stuff doesn't move around much. Things like stoves and microwaves are generally heavy enough that they don't move much unless given a really good bounce.

But I don't do off-road.

<Chas>

CR has lots of storage and Nancy has put most items in the upper galley cabinet in small plastic bins to the point there is no room for items to move. There are drawer dividers that keep things in place in the under sink drawers. She uses baskets in the interior cabinets.

I'm finishing up my TD design and was thinking about the galley and storage compartments. I see a lot of beautiful galleys with lots of stuff like microwaves, gas stoves, coolers, kitchen pots/pans after camp has been set up, but all I envision is a huge mess of all the stuff that shifted and bounced around on the journey

Hi,

Part of your TD design should include determining the final loaded weight, and closely matching the suspension to it.

Most people that have problems with things bouncing around have springs that are too heavily rated (stiff) and tire that are aired up too much.

Rob

I use bungies, nets and lines to keep everything in place. A few eyes and hooks strategically placed are a good investment. Padding helps too.

Can I offer one thought. ......." Baby safety latches"

Installed on cabinet doors the contents will remain in the cabinet in which it was placed.

I have recently gone to hauling my cast iron by placing it in a deep layer of blue foam board. The pieces with legs punch thru and stay in place. I cushion the lids with a few folds of paper town and rubber band the lids in place. Other cast pieces are simply seperated with a scrap of extra foam.

Any sort of locking catches on doors and drawers help keep thing inside cabinets and drawers closed .... When packing try to "nest" items so they stay in place... As other say unless you turn TD upside down things amazingly stay in place.... Keep heavy objects (cast iron cook wear - canned food) in cabinets near floor and place all the light objects (plastic) in upper cabinets...

Dale

I have bungee corded the microwave and toaster over to keep them in place but other than that everything seems to stay in place pretty well. I've never had a mess when I have arrived at a campsite.

I have fastened heavier items down such as the stove, cooler, battery, water, and large plastic boxes. The lighter items on the shelves are packed tight enough to not move plus the shelves have a front piece to hold things in.

Jim B / Utah

planovet wrote:I have bungee corded the microwave and toaster over to keep them in place but other than that everything seems to stay in place pretty well. I've never had a mess when I have arrived at a campsite.

The word microwave made me smile. I took a little one I purchased at Goodwill on one outing. ( later found it unneeded in our cooking style and gave it away ) As I was unpacking and setting up, a few of our gathering bunch wandered over just as I was pulling my pillow out of the microwave. Several bad jokes were made until I pulled the glass carosel dish out of the pillow case. It arrived intact .

My microwave sits on top of a non-skid mat on the counter. It moves a little - about 1" or so - but stays in place.

For my drawers, I used Knapp and Vogt drawer slides made for RVs. They are like the home self-closing slides, but have a stronger spring to keep them from opening. My cabinet doors have cup hinges - nothing special - and they seem to have enough tension to keep the doors closed.

I've used 1" nylon webbing to secure stuff in 4x4 vehicles. Mount two flat loops to the base surface, one in front, the other behind the object and use a military/thumb release buckle to secure the two ends together. A snug-fitting wood or metal cradle helps secure larger items.

We've done a lot of RVing over the last ten years, and one of the best things I ever invested in was a jumbo sized roll of no skid. I line all of our cabinets and drawers with a piece, then cut suitable sized pieces to put in between our pots, pans, dishes and bowls. I always leave a half dozen extra cut pieces in the bottom of one of the cabinets.

Not only do things stay in place, but your cookware, plates and bowls are padded and don't end up covered in scratches just from towing your rig down the highway. Even small appliances like a coffeemaker can bewrapped in a piece and taped up.

It's great stuff!

I use bins for everything to keep things in place. The bins also have their own secure place so everything pretty much is identical to where it was when we left home. Once my wife gets her hands on things...well, that is another story.

"Earthquake Putty" aka "Museum Putty" is a clay-like sticky putty that keeps most things firmly in place, but can be removed when needed. Available at any hardware store in earthquake country.