What about your shoes?

[nrhmaine]

I'm a few months and more than a small piggybank into building a teardrop, but I've never actually camped in one, and I'm wondering about how to design shoe and coat storage.
So, a little help from those of you who wear shoes and/or coats would be much appreciated.

Our camper is a toes-forward design, so the headboard and most of the storage is against the galley bulkhead. There's room above your toes for a shelf, and I'm thinking that would be where one would stick their shoes when they climb in.

Unless . . . do you usually just stick your shoes under the camper to keep them dry? (Dew is a nightly occurrence here in Maine)

And how about the jacket you're wearing around the fire? Do you have a coathook on the wall next to the door?

As a tent camper, I can see how a small vestibule awning over each door could be handy and that's something I'm considering adding down the road. Then you could store shoes and coat outside.

Anyways, how do all of you handle shoes/coats? (and how do you WISH you could handle them?)

Off to build a stove-slide.
Thanks, Nate

[noseoil]

I've seen a storage space located under the door opening as you enter or exit. Basically, it's a shelf or drawer that keeps shoes dry when sleeping. We added a couple of coat hooks for hanging space, they're just behind the door on the inside.

[Tom&Shelly]

I'm a few months and more than a small piggybank into building a teardrop, but I've never actually camped in one, and I'm wondering about how to design shoe and coat storage.
So, a little help from those of you who wear shoes and/or coats would be much appreciated. ...

Thanks, Nate

Never wear 'em! Nah, just kidding!

Our teardrop is "toes to the galley". We built in storage above our feet for clothing and other personal items. Probably a lot more storage space than most. Anyway, we keep plastic bins in there to hold the shoes. We also have coat hooks between the storage and the doors for the jackets. (We often don't bother with a fire in the summer, but built several this Fall, and yes, the jacket smells like smoke. We live with that.)

But, since they passed some questionable legislation to do away with single use plastic shopping bags here in New Mexico, some stores went with heavier duty plastic bags. (Whether that's helping anyone's environment is another matter!) We sometimes use those for hanging the shoes on the coat hooks. For late night bathroom runs, showers, and such, we also have flip-flops. They are plastic and totally waterproof, so we often keep them on our flat fenders, but put them in the bags for travel.

Tom

[nevadatear]

Yes, coat hooks (command hooks) by each door. Our shoes are in a basket that slides on two rails under the doors. Removable for travel.

[tony.latham]

For clothes, ya gotta have hooks. Just gotta.



The shoe question is probably the most common one I hear. If it's a dead, clear night, I leave mine on the fender upside down. If I'm feeling a bit more skookum or there's thunder in the distance, I put them in a grocery bag and set them on the shelf.





Tony

[TCJ]

Yes, coat hooks (command hooks) by each door. Our shoes are in a basket that slides on two rails under the doors. Removable for travel.

What an awesome idea! What did you use for the brackets?

[nrhmaine]

This is such an elegant solution! Well done!
I imagine a couple pieces of aluminum c-channel could serve as slides. I'll stash this idea and steal it later. (I'm doing my best to differentiate between tasks that are essential to the build, and those that can be put on a to-do list after it's "campable")

Thanks to everyone for your insight!
Nate

[gudmund]

I put them in a Cabela plastic (lid sealed w-gasket) ammo box and usually leave them on the fender top or under the trailer for the night. Used to just put them in a plastic tub under the trailer until the night I did not slide them under 'far' enough, thus letting the tub fill up with rain for the morning wet shoe walk....... (sometimes I bring the Cabela ammo box inside with me overnite)

[S. Heisley]

Command hooks next to the door. Bed is raised so shoes can go underneath. If I had a standard teardrop, I would put my shoes in a covered plastic box, under the trailer, by the door.

[Squigie]

I am on the wrong computer to share a floorplan or profile view, but my 'rough road' TD design breaks from the norm.
I have a footwell with a drain, at the head of the bed (front of trailer body), in the bottom of an open 'closet', for boots and coats to drip, drain, and dry. (Right side / US passenger or curb side.)
Warmer weather isn't an issue. Shoes/boots go wherever seems "safe" - which might even be in the vehicle, with flip-flops into the trailer.
But warm weather is not my concern.

Primary focus for the build is hunting and quick trips into the mountains in the Fall.
With that comes a lot of cold, plenty of snow, and high potential for rain and mud - while being out in the weather, not just in camp with a little exposure to it.

My feet can't handle cold boots. I can't leave them outside. If I put frozen boots on, my day is done. My feet will be cold all day, no matter how active I may be.
My boots need to be at least as warm as they would be in a good tent, my boots often need a chance to dry (but don't stink), I don't want them on the bed, and I don't want to be sticking them in a tote and then shoving that in a corner. So, I am making sacrifices elsewhere and building a footwell for boots.

However, dedicating the front 12" or so of the living space to boots, coats, and storage has a knock-on affect on everything else. It pushes the bed back, which really requires moving the doors back. Which conflicts with fenders. Which causes axle relocation contemplation. Which may impact tongue weight. And the bed moving rearward impacts rear end storage (or galley, but I'm not building a galley), which limits utility and space there. And on, and on. It even made me have to change the profile of the roof, because I had to shift the roof vent back.
The need to be able to swing my feet through the door and into the footwell also means the doors are farther toward the head of the bed than is ideal - a situation that some people really dislike.

On the up side, that same ~12" of room on the other side of the trailer gives me a nice location for the electrical center, some convenient clothing storage, and forced the location of the furnace to be settled.

I whipped up a super special, high quality sketch in MS Paint. (Not to scale. )

tdboots.png (17.09 KiB) Viewed 651 times

[nrhmaine]

That’s clever. As you may know, a “wet locker” is a common part of sailboat design. Just inside the companionway there will be a ventilated locker to hang wet, salty foul weather gear when coming off watch on deck.

Great functionality for a hunting teardrop.


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[Tom&Shelly]

I emphasize we haven't tried this, but noting there is room above the fenders, one might think about "saddle bags" for shoes/boots that keep them out of the weather, but are convenient for overnight storage outside the living area. The bags could, of course, be made to drain water.

Tom

[MickinOz]

I tend not to leave my footwear outside. Dingoes pinch thongs and boots for some strange reason.
I have a draw string bag that I put them in and hang them inside, that's what the drunken octopus hooks are for, right?
Or I put them on the roof if the night is dry.

[nevadatear]

We also have drop down storage at our heads that we can use for shoes inside as well. As for the brackets, my husband took I think a 2 x 2 and routed a groove. It is not our original idea, we know several people who have used an "L" bracket to hold the baskets. That wouldn't work for our frame.

[tony.latham]

However, dedicating the front 12" or so of the living space to boots, coats, and storage has a knock-on affect on everything else. It pushes the bed back, which really requires moving the doors back. Which conflicts with fenders. Which causes axle relocation contemplation.

How long is your cabin?



We've got a 12" headboard, and the door is back where it needs to be --at the same spot as your hips.

It sounds like you need a heater. If I were building something like this, I'd create a boot shelf above the heat outlet with a screen on it.





Thoughts?

Tony