Storage Solutions for Pop Up Campers

Extra storage for a pop-up camper can make them much more enjoyable. Camping in a pop-up camper is a great way to go camping but one downside is the lack of storage. However, finding storage solutions is easy. There are a ton of inventions, DIY’s and products on the market to make camping in a pop-up spacious.

Exterior Solutions
Let us start with the outdoor living space. Where do you store the poles/bars that fit on the inside of the camper to raise the bed areas? In general, they are stored on the RV floor. But you can free up some space by using PVC pipe and end caps and install it on the rear of the pop-up.
In a previous article titled Insulating a Pop-Up I talked about the Camper Bed End Garage. It is perfect for storing bikes, lawn chairs, totes, and toys.

Related Read: Insulating a Pop-Up

Another outdoor storage solution is putting up a tent. When we traveled in our camper van conversion, we put up a tent. This method also works well with a pop-up camper. This allowed us space to store our laundry, refrigerator, toilet, toys for our kids, etc. Most campgrounds allow the added tent so no worries on that. Some pop-ups come with toilets, but most do not - so using the tent to create a bathroom area is resourceful.

You can store just about anything in totes with lids and they are not expensive to buy. I use two totes; one for pots, pans, dishes, utensils, pretty much anything cooking related. The other tote I use to hold canned food. I do not recommend storing fruits, or flour or any food that is not canned due to animals. Raccoons have fast hands and will steal anything they can find. They have been known to get into coolers and totes. If we are camping anywhere that we feel there may be a chance an animal could thieve our food, we would place the totes inside our pull vehicle for the night. Always keep food put away in bear country.

Related Read: Wildlife 101: Encountering Animals in the Wild

Interior Solutions
Storing toiletries is one of the easiest problems to fix. I use carriers or buckets from dollar stores. It is inexpensive and they offer a variety of sizes. Most likely you will already have a bucket at home that you can use. Amazon has an eight-compartment carrier with a large interior pocket that is durable, washable and inexpensive.
A product I find useful is a stainless steel over the sink drying rack. You can use it to dry the dishes or vegetables. The only downfall for me is it can get in the way if I need to use my sink. Other than that, it is easy to store and easy to clean.

Tension rod wiring shelving will hold items you do not want to leave in your vehicle. You can get most of the supplies at your local hardware store for about seventy dollars. A good tip when installing any DIY shelves first make sure your camper is set up and level.

Our 1998 StarCraft StarMaster came equipped with a toilet and shower. When we travel, we carry one laundry basket per person and when we are stationary, we place those baskets up in the bunk on my daughter’s side. We would set the next day’s outfit within reach; usually on the couch. This way it was not an inconvenience to her. When we are driving, we placed one of the baskets in the shower and the other two on the floor. We keep all shampoos, deodorants, hairbrushes, etc. in a bucket that has a handle or in a backpack; easier to take to the shower room at camp. To make more room we used a collapsible table because most times we ate outside. We kept the collapsible table for rainy days or card games.

Pull Vehicle
We store a lot of things in our pull vehicle. We purchased a cap so when it rains our belongings stay dry. We hauled our tabletop grill, pool noodles, bedding, and tent in the bed of the truck. Along with an extra table, outdoor rug, lawn chairs and toys.

Related Read: Customizing Your Campsite - Sprucing Up the Outdoors

Conclusion
We love our pop-up camper. We have traveled in a tent, pop-up camper, van conversion, and a thirty-foot travel trailer. It does not matter what kind of RV you have, or its size - storage will always be an issue but it does not have to be; you can be creative and make your own solutions or buy products that suit your needs.