Keeping Supplies in Pop Up When Stored

[VA Caver]

I've got everything I need (and a lot that I don't) kept in it year-round...except food and perishables.

Want to go camp at the last minute? Grab some clothes, food, and go!

 

[BuxCamper]

Like everybody else, except for perishable food it stays in the camper. Anything that needs washing (towels, bedding,...) once washed goes right back in. Except for food, what we're wearing and anything special for the trip we could just hitch up and go.

 

[Greywuff]

IMHO...why take everything out and have to store it someplace? Makes more sense to me to leave it all stored in the place where you are most likely to need it...inside the Pup. Further...lessens the chances of getting to the cg and realizing half your stuff is back in the storage area.
Perishable foods...I forgot and left a bag of gigner snaps and a bag of choclate chip cookies inside the PUC over the winter. When I opened her up last week, I discivered the two bags of cookies. They were so soft you could almost fold them in half without breaking them! THAT"S THE WAY COOKIES ARE SPOSED TO BE EATEN! Who wants a crispy cookie??? LOL (No, there are none left now)

 

[pinecone]

Looks like I'm the weirdo again (no surprise there, huh?) We take everything out of the pup when we get home and give it good cleaning inside. We run all the dishes and such through the dishwasher, run all the linens and such through the washer/dryer, and pack stuff away in their carriers. I set up the screen & shower tents and all the canvas chairs, then hose them off, let them dry, then pack them all up in their carriers. Everything but the dishes and linens is stored away in the garage. I pop open the pup a few days before we go camping again, and we load it up - that way I can give the up a good once-over while we're loading, and before we hit the road.

I read your post and have to say Dusty82... I do a pretty similar routine, but some things get put back in the pup after they are cleaned. The rest is shelved and then before a trip, I open her up, grab my checklist, and pack according to where we are going next...

 

[Orion]

I've even considered storing the wife and kids in there over winter. But thought better of it when I realized the smell would probably linger the next season.

Orion

 

[PattieAM]

My OPUP is stocked with everything we might need/use, so that when a trip comes along, all we need to do is throw suitcases and a cooler in the tow vehicle. All canned goods come out at end of season, get stored inside house and go back in spring. Bedding gets washed every other trip or so. Towels get washed each trip.

 

[jim1999]

I've even considered storing the wife and kids in there over winter. But thought better of it when I realized the smell would probably linger the next season.

Orion

Since getting a TT I have considered storing myself out there.

 

[themanfromvan]

I take out anything that could potentially attract mice or insects. Stuff like cocoa mix, cookies and crackers comes out. Canned goods remain under the seat and to my disapproval, my wife insists on keep pop (some call it soda) in there, too. I say the first time a bottle blows up, SHE cleans it up.

For winter storage, all food items come out. Utensils that smell like food are removed, too. I ain't running a rodent motel.

 

[tsc]

my wife insists on keep pop (some call it soda) in there, too. I say the first time a bottle blows up, SHE cleans it up.

I had a case of Coke sitting in the front seat of my truck (I put it in about 9pm and was off to work at 6am) It was -13C (9F). When I jumped into the truck, I thought I had left the window down and the snowplow went by. Nope, it grenaded and was Coke Squishy, throughout the truck.

I'm not too concerned about the heat (with canned goods) since I make Dulce de leche. I can't see the pup getting that hot for a long length of time (well, here in Canada anyway).

As a side note, Dulce de leche is great for pancakes when camping.

 

[Beth]

we're still pretty new at this ourselves, but i purchased my first space bag last week and while i had the pup popped up, i pulled some pillows and a sleeping bag that i had stored under the dining seat and put them in space bag.....wow that made a LOT more room....i will be purchasing at least 1 more of these for another sleeping bag and blanket....want to get an outside storage tote for the water hose and the tacky lights (right now they are under other dining seat with the electrical cord.); have some non-perishable food and dishes/utensils stored all the time.

 

[bigdad]

Same here keep every thing in the camper but the food after a trip clean it and check the supplies

 

[jnjsawyer]

We use the super fragrant drier sheets to keep the critters out of the camper. There are several thrown under the mattresses and some more in the cubby-holes where I store our linens. Knock on wood, but we haven't had critter problems while storing the PUC.

 

[barbjmj]

we're still pretty new at this ourselves, but i purchased my first space bag last week and while i had the pup popped up, i pulled some pillows and a sleeping bag that i had stored under the dining seat and put them in space bag.....wow that made a LOT more room....

How do you get the air out of them when you're repacking at the end of the camp out?

 

[litewait]

The biggie is to remove food. Perhaps canned food is okay, but nothing that critters can detect or eat. A surprise for us has been how minuscule an amount of food can attract critters. We always cook outside, and leave our campstove out on the table. On a couple of occasions, we've found a mouse or two in the morning hiding inside the campstove, attracted by grease or food droppings inside the stove. It doesn't take much to make a meal for something so small. A few cookie crumbs is a feast for a mouse!

 

[barb_dave]

For us all food stuff comes out canned or otherwise. We don't want to attract any unwanted pest. There are also periods here in WI where the temps will get below zero and stay there for a week or two. Canned goods wouldn't survive very well in those temps.

 

[Nascar Fan]

barbjmj, we just put some body weight on the bag and most of the air is out. We use the space bags for all of our linens.