Clothing Storage

[AggieOE]

My wife and I took a 2-week, 6000-mi trip a while back and our biggest complaint was having to dig through duffles buried amongst sweaters, jackets, shoes, and what-not to find clothes. With our next long trip coming up this summer, we're revisiting this issue and are determined to find a solution that fits us.
So, I searched for some good threads and options online for clothing storage while overlanding/camping/traveling and seem to either find nothing or non-ideal set-ups.
I'm hoping the community can post pictures of what y'all have done to streamline clothing storage while traveling.

I know everyone's needs are different so I imagine everyone's solutions may fit a limited crowd. Either way, it'd be great to see everyone's clothing set up.

 

[El-Dracho]

Inside the rig we have bags for the clothes made of fabric. The bags are fixed in piping strips which are also used with tents and so on. So you can even take them out, pack them and then hang them back in the vehicle. In addition, they are an ideal backrest when we sit in the vehicle. Have those bags for over 10 years now and they are perfect. The bags are now available in Europe from several manufacturers and in different variants. A good upholstery should also be able to sew something like that.

 

[FishinCrzy]

I try to pack often used clothes in easy to get to organizers like these:

I put not so often used, but possibly needed at some point, in a dry bag duffle that can be stuffed out of the way. I have found that most things can be rolled up for packing and this saves time and space when looking for things and also prevents things getting disshelvled and wrinkled...somewhat. I ran into one problem I had not fully anticipated and that is dust. Hard to keep out of some places. Dry bags are good for that. I found a dry cargo bag that's waterproof and opens across the top. They call it a duffle and I guess it is but opens long ways for eas access.

Occassionally taking a few minutes to organize for the short term and put the things you need next on top or easy to access helps some. Not like home where I can just take it out of the dryer and fold it on the unused bed and leave what I will need for the week just laying there. Camping and traveling is work!! Constantly packing and unpacking. Such is the nature of the choice.

 

[ontos]

This is a problem we struggled with for years on our sailboat. The boat is only 26' long and doesn't really have clothing storage, so we each get one duffel that fits in the gear hammock in the v-berth. Sometimes we'll be gone for weeks or months, and that makes clothing a real challenge. What we've settled on is bringing a lot of the same clothes. I like the Wrangler ATG stuff. It looks okay enough to go out to dinner or to play golf, but also fine for on the boat or fishing. The Mrs. really likes the sun/fishing clothing, especially the dresses, from Columbia. If everything in the duffel is basically the same, you don't spend so much time digging around for the right piece of clothing. For cold weather we each have a really good wool sweater, and then our foul weather gear.

The nice thing about the synthetics is that they are really easy to wash onboard. Some ecofriendly laundry soap in a bucket, a quick rinse with the washdown hose, and then hang them to dry for just a few minutes.

 

[terryg]

We use the Basics mentioned by FishinCrzy, above. We each carried 2 - undergarments and socks in one, shirts, sweatshirts, and pants in another. One thing I learned, for me anyway, is that packing clothes for overlanding is a lot like packing for through hiking. You really only need one change of clothes. If I launder once a week, I only need a change for when I get to a laundromat. That said, I also hand bath every night, too.

 

[fstfrd00]

maybe something like this?

I've only taken weekend trips, so I just throw all my clothing in a back pack. A few years back I went on a week long canoeing/ camping trip; then I threw all my clothes in 5-gallon buckets.

 

[AggieOE]

I like the ideas of packing interchangeable similar clothes and packaging them together. Like Monday grab this bag of clothes, Tuesday this one, etc. and then on Saturday, laundry and reset bags.
Either option gives a similar act of reaching in and just taking whatever you pull out.
Thanks for the feedback!

Ideally, having a drawer set-up is nice or like El-Dracho showed of having zippable compartments. But focusing on the packing method seems just as important.

 

[FishinCrzy]

We use the Basics mentioned by FishinCrzy, above. We each carried 2 - undergarments and socks in one, shirts, sweatshirts, and pants in another. One thing I learned, for me anyway, is that packing clothes for overlanding is a lot like packing for through hiking. You really only need one change of clothes. If I launder once a week, I only need a change for when I get to a laundromat. That said, I also hand bath every night, too.

Two things this reminds me of: It depends on how much space and weigh you can deal with and, what do with my fishy smelling clothes...hang them in a tree? Put them in a five gallon bucket with lid and tie on back of truck for "wash cycle". I probably need at least three changes of clothes with a layer here and there.

 

[Bostongal62]

Packing cubes color coded with similar items in each cube. As others have already said bringing less is the best. You could try to use that sea to summit wash bag to do hand laundry. I own one but haven’t used it yet but I from what I have gathered it uses minimal water and does a pretty good job on small loads. It allows you to bring less clothing and not be too stinky. There are also low profile camp clotheslines you can use to dry your clothes all over Amazon.

 

[RN J]

Inside the rig we have bags for the clothes made of fabric. The bags are fixed in piping strips which are also used with tents and so on. So you can even take them out, pack them and then hang them back in the vehicle. In addition, they are an ideal backrest when we sit in the vehicle. Have those bags for over 10 years now and they are perfect. The bags are now available in Europe from several manufacturers and in different variants. A good upholstery should also be able to sew something like that.

View attachment 226297

Huh. Very interesting concept. I never thought of that option! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Sparksalot]

Packing cubes color coded with similar items in each cube. As others have already said bringing less is the best. You could try to use that sea to summit wash bag to do hand laundry. I own one but haven’t used it yet but I from what I have gathered it uses minimal water and does a pretty good job on small loads. It allows you to bring less clothing and not be too stinky. There are also low profile camp clotheslines you can use to dry your clothes all over Amazon.

Did you have a link for that wash bag? I can’t find it.

 

[ontos]

yep! i got tired of digging thru tall bags and bought a long duffle. undies on one end, socks on the other with shirts and pants in the middle. i can unzip and access the entire bag and can even feel in the dark and find things...for the most part.
i had a seabag and those type bags are the worst

Could not agree more. The sea bag is a pain. We like these for durability, but also stow-ability when empty.

 

[pcstockton]

Travel Organizers For Packing Suitcases & Luggage | Eagle Creek

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[zgfiredude]

We just this past week did a little jaunt, and each used our own FrontRunner Wolfpack box for clothing and toiletries. The boxes are a tad pricey, but we now utilize several in the back of the JK for all sorts of different things. They nest/stack well and do not move around. It worked well for us.

 

[Bostongal62]

Packing cubes color coded with similar items in each cube. As others have already said bringing less is the best. You could try to use that sea to summit wash bag to do hand laundry. I own one but haven’t used it yet but I from what I have gathered it uses minimal water and does a pretty good job on small loads. It allows you to bring less clothing and not be too stinky. There are also low profile camp clotheslines you can use to dry your clothes all over Amazon.

Did you have a link for that wash bag? I can’t find it.

I just looked on Amazon and I don’t see it but I did find it at REI it’s called the Sea to Summit Scrubba bag. It’s a bit pricey at $49 but it might be worth the investment. It’s a one time purchase.

 

[MOAK]

6 pairs of socks, 6 underwear garments, 3 pairs each of shorts, pants, shirts. A hooded sweatshirt and rain gear. Our winter clothing is in a sealed poly box in the bottom of the trailer, easily accessible if needed. That’s it, that’s all that’s needed for 6 weeks and much much more. When the laundry bag is full up, we find a laundromat, about once every ten days or so as we can and do launder socks and underwear by hand. I have my duffle bag and my wife has hers. Like some folks, we struggled for a few years because we’d pack way too many clothes. The solution is quite simple, take what you need and need what you take.

 

[Sparksalot]

I just looked on Amazon and I don’t see it but I did find it at REI it’s called the Sea to Summit Scrubba bag. It’s a bit pricey at $49 but it might be worth the investment. It’s a one time purchase.

Thanks! I even looked on the Sea to Summit website too.
the price doesn’t seem out of line really for the ability it gives you to keep going longer.

 

[smlobx]

I’ll give my $0.02 for what it’s worth. First I think it really depends on 2 things..
1. What kind of rig you have.
2. What is the duration of your trip.

In our case we have actually somewhat changed our wardrobe out so that we don’t have any whites and as much of our clothing is synthetic. This means that our laundry on the road is much easier. We try and plan on doing laundry about once a week or so. Given that we try to have clothes to last that long.

Given that info we found that we can comfortably store our clothes in one Frontrunner box for each of us. In our Gladiator we actually have 4 of them that we use and are stored on the rear seat delete platform that we built. We used this last fall on a one month trip to CO and UT with great success. We found that the boxes also doubled as a table and foot rest when at camp..

Here are a couple of pictures of our rear seat set up in our Gladiator and our camp set up.

 

[AggieOE]

I’ll give my $0.02 for what it’s worth. First I think it really depends on 2 things..
1. What kind of rig you have.
2. What is the duration of your trip.

In our case we have actually somewhat changed our wardrobe out so that we don’t have any whites and as much of our clothing is synthetic. This means that our laundry on the road is much easier. We try and plan on doing laundry about once a week or so. Given that we try to have clothes to last that long.

Given that info we found that we can comfortably store our clothes in one Frontrunner box for each of us. In our Gladiator we actually have 4 of them that we use and are stored on the rear seat delete platform that we built. We used this last fall on a one month trip to CO and UT with great success. We found that the boxes also doubled as a table and foot rest when at camp..

Here are a couple of pictures of our rear seat set up in our Gladiator and our camp set up.

Definitely what I wanted to see. Thanks for posting. Do you use dividers or anything to split up the items in each bin?

We'll be in the Jeep towing a small utility trailer with the RTT on top. I'm trying to keep our back seat empty as we'll also be traveling with our 1-yr old. So really, trying to fit all clothing and toiletries in the back of the jeep along with the stroller. Trailer bins can take all the camping equipment.

 

[smlobx]

Definitely what I wanted to see. Thanks for posting. Do you use dividers or anything to split up the items in each bin?

We'll be in the Jeep towing a small utility trailer with the RTT on top. I'm trying to keep our back seat empty as we'll also be traveling with our 1-yr old. So really, trying to fit all clothing and toiletries in the back of the jeep along with the stroller. Trailer bins can take all the camping equipment.

We don’t use dividers but it wouldn’t be hard to do. You could even use your cutting board modified to fit properly and not add any additional items. Since these pictures were taken I have ordered the taller tops from FrontRunner which gives you and additional 3” or so of storage as well as screwing a piece of aluminum tread to the cover of one to use as a foot rest or seat…

BTW, I’m also an Aggie..Class of ‘83