Preventing load shifting in storage areas?

[boatnut]

I just purchased a 2012 class C. It has a cavernous storage area that is plastic lined. I'm concerned about things shifting while underway. Items like lawn chairs, cooler, blackwater portable tank, grill etc.

I have a piece of indoor/outdoor carpet that I thought about cutting to fit the area. Would be nice if there were some eyebolts so I could bungee stuff down.

Any thoughts????

 

[SlowrideHD]

I just tell my wife there is room for something else and it usually gets packed so that nothing can move, because it's stuffed full.
The carpet should help. I wouldn't go to the trouble of tying stuff down. What's the worst that could happen?

 

[kenandterry]

There's not a lot of things in our cargo area that carries a lot of weight if it does move. The heavier things....BBQ, Air compressor, 20lb propane tank....are wedged well by other items.

On top of that, I place these things against a forward wall all the time. I can control my acceleration, and the motorhome isn't quick anyway. It's if I'm cut off or someone does something stupid in front of me, I might brake hard, and heavy items are not going to move.....they're already up against a forward wall.

I have placed a few eye bolts to use with bungee cords to hold lawn chairs and loungers.

 

[dwayneb236]

I've got a rubberized floor so no shifting in mine. Like it could anyway with all the junk my wife wants to carry. I'm working on it though. Little by little getting rid of stuff.

 

[padcarroll]

Spring tension rods for curtains and shower rods work for me

 

[adrinkard]

I laid some indoor outdoor carpet in mine as well and it works very well.

 

[bluepill]

I save old cardboard boxes of various sizes and carry them "Knocked Down". When I need more storage space or some blocking, I just open them and re-tape the seams.

 

[Beauty and Beast]

Maybe if you could find a rubber mat from the bed of a pickup. Standard length is normally 8' which is about the width of most rigs. It should be 4' wide so you could roll it up put in into the bay and just open it up. There you go... a 4' x 8' rubber floor for your bay. I'm sure they make them for the 5.5' and 6.5' length beds also which could work for you too. Good luck.

 

[TitanMike]

If you want tie downs, consider a piece of 3/4" - 1" plywood and install some "hatch lift rings" in various parts. Make a grid of tie-downs that can be used as needed and just folded flat if not.

If the plywood is close to the same size as the compartment it doesn't need to be secured to the floor as it and it's load will behave as a big unit, not moving around.

 

[WayneLee]

I pack the smaller items into plastic bins purchased from Home Depot. I wedge the bins against the larger items (chairs, water softner, etc) to minimize their movement.

I put the electric cord, water hoses, etc. in larger plastic bins. The stinky slinky stays in the sewer compartment.

 

[Jim in Halifax]

Some years ago I purchased a black and sturdy fibre glass storage bin...actually two bins about 4 feet long each...these are mounted on a frame screwed to the floor......Both bins slide out about 3 feet on each side........Bins are about 18" deep and maybe 2 feet wide...Used it in two TT's and now in our CC29RE 5er

 

[Wobbles]

Sounds like you need to put more stuff in the cargo area.

 

[PenJoe]

We usually carry a couple of padded moving blankets and bungee cords. On our last trip, we broke down 2 adult bikes and stored them in the large rear compartment, plus the folding chairs, plus the one-piece fishing poles, plus the tool box, plus the tackle box, plus?. That bay looked like a chipmunk's cheeks that was stashing food for the winter. If we had need to use the bungees, we either secure the moving blankets to the cargo or secure lawn chairs to each other. We never felt the need for have anything secured to the bay walls.

DW also uses towels to pad items in the closets or drawers such as the coffee maker, toaster, etc. It protects the appliances and prevents rattles. When we get to the destination, they get used as towels.

Packing for a road trip is like trying to get 10 lbs in a 5 lb bag. After several tries, it will be down to a science? Just about the time you get proud of yourself thinking about what a wonderful job you did, DW asks if you got the (what ever) item pack. And so it is back to the puzzle and where can that piece possibly fit. Let the culling begin.

 

[jimmoore13]

These are easy to install and very sturdy...and they have a low profile when not in use: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B001TJ50N8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Depending on the wall structure of your storage area, you may need to back them with plywood or a block of wood on the "outside" of your storage space. I used mine for another purpose, but I installed them with #12 stainless screws and I used Gorilla glue in the hole and on the threads to prevent vibration and strengthen the bond.
Another option would be through-bolts with "fender washers" on the back side. Use 1/4" - 20 bolts and nuts with nylock inserts. Fender washers are available in both steel and nylon, and they do a great job of distributing a load on thin-walled materials.

I used an arrangement something like this attached to my aluminum pickup bed tool box to hold cargo in place. I've used mine to hold a snowblower, concrete mixer, propane tanks, and so on. They are surprisingly strong and effective, because if things are held in place and not allowed to build up "momentum" it doesn't take much to keep them still...especially holding against "acceleration" forces. Since all objects are braced against the tool box, deceleration forces are kept in check, because the objects have nowhere to go.

Carpet is a good idea as well, but a soft rubber mat might be better. https://smile.amazon.com/Floor-Tile...=1-1-catcorr&keywords=soft+rubber+floor+tiles

There are much less expensive versions of truck bed cargo retention pipes. This illustrates. https://smile.amazon.com/Ratcheting...9-spons&keywords=truck+bed+cargo+holder&psc=1
They mount between walls with spring tension and keep things from moving about in a pickup bed.

Bungies are probably all you need to hold the cargo against the front wall of the storage area. Use plenty of tie-downs relatively closely spaced because side-to-side motion will be the real enemy to keeping things secure. Lurching over pot-holes, curbs, drain culverts, etc. will create the greatest forces, and those will be side-to-side far more that fore-and-aft.