Clothes Storage for travel....

[XPEDITIONREADY]

Hey guys,

My wife and i do a good bit of camping and we are looking for a solution to clothes storage. We are going on a 20day trip soon and do not want to live out of duffle bags if we can avoid it. So lets see some creative ideas. Also, we will be traveling in my access cab tacoma so no way to have SUV drawer platform setup. Thanks!

 

[1leglance]

I really really like my Eagle Creek folding thing that works perfect for shirts...shorts I just roll up.
For a 20 day trip I would pack 5 shirts, 3 shorts, 10 socks and 5 boxers...
Every 4 days I would do a rinse, wring, & hang of the shirts as I would want a slow rest day anyway, then on the 8th day I would hit a small town laundry mat.

Packing 20 day worth of clothes is a huge space waste and hassle, modern travel clothing works very well with a rinse & hang.

 

[refried]

I bought a set of bags a few years ago designed to fit in a Thule or Yakama roof top box that get lots of use. They're about 18"x18" and range from 5" to about 12" high. They're made of a heavy nylon or cordura fabric with a zipper around the top that allows the bag to open like a box rather than a duffel bag. Because they're square they're easy to stack and store and my gf like the fact that her folded clothes stay folded without getting wrinkled. I think these were made by Mountainsmith but I'm sure others make them too.

 

[mudbutt]

Do a search for "binto bag"

 

[NuggetHoarder]

What is the range of activity coverage you are doing? Are you on a trip where all your activity is in the desert with some limited hiking involved and then sitting around camp? Or is your trip a combination of cold nights, hot days, some forest, some desert, and some restaurants in town. The other question is whether it will be just you and your wife mostly, or will you be with a group?

I'm really good at packing and I could give you some advice, but I'd need to know a brief description about the trip you're describing.

 

[XPEDITIONREADY]

Thanks for the replys so far....

As for our specific travels, we will be crossing the country from NC to CA and back hitting some of the sites along the way. We will be doing a bit of exploring, hiking, camping, and 4wheeling, so we will dress acordingly. My wife is a classic over packer so we will be working on managing that, and limiting the number of shoes she brings . We will be traveling in the summer, starting end of june, so weather should be mild most of the places we go, so we will save space with not needing winter clothing.

Keep the ideas rolling please.....:smiley_drive:

 

[NuggetHoarder]

I use an 8 gallon actionpacker for extended trips like yours. You don't need anything more elaborate than that, and since it's not built into your rig, you can carry it to your camp shower area or take it into your tent.

My girlfriend uses almost the same setup as I do, except she likes to bring more tops and she carries a lot more shampoo and stuff like that.

I carry:
3 hand towels
3 sets of clothes - 3 shorts, 3 underwear, 3 t-shirts, 3 fishing shirts, 3 socks, hiking boots
3 sets of sleep clothes - 3 gym shorts, 3 tshirts and sandals
1 set of town clothes - 1 jeans, 1 dress shirt, 1 belt

If it's a trip with cold nights and hot days, I carry sweatpants instead of gym shorts for sleeping, and I carry two pairs of six pocket tactical pants in addition to the shorts. I might carry 3 additional and heavier socks if needed so that I have daytime socks and nighttime socks. I don't spend much time in towns but if you do, add another dress shirt or some Docker type pants. The gym shorts double as swim trunks. You don't need a big towel when you're camping. A hand towel is plenty.

All of the above, plus your toiletries, plus your sandals (in a big ziplock) will easily fit into an 8 gallon actionpacker. That's even including the winter stuff if you need it. In winter I also carry a hoodie and a jacket, but I never pack those - they stay out in the open all the time.

The idea with the 3 sets of clothes is that you basically have one set of clothes "in the wash" all the time. It takes a full day to dry stuff out, and you might have a rain day, thus the 3 sets instead of just 2.

Fold and roll everything up tight. roll up your underwear, roll up your shirts, roll up your pants. Rolls take up the least amount of space and have the fewest wrinkles and it's very organized. Even dress shirts can be rolled if you practice at it. They will come out with very few wrinkles. Look up "How to roll clothes" in a search engine and you'll find lots of info.

I usually camp in hot weather and I'm very active, so my daily routine is that I'll wear an outfit for only one day maximum. I always take a shower just before going to bed and then I put on clean sleep clothes (I don't like to sleep in campfire smelling clothes!). After my shower, I wash the sleep clothes from the night before, and whatever I wore today plus the dirty towel, then wring them all out and hang them to start drying before I go to bed.

My entire washing process takes about 5 minutes or less and you get used to doing it, it's not a big deal. I use a two bucket method to wash clothes. One 5 gallon bucket with a gamma lid, and one 5 gallon bucket with a bunch of small holes drilled into the bottom. Take your first 5 gallon bucket with a gamma lid, put in the clothes, soap and water, put on the lid and shake it up real good for a few minutes, dump the soapy water, add some fresh water for a rinse and shake. For the wringing part, lay down some sticks on the ground. Put the second bucket with holes in the bottom on top of the sticks. Put your clothes into the bucket that has holes in the bottom. Next, put the first bucket with the gamma lid on top of the second bucket and sit on it. The first bucket will press all the clothes down and the water comes out of the bottom of the second bucket. That's it, you're done - the clothes are completely wrung out and clean. Hang the clothes on the clothesline before you go to bed.

Here's a youtube video of how this washing method works. You don't need the third bucket if you just place some sticks on the ground to raise the second bucket up off the dirt.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKODHAi4Jhg"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKODHAi4Jhg[/ame]

If you use the above method and you are breaking camp the next morning, you'll still have wet clothes. Just lump them loosely into the cargo area of your rig (inside) on top of your other gear boxes so they are in the open air for the trip to the next camp and they won't turn sour. As soon as you get to your new camp, hang them up to dry as soon as possible. Don't store the wet clothes in a garbage bag or they will turn sour. Don't try to dry them on the roof rack while driving - they will shred in the wind.

If you are camping for an extended period of time with a big group, you'll want to take a few more shirts. Otherwise, it looks to others like you're a destitute bum with no wardrobe If it's just you or just you and another person, then you don't need more than 3 shirts.

That's it - 3 changes of clothes and you can carry on almost indefinitely.

 

[NuggetHoarder]

I had a conversation on this topic with a friend and they brought up a couple questions and I thought I'd add them to this discussion.

The first issue was the origin of this. The origin of my system that I wrote about above is based on what a huge number of air traveling road warriors, both men and women, have perfected over the years (I used to be one). Road warriors use a small carry-on suitcase with 3 days worth of clothes and they wash clothing every evening in their hotel room and hang the clothing to dry in the bathroom. My system is simply a variation on that proven method.

The other issue brought up was that my system uses too much water. I use these amounts daily:
2 gallons for showering
1/2 gallon to wash clothes
1/2 gallon to rinse clothes
1/2 gallon for drinking
1/2 gallon for cooking and washing dishes.

That's a total of 4 gallons per day for the first person. If you add another person, that adds another 2 gallons for showering and 1 gallon for drinking and cooking - the clothes washing amount stays the same. That brings the total for two people to 7 gallons per day.

For safety, I always try to think in terms of 1/3 in, 1/3 out, and 1/3 reserve for both fuel and water. That means I try to never use more than 2/3 of my water while camping. The remaining 1/3 is kept in reserve and I would go into a strict rationing mode of 1/2 gallon of water per person per day max if needed.

I carry 20 gallons of water and I have four MSR 10 liter (2.5 gal) dromedary bags so that I can ramp up to a total of 30 gallons if needed. Using the 1/3 rule, that give me 20 gallons available for camping and 10 gallons in reserve. That means I can camp for 5 days if I'm alone or camp for 3 days if there are two of us. The 10 gallons in emergency reserve would become 20 days of emergency drinking water for one person or 10 days emergency water for two people.

If I really want to conserve - for instance in a desert area, I will drop the showers to 1 gallon per day (not easy but doable) and use paper plates for dishes which drops water usage down to 2.5 gallons for one person and 4 gallons for two people. That will stretch the available 20 gallons of water to 8 days for one person and 5 days for two people and still keep 10 gallons as emergency reserve.

I also carry a set of Berkey black filters so I could stay out much longer as long as I have a water source like a creek or lake or a lot of rain.

 

[wjeeper]

I usually roll my clothes too. I basically make a roll with my socks in the center, underwear, shirt then pants and put a rubber band around it. The socks and underwear in the middle seem to be the key to keeping your clothes from wrinkling. Like has been mentioned previously if your careful you can do it with little wrinkling. Plus its nice to just reach into your pack and grab a roll and your set for the day. I haven't given it a try on dress shirts yet......guess I am too worried about arriving at my destination with a wrinkled shirt (although my t-shirts very rarely come out wrinkled)

I really like the press idea for the 5 gallon buckets! It would cut drying time in half I bet! I have used a bucket and a gamma seal lid strapped to the roof rack before on a long trip. A black bucket is nice because it will warm the water in the sun.

 

[frumpy]

I find zip lock bags work great. I will pack a t-shirt, socks, and underwear in one (if you need to go super compact, duct tape it up). Then pants and long sleeve shirts in their own bags. I also label everything so its a quick open up the bag/container just grab what you need.

 

[Mobryan]

One laundry trick I discovered when I was driving 18 wheelers. Take a 5 gallon bucket, add 2 gallons of water and a little laundry soap (like 1/4 of the single use boxes from the laundromat). Throw in a set of dirty clothes, snap the lid on tight, and strap to the side of the truck with a couple bungee cords. Micro size washing machine, agitated as you drive. :smiley_drive: I'd load it in the morning, dump the water at noon, refill the bucket with a gallon or so of fresh water to rinse, pull the clothes out to hang when I shut down for the night and have them fresh for the morning.

I wasn't worried about rationing water at the time, so you could probably cut down on the water, just use enough to soak the clothes and have 6" or so in the bottom of the bucket.


Matt

 

[Ruined Adventures]

to save water, you could pack some clothes into a Nalgene bottle for the same mini-laundromat effect. Throw a rock or two in there as an agitator, and shake it up with some soap

 

[JamesDowning]

Thanks for the replys so far....

As for our specific travels, we will be crossing the country from NC to CA and back hitting some of the sites along the way. We will be doing a bit of exploring, hiking, camping, and 4wheeling, so we will dress acordingly. My wife is a classic over packer so we will be working on managing that, and limiting the number of shoes she brings . We will be traveling in the summer, starting end of june, so weather should be mild most of the places we go, so we will save space with not needing winter clothing.

Keep the ideas rolling please.....:smiley_drive:

Sounds like a similar situation to me... except I'm planning to go a little later in the year... and from MD. My wife is also an over-packer, so I've slowly been trying to figure out our clothing situation.

I originally was planning to use vacuum bags to save on space, however that got vetoed quickly by the other half, citing wrinkles. I'd still like to vacuum pack some of the bulky just-in-case items like sweaters and jackets.

I also suggested doing some laundry halfway through the trip, which didn't really appeal to her sense of vacation. So, by the sound of it, we'll have a good amount of clothing to lug around.

So, due to this large amount of clothing, we're probably just going to use our normal rolling luggage, as we'll be hitting up some hotels along the way (for some nice down time). The biggest problem I see with that, however, is dressing while at camp... no room for the big rolling luggage in a RTT. I was thinking about getting some small 'overnight' duffel bags just for use while at camp.

Still haven't figured everything out on that front. My challenges may be different than yours, but at least your thread got me thinking. This clothing challenge wasn't really on my radar before.