For those of you who don't live full-time in their Wheeled home... do you keep your caravan/m'home fully stocked with all the kitchenware/linen/pillows/clothes/buckets/power-cords etc etc or do you transfer the stuff that you normally use at home to your van every time you go away?
We have most stuff in the van all the time but some items come out of the house and back again. Makes packing and leaving a bit quicker.
copper1 said
09:12 PM Jan 28, 2014
Hey Gerty we have ours stocked fully except fresh food before we go so all the linen, towels etc are in there also non perishable foods are always in the pantry and just before we head off we do a date check for expired foods and just restock.
Hope that helps
Vic41 said
09:14 PM Jan 28, 2014
Pretty well much the same as you Gerty, but we keep our linen inside once it has been washed until we need it again.
Also don't make our beds up until before we leave in case creepy crawlies get in there......
Dougwe said
09:21 PM Jan 28, 2014
Gerty, Due to my big rig I keep some things for the back of the tug just so tug doesn't feel left out, non perishable food is usually kept up to date in the den and stock the fridge the night before departure unless I decide to buy local on the road.
Wombat stew items are always sourced locally though.
oldbobsbus said
09:29 PM Jan 28, 2014
The bus is always fully stocked and ready to go including food and grog in the fridge 365 days, when we head off we only need to add undies and pills..lol..
copper1 said
09:34 PM Jan 28, 2014
oldbobsbus wrote:
The bus is always fully stocked and ready to go including food and grog in the fridge 365 days, when we head off we only need to add undies and pills..lol..
Yeh I'm with you there Bob, grog and pills god what would we do without our pills, oh and the grog purely medicinal
elliemike said
09:39 PM Jan 28, 2014
The Avan Cruiseliner is not really that big so we tend to unload the Bedding (not the mattress or cushions) our Clothes and the Foodstuffs. The rest stays put.
But we do keep in the house, dedicated containers for our camping clothes and the bedding, also all the drygoods (food ) in the house.
When getting ready to head off we just put our gear back in the van. We both have a set of clothing and footwear just for camping.
Normally about an hours work to load the inside up. Clothes, Bedding, Fresh food, and dry goods.
-- Edited by elliemike on Wednesday 29th of January 2014 08:14:59 PM
Pejay said
10:19 PM Jan 28, 2014
Hi Gerty,
We have mostly another complete 'set' in the van and only a few things go back and forth between the house and the van. I call it exercise when I have to walk down to the van and back because something is still in the van. However ..... with changing vans recently, I pulled everything out and so far have only put back a small portion of stuff, 'cause (a) haven't had time to put it all back in, and (b) I intend to go through it all and decide what we really really need in the van and turf the rest. That is still to happen.
I too, only make the bed up a couple of days before we head off, next comes the clothes, the stuff in the pantry, and the fridge is the last thing that is filled. Of course it goes without saying that the 'liquid' supplies take priority over everything else, along with the pills as Bob says!
Jedo_03 said
10:27 PM Jan 28, 2014
We don't normally leave ANY foodstuffs in the caravan - including Tins and Cans... Ants, beasties, weevils, cokkroaches, millipedes, earwigs, mice, rats : not to mention Poo-Tanimation... : And the effects of this Heat... :
Ergo today: was 70 Centigrade inside our parked van (in the back yard)...
Bet the Escherichia_Corn Beef and Clostridium_Spam were having a field day inside them there HOT Tins...
Make you velly velly sick...
Meredith said
10:53 PM Jan 28, 2014
We usually have 6 months or more between trips so all food including tinned etc is removed from the van. The van has its own bedding and towels etc which I wash after we return home and put back in the van. Everything else stays in the van. To go generally all we have to put in it is clothes, toiletries and food, and a few things like new batteries for the torches.
aussietraveller said
10:54 PM Jan 28, 2014
We only have to reload Food and Clothes everything else is stored in the van
Cruising Cruze said
11:07 PM Jan 28, 2014
@ Gerty
My wife has an list of everything ( long life most of it kept in plastic boxes ) food wise what we to take with us ,
except fresh stuff, we get it the day before we leave
get's replenished when we get home asap so we ready to go again
same with the washing when home it get washed and put back
only thing we have to grab is our clothes the rest is all in the truck and caravan
Cheers John
whitey2 said
08:34 AM Jan 29, 2014
Leave everything except food and clothes, once home I wash bedding,towels etc then they are put back in.
Big Gorilla said
08:41 AM Jan 29, 2014
whitey2 wrote:
Leave everything except food and clothes, once home I wash bedding,towels etc then they are put back in.
Exactly what I do...
Peterpan said
08:53 AM Jan 29, 2014
Big Gorilla wrote:
whitey2 wrote:
Leave everything except food and clothes, once home I wash bedding,towels etc then they are put back in.
Exactly what I do...
We do the same, makes for a quick getaway.
barina said
09:10 AM Jan 29, 2014
I am an occasional weekend nomad at the moment and leave change of clothes, warm and waterproof jackets, linen (the used linen gets washed and put back), some tinned food etc, cutlery, crockery, pans, toiletries (incl sunscreen, wipes etc), bedding, torches, books, maps in the van.
To take away I add appropriate clothes, fresh fridge food and drinks, some nibbly crackers, fresh water bottles, make up the bed. I think that's it.
I also spray van with pest spray after I am home and have given the van a bit of a clean.
capricorn and pisces said
11:52 AM Jan 29, 2014
Well isn't that an interesting topic, Gerty We all seem to think along much the same lines......like others we wash and repack all the linens that have been used, remake the bed and set up the bathroom, replenish the grog (oh sorry, that was meant to be first on the list) and check all the dry foods....and being me we have endless lists to check before leaving next time but its mainly food and seasonal clothes....undies, hankies and swimmers reside permanently in the van....ok, ok, we do take the undies out to be washed for all you pedantic types! and special mention has to be made of the spuds that I must pack each trip.....that ones for you, Doug! cheers Capricorn
Cupie said
05:03 PM Jan 29, 2014
I too have lots of lists but rarely refer to them ...
Left in van permanently (Here's another list for you)
. All crockery, cutlery & cooking stuff including electrical thingoes - pans, pots, E fry pan, sandwich maker, toaster, jug, stick mixer et al.
. All bedding & other linen (washed & returned to the van) (bed made day before leaving)
. Emergency clothing kit .. both cold weather & hot weather stuff .. like rain coat & tiny umbrellas, ugg boots, heavy coat, jeans, vest, thongs (foot types), swimmers .. in a special bag under linen cupboard.
. A few non perishable food stuffs ... Flour, rice, sugar, salt, sultanas, coconut, tin stuff, dried pulses, selection of teas & coffee, sugar substitute, powered milk, salt & pepper grinders.
. A small spare parts kit & multi tools. Owners manuals for the van & technical gadgets.
. Some play things like Boche set & kids cricket bat & tennis balls. Uno & normal cards.
(that's all I can think of off the top of the head)
To load ..
In the week before I do a check of things normally left in the van & restock as necessary.
Week before .. crank up fridge on both gas & 240v. Leave on 240v to cool right down.
check HWS on gas
check break away battery & charge if necessary.
check breaks & lights.
And of course .. back to the question ...
All clothes to suit the time of year, type of trip, destination & time away.
All perishables.
Load fridge night before (including frozen milk bottles to fill any spare fridge/freezer space).
Special interest books applicable to the trip ..
eg.. What shell is that, Bird watcher guide, What fish is that, Camps Aus Wide, Big4 & Top membership cards, Books applicable to the destination eg. If in the Wave Rock area "A Fortunate life" or if going via West Qld .. 'Shearer's strike'
Laptop, mobile & chargers.
Load the Patrol with the Engel full of soft drink (no booze for we wowsers .. maybe just a little) , pushbike & kayaking stuff.
and away we go!
gooba53 said
05:49 PM Jan 29, 2014
My current routine is almost a mirror of Cupie, however after reading other thoughts on things like flour, sugar, rice, spice etc etc even canned foods being removed to ensure freshness, I wonder should I rethink and remove the food? I actually topped up all the containers etc after our last trip, Cup Weekend, not heading off till end Feb. Do you reckon the food would be ok after this hot Melbourne weather??? Theres no fresh food in there, but basic pantry items?
Mr B2 said
07:36 PM Jan 29, 2014
Fresh food and personal clothing is all I put into the Coach, Its always ready to roll, I Make sure the water tank is filled,
I leave every thing in it, I have bought it all over a long period of time, A complete second set of everything, Just for the Coach,
Radar said
04:14 PM Jan 30, 2014
Gertydancer hi
As with most people after each trip our caravan is cleaned and ready for next time, a day spent airing the bedding and remaking the bed, my cloths are mostly cloths I won't wear at home, sort of dark coloured ex work gear, will not show the dirt, if know what I mean. The lady a wash basket full when getting ready to leave.
Tin food is rotated over with fresh cans over the coming days, frig turned on a couple of days out and then loaded as we go about doing things.
While I am plugging in the 240 volt power cord to the caravan so as to cool the frig down I generally run the air conditioner, drain the water tank and refill it.
While we were both working and at a moments notice wanted a night out in the bush on the weekend it would more or less take about 2 hours after breakfast to go. We could not leave before 11 am Saturday and then needed to be home about 5 pm, from that we learnt what we could and can't be allow to stay in the caravan for the next time.
For those of you who don't live full-time in their Wheeled home... do you keep your caravan/m'home fully stocked with all the kitchenware/linen/pillows/clothes/buckets/power-cords etc etc or do you transfer the stuff that you normally use at home to your van every time you go away?
We have most stuff in the van all the time but some items come out of the house and back again. Makes packing and leaving a bit quicker.
Hey Gerty we have ours stocked fully except fresh food before we go so all the linen, towels etc are in there also non perishable foods are always in the pantry and just before we head off we do a date check for expired foods and just restock.
Hope that helps
Pretty well much the same as you Gerty, but we keep our linen inside once it has been washed until we need it again.
Also don't make our beds up until before we leave in case creepy crawlies get in there......
Wombat stew items are always sourced locally though.
The bus is always fully stocked and ready to go including food and grog in the fridge 365 days, when we head off we only need to add undies and pills..lol..
Yeh I'm with you there Bob, grog and pills
god what would we do without our pills, oh and the grog purely medicinal 
The Avan Cruiseliner is not really that big so we tend to unload the Bedding (not the mattress or cushions) our Clothes and the Foodstuffs. The rest stays put.
But we do keep in the house, dedicated containers for our camping clothes and the bedding, also all the drygoods (food ) in the house.
When getting ready to head off we just put our gear back in the van. We both have a set of clothing and footwear just for camping.
Normally about an hours work to load the inside up. Clothes, Bedding, Fresh food, and dry goods.
-- Edited by elliemike on Wednesday 29th of January 2014 08:14:59 PM
We have mostly another complete 'set' in the van and only a few things go back and forth between the house and the van. I call it exercise when I have to walk down to the van and back because something is still in the van. However ..... with changing vans recently, I pulled everything out and so far have only put back a small portion of stuff, 'cause (a) haven't had time to put it all back in, and (b) I intend to go through it all and decide what we really really need in the van and turf the rest. That is still to happen.
I too, only make the bed up a couple of days before we head off, next comes the clothes, the stuff in the pantry, and the fridge is the last thing that is filled. Of course it goes without saying that the 'liquid' supplies take priority over everything else, along with the pills as Bob says!
We don't normally leave ANY foodstuffs in the caravan - including Tins and Cans...
Ants, beasties, weevils, cokkroaches, millipedes, earwigs, mice, rats :
And the effects of this Heat... :
Ergo today: was 70 Centigrade inside our parked van (in the back yard)...
Bet the Escherichia_Corn Beef and Clostridium_Spam were having a field day inside them there HOT Tins...
We usually have 6 months or more between trips so all food including tinned etc is removed from the van. The van has its own bedding and towels etc which I wash after we return home and put back in the van. Everything else stays in the van. To go generally all we have to put in it is clothes, toiletries and food, and a few things like new batteries for the torches.
My wife has an list of everything ( long life most of it kept in plastic boxes ) food wise what we to take with us ,
except fresh stuff, we get it the day before we leave
get's replenished when we get home asap so we ready to go again
same with the washing when home it get washed and put back
only thing we have to grab is our clothes the rest is all in the truck and caravan
Cheers John
Exactly what I do...
We do the same, makes for a quick getaway.
I am an occasional weekend nomad at the moment and leave change of clothes, warm and waterproof jackets, linen (the used linen gets washed and put back), some tinned food etc, cutlery, crockery, pans, toiletries (incl sunscreen, wipes etc), bedding, torches, books, maps in the van.
To take away I add appropriate clothes, fresh fridge food and drinks, some nibbly crackers, fresh water bottles, make up the bed. I think that's it.
I also spray van with pest spray after I am home and have given the van a bit of a clean.
Well isn't that an interesting topic, Gerty We all seem to think along much the same lines......like others we wash and repack all the linens that have been used, remake the bed and set up the bathroom, replenish the grog (oh sorry, that was meant to be first on the list) and check all the dry foods....and being me we have endless lists to check before leaving next time but its mainly food and seasonal clothes....undies, hankies and swimmers reside permanently in the van....ok, ok, we do take the undies out to be washed for all you pedantic types! and special mention has to be made of the spuds that I must pack each trip.....that ones for you, Doug! cheers Capricorn
I too have lots of lists but rarely refer to them ...
Left in van permanently (Here's another list for you)
. All crockery, cutlery & cooking stuff including electrical thingoes - pans, pots, E fry pan, sandwich maker, toaster, jug, stick mixer et al.
. All bedding & other linen (washed & returned to the van) (bed made day before leaving)
. First Aid kit & basic non prescription pills
. Basic bathroom toiletries - soaps, deodorants, shaving cream & razors, sunburn cream, room freshener spray.
. laundry bucket & basket with washing powder, pegs and $1 & $2 coins
.things like kitchen paper, alfoil, cling wrap & toilet paper.
. Cleaning agents including toilet chemicals.
. Spices & dried herbs. A little bit of oil .. sunflower & Olive ... Soy & fish sauce
. spare batteries, propane gas cylinders & stationery, mozzie coils & fly nets. Torches. Intruder waddy. Eye mask. Binoculars.
. Emergency clothing kit .. both cold weather & hot weather stuff .. like rain coat & tiny umbrellas, ugg boots, heavy coat, jeans, vest, thongs (foot types), swimmers .. in a special bag under linen cupboard.
.hats & caps
. Camp chairs & tables, portable bbq, fishing rods & tackle.
. A couple of books & a pack of DVDs.
. A few non perishable food stuffs ... Flour, rice, sugar, salt, sultanas, coconut, tin stuff, dried pulses, selection of teas & coffee, sugar substitute, powered milk, salt & pepper grinders.
. A small spare parts kit & multi tools. Owners manuals for the van & technical gadgets.
. Some play things like Boche set & kids cricket bat & tennis balls. Uno & normal cards.
(that's all I can think of off the top of the head)
To load ..
In the week before I do a check of things normally left in the van & restock as necessary.
Week before .. crank up fridge on both gas & 240v. Leave on 240v to cool right down.
check HWS on gas
check break away battery & charge if necessary.
check breaks & lights.
And of course .. back to the question ...
All clothes to suit the time of year, type of trip, destination & time away.
All perishables.
Load fridge night before (including frozen milk bottles to fill any spare fridge/freezer space).
Special interest books applicable to the trip ..
eg.. What shell is that, Bird watcher guide, What fish is that, Camps Aus Wide, Big4 & Top membership cards, Books applicable to the destination eg. If in the Wave Rock area "A Fortunate life" or if going via West Qld .. 'Shearer's strike'
Laptop, mobile & chargers.
Load the Patrol with the Engel full of soft drink (no booze for we wowsers .. maybe just a little) , pushbike & kayaking stuff.
and away we go!
My current routine is almost a mirror of Cupie, however after reading other thoughts on things like flour, sugar, rice, spice etc etc even canned foods being removed to ensure freshness, I wonder should I rethink and remove the food? I actually topped up all the containers etc after our last trip, Cup Weekend, not heading off till end Feb. Do you reckon the food would be ok after this hot Melbourne weather??? Theres no fresh food in there, but basic pantry items?
Fresh food and personal clothing is all I put into the Coach, Its always ready to roll, I Make sure the water tank is filled,
I leave every thing in it, I have bought it all over a long period of time, A complete second set of everything, Just for the Coach,
Gertydancer hi
As with most people after each trip our caravan is cleaned and ready for next time, a day spent airing the bedding and remaking the bed, my cloths are mostly cloths I won't wear at home, sort of dark coloured ex work gear, will not show the dirt, if know what I mean. The lady a wash basket full when getting ready to leave.
Tin food is rotated over with fresh cans over the coming days, frig turned on a couple of days out and then loaded as we go about doing things.
While I am plugging in the 240 volt power cord to the caravan so as to cool the frig down I generally run the air conditioner, drain the water tank and refill it.
While we were both working and at a moments notice wanted a night out in the bush on the weekend it would more or less take about 2 hours after breakfast to go. We could not leave before 11 am Saturday and then needed to be home about 5 pm, from that we learnt what we could and can't be allow to stay in the caravan for the next time.
Enjoy your travels.Cheers