Organizing the front storage box

[W@nderer]

We have the storage box installed by Escape. While I find it very handy, I want to organize it a bit better so that when I take things out, other items dont fall in to the void and make a mess. I currently use a five gallon bucket under the center support bar and store the leveling blocks and chocks there so they are accessible from either side. Cords and hoses on the drivers side for hooking up. Fuel, stove, some tools on door side. I was thinking of small square trash cans or similar to organize in the box but the Anderson levelers do fit the curve of the bucket well. Anyone have other ideas?

I did read some other posts but nothing really discussed the organisation in the box. https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...s-13242-2.html
https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...ns-2593-7.html
https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...9-a-10905.html


I created an Escape Campers West Coast group that we can share camping sites and adventures with each other. Please join if you are interested.

Escape Campers West
www.facebook.com/groups/escapecamperswest/

[WillyB]

Originally Posted by W@nderer

We have the storage box installed by Escape. While I find it very handy, I want to organize it a bit better so that when I take things out, other items dont fall in to the void and make a mess. I currently use a five gallon bucket under the center support bar and store the leveling blocks and chocks there so they are accessible from either side. Cords and hoses on the drivers side for hooking up. Fuel, stove, some tools on door side. I was thinking of small square trash cans or similar to organize in the box but the Anderson levelers do fit the curve of the bucket well. Anyone have other ideas?

I did read some other posts but nothing really discussed the organisation in the box. https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...s-13242-2.html
https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...ns-2593-7.html
https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...9-a-10905.html


I created an Escape Campers West Coast group that we can share camping sites and adventures with each other. Please join if you are interested.

Escape Campers West
www.facebook.com/groups/escapecamperswest/

I like the 5 gallon bucket idea!

[MVA]

Couple of thoughts....

As it appears you did, we relocated our battery to inside the trailer when we converter to LiFePO4. The previous FLA battery placement had a lot of wasted space. A couple of principles we used:

- We purchased inexpensive containers from Walmart that fit snugly in the storage box. That helped in keeping the mess down and allowed for dense packing.
- Given the corners of the storage box is thin fiberglass, we store light items there; no pump jacks, but hoses and electrical cords.
- from a hygienic POV, sewer connectors and hoses are stored separately in a sewer tube mounted on the trailer.

Camp chairs, tables, etc. are stored in the truck bed.

[brjohnso]

Originally Posted by W@nderer

We have the storage box installed by Escape. While I find it very handy, I want to organize it a bit better so that when I take things out, other items dont fall in to the void and make a mess. I currently use a five gallon bucket under the center support bar and store the leveling blocks and chocks there so they are accessible from either side. Cords and hoses on the drivers side for hooking up. Fuel, stove, some tools on door side. I was thinking of small square trash cans or similar to organize in the box but the Anderson levelers do fit the curve of the bucket well. Anyone have other ideas?

I did read some other posts but nothing really discussed the organisation in the box. https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...s-13242-2.html
https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...ns-2593-7.html
https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...9-a-10905.html


I created an Escape Campers West Coast group that we can share camping sites and adventures with each other. Please join if you are interested.

Escape Campers West
www.facebook.com/groups/escapecamperswest/

My storage bin looks even worse. I have found that using soft bags for things, and then stuffing them in there definitely works better than hard containers. There are some sets on Amazon that I use for electrical, water, sewer, and trailer accessories. I have some storage hooks that hold the rod for the awning, and I have replaced the knobs on the propane tank cover with something more usable, but I have a lot of other things I want to design to make it more organized. I use a lot of small green propane tanks, and they are just jumbled in there. I need containers to secure them. I also need something to protect the locks in the winter so they don't freeze and corrode. I am tempted to just take the whole thing off and make an entirely new front storage compartment that fits better. If you look at the trailer from the side, the bin Escape currently installs doesn't even match the profile of the trailer very well.

--------------------------------------------------------------
Bruce Johnson - RVModMaster https://3dmyrv.etsy.com

[felix2]

I lined the bottom and a couple of sides of my storage bin with 5/8” thick dense foam padding - just laid in, not glued, so any water can still drain - and added a front-to back plywood divider on the driver’s side of the battery, about 10” away from the battery. The divider is at the same height as the battery cover, and when unhitched, my weight distribution bars lay across all.

So, from driver’s side to passenger side: coiled power cord, 50’ 14/3 extension cord, and water hose are stored, and standing on the outside is water filter with attached pressure reducer; next compartment has disinfectant cleaner, window cleaner etc as well as outside shower coil hose and head plus one of those 25’ expanding hoses Then the batteries, and on the cover I added a piece of plywood with holes to accept the weight distribution bar head bolts, and a space for hitch lock and a small container for hitch pins etc

Next stands the collapsed waste hose support, coiled 25’ orange hose for flushing waste hose (seldom needed), X-cchocks, yellow stabilizing blocks, entry step stool, and small entry mat. This area is away from the water hoses etc as sometimes these items get dirty.

All my other stuff like disposable gloves, etc are in a bin in the front driver’s side storage hatch.

Oh, and my brother in law welded the appropriate socket to an old brace-and-bit manual drill for me to lower/raise stabilizers, and this fits nicely over the plywood partition.

Storage bin organization is as individual as Escape owners I suppose!

[GPS]

The red rectangle buckets from iqea that are for the kids organizer drawers fit like they are made for it. I use two side to side for a lot of organizing. They even slope the right way.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by brjohnso

If you look at the trailer from the side, the bin Escape currently installs doesn't even match the profile of the trailer very well.

That's the way I felt about the Escape box when I first saw it. On my 19 I fabricated a box that followed the profile of the front. The end result was a box that had about double the storage capacity of the ETI one.

On my 21, because I got the box for free, I mounted it so that it sits level. Always hated the "falling forward" look. As a bonus it gave me room to mount an extra storage tube.

Ron

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by felix2

Oh, and my brother in law welded the appropriate socket to an old brace-and-bit manual drill for me to lower/raise stabilizers, and this fits nicely over the plywood partition.

That stabilizer crank is about the most primitive design possible. I tired of holding it sideways to stay on and having the blunt end of the shaft digging into my palm.

I had brace and bits that I could have used but I turned a wood block, put a bearing in it and now using the crank is so much more comfortable.

I repurposed my old battery box to hold "stuff" as well as the stabilizer crank.

Ron

[SRS]

Very cleaver Ron.