Question for Rosie and other RV travelers... How to pack?

[638RS]

How does one pack a RV for two people for a three-week trip? In addition to clothes, etc. are you carrying a tool kit and small parts?

I?m sure there are a lot of tricks to be learned from the group on how to pack a RV for an extended trip, yet a search of the forums turned up very little.

[zilik]

1) Think light.
Samples size bottles of shampoo and pit-stop go a long way.

2) Get the wife to think light. How many pairs of shoes does she really need!

3) Don't bring anything you don't need. This takes some time to figure out but after a couple of trips you finally figure out what you used and did not use. If you didn't use something leave it home the next time.

4) Jeans and shorts can be worn for more than one day. Undies for 5 Just kidding. Bring at least 5 days of underwear as washers are far and few between. Pack a small amount of laundry soap so you can wash undies and shirts in hotel room sinks.

6) My tool bag weighs in at 11lbs and is stowed forward of the wing spar in front of the fuel valve. I have a 6A so you mileage may vary. Stow heavy items right behind the seats or on the floor under your legs. I'm always amazed at how much stuff we can squirrel away in the nooks and crannys.

7) If were going to OSH the tent and bedding weigh quite a bit so we leave the MacBook home and take the I-touch instead. It carries tunes too!

8) If your traveling with a RV-10 bum a ride for some of your stuff if your overloaded.

9) RV's fly like pigs when heavely loaded.

[John Clark]

I have learned that the more time you take to pack, the less stuff you bring along. Spend some time asking yourself, "Do I really need that?" Remember too, if you are going to the likes of Oshkosh, you aren't traveling to some third world country, there are places to buy the one thing you forgot.

John Clark
RV8 N18U "Sunshine"
KSBA

"Why explore now? Because someday you'll run out of somedays."

[Rosie]

Originally Posted by zilik

1) Think light. Samples size bottles of shampoo and pit-stop go a long way.

2) Get the wife to think light. How many pairs of shoes does she really need!

3) Don't bring anything you don't need. This takes some time to figure out but after a couple of trips you finally figure out what you used and did not use. If you didn't use something leave it home the next time.

4) Jeans and shorts can be worn for more than one day. Undies for 5 Just kidding. Bring at least 5 days of underwear as washers are far and few between. Pack a small amount of laundry soap so you can wash undies and shirts in hotel room sinks.

6) My tool bag weighs in at 11lbs and is stowed forward of the wing spar in front of the fuel valve. I have a 6A so you mileage may vary. Stow heavy items right behind the seats or on the floor under your legs. I'm always amazed at how much stuff we can squirrel away in the nooks and crannys.

7) If were going to OSH the tent and bedding weigh quite a bit so we leave the MacBook home and take the I-touch instead. It carries tunes too!

8) If your traveling with a RV-10 bum a ride for some of your stuff if you're overloaded.

9) RV's fly like pigs when heavely loaded.

What Gary said plus;

10) If going to fly-ins, you can count on buying shirts at the show. I brought 2 polos and 2 Ts to the Cayman Islands knowing I'd buy one of each at SnF and also on the island.

11) I'm a big fan of these 2.5lb lightweight chairs found here.

12) For the foreign country trips: An 18-pack of your favorite soda fits well behind each seat. For side by side RVs that do not have the battery in the cockpit area, I could imagine putting LOTs of things (food items or a 24-pack of soda) in the 'tunnel' between the front spar and firewall for the side by side planes I carried a big can of Planters mixed nuts there. Gary is absolutely correct about the nooks and crannys!

13) I always bring an empty 24" poster tube for anything I don't want getting mashed or crinkled.

14) I have carpet in the baggage area, and I put lots of flat stuff under it also so it doesn't get mashed. I just brought home a Cayman Islands license plate and 'Astronaut Crossing' sign home on this trip. You will always find my insurance papers, weight & balance and prop cards under the carpet.

15) Peanut butter-filled pretzels and Jerky last for weeks if kept in a zip lock bag (or Tupperware ;-) Hard candies also last & last.

16) Oxygen when used with an oximeter is always good to have onboard.

17) A pair of those cheap, paper painter's overalls for those times when you gotta wrench on the plane and you got your good clothes on

18) Handheld GPS and radio (with headset adapter), AA/AAA batteries, (2) ball caps, (2) brimmed hats, suntan lotion and chapstick are in the plane 100% of the time. For round gauge planes, a failed instrument cover.

19) I now carry a spare headset on the long cross country trips since it's no fun flying with a broken ear piece.

20) Hide a blank check (or two) somewhere in the plane, no kidding.

I'll add more to the list later but these things came to mind quickly.

Here are a few pics of how much stuff we can safely pack away in our RV-6A. Your mileage (CG) will vary!







And for those of you doing the math in your head: When I built my plane, I beefed up the luggage floor significantly more than what the plans called for.

Keep poundin' them rivets: It's all worth it! Rosie

[RV6_flyer]

Please note in the above photos that everything is in a SOFT sided bag. That helps when packing. It is possible to use a small suitcase on wheels as one or two of the bags for help in moving your STUFF for when you say in the DORMS at Oshkosh AirVenture.

Two people in my RV-6 flew with 137 pounds of baggage including shotgun and survival food flew to Alaska in 2001. Over 37 pounds of that was FORWARD of the SPAR as Gary Zilk says above.

Do your best to get the lightest suff for travel and only take what you think you really MUST have.

[Sam Buchanan]

Originally Posted by zilik

9) RV's fly like pigs when heavily loaded.

I concur!

Check the CG carefully.....

[Bob Axsom]

That seems awefully long for a fast RV. For a trip of that length I think you should plan on roughing it a bit - wear clothes longer than normal - Levis are good until they stand up by them selves. Underwear is small and light but plan on washing for a trip of that length. If you are visiting friends or relatives you can probably use their laundry facilities, motels often have laundry facilities and coin laundrys are options. We have washed underwear in sinks in Greece, Russia, China ... you improvise as you need to to solve the clothes problem. It is not necessary to carry tools - I do when lightly loaded but I have bought beach towels/bath sheets for a work surface and specifically needed tools at local stores while traveling to solve maintenance problems. You need a camera, your flight bag of charts etc. tiedown ropes and that's it. Fill the rest of the baggage area with fringe items like extra clothes (second pair of Levis) snacks, etc. Our US trips are never more than two weeks but if we were taking our RV-6A on a three week trip we would just skew the load a little more in favor of clothes and go. If a problem comes up it is doubtful that you will anticipate it (like a brake failure) in such a way that you can deal with it completely on your own out of your baggage compartment.

Bob Axsom

[mannanj]

Originally Posted by Sam Buchanan

I concur!

Check the CG carefully.....

Sam:

I beg to differ on this issue. This may be true for the side by side models.

My 200hp RV-8 fully loaded with the fore and aft baggage weights properly adjusted, flies very well. In fact with a "little" aft CG gets me a couple of knots more speed , and three point lands much better!

I find that most posts here are for the side by side models (which are in the majority), but one size fits all here doesn't always apply.!!!!!!!!!!

[G-force]

One thing I learned traveling via motorcycle is how to pack small and light! Many of the points have been hit: 5 pairs of socks and undies, 2 pants and 1 pairs of shorts (or vice/versa depending on weather), and 3-5 shirts will get you by indefinitely. There is always a store or wallmart nearby to purchase stuff at so unless you are going to a secluded area, no need to carry weeks worth of toiletrys, clothes, food, etc. One thing when traveling, is you usualy end up buying stuff...make sure you have room to bring it back! One trick I like is to save up old tshirts and undies that have reached the end of their lives and use them on trips. When they are dirty, throw them away on the last days of your trip!

[Kyle Boatright]

Someone else pointed out the utility of soft sided bags. I take that a step farther by using extremely lightweight soft sided bags. REI has "stow" duffle bags that probably weigh 1/2 pound each. They are perfectly sized to fit through the gap between the slider and the seats on my airplane. I figure each one of them I use instead of a conventional duffle saves me a pound or two.

I also have lightweight stuff sacks for bed linens, etc. when I'm air camping. Again, much lighter than a conventional duffle bag.

The ultimate lightweight bag is a simple draw top garbage bag. Not pretty, but essentially weightless if you're trying to cut out that last pound or two.