A Women's RV Forum run by Women RVer's!

Though there are still several feet of snow on the ground (and more on the way tomorrow) I find myself thinking about summer. My plans include spending the majority of it as a "full-timer" at one of the local RV parks here in Island Park, ID. I was so happy to have found this forum and hope some of you might have some advice for me! Last fall I purchased a 2010 Jayco Jayflight 19' trailer. I spent several weekends and a week or two camping in it at a local state park so I've become quite familiar with my new-to-me toy and the one thing I learned very quickly is that the storage layout just makes no sense what so ever! The model I have is the one with the "double" bed in the back with a bunk over top and a deep cabinet with shelf adjacent to the bunk. My main question is does anyone have suggestions/pictures for removing the bunk and putting in any shelving or closet rods, and has anyone put a roll-out or drawer type storage in a deep closet like this (~18"w and 30ish"h)? Or other thoughts for best way to organize in such a small space? I've thought about leaving the bunk, but it's got to go.

I will be traveling with my very large labrador and also my cat so any advice on managing the 4-legged companions would also be great!

Cheers,
Kimberly

ps - I grew up spending family vacations in several different kinds of RV's so not new to the experience, just new to doing it on my own!

Welcome, Kimberly,

I'm sure lots will chime in on ways to help you redecorate/change storage. Hopefully some ideas might work for you I did see one rig with a upper bunk where they removed the mattress and put in cabinet storage there - actually 1/2 hanging closet, 1/2 storage. Worked well for them, without the expense of completely tearing the bunk out. Storage in almost all rigs is weird, as they put it anywhere there is a spare inch (thankfully - as we need as much as we can get in the small spaces.

I started out with 2 dogs - now have one. Haven't traveled with a cat, but many do. My dogs have all loved the traveling - especially all the new places to sniff and hike.

Jump in anywhere you feel comfortable. Glad to have you with us.

You will have to think about a couple of things. First, would removing the bunk have any effect on the stability of your trailer frame? Also, you will have to keep weight in mind at all times when creating new storage space. We had a travel trailer at one time that had a bunk in the back. We bought rectangular clothes baskets that fit perfectly on the bunk space (with mattress removed). One was for clean clothes which then moved over to the dirty clothes basket. When you say you are fulltiming for a few months, do you mean that you are moving permanently out of a stix and brix? I just ask because there is a difference in what you will probably take in your RV if it is your only home (full-timing) or if you are part-timing on a longer term). Welcome to the forum. You'll meet full-time, part-time, any-time women here who have travel trailers, 5th wheels, Class Bs, Class Cs, and Class As. Someone will have been there and done it already and can help.

My TT is only 18 ft. It has a fold down bunk over the queen bed in front. When the front half of the bed is folded up there are latches on the sides to hold it upright giving the appearance of a horizontal cabinet. There are two cabinet type doors in this part so it works well for stuffing bulky items -- sleeping bags, jackets, etc. The bed also lifts up with storage underneath. I haven't used that much because it is really hard to hold up because of the mattress.

We removed the TV and use that cabinet for dry food storage. It holds two Publix grocery tote bags with a spring loaded bar across the opening to hold the bags in place. We put the TV on the kitchen counter when not cooking or the ledge behind the sofa/bed. The shower in our TT is so small that we just use it for storage.

I had two bunks in my 16' trailer and had the dealer cut the top bunk back to where it's flush with the wall perpedicular to it - think foot wells for people lying in the bunks. I have pics in the My Rig section of the forum. I completely took out that part of the bunk because both of my bunks were the same size and I couldn't even sit on the lower bunk because of the amount of space between the two. Now, I have a functioning daybed that can be used as a sitting space as well as my bed at night. When I'm soloing, I don't have to use the dinette bed.

The part of the top bunk that was left, I found shelves to fit and use that for linens storage while traveling and then day to day storage while we are out camping. I made a containment system out of some 2x2's, cup hooks and bungee straps. I'm going to make something a little more permanent with bungee cord and more cup hooks and weave the cords to make a cargo net that fits my space.

Since your beds are different sizes, you may not have to take the bunk out to make extra storage. As others have said the bed frame can be used for basket storage. You could take my idea of using cargo netting to contain stuff during travel and keep it neater. As far as the closet, I put wire shelves in mine because it made more sense for me than trying to hang stuff. We used trim stock to make some rails for the shelves to fit on and cut the wire shelving (the stuff you get at Home Depot) to fit the width. I found the deepest shelving they had to take advantage of as much of the depth of the closet as possible.

Don't be afraid to experiment until you find what works for you before you make something permanent. I used a lot of industrial strength Velcro until I settled on what works before making too many permanent changes. Well, taking out most of the top bunk was definitely pretty permanent.

Welcome to the forum. I don't have an specific comments regarding remodeling other than as long as you aren't messing with the structure needed to keep everything together ...your imagination and funds are your only limitations. Do think about over all weight distribution as you go along. The original manufacturers don't always think about it but we need to.

Welcome to the forum! Keep us updated with your rv mods.

Welcome to the Forum, Kimberly!
We'll look forward to getting to know you better.

I just keep a stool in the trailer to reach those wayback places! And only keep stuff back there that I don't use a lot.

My husband and I tried to take out our overhead bunk, but failed. And now, after reading Colleen's comment, I'm kind of glad we did fail...I would guess it has some part in the structural integrity of the trailer, which never entered our minds. The things you don't think about on your own...thank goodness for the Forum!

Welcome to the forum, Kimberly

Welcome to the forum Kimberly. Sounds like your brain is ticking with possibilities about making some changes in your trailer. Got some good tips on here and I'm sure if you post it to the General Talk area, you will get more. I have a small 18ft. trailer with a slide and queen corner bed and a sofa. It's plenty roomy in there. Also have a big roomy closet probably the same size as yours. I use it for my coat closet. My kitchen is the are lacking some storage space, my drawers are almost too deep for just putting say a single silverware holder in, but If it double it up and put stuff under that, then it makes the drawer kind of heavy. So I too am experimenting. I have pictures of my rig posted on the Show Off Your Rigs thread too.

Will be watching to see what you do with yours. Why not post some pictures so we can see your situation and maybe that will help to better give you some ideas.

Hi and welcome to the group.

Welcome to the forum Kimberly. I am Sharon and I am new to the group also. There is another Sharon in this group, I am the one in S.West Florida. I have rv'ed in the past, but looking to buy one now and to travel full time as a single full timer. Love to see pictures of your trailer and the places you go. Good luck with your traveling.

Thanks everyone for the warm welcomes and suggestions! I had not considered that modifying would change the weight distribution so thanks for pointing that out, will definitely consider it in my redo. I'm leaning towards modifying the bunk to be a cut back shelf and adding a pole for better hanging clothes storage and will definitely post before/after pics when I finish.

Thanks again, look forward to learning lots from everyone here!