How much do you pack ?

I always take far too much with me and no matter how many times I say "I'm not going to bring this much stuff ever again" I always do. The problem with packing too much is that at the end of your stay it takes you longer to pack all this away than it doe's the Dandy. I did manage to reduce the amount of clothing that we take and still found that we brought stuff home unworn. The problem is when I see something that would be handy for the Dandy I buy it even though we have managed without it before, so the space created by reducing the clothes we take gets rapidly taken up by the other handy things

I really do try but find it difficult if there is space to shove something in it just in case. I continue in my quest to reduce how much I take.

I think we must of been twins in a previous life Helen.

At the moment i have got my dandy up in the back garden to clean it and supposedly to empty it and start again cos it takes us hours to pack everything up, and when you have gotta be off a site for 10am we have gotta be up at the crack of dawn to get everything done, and that is after cleaning everything the night before to save time, and we havn't been ready for 10am yet.

We used to have a 4 berth that we used for our hols, so for the life of me i dont know why the destiny is packed, well i do really it's cos i keep putting things in that we don't use doh!

I am going to once again empty it and repack it with a lot less (fingers crossed.)

Steve wants me to leave the wardrobe behind cos that will give us more room, but i put the sleeping bags in there so i will then have to find somewhere else to put them, i may try it for our next trip cos it's only a weekend and i do hang most of the clothes above the bed and the rest i just leave in a holdall at the bottom of the bed.

god i'm on my own and i bring loads of stuff and manage not to use a chunk of it so i'm really pleased other people do it too lol

thought it was just me being odd

I have to pack most stuff away the day before so we can be away at a reasonable time the morning after. My problem is that we dont really have the space to open the Dandy up at home for long periods and its packed full of stuff that I could do with getting out but the car and roof box are packed to the rafters so anything taken out of the Dandy while we are away probably wouldn't fit in anywhere else. I am going to do it though and make sure we have room in the car for a Dandy clear out.

i pack with military prescision and have certain bags for certain items and i think we have just the right amount of stuff but nick Always complains i have too much and it wont all fit in car etc,
i think its a bloke thing cos they always the first to complain if you haven't brought some random item they may need!

what worries me if we buy a Navara Pick up then we will take even more gear we don't need

We started off with a BMW and moved onto a peugeot estate (roomy boot) but ended up with a Santa-fe plus top box. The more space we have the more I take with us, within a few hours of starting this thread I had bought a folding Laundry bag in a lovely light blue to match our Dandy The first time we took our Dandy out we only really had the essentials and we had a great holiday. It was easy to pack and put away but I do think buying stuff for your Dandy is addictive ............ I go in shops now and always notice something that would come in handy. Since getting the 3 way (takes up a fair bit of space) I have found that I have had to leave boxes (plastic type) of stuff at home and to be honest I havent missed any of the stuff in them. I did give a lot of stuff to my daughter when she got a Dandy and now I know I gave her some bits that I could have done with dont actually need them but I did occasionally use. I suppose it would be simpler if we used EHU at all sites but we dont so I have to cater for that. I think the best bet is to get two large boxes and put all the stuff for EHU in one and all the stuff that we need when not using it in another,as my bottom cupboard in the Dandy is full of both types.

After all the digs i have had at Helen time to be honest its me that takes too much,just in case.

mike

You are far more organised about it though Mike

When we pull up and open the car all our stuff is just itching to get out as we are bulging at the seams

Thanks for admitting that though, I watched you pack away with envy because I thought you didnt take all the extras ............ seems you do but are far better at hiding the fact

helen wrote:You are far more organised about it though Mike

When we pull up and open the car all our stuff is just itching to get out as we are bulging at the seams

Thanks for admitting that though, I watched you pack away with envy because I thought you didnt take all the extras ............ seems you do but are far better at hiding the fact

No i think i put it in and Nancy takes it out (camping gear) before Eilis comments

who me?? what are you suggeting Mike

I take more stuff than i need but have discovered that by using the big bags from tesco i can bring lots of stuff and hide it behind the sofa when the tent is up

still very crowded though lol now all i need is those table extensions so i can get rid of the table and i'll be very happy

I am supposed to be emptying my dandy and packing less, but after reading through the messages again, i've just realised i want to put the slow cooker in. So instead of unpacking i'm putting more in Hee Hee!

Lol and Steve wrote:
I am supposed to be emptying my dandy and packing less, but after reading through the messages again, i've just realised i want to put the slow cooker in. So instead of unpacking i'm putting more in Hee Hee!

i honestly believe you can never take too much

it's almost a year after I first posted this thread and I did manage to take some stuff out of the Dandy, not much though

Every time I take something out I find something else that I would like to put in there I no longer take every box that has bits in that may come in handy but instead have one box with just a few bits in that may come in handy so there is far more room in the boot of the car and things no longer fall out when we open it as it's not packed to the rafters . I do like my cushions and could pack them away inside the dandy but it took time to get everything packed away as everything had to be packed the same way every time to get it all in. I took the cushions that I made out and put them and the bed pillows in the roof box and it's made a big difference to the time it takes when packing away as I now have lots of space under the seats and no longer have to squash everything in or roll pillows up to make them fit I took at least half of the plates out and bowls and dishes so there are now just enough to cater for four people rather than half of the camp site ........ I just need to tackle the cutlery drawer next time were out in it.

Taking less doe's make life easier when it comes to packing away and I probably still take too much

I have two plastic boxes that I can transfer between the Dandy's one full of Dandy and awning things /for repairs/tools ie pegs, bungee's , in the other box kitchen stuff and spare batteries etc I have vacuum packed the bedding which fits tidy into storage boxes all I have to decide is what to wear