As a complete newbie to caravanning, I have niggles in the back of my head, where my brain used to be, about loading. (I did search to see if I could find anything helpful, but apart from a discussion which was about loading pages over the internet - not vey successful on sites apparently - I didn't find anything terribly useful. Probably a sign that everybody coming here already knows everything. Well, I don't.

Let me get to the point: apart from respecting maximums, which has been well covered elsewhere, I am wondering what is best practice under several headings.

Centralizing. Knowing that the load is best done over the axle. Does this mean avoiding using large spaces such as under the rear fixed bed on our Troll 530? Or do you use off-axle spaces only for low-density items like bedding? There is room under said bed for a couple of small bikes - would people put them there? If not, they will be a headache for me, since the next best is to hang them on the back and that would be as far from the axle as possible.

Securing Let's imagine that I want to do this really properly. So, before leaving, I cluster heavier stuff like suit-cases (actually soft bags) around the centre of the caravan - how do I keep it in place?

Pots and Pans Now, here I have no idea. Plus cutlery and chefs implements. Having had an incident when cruising (boat) and caught in a nasty breeze, we ended up with this lot tumbling around the cabin - I can envisage the same with a caravan.

Gas Bottle(s) & Water Do people leave these in place? Empty tanks? What do you do with these roll-around things which I see advertised and look very manageable - empty them?

I hope you will be stimulated to give your best experiential advice - but please remember I am a newbie, so no scornful remarks if you please.

Zitat

---

Gas Bottle(s) & Water Do people leave these in place? Empty tanks? What do you do with these roll-around things which I see advertised and look very manageable - empty them?

---

Gas cylinders are best left in place but do turn off during transit, the locker is designed to carry them and should have a warning sticker on the locker to tell people that there is gas on board and where it is located in case of problems.
Water containers are best transported empty and filled on arrival as water is heavy stuff and reduces the weight limit for other cargo.
I tend to transport a lot of the heavy gear in the towing vehicle boot and rear seats as it is less likely to move around and helps with the weight limit of the van.
Cutlery and similar goes into a plastic storage box which I put under the front seat in a locker along with the hookup cable.

Gas bottle where they belong, water containers empty, we don't take bikes, cutlery stays in its drawer and luckily Carole takes very few pots and pans and has them stored somewhere, as I don't know where the kitchen is, even in our house. Good luck.

One should always dress for dinner as the staff expect you to be in black tie and tails.
David

"We go away to the Continent for four weeks at a time and put all our clothes in the wardrobe and the overhead lockers and have never felt the need for additional clothes storage space"

I take it you are single ? There is no such thing as no need of extra clothes storage space with my better half Seriously.

The responses here are good, giving me a feel for the way things go.

All plates, cups etc are plastic and in cupboard over sink/cooker. Pots, pans etc in boxes under sink. Bedding under seat. All clothes in wardrobe and overhead lockers. We too spent 4 weeks on the continent and managed fine clothes wise. Most sites have laundry rooms. Gas bottles in locker and as previously stated gas off for travelling. Spare wheel and tools, cables etc in locker (with external door). We had our PuckL for a year before we discovered another storage place off the wardrobe. Remember less is more!! You will probably find you don't need half the stuff you think you need. The awning tends to travel in the car, plus two folding bikes and the seats.
Julie.

We have a Puck 120 Touring towed by a Mazda 6 estate, so we use the car as part of the storage system. However you may still find some of our tips useful in your Troll mansion.
Clothing – underwear, socks and tee shirts in the rear overhead lockers. We each have our own large open laundry type basket on the back seat of the car, where all other clothes live – easy to pack for trips and easy to access with a his and hers side of the car. Shoes and boots live in a basket in the middle of the car. Food goes in a large plastic box in the rear of the car along with seats and a spare table. Once on site we move a fair bit of the food onto the wardrobe shelves.
Pots and pans – we don’t do formal wear so I have put shelves in the wardrobe. We cook quite a lot and we keep the pots and pans on the bottom shelf. To protect the non stick in your pots and pans it is worth investing in these excellent pan protectors from Lakeland - http://www.lakeland.co.uk/22314/3-Blue-Pan-Protectors . We use strips of foam cut from insulation mats to protect china mugs and glasses whilst in transit in the overhead lockers over the sink.
Bedding – I know that you lucky Trollers can leave the double bed down in the day but if you want a quick way to make the bed without having to use the under lockers for duvets you can roll the bedding into a “sausage” and leave it under the table at the end of the van in the day time.
Hope this is useful .

We have 3 overhead lockers each, 1 rear and two back side (sorry) these are for soft items, socks, boxers, lightweight fleece and shorts Thats my side God only knows what Mrs Agger takes.

Pots and pans? We use a steamer and an induction hob, so we carry 1 x frying pan and a set of split saucepans (2 × halfs to make a round) thats it and the goes under the sink with our plates and bowls (melamine). Cutlery goes in the drawer, we have 4 sets + a carving knife and tin opener.

Gas goes in the front locker, turned off in transit, but we seldom use gas.

Water, we carry a 2 litre bottle and a thermos,and I always have a hot drink while uncoupling (oopsy) often get asked how as we are not even set up at tbis stage.

Other clothes go in the wardrobe.

We store our sleeping bags in the rear quadrant sections next to the rear cupboard (on a Troll).

TV, fan heater, induction hob, and a general toolkit go under the front seat with the Truma water heater.

The opposite front seat houses our shoes and a pair of Crocagators each.

The overhead front cupboards take packet food items, cereal, sachet coffee, etc

That should leave 2 overhead cupboards over the sink, 1 has tea towels and cups, glasses etc in, the other a few food items (lightweight) biscuits etc.

The toilet cupboards have a supply of toiletries,including spare toilet rolls, toothbrushes, toothpaste, tablets, etc.

Tinned food or heavier items go under the sink or sometimes in an under bed locker.

2 x folding chairs and the Cadac go under the bed and are accessable from outside.

Dirty laundry goes in a large plastic bag under the bed where our leisure battery is.

Our awning is attached to the rail outside.

Nothing in the car, all that travels in the car is the Nemesis wheel lock and corner steady spanner, once on site they are on or in the van.

We don't use a water roller or a waste container, water we fill bottles, as above but we have 3 extra 2 litre for on site, no waste container because we wash up using site facilities.

Thats about it, we travel light, so no full jacuzzi for us

Don't put anything heavy in the overhead lockers,
Loose powders like coffee salt etc.should be taped
shut for travelling as they spread an awful long way
if they come out of an overhead locker!
Buy wine in boxes, glass is heavy.
Collapsible bins like gardeners use are useful.
Don't leave bags of waste outside or in the awning
or you will attract vermin.

Great suggestions! Thank you

Remember......'muggi'!

The foam one.