Dealing with wet clothes and a dog, any tips?

[Skylark2.0]

We have 3 S shaped hooks that go on the strut of the headsets. Each persons wet coat goes on a different hook. If they are still wet they go down the back of the rotated drivers seat over night. Once when we got wet to the knickers we happened to have a trug with us so we put it all in there, thankfully, we then drove home!
I am pleased we have the dreaded VW seat covers and turtle mats on the floor.

 

[California4x4]

I was out in the fields walking the dog yesterday and got absolutely drenched. I have a Labrador who just loves getting soaked, so he loved it.

Anyway my question is do you have any tips for coping with wet clothes, towels and a dog etc when in your California. Yesterday I ended up with 4 wet towels, wet trousers, saturated wellingtons and a soaked coat ( you get my drift). If we had just a couple of wet days the van would be full of wet gear with no way of drying it out and likely condensation everywhere.

I realise I could store the items in sealed bags or a box in a driveway awning until we move on, but What would be your advice (other than getting rid of the dog), especially if off grid?

I use a hanging rail for wet clothes and a small dehumidifier that I’ve modified to work of 12v. https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/this-week-ive-bought-________-for-my-cali.17067/post-274060

 

[California4x4]

I was out in the fields walking the dog yesterday and got absolutely drenched. I have a Labrador who just loves getting soaked, so he loved it.

Anyway my question is do you have any tips for coping with wet clothes, towels and a dog etc when in your California. Yesterday I ended up with 4 wet towels, wet trousers, saturated wellingtons and a soaked coat ( you get my drift). If we had just a couple of wet days the van would be full of wet gear with no way of drying it out and likely condensation everywhere.

I realise I could store the items in sealed bags or a box in a driveway awning until we move on, but What would be your advice (other than getting rid of the dog), especially if off grid?

This is the dehumidifier.

This week I've bought '________' for my Cali

Where did you get this and what is it referred to? I have a small dehumidifier and wanted to use when off mains. thanks ..me..

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[Calianne]

I am a newbie so haven’t experienced wet weather yet but hoping this will help with a wet dog. Great for storage too. Really easy to put up and take down

 

[Toothlessjon]

I am a newbie so haven’t experienced wet weather yet but hoping this will help with a wet dog. Great for storage too. Really easy to put up and take down

View attachment 46158

I was wondering what they were like, I thought they may help create a cooler area in the awning on a hot day?

 

[Toothlessjon]

I use a hanging rail for wet clothes and a small dehumidifier that I’ve modified to work of 12v. https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/this-week-ive-bought-________-for-my-cali.17067/post-274060

Quite ingenious, I’ll have a look at that and the dehumidifier, cheers.

 

[Calianne]

Really good quality fabric. Also an inner fly net door so you can leave the outer door unzipped and the dog can watch the world go by. I don’t know how cool they are as I haven’t experienced any hot weather either however there are windows on some if not all of the sides for extra ventilation. As I don’t have an awning yet I am delighted with it. It was reduced from campervantastic as an ex demo. You do have to be careful of the pole at the front door when bending down it would be easy to catch your eye. I have some rubber over mine

 

[Toothlessjon]

Something else we use (for us, no dogs!) are Groomers Aquasorb Towels - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01FD5Z5OM/?tag=vwcalifornia-21
They are very effective at moisture absorption and can be wrung out and put away damp in their plastic cases, no need to dry - they are made for dogs...

I purchased the Groomers Towel and Wow how good are they, this will minimise the amount of wet towels around. I will now buy another for personal use and see how that goes. Thanks for the great tip.

 

[Wylie Coyote]

It would interesting to see how he reacted to being confined in the bag, but I’d definitely give it a try, cheers.

Our dog does not mind his dog bag as he always gets a tasty treat when in it and he has, generally, been out on a long walk and just flops down in it.,.he learned quite quickly that he could not walk about in it.
We also use a bath mat as a “rug”in the van- So absorbent and easy to wash and we use clip on suction hooks on the windows to hang the odd wet coat etc but, there are only 2 of us and a dawg.

 

[Tandt]

I purchased the Groomers Towel and Wow how good are they, this will minimise the amount of wet towels around. I will now buy another for personal use and see how that goes. Thanks for the great tip.

We also use the aquatowels but keep them in larger boxes so they go back in easier. The smell of wet dog still permeates and can compete with a curry. Got 2 human type from Lidl for £3 each but if you dry off with a micro cloth (which we use instead of a flannel) they are hardly wet. Rain sucks no matter what you are in. We have just got £1 ponchos from Lidl which will stay outside if they get wet and hopefully stay dry on the inside while out there

 

['Heems]

I was out in the fields walking the dog yesterday and got absolutely drenched. I have a Labrador who just loves getting soaked, so he loved it.

Anyway my question is do you have any tips for coping with wet clothes, towels and a dog etc when in your California. Yesterday I ended up with 4 wet towels, wet trousers, saturated wellingtons and a soaked coat ( you get my drift). If we had just a couple of wet days the van would be full of wet gear with no way of drying it out and likely condensation everywhere.

I realise I could store the items in sealed bags or a box in a driveway awning until we move on, but What would be your advice (other than getting rid of the dog), especially if off grid?

cleancoats are brilliant for the dog. Then stretch an elastic line around the van, drape everything on, switch the heater on high and go out for dinner. (Take the dog!)

 

[Quentin SF]

I'm also a big fan of the Aquasorb towels: we have four in the van! One for me, one for my wife, one for the dog, and one for condensation. They're the best thing I've found for removing condensation, and I also use that one to dry off the thermal topper and silver screens after a wet night or a heavy dew.

 

[calimera]

How did you keep the aquasorb towel from being smelly? I found the towel can be very smelly in its plastic tube when left damp, despite washing by hand . Not used on a daily basis.
Now going to try the dog dry bags instead.

 

[BeeBee]

only had our Cali 2 months and on second trip away .... dry weather so far but have included our labs 'towelling drying coat' on each trip... yes the coat gets wet, but better than wet dog in the van !

 

[Toothlessjon]

only had our Cali 2 months and on second trip away .... dry weather so far but have included our labs 'towelling drying coat' on each trip... yes the coat gets wet, but better than wet dog in the van !

Labs in your Cali, do keep them in cage outside overnight? Must quite cramped otherwise.

 

[BeagleMum]

I was out in the fields walking the dog yesterday and got absolutely drenched. I have a Labrador who just loves getting soaked, so he loved it.

Anyway my question is do you have any tips for coping with wet clothes, towels and a dog etc when in your California. Yesterday I ended up with 4 wet towels, wet trousers, saturated wellingtons and a soaked coat ( you get my drift). If we had just a couple of wet days the van would be full of wet gear with no way of drying it out and likely condensation everywhere.

I realise I could store the items in sealed bags or a box in a driveway awning until we move on, but What would be your advice (other than getting rid of the dog), especially if off grid?

We use micro fibre towels & ‘Rough & Tumble’ Drying coats

 

[Norfolk Jim]

We have a 2 year old black lab who surprisingly doesn't like water! A pure breed drakeshead gundog - however he likes the rain and if it's going to be very wet we put a Ruffwear coat on him purely to save on drying later - Hurta make a good one. We get all our kit from this company who are excellent https://www.mountaindog.uk/collections/drying and we bought the EQ Doggy Dry espcially for holidays in Scotland and it is superb. Take coat off and slip this over his head; wrap underneath and clip belt. He loves it and curls up and is dry in no time at all. Best thing is being microfibre it doesn't drip with water and dries v quick. Trust me we have been up in the Scottish mountains in torrential rain and had not problems - simply depends on how pratcial you really are at coping with bad weather - no such thing just the wrong clothing. With us simply shake jacket ( and trousers if wearing them) and leave in passenger footwell. A lot depends on the quality of your waterproofs though. My Rab kit dries v quick and can always be put back on damp if needs be with no issues.

 

[Norfolk Jim]

If you google dog drying bags. You will find loads.

Wow - there's no way my 30kg 2 year old lab would stay in those - he'd go nuts!! I can see good for a quiet dog but......... there be a massive sack race round the van!!

 

[2into1]

A warning ‘against’ many of the poodle crosses who have very different coats which are a proper nightmare when wet. Rosie (in my profile pic) is a border collie poodle cross and is an amazing dog until she gets wet. She has the full fleece coat of the poodle. Spend 10 mins during her with the best towel and she is still thoroughly wet. Her fur is porous, unlike my partners drakeshead black lab who is so easy to dry by comparison....although you then have to deal with the wet towel as discussed here.

 

[calimera]

Wow - there's no way my 30kg 2 year old lab would stay in those - he'd go nuts!! I can see good for a quiet dog but......... there be a massive sack race round the van!!

Haha agree. We have two small westies,only 6.4 kgs. One is 13yrs & the other 9yrs.

 

[BeeBee]

Labs in your Cali, do keep them in cage outside overnight? Must quite cramped otherwise.

one lab downstairs, we are sleeping upstairs... plenty of room !

 

[Mr & Mrs B]

I am a newbie so haven’t experienced wet weather yet but hoping this will help with a wet dog. Great for storage too. Really easy to put up and take down

View attachment 46158

We've a K9 that we take on longer trips for extra storage. Only takes a couple of minutes to pop and great for putting wet stuff in too. We have been asked what sort of dog we have (we don't have one) as it's so quiet!

 

[Calianne]

We have a 2 year old black lab who surprisingly doesn't like water! A pure breed drakeshead gundog - however he likes the rain and if it's going to be very wet we put a Ruffwear coat on him purely to save on drying later - Hurta make a good one. We get all our kit from this company who are excellent https://www.mountaindog.uk/collections/drying and we bought the EQ Doggy Dry espcially for holidays in Scotland and it is superb. Take coat off and slip this over his head; wrap underneath and clip belt. He loves it and curls up and is dry in no time at all. Best thing is being microfibre it doesn't drip with water and dries v quick. Trust me we have been up in the Scottish mountains in torrential rain and had not problems - simply depends on how pratcial you really are at coping with bad weather - no such thing just the wrong clothing. With us simply shake jacket ( and trousers if wearing them) and leave in passenger footwell. A lot depends on the quality of your waterproofs though. My Rab kit dries v quick and can always be put back on damp if needs be with no issues.

I have an eight year old drakeshead. She is loving our trips as much as me and has adapted to Van life so well