Packing / storage behind the 3 seater Beach bench

[roquito]

Hi! We are newly proud owners of a VW California beach and are planning a bit of a road trip in the summer. I've been trying to work out the most efficient ways of packing all the stuff we will need. Ideally I'd lioke to be able to sleep in the van without having to unpack the whole thing every time! There are five of us and we just about fit 2 in the pop up and three on the back bed. I'm looking at ways to use this with the seats folded forwards so that the space between the bed and the multiflex board (we have this shelf with a single depth slide out drawer underneath) can be packed permanently and accessed from the front over the folded seats. Obvs to use the bed here we would need some kind of shelf above the packing to support the middle of the bed.

I was wondering what everyone else does here? How do you set up your packing / access etc on longer trips. As there are five of us we will have a fair amount of stuff with us for a three week trip!

Thank you so much!

 

[Perfectos]

A pair of Vanessa window bags for clothes , packing cubes to identify whose bag / clothes etc.
Really useful boxes packed with everything you need stored under the multiflex board height, seat in bed position (slid forward in the position required to make the bed up) multiflex board in the fully open position.
Make as good a use as possible of the space under the seats , towels , duvets etc on the rear seat, sit the kids on the soft material stuff

 

[Kayleigh]

Hi! We are newly proud owners of a VW California beach and are planning a bit of a road trip in the summer. I've been trying to work out the most efficient ways of packing all the stuff we will need. Ideally I'd lioke to be able to sleep in the van without having to unpack the whole thing every time! There are five of us and we just about fit 2 in the pop up and three on the back bed. I'm looking at ways to use this with the seats folded forwards so that the space between the bed and the multiflex board (we have this shelf with a single depth slide out drawer underneath) can be packed permanently and accessed from the front over the folded seats. Obvs to use the bed here we would need some kind of shelf above the packing to support the middle of the bed.

I was wondering what everyone else does here? How do you set up your packing / access etc on longer trips. As there are five of us we will have a fair amount of stuff with us for a three week trip!

Thank you so much!

You definitely need the Vanessa window bags. No brainer in the Beach! You say a road trip. Do you plan to stay in new places each night or stay on one site? If lots of stops I would try and pack as light as you can. If staying on one site, a gazebo or pop up tent like the Cinch it very useful for storing items. Also look at seat back bags for the front seats. Sounds like you have a pull out tray. Really useful boxes are good for that, or Euro crates. I find larger crates more useful than small ones.

 

[secret lemonade drinker]

When you fold the 3 seater bench back it raises up and moves forward so the stuff packed behind stays there, keep the bedding on top.
Vanessa Window Bags are a must and pack breakfasty stuff including cool box in drivers footwell and on drivers seat.
I would investigate a slidepod kitchen for back instead of drawer

 

[roquito]

We have some vanessa window bags already! Haven't used them yet though! We have a fridge on the slide out drawer in the boot already which the previous owner installed. Just looking for solutions to the gap behind the draw/MFB and the seat in the forward position so that we could just fold the bench seat forwards rather than rocking it back. Thanks all for your helpo and replies!

 

[Amy&Mark]

Hey Roquito,
We have a board with legs to fill the gap and a deeper rear drawer 1m ... could you modify yours to be deeper? Maybe with a board on top or replace the tray bit?
Also… We normally use seat folded forwards but it does make the resulting bed a bit shorter ... probably worth a dry run at home to make sure your happy with it?
Mark

 

[jepotherepo]

I think you’ve got yourself quite a task there. 5 people with all the necessary kit and clothing for a road trip. I’d say what you need is an awning. With a little practice it only takes 5-10min to have an air beam awning pumped up and attached. Chuck all unnecessary baggage in there (alongside the 5th person! )