Mount Sunapee, a beautiful day, and I’m standing in line for rental ski boots. That morning, we had scrambled to get out the door with ski gear for 6 people, and got 5.5 people’s gear there. My middle daughter’s ski boots were sitting lonely back in our garage. Most advice on how to store camping gear in the garage is about getting it out of the way, but it should be about having gear that is ready to leave.
Most of our garages have shelves as high against the ceiling as possible. Great for storing out of the way, miserable for getting out the door. For us, leaving essentially involves three main steps – finding gear, repacking it and then loading our car. Having gear overhead makes finding it a chore.
A better way to store gear is not by category stuffed against the ceiling, but by trip or activity. A beach box packed with towels, toys, sunscreen, etc leaves nothing behind. A ski box preloaded with gear wouldn’t have left me in the rental line with bluebird skies above. A benefit of having preloaded boxes is that you can pack them without a time crunch, and with a clear mind.
Of course, not everything can live preloaded in a box. Your down sleeping bag and puffy coat need to breathe. Your battery powered gear needs to charge, and your perishable items need to be fresh.
For your gear that can be prestaged, the heaviest boxes should be at a height where you don’t need to be on a ladder to reach it overhead. Lighter loads up top, heavier ones down low. Label every box by activity. Ideal would be an area to dry tents and let your down sleeping bags and jackets air out. We want garages that are not built to store indefinitely, but rather to entice us to go. A camping box at eye level adjacent to a hanging sleeping bag beckons me to leave, unlike a dusty box against the ceiling.
My biggest headache is not the preparation or the organizing, but the return. Gear dumped on the garage floor, energy drained. This process is made smoothest if I commit to a few things when I pull in the driveway. Dirty clothes in the laundry, wet gear hung to dry, any items that can be restocked get restocked. A small headache now saves a bigger one later.
The real test of your system comes when a baseball game is cancelled and an unexpected afternoon opens up. Is your gear ready to go, or will the opportunity pass you by? This is where I’ve failed, repeatedly. I couldn’t wrangle gear and children fast enough to capitalize on last minute or small windows.
This is where Wambolt fits. The Ready-to-Go (RTG) System is built to get out the door quickly, and return with ease. The garage-to-vehicle storage system lives in your garage and modular storage rides on a hitch deck on the back of your car. Multiple sizes allow you to customize to your needs, and a pass through receiver means your bikes and skis can come, too. Reserve yours now.
Scott Wambolt
Founder/CEO, Wambolt
FAQ
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Is it OK to store camping gear in the garage? Yes, for most gear, if it stays dry and out of extreme heat. Keep sleeping bags loose rather than compressed, and keep them off the attic and car trunk. Anything with down material should be allowed to breathe, including jackets and camp shoes.
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Should I store my sleeping bag in its stuff sack? No. Use a large breathable storage sack or hang it, because months of compression flattens the insulation.
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Can I keep propane camp cylinders in the garage? Small 1 lb cylinders can be stored at home per state regulations. Grill-size tanks belong outside. Check your local fire code.
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How do I keep camping gear packed and ready to go? Store it by trip in kits that hold everything each kind of trip needs. Duplicate small essentials. Keep the kits accessible and reset them the day you get home.
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What's the fastest way to load gear into the car? Stack the boxes with the heaviest ones at waist height. A hitch-mounted carrier keeps heavy boxes low and out of the cabin.
Sources:
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REI Expert Advice, “How to Store a Tent”: https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/how-to-store-a-tent.html
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Sea to Summit, “How do I store my gear long-term between seasons?”: https://support.seatosummit.com.au/hc/en-us/articles/53199586720788-How-do-I-store-my-gear-long-term-between-seasons
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GearJunkie, “How to Store Your Sleeping Bag” (Adam Ruggiero): https://gearjunkie.com/proj/explainer-series/how-to-store-sleeping-bag
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Minnesota State Fire Marshal, “LP Gas Inside Buildings”: https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/sfm/fire-code/fire-code-information-topic/lp-gas-inside-buildings
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Garage Pride, “How to Store Camping Gear in a Garage”: https://www.garagepride.co.uk/blog/post/garage-camping-gear-storage
