I'm wondering about keeping out camping gear in a storage unit instead of in the shed and under beds which is getting more difficult as we accumulate more kit.
Keeping everything in one place would make loading the car easier than dragging it all out from various hidey holes.
The unit is dry (in a building) but unheated. Would the tents be ok there or should I just keep chairs, kitchen unit, carpets etc there and leave the tents under the beds?
Yes I have searched the forums but couldn't find anything although I noticed some people advise against keeping tents in the garage.
I assume you don't have a loft? We still have some camping gear from years ago, and all kinds of other stuff in ours.Needs a good clear out. I am always surprised on Escape to the Country as to how many lofts have been converted. Where do folk keep all their "stuff"?
As soon as you stop paying your storage unit rental they'll auction your stuff.
Calculate the value of your camping gear against the cost of a new shed and how long that value will keep you in a storage unit.
A lot of people end up paying to store rubbish that they can't throw away.
You decision has to be in terms of hard cash, how much is your convenience worth?
When I was a tenter, I would keep my gear in the leisure trailer in the shed, tent included if it was thoroughly dried.
The trailer was not air tight as such as I did not seal it to be air and water tight.
The shed had a heater that would come on automatically when the temperature dropped below a certain level; however, there were gaps in the doors and rodents did manage to get in as I discovered when the shed was being dismantled to make way for the van. Luckily, they did not manage to get into the trailer to cause any damage to the camping gear and the tent!
If this storage area is dry then it should in theory be OK. Items with fabrics may smell a bit stuffy after prolonged storage with minimum air changes, however, that much is true with any storage IMHO.
DK
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My gear is in the loft, so can't really comment in too much detail, but certainly know of friends who store their gear in unheated garages and outbuildings, they don't seem to suffer any problems. I would expect a storage facility to be a bit warmer than most private outbuildings, certainly no colder.
Biggest risk seems to be damp, it has to be put away ABSOLUTELY dry, and not get damp in storage.
Have heard of rodent damage to gear stored in outbuildings, so I guess a bit of rodent prevention/control is wise precaution! As to a storage facility, would have thought that would be fine, with the proviso that you haven't got a clue what other users in the facility are storing, so again, there may be a risk of rodents if the facility doesn't take it's own precautions.
I keep my tents indoors in the spare room as when I stored my previous Caranex in the shed it was a bit mouldy next time I wanted to use it. I was sure I'd packed it away completely dry, however I'm not sure the shed is completely waterproof, and certainly extremely cold (at the moment, certainly!) as there is no heating in it. So since then I've stored both canvas and nylon tents indoors. Yes, even the poles, as I don't want to risk having rodents chewing holes in the bags! I think I would find it too much of a struggle to get this stuff up in the loft. Most of the other camping gear is stored in plastic boxes in the shed.
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I store my best tent in an old, 1930`s school cupboard which is in my garage. There`s also room for sleeping bags, mini oven, electric hook up etc. Older tents which I rarely use are on top of some shelving I built in the garage and never had a problem with damp. Fortunately, I`ve never had any rodent problems either. As I SORN my VW bus over the winter, I`ve stored things in there too but not tents. I`ve never used the loft, despite the fact that I`ve boarded it over because it`s very dusty up there as there`s no felt underneath the tiles. I`d leave the tents where they are and make the effort to put the rest of your gear up the loft.
Luckily I have a big cupboard over the stairs. That is where I keep the majority of the camping stuff. My back packing gear is kept with my motorcycle gear in a cupboard in my study. I find that garages and sheds can often be too damp and also attract rodents.
Same here, big cupboard under stairs in an older house. However, we did have a mouse in there once: s/he ate a hole in a rucksack outer pocket to get to the chocolate that I’d left in there.
Key thing is knowing the floor is dry (not resting directly on the solum as some older properties are) or keeping vulnerable canvas kit off the floor so air can circulate around it.
Going back to the OP... it rather depends on the equaation or cost/benefit of renting space v the quantity of kit v ease of access v the type of kit/material v the amount of home space available...
We have a garage attached to the house which is dry but cold and, there has been evidence of mouse attack (they like to eat PVC grounsheets - I have a nice pattern of nibbles throught the folds of a Blue Diamod quality PVC groundsheet - I've mended with patches...).
Pre-empting this, I keep canvas/fly sheets either under the bed (Esther the Estorial Cabanon) or in the house loft (polysester tents). The poles remain in the garage as mice can't eat metal. Yes, the bags could be nibbled but they can be mennded (I fixed the hessian Cabanaon bag which had been the centdre of a mouse festival wit ghe fabarib from an old windbreak).
Chairs and the garden umbrellas have gone up in the loft but not every year - it depends on the value and ease of replacement and cost of the model. The Helinox chairs stay in a bedroom, howeever.
Tables, stools and other metallic or rigid kit, like the cooker, stay in the shed. The groundsheets, since Nibblegate, go up there too and the carpet. However, I'm not sure rodents are completely against climbing up and finding the stash above the house: it feels a false sense of security! Ditto consider the potential for damage by damp...
Mabye there's s market for specific tent camping storage faciliies - not caravans or motorhomes.
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Topic: Storing tent and equipment
via mobile 08/1/2024 at 9:20am
