Campervan Storage Ideas for Full-Time Van Life

When I started planning the storage inside my campervan, I had one main goal: almost everything needed a permanent home.

That sounds simple until you begin adding full-time clothing, food, bedding, camera gear, camping equipment, fishing rods, tools, workout gear and all the small items needed to live and work on the road.

A weekend camper can survive with a few boxes thrown in the back. Full-time van life is different.

When you use the same space every day, poor van life storage becomes frustrating quickly. If you need to unload half the rear garage to reach one item, you eventually stop using it. If wet fishing clothes have nowhere to go, the smell ends up inside your home. If your camera bag is buried, you miss opportunities because getting it out is too annoying.

After living and travelling in my Fiat Ducato, I have learnt that the best campervan storage ideas are rarely the fanciest ones. They are the solutions that make everyday life easier.

My setup is still evolving, and a few items still move around. Every few months I find a better way of packing something, but overall the system works.

This article covers the campervan storage solutions I use for full-time van life, including under-bed clothing storage, a built-in laundry chute, kitchen cabinetry, the rear garage and the rule I use to decide whether something deserves the space it occupies.

My Approach to Van Life Storage

My van life storage philosophy was to give roughly 90% of my belongings a permanent home.

Getting to 100% is probably unrealistic.

There will always be items that move depending on the day, season or location. Two tripods and my blackout blinds travel on the bed. Once I park, the blinds go onto the windows and the tripods move to the dashboard. My air fryer and SodaStream are strapped into an open space because I use them often enough to justify carrying them, but I do not have a perfect cabinet for either.

That is full-time van life.

Not every item needs a beautifully designed drawer. Sometimes the best solution is simply making sure something is secure, easy to access and not in the way.

My main priorities were straightforward: daily-use items should be easy to reach, dirty gear should stay away from clean living areas, heavy equipment should be stored low, and nothing should require half the van to be unpacked.

Storage also needs to match where I am travelling. Before heading into Central Australia, I will move fishing gear deeper into the garage and bring hiking and awning equipment forward.

Good campervan storage solutions should adapt to your lifestyle.

Organising Storage Around Daily Use

The simplest way to organise a campervan is by frequency of use.

My camera bag sits on the passenger seat because I use it most days. It contains my Fujifilm camera, drone, action camera and vlogging equipment. I originally planned a dedicated location elsewhere, but that added unnecessary steps every time I wanted to film.

The passenger seat is not the prettiest solution, but it is the most practical.

Camping equipment lives above the cab because I need the whole setup together when packing for a hike. Workout gear sits low on the floor below the passenger seat, while three pairs of everyday shoes stay near the sliding door to reduce the sand and dirt dragged inside.

The best storage location is not always the neatest one. It is the location that matches how often you use the item.

Campervan Kitchen Storage Ideas

The kitchen contains some of the most customised campervan storage ideas in the van.

Rather than building empty cabinets and hoping everything would fit, I designed much of the kitchen around the items I knew I needed.

Airtight containers in the overhead cabinets hold dry food. Another cabinet stores plates, bowls, cups, pots and pans. Thin cork lining reduces rattles and stops items sliding while driving.

The cabinet under the sink required the most custom work. It holds the gas bottle enclosure, grey water diverter, rubbish bin, cutting board, cleaning products, canned food, drying rack and kitchen consumables.

Because the sink and drainpipe create awkward unused areas, I added a small angled compartment for bin liners, baby wipes, vacuum-seal bags and spare sponges.

On the opposite side, narrower cabinets store cooking equipment and pantry ingredients, while one unavoidable “everything else” drawer catches oils, seasonings and items without a better home.

My custom 3D-printed cutlery tray was one of the most expensive and slightly ridiculous campervan kitchen storage decisions in the build.

Standard organisers did not fit the narrow drawer, so I paid to have one designed specifically for my cutlery.

Was it financially sensible?

Probably not.

Do I use it three times a day and enjoy having everything fit perfectly?

Absolutely.

Custom campervan storage does not always need to be cheap. It needs to solve a real problem.

Under-Bed Clothing Storage

My favourite campervan storage idea in the van is the clothing compartment under the bed.

The mattress is divided into three sections, allowing me to lift part of the bed without disturbing the rest or completely unmaking it. The mattress edges are cut on an angle so the sections do not catch when the storage opens and closes.

Underneath is an 80mm-deep compartment divided into three reinforced sections. It stores T-shirts, socks, underwear and activewear. Larger items such as jumpers and pants live in overhead cabinets nearby.

Gas struts hold the mattress, bedding and duvet up while I access the storage.

That detail matters. Without the gas struts, I would need to hold the weight with one hand while searching for clothes with the other. Anything that feels difficult eventually becomes annoying, especially when you use it every morning.

I prefer this setup to storing everything in deep overhead cabinets. The clothes are laid flat and visible rather than stacked two rows deep.

The system was also inexpensive compared with many custom products because it required DIY work rather than a large financial investment.

I would build it again.

My Built-In Laundry Chute

The laundry chute connects directly to the under-bed storage.

A hole cut into one section allows dirty clothing to drop into a custom-made basket in the rear garage. My mum made the basket to fit the space, and it holds roughly 32L.

From the rear doors, I can slide it out, close the drawstring and take it straight into a laundromat. I generally wash clothes every 10–14 days and add my bedding and towels to the load.

Before building the chute, the laundry bag constantly moved around the garage and never had a proper home.

Now dirty clothing disappears immediately and stays separate from clean clothes and the living area.

It is a simple feature, but it solves a problem that occurs every day.

Shoe and Wet-Gear Storage

Under the rear driver-side seat, I built a shoe rack for hiking boots, hiking shoes, casual shoes, running shoes and thongs. Near the sliding door, I keep the three pairs I use most often.

Wet clothing is harder.

I installed a drying rack on the sliding door directly in front of the diesel heater. The idea came from a campervan I used in Iceland, where the same setup worked brilliantly.

Wet jackets, towels and clothing can hang in front of the heater without being spread throughout the living area.

Fishing clothes remain the bigger problem. Wet gear is manageable; wet gear that smells like fish is something else entirely.

In the future, I would like an external aluminium box at the rear of the van. It could hold dirty fishing clothes, a cutting board, knife and other equipment I do not want inside.

For now, I manage it, but it remains the biggest weakness in my clean-versus-dirty van life storage setup.

How I Organised the Rear Garage

The rear garage stores many of the things that make this lifestyle enjoyable.

On one side is a large drawer designed around three tightly fitting canvas bags. One holds outdoor equipment such as awning ropes and pegs. Another stores electrical gear, extension leads and compressor accessories. The third contains fishing clothes.

A hiking backpack and snorkelling equipment fit lower in the same drawer, while the Bushman drawer freezer sits alongside it.

A removable tabletop rests over the open drawer, giving me a surface for grocery bags while packing the freezer. Fishing reels, water hoses, filters and tank-filling equipment use the remaining space, while the upper shelf holds the less frequently used outdoor gear.

The freezer requires both rear doors to be open, which is inconvenient in heavy rain or wind. But I only access it a few times each week, so it is a compromise I can live with.

The garage is not a showroom. It is a working storage area built around the way I travel.

Creating Storage Hubs Around My Hobbies

My three main interests on the road are content creation, hiking and fishing.

Each has its own storage hub.

Camera gear stays near the front because it is used constantly. The hiking system lives above the cab because everything is packed together when needed. Fishing equipment stays mainly in the rear garage because it is dirty, awkward and usually accessed when I am already outside.

The photography and camping systems work well.

The fishing setup is still evolving.

My full-length rods are mounted underneath the bed using rod holders. They are secure, but retrieving them takes too long.

Sometimes I walk along a beach with a coffee and think about taking a rod. Then I leave it behind because getting everything out takes eight or ten minutes.

If something is difficult to access, you naturally use it less.

That is a bad storage system.

Fishing is one of the main reasons I love this lifestyle, so the storage should encourage me to go fishing rather than create another obstacle.

My planned solution is to move toward premium travel rods that break down into shorter sections. They will be easier to protect, faster to access and will free useful space in the garage.

Keeping Gear Secure and Quiet

Most larger items are secured with straps.

The table top, knife block, air fryer and SodaStream are locked down before driving. The canvas bags fit tightly because I designed the drawer around their dimensions. Kitchen drawers and overhead cabinets use latches so they cannot open on rough roads.

Cork lining helps reduce movement inside the cabinetry.

People often comment on how quiet the van is while driving. My father and I spent a ridiculous amount of time tracking down rattles because constant squeaks over thousands of kilometres would drive me insane.

The rear doors are the one noise I have never completely eliminated. It is not terrible, and the upgraded sound system helps.

My Sticker Rule for Decluttering the Van

One of my favourite ways to decide whether equipment should stay in the van is what I call the sticker rule.

When you first move into a campervan, it is natural to pack everything. You imagine every possible scenario and carry gear because you might need it someday.

Then you start travelling and realise you need to unload half the garage to reach one item.

After about a month, I place a coloured sticker on questionable items that are not being used regularly.

The first sticker might be green. If the item gets used over the next month or two, I replace it with a different colour. If the sticker never changes, I seriously reconsider whether the item deserves the space.

I repeat the process over roughly six months.

This is aimed at optional gear rather than obvious daily items such as cookware or tools.

Seasonal equipment requires common sense. Hiking gear may not get used during a hot Australian summer, while snorkelling equipment might sit untouched through winter but become something I love on a summer coastline.

The sticker rule is not absolute.

It simply forces me to ask whether the enjoyment or usefulness of an item justifies carrying it around Australia.

Why I Regularly Empty and Repack the Van

Good van life storage is never completely finished.

Around six months ago, I removed almost everything and repacked the van from scratch. I was surprised by how much extra room I created without removing many items.

The difference was experience.

After living in the van, I better understood what I used every day, what belonged together and what needed faster access.

Every few months, I question whether items are still in the right place, whether categories can be combined and whether smaller versions could replace bulky gear.

A campervan becomes much easier to live in once storage reflects real behaviour rather than original assumptions.

Storage Mistakes and Future Changes

I do not think I made one catastrophic storage mistake.

The bigger mistake early on was loading the van with everything I thought I might use. That created situations where too much equipment needed to be moved just to access one or two things.

I regularly see small campervans with beds piled high with boxes and bags because nothing has a proper home. Then everything needs to be moved before sleeping.

That was never going to work for me full-time.

I still have floating items. My tripods travel on the bed with the blackout blinds over them. Once parked, the blinds go onto the windows and the tripods move to the dashboard.

It is not a custom cabinet, but it works.

The main future changes are shorter travel fishing rods and an external aluminium box for dirty fishing gear. Ideally, that box could also include a permanent outdoor table and somewhere safe to carry firewood.

I have not found an off-the-shelf solution that works with the rear doors, shower and current layout, so it may need to be custom-built.

The van already works. These are refinements rather than urgent fixes.

Weight, Payload and Storage Discipline

Storage is not only about whether something physically fits.

You also need to consider weight.

My heavy-duty Fiat Ducato has a GVM of 4,250kg. When I first weighed the completed van, it came in at roughly 3.7 tonnes, leaving about 550kg of payload.

I believe I carry less now than I did at that weigh-in, although I still plan to weigh it again and confirm the individual axle weights.

The 168L of fresh water alone can add roughly 168kg when the tanks are full.

That is why heavy items such as water, batteries, tools and workout equipment are positioned low. The water tanks also sit close to the rear axle.

Having spare payload does not mean you should keep adding equipment.

Just because an empty space exists does not mean it needs to be filled.

Weight, handling and axle loads still matter.

Could This Storage Work for Two People?

I think the van could comfortably store equipment for two people.

I would reduce some of my clothing, and there would be room for another person’s clothes and toiletries.

Most of the main equipment is already suitable for two people. The camera gear would need to move away from the passenger seat while travelling, but that is manageable.

The bigger issue would be if the second person brought a bulky hobby of their own.

I already carry photography, hiking, fitness and fishing equipment. If another person wanted a surfboard, major work setup or large outdoor hobby, we would both need to compromise.

The storage capacity is there, but no campervan can hold two complete households without discipline.

Final Thoughts on Campervan Storage Ideas

The best campervan storage ideas are not about squeezing something into every empty gap.

They are about making life easier.

Everyday items should be simple to reach. Dirty equipment should stay away from clean living spaces. Heavy gear should be stored safely. And everything should be organised around the way you genuinely travel, not the life you imagine you might live someday.

My favourite storage features are the custom kitchen solutions, under-bed clothing compartments and built-in laundry chute.

But the biggest lesson is that storage never stops evolving.

Build a basic system, use it in the real world, notice what feels difficult and replace bulky items with smaller alternatives where possible. Every few months, empty the van and repack it with fresh eyes.

You will be surprised by how much easier your campervan becomes once the storage reflects your actual routine.

And remember: just because you have the space does not mean you need to fill it.

In a campervan, empty space is valuable too.