Storage Bags in the Rear Wheel Wells

If you have a 2018-20 Revel, and if you're *not* doing a GLSS from Canyon Adventure Vans, then you have unusually-shaped rear wheel wells in the garage area. I've searched a long time for a better way to use the space in these rear wheel wells, so I was very glad to finally find these Jeep storage bags that fit that space almost perfectly. (Note that there is a driver's side bag and a passenger's side bag, and they differ slightly from each other.)

In order to mount the driver's side bag, I considered using expansion nuts, but found these machine screws to have a very firm hold in the plastic, and simply capped them with large black washers, shown below.

I anchored the lower right corner (red circle) first, then applied 3 more screws & washers along the lower rear seam (blue line). Then I pulled the bag up so that it was vertically taut, and applied 4 more screws & washers along the top (green line). 

At this point, the bag was very firmly attached to the van, and I stopped there. Looking into the bag without the velcro dividers installed, it looked like this:

The bag measurements are these, yielding 1850 cubic inches of storage in a padded, zippered bag.

To my great surprise, I am able to put the entire contents of my emergency supplies and water replenishment totes into this bag, freeing up the space on the garage floor for other gear. Everything in the following photo fits in this bag.

I'm keeping it zippered shut, and will continue using my cargo net over this space for eventualities.

UPDATE: I realized that if I turn one of these bags on end, it provides a good fit in the remaining space in the wheel well. I've loaded it up with shoes & boots, and will give it a try on our next road trip. That awkwardly-shaped space is really starting to get utilized efficiently...

20-Oct-2020

Headliner Net

As mentioned in other posts, we added a colorful Mexican Falsa blanket to our headliner shelf to help with road noise and to add a little flair to the cockpit. In order to provide some extra storage, I decided to add a cargo net to the underside of the shelf, as shown below.

I bought some S-hooks and bent them with pliers to create anchors, and then attached these anchors to the bolts at the edges of the shelf.

Then I poked the anchors through the blanket and attached the net at 8 different points (3 on the left and right, 1 in the back and front).

This provides some overhead storage for maps, hats, etc.

More Storage with Nets and Elastic

My wife is always looking for a better place to store her iPad while driving, so I added a cargo net to the side of the passenger seat. It was easy to install, but it did require drilling two small holes through the steel base of the seat (I used strong zipties in the upper corners). The net I used was this one.

I also added a few elastic straps to the galley cabinet for restraining our coffee cups and a small bamboo cutting board.

Nightstand Pockets

We've really missed having some sort of 'nightstand' on either side of the bed for all the normal stuff: kindles, chapstick, kleenex, etc. 

We decided to install some sort of cargo pockets on the wall above the bed, and decided that it should have a rigid frame, no adhesive, and accommodate enough stuff without ripping out of the wall. I found these things on Amazon, and they came to us from Germany (took a couple of weeks to receive them).

I was extremely concerned about putting holes in the wall near the flares, because the flares are made of fiberglass. Also, it was unclear to me if the plastic 'shell' that surround the whole garage would be strong enough to hold screws & weight.  After taking some measurements of the plastic and the fiberglass, I settled on these screws, and they worked perfectly, staying away from the fiberglass. If you do this, I highly recommend these screws (7x1/2" flathead), but don't over-tighten them, or you'll lose your grip in the plastic!

The pockets work very well, and are rock-solid, no danger of them falling off the wall at all.

2020 Update

This system continues to work well, but we added yet more storage with this pocket, ideal for holding iPads and similar. Once again, I used simple screws in the plastic walls, and there have been no problems at all with it.

Cargo Net in the Garage

My wife and I feel that ‘everything has to have its place’ in a small van, and can’t stand disorganized, jumbled crap rolling around & getting under foot. Since we travel with oddly-shaped exercise equipment (like the yoga mat, below), we needed a simple solution for it. 

As a first approximation, I threw this cargo net solution together very quickly. It was wider than we needed, so it’s doubled over on the right side, but could stretch to the back corner of the van, if needed. 

I wanted any/all mods to be non-destructive, so I used existing screws for the tie-down points for the cargo net. In this case, I bought some ‘1 Hole Strap’ fittings that are used for tying down electrical conduit, and bent them to make them a bit smaller & tighter. 

Just to be clear, I did NOT drill new holes here, I just used existing wood screws that fastened to the cabinetry through the plastic housing. 

This is ugly, but it was the fast, $2 solution that my hardware store had. I’m just CERTAIN that there is a little device that slips over a screw head in order to provide a ring or hook point, but I’ll be damned if I could find anything in my local store. 

Edit: This would be an improvement: https://fasteners.fasnap.com/viewitems/metal-d-rings-hardware/screw-mounted-d-rings

WGO ships the Revel with three screws in the top of the bolster (under the bolster pillow) that are driven into the steel frame. I used these as the anchor points, then attached two chain links and an S-hook. Again, this was the fast, $3 solution to the problem that I found in my limited hardware store. 

Edit: This would be an improvement: https://fasteners.fasnap.com/viewitems/metal-d-rings-hardware/screw-mounted-d-rings

Here’s the cargo net that I bought off Amazon for a few dollars. 

Update 2020

I finally followed my own advice and used D-rings throughout the project. I'm not sure if I'll continue to use the black plastic hooks that accompanied the cargo net, or if I'll maybe bend some S-hooks.