A great way to organize the Vanagon Westfalia clothes closet
Specifications
Dimensions: 10″ W X 15″ D X 24″ H
- Natural canvas fabric
- 3 large shelves
- Each shelf reinforced with fiberboard liner
- Includes two closet hooks
I’ve always found the stock Westfalia ‘clothes closet’ to be an underutilized space. Located along the driver’s-side wall, just behind the bench seat, the compartment is empty except for a tiny closet rod, presumably for hanging one’s assortment of pressed Oxford dress shirts or blouses.
Cuz that’s how people camp, right?
The rather large cavernous space offers no other means to organize the contents, so it quickly becomes a dark, cluttered catch-all of chaos. Recently, Lorie came up with this quick and easy solution, and it has transformed our closet into a neat and tidy storage space, always a precious commodity when packing your camper van.
First Impressions
The Three Shelf Organizer is intended to store sweaters, jeans, shirts, etc. in your home closet, but this particular size fits perfectly in the Vanagon Westfalia closet. Made of canvas, with internal fiberboard stiffeners, the shelves easily support lightweight linens like clothing, towels, pillows, etc.. Among other domestic goods, we store our Westfalia camper curtains here when not in use. The organizer is not intended for storing heavier objects like canned goods or tools.
Installation couldn’t be simpler: just put the whole thing inside the closet and clip the hooks over the stock hanger rod. Likewise, it can be just as easily removed later if needed.
Once installed, there is still space beneath the shelf unit for heavier and seldom used items like tools or LP heater, and more space to the right.
Though the Three Shelf Organizer works great right out of the package, we found that if loaded with somewhat heavier items like small storage bins or packaged food, the shelves may tilt and swing around while underway, perhaps spilling their contents. So, I removed the unit and added a simple extension to the bottom-most shelf, which also serves to stiffen it for heavier items.
Just cut a sheet of thin fiberboard or plywood about 10 x 18” and bolt it to the underside of the shelf unit, with the excess protruding to the rear, to stabilize the shelves against the back wall of the closet. I added a couple chunks of foam pipe insulation to keep things quiet.
In The Long Run
We’ve used this shelf unit for a couple of years now, for a few month-long road trips, and have found it to be a great addition to our little temporary home on wheels.
The Three Shelf Organizer is a simple, lightweight solution to organizing the Westfalia clothes closet, and opens up a valuable and previously unused storage space.
Hits: easy, lightweight, removable, affordable
Misses: may sag if overloaded, can tip w/o extension
