Shoe storage outside of the camper has pros and cons – on the upside, there will be no stinky shoes smell inside the camper. On the downside, if you are camping somewhere with alot of moisture, sand or other elements your shoes may not stay dry or protected.
We personally utilize inside and outside shoe storage for our camping setup – wet things stay outside to dry and everything else goes in a bin inside the camper. Anyways, I thought I’d compile all the best ideas in one place so it’s easy to see all of your options!
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Exterior Camper Shoe Storage
Here are some popular exterior shoe storage ideas
- Plastic Tote – Simple, budget friendly, and easy to use
- Hanging Shoe Storage Mounted Outside – I see this often with campers who have slide outs, but people also mount it outside their door. One person used a pressure mounted shower rod so that it was easier to hook on and off as needed!
- Under Stairs (DIY) – An AMAZING idea if you are stationary for awhile. Lori C. used lattice to build a compartment under her entry stairs, which allows sand to fall through and air to circulate and dry things out.
- Exterior Storage Compartment – These are often empty once you set up anyways, so why not set up some shelves? The storage door can be closed at night to keep your shoes safe from the elements, then opened during the day for easy access.
- Exterior Shelving – You can buy shelves, of course, but I love the DIY from Kristin P. here! She used some PVC pipe to create a frame that can support a hanging shoe organizer!
Hanging Shoe Holder Ideas
This is the most common solution RVers use – there’s a wide variety of hanging shoe holders, and there’s tons of otherwise unusable space to hang them!
Related: Check out some ideas to make your camper feel more homey and cozy!
Here are some of the most popular ways campers utilize hanging shoe storage in their campers:
- Fabric Hanging Shoe Holder – Whether hung by hooks or mounted, these are one of the top solutions for shoe organization! They are most commonly hung by the door and are especially great if you have kids (more than one and things get mixed up/lost easily it seems!) You can also just cut them to size for any funky sized spaced!
- Mounted Bins – A bit more of a minimalist look, these are sleek and easy to set up. They only hold one pair each, so it may not be the best solution for a big family with limited vertical hanging space.
- Under Bed Fabric Shoe Hangers – This is more for storage of extra shoes than day to day use ones (you don’t want to have to walk all the way to the bedroom to put away common use pairs after all!) but is a great way to make use out of weirdly shaped vertical hang space. Simply screw in the shoe hanger to your platform or, if your platform lifts, you can hang it!
Hidden Shoe Storage Idea
Some people simply want their shoes to not be in a pile by the front door – others don’t want to see any shoes at all! I don’t blame them – after all, it can be hard to stay organized in a camper when they’re so small. It doesn’t take much clutter to make *everything* look messy!
Most people do this by either utilizing storage ottomans or solid colored bins so the disorder of the shoes can’t be seen. It would be impossible to not mention Ikea Trones in this conversation – they are sleek, have a slim profile, and are fairly affordable (for being Ikea anyways)
Here are the most popular tips for hidden shoe storage in your camper:
- Storage Ottoman – This is our solution as it keeps things hidden AND can be used as an additional seating area in the camper. We put a plastic bin inside of ours to catch all the mud/sand and just empty it after every trip. There are even some shoe storage-specific ottomans (like the round one below).
- Solid Colored Bins – See through bins can be helpful for knowing what the contents are, but when it comes to mess like shoes, it’s also nice to hide them away in a bin! Bonus points if you have a bin that fits under something like a bench or table in your rig.
- Pull out Shoe Storage – These have a slim profile and look pretty good! Shoes stay organized AND hidden!
Ikea Trones
While still hidden shoe storage (like the previous section) I felt this needed to have its own section! So many people use Ikea solutions in different ways, especially the Ikea Trones. Here are some ideas!
DIY Shoe Storage Ideas
Sometimes you have to work with what ya got – that could be DIYing your own shoe storage shelving or finding “hidden” space that an be utilized for shoe storage. If you try, it’s not too hard to find completely empty but walled up areas in your camper – think hollows under your bed, benches, and RV stairs.
By simply cutting a hole and removing something paneling, you could gain access to tons of space you didn’t know you had!
Here are some popular ways campers DIY their own shoe solutions
- Utilize Empty Area Under RV Stairs -OF course not everyone has stairs, but if you do, you might be surprised to know many of them are hollow (and great for slipping shoes in!)
- Remove Paneling In Front of Hollow Areas – Be confident before you cut, but you can usually tell by the sound of your knock and what’s around the area if there’s hidden empty space.
- Build Out Small “Unusable” Space – If you’re handy, it’s not hard to custom make shelves that fit into tiny weird spots in the camper (for example, between the shower and the bathroom door!)
- DIY a Curtain Rod Shoe Holder – By mounting a curtain rod to the wall, you can create your own shoe holder pretty much anywhere!
- DIY a Basic Wood Frame Shoe Holder – While it’s not that pricey to buy one, building one yourself lets you get an exact fit for your space.
Ready to Tackle That Pile Of Shoes in Your Camper Now?
Campers vary so much in layout and usage that there’s no one size fits all solution to neat and tidy shoe storage, but hopefully these ideas have gotten your planning process to a good start.
Here are some other RV organization articles you may like
- RV Bathroom Organization Tricks – Due to their super small size, it’s important to keep things organized before it gets chaotic!
- 61+ RV Life Organization Accessories – From your cabinets to your gadgets, there’s a cool way to keep it neat!
- RV Camping Checklists – I HATE forgetting stuff during the trip, so I created these checklists that have helped tons.. and hopefully they help you too!
- Make Your Camper Feel Like Home – Besides organizing, there are some extra things you can do to make your RV feel more like home and less like the standard “industrial” dark aesthetic they come with.
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- 11 RV Bathroom Makeovers to Inspire You! - April 7, 2024
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