How to pack a Symbol

Now I am on my own and after 40+ years of caravanning I have bought myself a Symbol.  The biggest problem I have, after having the space of a 4 berth caravan and the back of the tow car for storage, is where to put things in the Symbol.  I would be very interested in the techniques of packing a campervan and what are considered the best space savings devices.  Many thanks.  Bill

As far as the Symbol itself is concerned, here are 3 mods I’ve done to help with storage in our compact vans.
1 - Get rid of that daft wine cupboard so access to the under seat storage is much easier. It’s a 5 minute job to remove the joining panel.
2 - Fit coat hooks at the back. £4 in Matalan (slight modification to top hooks needed).
3 - This one will depend on your DIY skills but there is plenty of handy space under the step that A/S could easily have utilised but didn’t!

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Really useful.  Many thanks.  Any reason that you have taken off the rear door draft excluder ?   Bill

I've weighed the van when loaded and with gas, water, and fuel tanks full and there is spare load capacity but equally there's probably a bit too much stuff in it. It's easy to fill any storage space - whether the item is necessary or not! There'll be lots of trial and error, lots of moving stuff around, and deciding what to compromise on and what not. We've had two Symbols (2002 - much more practical interior, and 2014) over six years. Previously had two Bongos. After the Bongos, the Symbols seemed huge so we may have had different expectations than someone moving from a caravan. Maximum time away is 15 nights mixing wild camping and sites.
Anyway Bill, this is how we do it on our second Symbol:
Wall opposite sliding door
- Three lockers on top - two for clothes (hers), one for crockery and mugs.
- Microwave - bread bin
- Open shelves above fridge - coffee, tea, light weight foods. In plastic containers that wedge in fairly tightly and don't fall out during transit.
- Top locker by back door - food
- Under long bench - clothes, blankets, small cooking stove/BBQ for outside use
- Cupboard under cooker for tinned/small packets food
- Cultery drawer, er... cultery
- Sink, washing up bowl. Small bottle of w/up liquid and washing cloth/sponge.
- Cupboard under drawer for kettles (gas & electric), toaster, bread board, other kitchen/cooking bits.
- Oven, tea towels wrapped around m/wave plate and oven trays. Spare tea towels.
- Fridge, what you'd expect in a fridge!
- Cupboard under fridge - collapsible water bottle, gas cartridges for portable BBQ, cleaning products
Back doors
- Storage bins/pockets (not there on newer models) - bags, cleaning cloths, fire blanket, collapsible bucket.
- Stuck-on hook to hang wet coats.
- Windbreaks secured upright against backdoor during transit.
Outside in toilet cassette bay
- small bottle with loo chemical, anti-bac wipes
Bathroom
- Cabinet for toiletries
- Towels
- Grey water disposal tank sits on floor during transit. Rolled Duvalay & pillows in w/proof bag sits on top of this during transit.
- In corner by the loo, an open bag with spare loo rolls, bathroom cleaning products, and a watering can to top up water tank on site.
Wardrobe
- We have three shelves that hang from the rail for clothes (his and hers). Space at the side to hang coats.
Under wardrobe
- Lift up cupboard/box for walking boots, dirty washing.
- On top of this cupboard/box, during transit, cushions to fill in bed & second Duvalay.
Under third travelling seat
- Tools, ehu cable, filling hose, levelling blocks, number plate to reserve pitch when off site, spare batteries etc
 - Wine locker for bottles. Actually find it quite a useful space!
Sliding door space
- Torches, books, sun creams, misc stuff
Roof space above driving/passenger area
- Outside chairs & rugs, umbrellas, sun hats, scarves, gloves (four season kit for a British summer!)
Driving bay
- Compartments used for games, maps, books etc.

Bill, hope you enjoy your Symbol and your journeys in it.

If I remember I kept knocking it off as I use the back door frequently. I took it off a week after I picked up my van and it’s been in the loft since!
I only camp spring/summer/autumn but I’ve never noticed a single draught at the back doors.

The mods Dbvwt mentions are definitely the 'must haves' in a Symbol.

The wine rack being the biggest I'd say - as soon as we removed ours you have a really nice access panel into that space and no longer have to mess around pulling the seat forward - it should have been designed that way to be honest.

The storage under the step into the cab is good too - it's surprising how much can go in there, we mainly put shoes in there.

Just be careful as there's some wiring for the LED lights and the hot air ducting running inside, but loads of space to be used.

I've also put shelves into the "wardrobe" as we never put clothes in there that actually needs to hang off the rack, so much better use of space with shelves for better access, than everything piled up on top of each other.

I’m still learning, and I suspect you will be fine tuning things as time passes. I do intend to liberate the space behind the wine rack, and probably get my cabinet maker friend to fit some proper shelves in the wardrobe too. I have a fresh water roll tank which is bungeed to the awning crank handle, so it doesn’t move in transit. I don’t carry much food, just a fridge full of Pepsi Max and bottled mineral water.

One thing I am trying on this trip is to leave all the crockery etc at home and carry biodegradable paper cups and plates, and wooden cutlery. It’s all very light, doesn’t rattle, and no washing up means lower water consumption. It’s working out well.

v8oholic wrote:One thing I am trying on this trip is to leave all the crockery etc at home and carry biodegradable paper cups and plates, and wooden cutlery. It’s all very light, doesn’t rattle, and no washing up means lower water consumption. It’s working out well.

I quite like that idea - the washing up aspect can be a bit of a pain, especially after a BBQ, be nice to simply throw everything in the bin, and as you say, if biodegradable at least isn't contributing to adding plastic to the waste.

v8oholic wrote:I’m still learning, and I suspect you will be fine tuning things as time passes. I do intend to liberate the space behind the wine rack, and probably get my cabinet maker friend to fit some proper shelves in the wardrobe too. I have a fresh water roll tank which is bungeed to the awning crank handle, so it doesn’t move in transit. I don’t carry much food, just a fridge full of Pepsi Max and bottled mineral water.

One thing I am trying on this trip is to leave all the crockery etc at home and carry biodegradable paper cups and plates, and wooden cutlery. It’s all very light, doesn’t rattle, and no washing up means lower water consumption. It’s working out well.

They all laugh at me when I go on rallies as I have already adopted cardboard plates and dishes although I have the last laugh at washing up time !  I must admit that except for soft drinks I do prefer proper cups and glass glasses for wine !!

Bill wrote:

v8oholic wrote:I’m still learning, and I suspect you will be fine tuning things as time passes. I do intend to liberate the space behind the wine rack, and probably get my cabinet maker friend to fit some proper shelves in the wardrobe too. I have a fresh water roll tank which is bungeed to the awning crank handle, so it doesn’t move in transit. I don’t carry much food, just a fridge full of Pepsi Max and bottled mineral water.

One thing I am trying on this trip is to leave all the crockery etc at home and carry biodegradable paper cups and plates, and wooden cutlery. It’s all very light, doesn’t rattle, and no washing up means lower water consumption. It’s working out well.

They all laugh at me when I go on rallies as I have already adopted cardboard plates and dishes although I have the last laugh at washing up time !  I must admit that except for soft drinks I do prefer proper cups and glass glasses for wine !!

The Symbol comes with four wine glasses which I’ve left in. Not sure why really, because I rarely drink alcohol except in bars or restaurants. They will probably be removed when I get home, now I think about it. I currently use the wine bottle holders for large bottles of mineral water. Needless to say, the plate rack has already gone.

We now have a dozen of those wine glasses residing in our cabinet at home where they sparkle nicely 

Bill, I’m glad to see you’re getting answers to your questions here. Very often I suggest this site and I'm ignored but you can’t beat it for useful info.