On the Hook

Photos by author

Finding nooks and crannies for things like baseball caps can be challenging. No one wants to thin out their collections of favorite stuff even when on the road, so utilizing over-the-door hooks provides out-of-the-way places to reduce clutter.

One of the challenges of RV ownership is finding places to stash stuff. Over time, closet and drawer space seems to shrink as more items are brought on board. Longtime friends and authors, Bill and Jan Moeller, who spent most of their lives in an RV and are now in the RV park in the sky, perfected the art of managing belongings in confined quarters. I learned a lot from the Moellers, who sometimes had radical ideas like removing book covers to reduce weight and to always discard an equal-size item to make room for another.

The Moellers stuck to their regiment and wrote books on how to fulltime, which have become classics (just search “Bill and Jan Moeller” and you’ll find sources for their published works). The Moellers were masters at finding cubbyholes. For those less enamored with this topic, there are simple ways to improve storage, like adding over-the-door hooks.

Everyone loves baseball hats, but typically most collections are too big for the available storage in an RV. Over-the-door hooks are the solution for hanging hats out of the way. These hooks were placed on the slideout room overhead molding in the bedroom and have no negative impact on space.

There is nothing exotic about over-the-door hooks, which open a plethora of places to hang things like hats, jackets and other apparel. One way to utilize otherwise wasted space is to place these hooks over the top molding that normally graces slideout rooms. For example, placing these hooks overhead in the bedroom slideout provides generous locations for baseball caps or other hats. Hats are normally strewn all over the place and always get in the way. And RVers love their hats — I can attest to that.

If you search the Internet, you find dozens of types, shapes, styles and sizes of over-the-door hooks. Stick to the metal versions in lieu of plastic for durability reasons. I like the individual hooks since they are more versatile for hanging single items in multiple places. Most will allow the door to close without removing the hook, which is ideal when using them in the bathroom or on cabinet doors. Individual hooks also allow for flexible spacing, whereas the products that have four or five hooks in a larger frame have symmetrical dimensions.

You won’t have to spend a lot of money—the majority of these hooks sell for $5-10 for a package of four and are available in sizes to accommodate most door widths (combo units generally run less than $15). For placing on the molding over the slideout, look for something that is as close to the thickness of the wood as possible; most will likely be larger than necessary. In just about all cases, fasteners are not necessary.

Hooks ganged into a single frame are commonly found on the Internet, where dozens of sizes, styles and colors can be perused. Most cost less than $15, but it’s possible to pay much more for designer brands. The model shown here has five hooks and the one on the right has three.

It’s best to opt for metal brackets and hooks for better durability. Most hooks have some type of rubber pad to prevent scratching and to keep the frame from slipping. This frame has three hooks, but you can opt for more in different lengths. Obviously, you don’t need long hooks for baseball caps, but they do hang best below the molding.

Measure the width of the door before purchasing individual hooks or sets. Most individual and multiple hook frames allow the door to close without removing the hooks.

These owners really got into the over-the-door hook “groove.” They have different styles of hooks scattered throughout their motorhome, which are handy for hanging all sorts of personal items.

The sky’s the limit when it comes to uses for over-the-door hooks. You can also place them on cabinet doors to hold purses and other items that typically get in the way on counters or shelves.

One thing to keep in mind, though — you’ll be tempted to buy more stuff with the extra room afforded by these versatile hooks. I take no responsibility for that.