VanEssa Bags Saga
For some that are not aware, these bags are made by a small company in southern Germany, and ship directly from them, not through any third party distributor. This means they take quite awhile to arrive. The husband knew this, and ordered well ahead, or so he thought. He got notices from VanEssa that they had shipped but shipping ended up being a major nightmare. They started with DHL, and got transferred to the USPS, so tracking was difficult. Once he got the USPS tracking number, he found out that the USPS had lost them. He worked with one person at our local post office to try to back track and reclaim them, and she was great, but there was only so much she could control. To add to the angst, we left town for the holiday, so the whole time we were gone, he was afraid they would show up and be nabbed by our local porch pirates. Finally, in February, they arrived (no worse for the wear) and we are using them this year. They are a GAME CHANGER!!!
They fit in the far back windows, and at first I was really worried about them blocking visibility for driving. I am a former VW Eurovan driver, and the all around full window view of a Eurovan is hard to give up, but honestly they don't really interfere too much in that regard. In the Metris, those window were already pretty small and tinted and not that critical since now we have a back up camera...
Before using them, we had to remove the curtains from the two back windows. This was not as hard as some had said it could be. There were screws at the end of the track that held the curtain hooks. The husband removed these screws and we slid out the curtain hooks, leaving them attached to the curtains. We left the track in place, so it should not be a big deal to put them back, should we want to, for resale or whatever.
The bags are custom made so that they only go in one way. For us, this results in a "his and hers" situation. My bag goes on the driver's side and his goes on the passenger side, since that is how we sleep in the lower bed, with our heads to the rear of the vehicle. We are using them for our clothes and toiletries. In the past we had to shuffle a suitcase or duffle from the bed to the rotated captain chairs every night, and it meant the chairs were not available for use a lot of the time. It was a hassle, but not anymore! Just being able to get up in the morning and sit in the chair across from the bed to put on shoes is an awesome thing. We like the small wins!
There are two main zipper compartments - and upper and a lower. The lower is larger, but it has a back corner area that is a little difficult to access, so I put my larger, less used items here. They actually are quite generous and hold a surprisingly large quantity of clothing. You have to learn to fold or roll the clothes in a non-traditional way to make them fit and be easy to grab without digging around, but I really enjoy that kind of challenge. It is part of my love for camping in the Metris - the "how many useful things can I get into this very small amount of space" game is a fun one for me! I always tell people that I am "spatially oriented." 😃 There are also several outside pockets that are highly functional. There is a long outside zipper pocket that I use for flat items or papers. There are mesh pockets that work for cell phone or chargers or glasses cases, and there are loops that work for glasses and keys. Since there is not a shelf of any kind in the back of the bed, just having a place for my glasses at night was a problem that is now resolved. We put our dirty clothes back in the bags, but in a plastic garbage bag first to keep them separate.
Lower compartment :
Swimsuit - tucked in far back lower corner
2 pr long pants- one blue jeans and one black jeans
3 pr shorts
Sweatshirt
Flannel Shirt
4 T-shirts
4 Tank tops
1 Three Pc Pajama set (pants, LS button down top, tank top)
Upper Compartment:
5 bras
4 pr socks
7 pr undies
1 Beach towel
1 hand towel and 2 washclothes
Toiletries Kit
Shower/Swim Shoes (above Kit)
With some creative rolling and tighter packing, I could actually fit a fair bit more, but this is actally plenty for me. I am always warm, so I wear less and we do laundry on longer trips.
The bags are well constructed and made of quality materials. That means that even when empty, they are quite heavy! We pack them in the house, and then install them full. I am not sure I would be able to do this by myself. Once they are in place, they remain installed for the duration of the trip. If we stop somewhere for an overnight that is not in the van, we pack out what we need into a secondary "overnight" bag. When not in use, we are wrapping them in plastic and storing them under a bed, because they are a large and somewhat awkward shape. Not like a regular suitcase at all.
Overall, we are happy with these bags, and especially happy that we got them when we did! Now, due to tariffs applied by our current administration, the VanEssa company is not shipping to America. They have declared that it is no longer economical. Hopefully, this is a temporary situation, and they will be available to US customers again at some point in the future. In the meantime, if you see someone selling them used on a forum or somewhere else - our recommendation is "Snatch 'em up!" You won't be sorry.
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