6 Best Drawer Organizers for Books in RVs That Nomads Swear By
Keep your books secure and organized on the road. We review 6 top drawer organizers that RV nomads trust to prevent shifting and maximize space.
The thump and slide of loose items is the unofficial soundtrack of your first few RV trips. While you quickly learn to secure cabinets and countertops, books remain a stubborn problem. A small personal library is a joy on the road, but a stack of novels can become a projectile during a sudden stop or a messy jumble after a bumpy road.
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Why Drawer Storage for Books is a Smart RV Hack
Using drawers for book storage is one of those simple solutions that feels like a revelation once you try it. Unlike open shelves, which require elaborate rails or nets to be road-worthy, drawers keep your collection completely contained. They’re out of sight, protected from the sun-fading that plagues rigs with big windows, and safe from dust that inevitably finds its way inside.
Most importantly, a drawer provides a low center of gravity. Storing heavy items like books down low is a fundamental principle of keeping an RV stable and balanced. While a dedicated bookshelf might look nice, it often adds weight up high where you least want it. Tucking your books into an existing, low-slung drawer is a safer, more efficient use of space that already exists. It turns an underutilized area into a secure, hidden library.
Pipishell Bamboo Dividers for a Custom Fit
Expand and organize your drawers with this adjustable bamboo cutlery tray, fitting widths from 10.31" to 16.54". Its durable, premium bamboo construction offers practical storage for utensils, stationery, and more, keeping items tidy and easily accessible.
Spring-loaded bamboo dividers are a go-to for a reason: they offer a semi-custom fit without any tools. These dividers, like the popular ones from Pipishell, have spring mechanisms at the ends that expand to wedge tightly between the front and back of your drawer. The bamboo looks clean and adds a touch of warmth, a welcome break from the plastic that dominates many RV interiors.
Their main advantage is adjustability. You can create one long row for standard-sized novels or multiple smaller sections for guidebooks, journals, and paperbacks. The flat, wide surface of the bamboo provides excellent support for book spines, preventing them from tipping over. Their only real weakness is slick drawer bottoms; without a good grip, a heavy collection of books can cause the dividers to shift slightly on a rough road. This is easily solved with a non-slip liner underneath.
mDesign Spring-Loaded Rods: Simple Security
These durable carbon steel tension rods offer easy, damage-free installation for various spaces. Adjust their length from 15.7 to 26 inches to secure curtains, organize closets, or create DIY solutions, supporting up to 6.6 pounds.
If you value pure function over form, simple spring-loaded tension rods are an incredibly effective tool. Think of them as miniature curtain rods for your drawers. Brands like mDesign make them in various lengths, and their sole purpose is to create tension and hold things in place. You can use them to pin a row of books against the side of a drawer or create multiple channels to keep different-sized books from mingling.
This adjustable 1-inch diameter curtain rod extends from 30 to 142 inches, supporting up to 33 pounds without bending. Its elegant matte black finish complements any room and curtain style.
The key difference between these rods and the bamboo dividers is surface area. A rod creates a single line of pressure, while a flat divider distributes that pressure more broadly. For heavy hardcovers, a bamboo divider might offer better stability. But for a collection of paperbacks, a couple of tension rods are often more than enough to prevent shifting and are typically cheaper and more versatile for oddly shaped drawers. They are the definition of a simple, rugged, no-frills solution.
Gorilla Grip Liners: The Non-Slip Foundation
Protect your cabinets and drawers with Gorilla Grip powerGRIP liners. The strong, non-adhesive grip keeps items in place and the breathable material is easy to install and clean.
This isn’t an organizer in the traditional sense, but it’s the non-negotiable foundation for any successful drawer organization in an RV. Before you add a single divider or bin, line the drawer with a high-quality, non-slip liner like those from Gorilla Grip. The constant vibration and movement of travel will make any smooth surface feel like an ice rink for your belongings.
A good liner provides the friction needed to keep everything—books, dividers, and bins—firmly planted. You can even use a liner on its own for certain situations. If you lay your books flat instead of standing them on their spines, a grippy liner is often all you need to prevent them from becoming a shuffled mess. Think of it as the primer for your project; skipping this step means your carefully chosen dividers will be fighting a losing battle against physics.
OXO Good Grips Bins for Paperback Collections
Organize your fridge with this 4-piece OXO Good Grips set. The modular, clear bins keep groceries fresh and visible, while rounded handles ensure easy access.
Sometimes, dividing a drawer isn’t as effective as containerizing its contents. This is especially true for large collections of similarly sized paperbacks or a mix of books and journals. Using sturdy, open-topped bins, like the OXO Good Grips storage bins, allows you to group books by category or author and pull the entire collection out at once.
This method excels in deep drawers where stacking books would make it impossible to see what’s at the bottom. By placing books spine-up in a bin, you can essentially create a removable file system. It’s a fantastic way to keep a series together or separate your fiction from your travel guides. The main tradeoff is space efficiency; the walls of the bins take up a small amount of usable real estate. But for the added organization and accessibility, many nomads find it’s a worthy compromise.
DIY Plywood Dividers for a Perfect Custom Fit
For those comfortable with a few basic tools, nothing beats a custom-fit plywood divider. This is the ultimate solution for maximizing every square inch of your drawer and creating a system that is perfectly tailored to your books. All it takes is a sheet of thin (1/4" or 1/2") plywood, a tape measure, and a saw. You can cut pieces to fit the exact height and depth of your drawer and secure them with a bit of wood glue or a few small brad nails.
The beauty of the DIY approach is its permanence and strength. Unlike spring-loaded options, these dividers will never slip or budge. You can create complex layouts with multiple compartments for different book sizes, maps, and e-readers. While it requires more upfront effort, a custom plywood insert is a one-and-done project that will outperform any off-the-shelf product for years to come. It’s the buy-once, cry-once philosophy applied to RV organization.
Book Bands: A Minimalist Rattle-Free Solution
Secure your journals and notebooks with these stretchy, durable elastic bands. Designed to fit books from 8" to 11" tall, they keep pages closed and act as convenient page markers. This versatile 4-pack is perfect for organizing any reading material.
Sometimes the goal isn’t perfect organization, but simply silence and security. For this, look no further than heavy-duty elastic book bands or reusable cinch straps. This minimalist approach involves grouping a small stack of books together and wrapping a band around them, creating a tight, self-contained brick. You can then lay these "book bricks" in a drawer, and they won’t shift, slide, or rattle.
This isn’t a solution for creating a beautifully organized library, but it’s incredibly effective, cheap, and lightweight. It’s perfect for the RVer with a small, rotating collection of books who just wants to keep them from tumbling around. It’s also a great complementary tool; you can use dividers to create rows and then use a book band to keep the books within that row from slumping over if the row isn’t full.
Choosing the Best Organizer for Your RV Library
There is no single "best" organizer; the right choice depends entirely on your collection, your drawers, and your priorities. The key is to match the solution to the problem you’re actually trying to solve—whether that’s noise, damage, or disorganization.
Think about your needs to find your perfect fit:
- For maximum adjustability and aesthetics: Go with Pipishell Bamboo Dividers. They look great and adapt as your collection changes.
- For a simple, secure, and budget-friendly option: mDesign Spring-Loaded Rods are a workhorse solution that gets the job done without fuss.
- For deep drawers or grab-and-go collections: Use OXO Good Grips Bins to containerize your paperbacks and make them easy to access.
- For the ultimate custom fit and durability: If you’re handy, DIY Plywood Dividers offer a permanent, rock-solid solution.
- For a minimalist, rattle-free fix: Book Bands are the lightest, cheapest way to simply secure a stack of books.
No matter which primary organizer you choose, always start with a Gorilla Grip Liner. It’s the essential foundation that makes all the other systems work ten times better on the road.
Ultimately, taming your mobile library is about reducing the small stresses of life on the move. A well-secured book collection means less noise, less mess, and one less thing to worry about when you hit an unexpected pothole. It’s a small project that pays huge dividends in peace of mind, letting you focus on the adventure ahead.
