Where to buy things outside of Munich
 

Hi. We're going to the Alps for 4 months this summer. We fly into Munich, and pick up a van that we'll have for the entire trip. We plan to spend the first few days outfitting the van. We'll need to buy a camping stove, cooking stuff (pots, pans, utensils, etc.), plastic storage bins, food supplies, some basic camping gear, etc. A store similar to a Walmart supercenter (in the USA) would be great.

We also want to build a platform in the van, so we can store suitcases underneath and the other things above. This means that we'll need to buy plywood and studs, have them cut, and put them together. For that we'll need a store similar to a Lowes or Home Depot (in the USA).

Could you suggest an area outside of Munich (in other words, in one of the suburbs) that would have the best shopping of this type?

Thanks.

Surely, there MUST be a better way.

Your planned adventure intrigues me, so I'll try to help. I do not know Munich, but by using Google Maps and looking for sporting goods stores I came up with a bunch. The best rated was Globetrotter https://www.globetrotter.de/ Locals should be able to direct you to others that might be cheaper which might have more of the things you need. I suggest you do the same with the DIY centers. Just bring up the Google Map of Munich, click "Nearby" and fill in a category.

BTW, from the stores you reference you sound American, and I suppose you know you would be limited to a 90 day stay in the EU if that is the case.

Now let's let those on the Forum that actually know something about Germany give you some better advice.

I don't know stores in that area like Walmart (but I know they have a couple Ikeas on the outskirts), but I suggest you rethink the idea of needing to build a plywood platform in a van to provide you with shelving, basically. You can easily buy shelving units in stores and put them together yourself, various sizes and materials. I have several of those that I assembled myself for storage in my basement, one is metal and the other is just a plastic unit and you can make as many shelves as you want.

Or just buy something like this http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50290281/

This is the kind of shelving unit I have, plastic. Each shelf can hold 150 lbs, and you can stop at 3 if you want.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-36-in...7932/100010588

here's an outdoor store for camping gear https://www.globetrotter.de/outdoor-ausruestung/

your plan is nutty -- and what does rental company think about you building things in their vehicle??????

why not rent a camper van that already has all the 'stuff' . . .

Janisj, that would be entirely too reasonable.

I can possibly, maybe, imagine getting away with a nutty plan like this in some lackadaisical Mediterranean country, or Africa, but in GERMANY? The rental company will look over every inch of the vehicle when you return it, and unless you've dismantled the cr@p you've installed down to the very last screw and bit of sawdust, you'll be the one who's screwed. Big. Time.

Surely you can come up with a more responsible plan.