Campervan Essentials
Campervanning looks very different for many people - some prefer a little more luxury, while others are happy with very minimal equipment. I would like to think that we sit somewhere in between those extremes and pride ourselves on only buying and storing things in the van that we consider are essential for making life easier on the road as a family. We have splurged on some campervan items which are built within the campervan (good quality solar panels, leisure batteries, a good quality diesel heater, for example) but there are also a few expensive luxury items we have purchased, including thick duvets and comfortable chairs for outdoor seating (see below).
In this blog, you’ll find my TOP PICKS! All these recommendations are items we have tried and tested over a considerable period of time, organised within the format of answering questions we have been asked recently.
If you a new to vanlife, check out my Beginner’s Guide here. If you want to check out more of my campervan essentials, click here.
How can you keep your van clean and tidy on the road?
Vanlife is considerably easier once you have found a space for everything. You can find out more about my TOP TIPS for packing here, but ensuring everything has a place so you know where it is and making sure that it goes back in the correct place once you’ve finished with the item is really crucial. We have a large non-slip, washable mat that provides some insulation from the cold flooring, whilst also helping keep dirt contained. The girls remove their shoes on the mat, so that I can simply remove it from the van and give it a good shake when its dirty. (Sometimes I need to do this several times a day.) To clean the floor, I use a large brush which I find has a variety of uses - from dusting off a dirty dog to wiping sand off bodyboards etc before they come into the van. I sweep all the dirt into a pile and then hoover it up. My hoover is one of the most used items in the campervan.!
How do you prepare meals when you are travelling?
Finding that balance between adventure and feeding the family is always something I am working on. For a short video of some the types of meals we enjoy, click here ; for more Camping Meal Favourite inspiration, click here. We have a double ring gas burner in our campervan, but I prefer to cook outside using my Cadac 2 Cook 2 Pro. I also use our Ridge Monkey XL daily to prepare breakfast, lunch and sides to our evening meal. If your family is anything like mine, then snacks feature daily. We love these Stasher Bags and I can’t recommend them enough. They are airtight, but easy to open and reseal for little fingers. They are also suitable to put in the fridge, freezer, microwave and dishwasher.
Some of our go-to-meals are:
BREAKFAST
1️⃣ Pan au chocolat
2️⃣ Cinnamon swirls
3️⃣ Porridge
4️⃣ Brioche
5️⃣ Crumpets
LUNCH
1️⃣ Pizza in the RidgeMonkey
2️⃣ Omelette in the RidgeMonkey
3️⃣ Toasted sandwich in the RidgeMonkey
4️⃣ Wraps
5️⃣ Crusty french baguette rolls
DINNER
1️⃣ Fajitas
2️⃣ Curry
3️⃣ BBQ
4️⃣ Chilli
5️⃣ Burgers
How do you manage to travel with children and a dog?
We couldn’t imagine life without our dog Luna in the campervan. While somethings need a little more thought with her around, we wouldn’t have it any other way. We store all of Luna’s things in the passenger side door, for easy access. Here are our top ‘must haves’ when travelling with dogs.
How do you manage to fit everything that you need into such a small space?
Fitting everything you need for an adventure in your campervan is always going to be a bit of squeeze, but if you are looking for tips on campervan storage solutions click here or packing tips click here. My top tip would be to travel lightly. Often we take things we want rather than those we actually need. One of our ultimate must haves are packing cubes! We use them for our clothes, keeping electrical items together and our medial kits etc. We love anything that packs down small - so collapsible items are essentials for us and microfibre towels are great. We always let our towels dry and then roll them and put them away again.
What items have you found really useful that I might not have thought of?
Click here to check out a blog post full of really useful things to have in your campervan that you might not have thought of, but some of our absolute essentials are:
The jump start kit. This has proved invaluable on our travels and we have used it more times that I can count. Plus we have also been able to let others in need use it to - we have definitely rescued a few holidays! While jump leads are okay, we find this power pack much more useful, because it means that you can get your engine running again without having to physically move your vehicle.
Duck tape and cable ties. In my experience, if something breaks and it can’t be fixed with duck tape or cable ties, then you probably need a garage!
Headrest hooks. We absolutely love our headrest hooks! Having somewhere for the children to hang their bags and coats etc., or somewhere for me to hang my backpack or shopping bags, just keeps the van much tidier.
Portable clothes line. Obviously a length of rope and some ordinary pegs can do the same job as this, but our new portable clothes line is a very useful, neat and tidy new addition (pegs are secure, line is elasticated and can be fitted perfectly across our sun shade or any other places we find available).
What items do you find really useful when travelling with children?
As long as our children are warm enough and well fed, we find they don’t really need much while we are on the road. However:
Sleeping bag. A warm sleeping bag is essential.
Toilet. Having a chemical toilet was a big game changer for us and means the girls (and the grown ups) can easily go to the toilet on the road. Also when staying on campsites, it means that we aren’t continually taking one child or another over to the toilet block and we can use it at night too so we don’t have to leave the van.
Toys. Setting up the van doesn’t take long, but having a few outdoor toys that the children can occupy themselves with is really helpful.
Camera. My children also really love having their own camera. This helps when we are out and about and gives them something to focus on (other than walking).
For more ideas for what to pack for children on a hike, click here. Click here for more travel tips with children.
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