Equipment - must have / useful / can't do without items

[Kfant1]

Hi

We’re getting closer to our camper build being finished and We have have booked our 1st trip away over easter as well as camper jam. We’re starting to buy bits to keep in the camper, cutlery, pans, storage boxes, thermal blinds for the front etc.

Is there anything you couldnt live without in your campers and is there Any thing I should add to the list apart from beers for the fridge.

All help and advise would be appreciated.

 

[Markymark]

There are quite a few lists available so just suggesting something we use which might not be in the lists.

We find an artificial camois cloth useful for removing window condensation which we sometimes get. We use one by Maru as it comes in a convenient plastic case. It is the sort of thing high divers use before and after completing their dives.

Make up a mini toolkit as well.

 

[Kfant1]

@Markymark Thank you never thought of that to be honest, great idea thanks

 

[Markymark]

Actually we have three of them. One for the van and one each for Sue and I. We use them to dry off after swimming, showering etc. Then use a small micro fleece towel to finish off. That way we don’t have huge damp towels in the van which are hard to get dry just the microfleece. The feel of them is not to everybody’s taste but they work a treat.

 

[Lawce]

Bottle opener, cork screw, gaviscon, paracetamol, lighters, usb charger/splitter and yorkshire T bags, believe it or not it’s amazing how the small things make van life so much easier when you’ve got em. Been rescued a few times by good van neighbours at various meets around the Uk, enjoy

 

[Keepad]

Cool box with ice packs, poncho,spare bungees and towels, a bit of a random list but things that come in useful or I’ve forgot in the past.

 

[Keepad]

Ohh head torch, if any thing for that pee at night

 

[Angela]

I had my van back from the converters this time last year I purchased all sorts of things thinking I needed them but slowly I have relegated them to the garage in with the camping supplies.

But I did get a few extras - bear in mind I’m a female so my important things may be slightly different.

Tea towels and loads of them - when you think you have enough get more as these pack the things you have in your cupboards and stop them from rattling.

Suction storage units, you can never have enough storage plus you will find tiny areas you think mmmmmm I could use that space.

Levelling ramps I thought these were a waste of time as the bed has back to front adjustment but I put these under both wheels to level left to right. Use these 50% of campsite visits but I could just be unlucky picking sites.

Oh and if it’s your 1st newly converted van tons of cleaning cloths, I found myself cleaning it and sweeping it and polishing it daily for the first 6 months. I’m calming down slightly now I clean it every other day. Flash magic eraser is the only thing that gets rid of the fingerprints as I had mine done in a slightly glossy white finish. Doh!

 

[Sabre]

Stemless wine glasses are better than plastic ones. A small and a larger kettle. The small one for a quicker brew in the morning.
Some form of hand press coffee machine... Real coffee rather than the plastic stuff.
Micro fleece towels are a good call. Take practice, but dry quickly.
A Porta Loo! Really not good getting up for a burst at 5am when it's raining/0° outside...

 

[Stewby]

Oh and if it’s your 1st newly converted van tons of cleaning cloths, I found myself cleaning it and sweeping it and polishing it daily for the first 6 months. I’m calming down slightly now I clean it every other day. Flash magic eraser is the only thing that gets rid of the fingerprints as I had mine done in a slightly glossy white finish. Doh!

Very good to know as I was looking at gloss white for the cupboards. Might have a rethink now.

 

[Salty Spuds]

Actually we have three of them. One for the van and one each for Sue and I. We use them to dry off after swimming, showering etc. Then use a small micro fleece towel to finish off. That way we don’t have huge damp towels in the van which are hard to get dry just the microfleece. The feel of them is not to everybody’s taste but they work a treat.

Yup, we have the Lifeventure giant microfibre towels. They dry in minutes, pack down to the size of a small paperback & are very effective at drying you off. We also have a couple of microfibre cloths for drying the windows on winter mornings.

 

[Angela]

Very good to know as I was looking at gloss white for the cupboards. Might have a rethink now.

Don’t let me put you off the gloss white as even though I get a few fingerprints I wouldn’t swap it for anything else. I may be bias though as I chose it but it seems to make the inside seem bigger. I have added a photo but I can send you others in more detail if you like and no doubt other people will send pictures of theirs too.

 

[Davejo]

Porta loo is for us the most important! We have just a small 10 litre one essential for those middle of the night moments! Small electric fan heater, of course only works on a hook up. Cheaper than a built in diesel heater as you only use it occasionally to knock the chill off the van. Good blackout curtains. I’m sure you will find your own essentials and have great fun!

 

[Dieseldonkey]

Wet wipes!

Buy a value box of 12 packs from Aldi's. Always have a couple of packs in the van.

 

[Salty Spuds]

£20 electric blanket from Aldi, essential for winter camping assuming you have hookup.

 

[Martinf]

Coffee has been mentioned, but we wouldn’t be without our Nespresso machine on an inverter, with a packet of biscuits of course. And again like above we have a porta loo but have not used it to date; we much prefer the Uribag for no 1s.
To add something new, we love our clip together perforated matting to use on the ground outside the sliding door; just 4 cut down sections are quite sufficient for us.
So you’ll buy loads of stuff and then like @Angela some will remain at home whilst your own must haves will appear!

 

[Salty Spuds]

When we got our van, we spent a fortune on “stuff” that we thought we needed. We crammed it it into every nook & cranny. After a 6week trip to Croatia, we came home & had an audit. Anything that we hadn’t used got chucked in the garage. We’ve just done a similar exercise on our skiing trip, we took stuff that we didn’t use & needed stuff that we didn’t take. My advice would be to take minimal “stuff” & grow into the van. If you haven’t got it & can manage without it, do you need it?

 

[Kfant1]

Thank you everyone , you’ve given us some great idea we probably wouldn’t have thought of .

 

[RobGC]

Just purchased my newly converted T6 and working through the process to get hold of all the necessary kit - pots and pans, bedding, fire extinguisher, etc, etc. Is there a definitive list out there of the essentials and nice to haves?

Also, on bedding, we have an elevating roof with built in mattress. Is it possible to get a fitted mattress protector for it (ideally water resistant to cope with occasional kids' night-time accidents) and regular sheets? And same for a fairly standard rock and roll bed?

many thanks

 

[Chris Joyce]

Same question as above:
We are just about in the process of kitting our our camper with cooking accessories and general kit for weekends/weeks away.
We’ve have been looking at all sorts of stuff including the Ridgemonkey and collapsible kettles/bowls etc

what’s your favourite item you have in the van? And any recommendations for kit to have?