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Essential Campervan accessories
What do you need once you have your van?
Essential Campervan accessories: Welcome
Cab Thermal Blinds. Not only are cab blinds needed for privacy on an evening, but they are absolutely essential for keeping the van warm in winter and cool in the summer. We are currently on our second set of Rainbow external blinds after over 400 nights away. External blinds fit outside the cab, fully encasing the 3 window and are secured by the doors and wing mirror attachment. They certainly insulate and are 100% blackout, which is also of benefit in the light summer months. The only issue with external blinds are that when they are wet, they have to be stored somewhere in the van and they are also susceptible to storm force winds and can blow partially off. After a few sleepless windy nights in northern Scotland, we purchased a cheap set of internal blinds for when the wind gets up and we don’t want to risk the exterior blinds. These attach to the inside of the windows by suction cups and are a thin reflective material. They sort of work, but struggle to get a full blackout and the van is noticeably colder in a morning when we use the.
Essential Campervan accessories: Text
Essential Campervan accessories: Image
Bike carrier. A pricy option, but definitely one to consider if you use bikes. We also think that it makes the van look more like a Campervan than a plain works van! The genuine VW carrier is by far the best in terms of construction and looks, but is also the most expensive. The bike rack carries up to 4 full size bikes, benefitting from locking mechanisms for each individual bike. Be warned however, as you will also need to purchase and fit more robust gas struts to the tailgate to cope with the extra weight. We sourced all of this ourselves as the quote from the VW dealership garage was daylight robbery. Check YouTube for how to fit the gas struts in 5 minutes.
Essential Campervan accessories: Text
Essential Campervan accessories: Image
Cooking gear. We purchased a set of Tefal stacking nonstick pans and they are still going strong after 400+ nights- they are better than some of the pans we use at home. We bought a cheap stove top, whistling kettle that is a little battered and bruised, but still makes a cracking brew. Apart from that, we made sure that we had a chefs knife, small chopping board, collapsible colander, and anything else you would use in a normal domestic kitchen.
Coffee making. For us, this remains the holy grail of vanlife and to be honest is a constant compromise against our coffee options at home. We just cannot find a way to brew our favourite, strong black coffee with a rich crema when in the van. When in the UK, we tend to rely on ground coffee in a cafetière to give us our fresh brew morning hit. When on the road in Europe, where the coffee grind is much finer, we use a stove top coffee maker, which does produce a ridiculous strong espresso brew that knocks your socks off. I guess for some people this may not be an issue and in reality we just need to accept that it is a small compromise for life on the road.
Lights. One of the easiest way to preserve leisure battery life in a Campervan is to have a good range of battery mood lighting. This can be LED strips, fairy lights or anything else out of the Christmas lighting basket! Not only does it save power, it softens the light in the Campervan and makes it super cosy on a dark winters night.
Essential Campervan accessories: Text
Essential Campervan accessories: Image
Non-slip liners for cupboards. A cheap and often neglected upgrade is nonslip silicone matting for the inside of cupboards and drawers. This is such a cheap upgrade that can be bought on a roll and cut to size. It makes a huge difference to the rattles and bangs when driving. The last thing you want to hear when you have to break heavily is all your crockery shunting to the front of a cupboard.
Smoke/CO detectors. The fear of cooking on gas in a glorified confined tin box should be more than enough to convince anyone to get a smoke and carbon monoxide alarm in their van. These cost about £10. Enough said.
Fire Extinguisher. We bought a small fire extinguisher that we have mounted just inside the side door of our van, and also have a fire blanket close to hand when we are cooking. Better to be safe than sorry.
Essential Campervan accessories: Text
BBQ. Jackie was born in South Africa, and so as a family we love our Braii’s. For the sake of ease, flexibility and storage space, we have a Cadac Safari Chef 2 gas BBQ system that weather permitting, we use all the time. It allows us to hook into our onboard LPG tank and be cooking within minutes of parking up. In addition to the BBQ and hotplate options, it also doubles as an outdoor hob and has a pizza stone that provides an oven type option in a Campervan!
Essential Campervan accessories: Text
Essential Campervan accessories: Image
Camp fire. One of the best things about a Campervan is the opportunity to sit around a campfire at the end of the day as the sun is setting. It is sooooo irresponsible to set campfires on the ground as it causes irreparable damage to our wild camping spots. Leave no trace! The most compact solution we have come across is a cheap, foldaway campfire that suspends the fire on a gauze grid above the floor. It burns incredibly hot, leaving very little as to clear up and cools quickly so is ideal to take to the beach at sunset.
Essential Campervan accessories: Text
Essential Campervan accessories: Image
Duvalay. We always sleep on the rock and roll downstairs bed in our van. One of the top tips that we received from day 1 of ownership was to invest in a memory foam mattress topper for the bed. We decided to go for the very best in a custom sized Duvalay topper. This upgrade makes the bed so comfy, keeps us super warm at night and allows us to roll up our entire bed set up to be stored behind the R&R bed when travelling. We find that we sleep better in our van than at home and this is probably due to this one upgrade.
Bedding. We want the comfort of home so have never considered sleeping bags as an option. We have a range of different duvets that we use throughout the year. In the depths of winter in -5 temperatures, we have never needed more than a winter weight duvet and a blanket. Similarly, we don’t scrimp on pillows- our van is a temporary home so why compromise on comfort.
Essential Campervan accessories: Text
Essential Campervan accessories: Image
Cab carpets. The base transporter van is very industrially styled and does not come with cab carpets. There are many companies out there that produce fitted cab carpets for a range of different cab configurations. They are a great option to soften the feel of the cab and to keep the van clean. We have never used carpets in the back of the van, as they would just get too dirty. We admire people who can keep them clean- we are just not that sort of couple that can do that!
Essential Campervan accessories: Text
Duct board. We pinched this idea from a very organised Swiss campsite that we visited who used duct boards to help keep mud and dirt out of vans and tents during a wet summer season. I don’t know where you can buy these from, but we were lucky enough to be gifted one that my carpenter father made years ago. In winter, it goes with us all the time.
Table and chairs. In the warmer months, we try to spend as much time outside as possible. We have used possible every design of camping chair imaginable and have managed to destroy them all within a season, with one notable (and expensive) option- the Helinox Chair 2, which we absolutely love.
Essential Campervan accessories: Text
EHU cable and socket converters. If you want to use your EHU, you need an extension cable to get the power from the socket to the van. The advice that we received was go for a 25m cable as it will cover most possibilities. If you are planning on camping in Europe, you will probably need the 25m capacity on a few occasions, but rarely have we needed more than 10m. In addition, it is useful to have a UK socket converter so that you can hook up at home to look after your batteries. In addition, if you are planning on going into Europe, you may want to invest in a legacy socket converter that some of the European campsites still run with.
Water tanks. As we have an underslung water tank, we need a reliable way of refilling the tank with fresh water. I never really trusted the advice to carry a hose and a range of tap adapters to do this and just went for the simple solution- a 10L collapsable jerry can and a mechanics funnel. It works every time and it has never let us down.
LPG filling valve adapters. It will come as no surprise that LPG is refilled in different ways around Europe. If you are going away, make sure you have the correct adapters with you.
Storage Boxes. Simple storage boxes with lids that fit in your cupboards and on your shelves really make storage in the van so much easier. In small places, a sense of order to where things live are essential for an easier life on the road.
Picnic blanket. A simple blanket, with a water resistant base comes in so handy for days out, general life on campsites and for the obvious trips to the beach.
Essential Campervan accessories: Text
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