campervan must haves?

[MrsSimonNeil]

We've almost finished our camper conversion and starting to think about going away in it. What things to you keep in you van so it's ready to go at short notice?

Food basics (soups, rice, pasta, cook in sauces, peanut butter etc)
Tea bags and coffee
Wash kits & Towels
Tea Towels, Dish cloths, washing up liquid, bin liners, cooking oil
Bed is left made up - we wash duvet covers and put back on asap
Plastic box(es) with EHU cables, hoses etc - stored under van when we arrive
Milenco levelling ramps
Gas and Electric kettles
Small BBQ, gas stove, camping kitchen, camping chairs (all store under our bed)
All cutlery, utensils etc live in drawes
All pans live in oven (we have Tefal Ingenio pans so all nest together)
Toilet chemicals, loo rolls, anti-bac gel, liquid soap, kitchen roll

Basically, we replace what has run out after each trip and pack fridge food & clothes the night before we go.

Just unpacked the van from a glorious festival weekend :)

We got a cheapo set of cutlery and crockery from ikea to keep in the van, with canned and dry goods. Stuff like torch, candles, matches, bottle opener, tin foil, loo roll, zip lock bags (always useful for something!), glow sticks (if there's kids involved), frisbee, pack of cards.... I could go on!!

Milliways were you at Bearded Theory by any chance??

Brilliant, thanks for that detailed list Milliways. I hadn't thought about foil, bin liners, zip lock bags etc. Glow sticks are a fab idea for the kids too.

I'm excited now, can't wait to get going

What's your van Mrs? We have a mbw high roof transit type van. DH did most of the hard work, I did the upholstery and curtains. I love it so much.

We have our first big trip away this summer - delayed from last summer due to DH needing urgent surgery, and the summer before that due to me having bronchitis. It's been a long time coming.

It's a VW T5. We've had a pop top roof put in but we've done most of the work ourselves, it definitely feels like it's been a long time coming and it's not finished yet! We're sleeping in it this weekend at a festival but we haven't got the back seats or kitchen in yet. I can't wait to get away for a week in the summer, I'm itching to book something but I want to make sure it's done first

Hope you enjoy your first trip Ann

No TheresOnly, we were at Big Church Day Out (which is a lot more fun that it sounds to the initiated).

OP, we swear by the large clear plastic boxes packed with essentials that are the right height to fit under your van when you park. They double up as water carriers if we get desperate too.

Thanks Mrs. Have fun at the festival.

Milliways, probably a daft question, but what do you store in your boxes under the van?

Depends on where and how long we are away for really. Nothing too nickable but things you don't need inside all the time.
Water hoses and tap connectors (we have a whale water filler option).
EHU cables (different lengths) and connectors/adaptors
Gaffer tape and various "man drawer" stuff. Mallet for windbreak or awning.
Small charcoal for our lotus grill
Sometimes wellies/flip-flops
Spare loo roll/kitchen roll/toilet tablets
Etc - :)

We were at Bearded Theory TheresOnly. Our first festival with 2 DCs. We were camping and it was ok after the first night when we were kept awake by noisy neighbour (grrr).

I think a campervan would be much easier, especially for festivals - no lugging everything to a pitch, repeated trips, trying not to lose the kids while you put the tent up, more soundproof... am I deluding myself and it's just as much hassle? We've started browsing vans on ebay....

We bought a pop up tent for overnight stops on a two week holiday in France, we had a nice 5 berth tent for long stays. It took one of us about 30 mins to erect the tent and set the sims and bedding up while the other amused 4 year old DS who'd been cooped up in the car for five hours.

At one stop we watched a couple park their T5 opposite us, open the side door and unload two chairs, a table, a bottle of rose and two glasses. That was them pitched.

We decided there and then to build our van. The only potential drawback is having to pack up to drive anywhere, but we have bikes and a drive away awning so hopefully not too big a drawback.

That is the exact reason we wanted our van Ann, and how in my head it is going to be we just got back from our first stay in the incomplete van. We were really comfy it felt much easier even though we needed to still take a lot of the camping equipment with us. The only down side was 6yo dd didn't like sleeping in the roof, hopefully she'll get used to it though

Would you recommend your drive away awning? That's the next thing on our list to buy

Our first trip was a few days in the West Country. Our van wasn't finished but it was still the best thing I've ever camped in. It felt so warm, secure and comfortable. We also spent Christmas night in it at the seaside two years ago. With the fan heater and a little Christmas tree it was very cosy and festive.

I don't know about the awning yet I'm afraid. We bought it for our holiday-that-didn't-happen last year so haven't used it yet. I do know it's huge though. Even packed up - it takes up quite a large space in the 'boot' of the van.

Driveaway awnings seem to go for quite a lot on ebay but I was lucky and found the one I wanted on Preloved. It was an ex-demo model that the owner never used so almost as good as new and he only wanted £30 for it. DH felt quite guilty handing over so little when he picked it up. It's this kind of thing. The front panel zips off so you can have it completely open during the day. We plan to do all our living, cooking and dining in it on long stays so we can leave the bed up all the time.