New camper van - what do I need?

[cosmosforall]

DP and I have finally got ourselves a camper van. So exited!!!!!

What do I need to kit it out?

Any recommended websites for storage ideas and retail opportunities?

What sort of storage do you have? We have kitchen cupboards for cooking, making tea etc.

Then storage for games and puzzles, first aid kit, torches and blankets. We also carry stuff for BBQ'ing, gazebo, chairs, lanterns. Somewhere to stow laptops, music speaker. Cleaning supplies, spare loo roll and food.

Enjoy your first trip, it's so exciting and you'll learn as you go what you need bottle opener and what you can do without.

RIDGE MONKEY XL size you will not regret it 🙂🙂🙂
Watch "a bus and beyond" you tube channel 🙂🙂🙂

Levelling ramps
Electric hook up cable
Gas cylinder
Drinking water container (can also be used to fill water tank)
Collapsible bucket for grey water
Portapotti & chemicals
Thermal windscreen cover
Awning
Mattress topper & bedding
Cooking equipment (kettle, pan)
Eating equipment (we have bamboo 'crockery')
Camping furniture (folding chairs & table)
Solar string lights
Small bin

It can be difficult to know when to stop.

Thank you everyone. Have just gone through the camping box to extract stuff.
And now to Make an Amazon list!

@Faircastle how do you store the mattress topper and where did you get it from?

Do you just buy A bed one and cut it down?

Oooh, this is my dream in the next few years.

Congratulations!!
Which campervan did you buy?

@FavouriteMug yes cupboards. But if I just throws things in, will they rattle around.

Also need clever clothes storage ideas as we have narrow cupboards and at the bed end as my and my partner are rather wide!

I dont have a camper van but have seen the following ideas in the past.

With clothing, bedding and towels get some vacuum bags and pump it will save you loads of space but when putting in the vacuum packed item label that can still clearly be seen what in the bag as is not easy to tell.
Good quality plastic plates / bowls ect ., they won't smashing to millions of bits if I accidentally do fall out of the cupboard also lighting your total payload

Retractable washing line

Don't be tempted to buy travel size things like washing up liquid shampoo they work out really expensive go to somewhere Boots/ Superdrugs / Amazon and get refillable small bottles for a couple of pound and then fill them is whatever you would normally use at home.

Roll clothes / use stuff sack

Buy minimal until you know what you really need

Do you have a leisure battery / solar panel - then you don't need hook up if you are going out in summer

These are some of the things weve found most useful
Collapsible washing up bowl with handle.
Collapsible saucepans and kettle
Aeropress
Cadac
George foreman grill
12v Toaster
Storage boxes for wellies, coats
Hamman towels
and essential :- electric folding bikes - we bought MiRider ones snd they fold into bags in the back

For rattles.. I bought some Foam cup holders and cut them to size for cupboards, ypu put all sorts of stuff jars etc in/ around them .. spare foam goes around the plates etc .. I recycle bubblewrap ( any we get) to wrap around things in cupboards when travelling ..

You say camper so I assume elevating food type rather than a coach built Motorcaravan? The reason I ask is because in a Motorcaravan you (usually) have more storage space, possibly a fixed bed, larger kitchen & bathroom areas etc.

The main thing about storage (and weight) is that you should only carry what you need.
Our Motorcaravan is a decent size so storage space isn't an issue but to make sure we make the most of it and to stop the smaller items spreading themselves around is to get storage boxes that fit the spaces.
We put clothes and other lightweight items in the high level storage lockers to keep the COG as low as poss.
Chairs, table, levelling blocks, water container, boots and all "external" equipment etc are all accessed through the external lockers as you don't want to be carrying them through the 'van.

Do you intend having or do have an awning and if so what type (wind out , attached or freestanding)?
Any type of awning is a godsend for increasing usable space but consider if you will be using the 'van when stopping over and how much packing up you are willing to do.

What about power, do you have hook-up, multiple batteries, solar panel etc?
Regardless you want to make sure everything is as energy efficient as poss (i.e. Led lights etc)
Will you be using a TV /radio / DVD player (wouldn't be without ours)? If so, don't forget the ariel lead for plugging in at sites. Also have something to wipe down the hook-up lead when packing it away as they can often be wet & mucky.

Do you have built-in fresh & waste water tanks and if so, are you willing to move the 'van when they need filling / emptying or do you want to leave the 'van in situ?
Of you are willing to move the 'van then no probs (wouldn't work for me though) but I carry a 20L water container that lets me top up the fresh water and a rollalong waste container that allows me to drain the waste a bit at a time.
If away from disposal facilities for some time you may want to consider a second toilet cassette.

The main thing is to get away for as many short stops as you can manage before you use the 'van in anger (several 1-night trips are ideal), if you are missing something you want it to be on a short trip and not a 2-week holiday.
Find out what works for YOU and what items you wished you had packed and see what you thought you may need but then didn't.
The main thing is........ Enjoy it!!!!

Have you joined any clubs (Caravan & Motorhome, Camping etc)? They can give excellent support and access to some lovely sites.

Don't know the size of your 'van but is it covered by your roadside assistance company (over 3.5T, 7M etc are usually excluded from normal car policies)?

What are retail opportunities?

At the beginning that should have read elevating roof, not food!!!!!!! 😬

What kind of van?
Best quality mattress topper you can afford.
If it's a VW T6 type like we have then measure the 'boot' space and find three plastic lidded boxes which will fit EXACTLY to maximise storage. Use at least one for cooking stuff.
Do you have a fridge? If so cook and freeze the first couple of nights' food and let slowly defrost in fridge - bingo! no cooking for first two nights.
Think about your camping 'wardrobe'. Ditch bulky jeans and jumpers in favour of packable and quick dry-able outdoor trousers and fleeces etc. It's all about maximising space.
Unless you mean you have a motorhome which is huge!

We have a (very expensive) Duvalay mattress topper which comes with a fitted sheet cover but I've also heard good things about Panda ones.

We roll it up towards the back of the van with the duvet inside, clip a cargo net over the bedroll to hold it in place, and then when we move the bed into seat position it fits on top of / behind the back seats. The whole procedure takes less than two minutes.

Non slip matting on a roll to line the cupboards to stop rattles and breakages

Campsite uk is really good and you can read review on the campsites

If you're going to france get the book of Aires and for Germany the book of stellplatz - these are the motorhome stopovers

Ps the matting is from ikea. I put lots of tea towels around crockery to stop noise and breakages too.

Packing cubes are handy fot clothes, colour code them for different family members. If it doesn't fit in the cubes, it doesn't come.

Insect repellant, citronella burners
A mini first aid kit
Something for sprains - I sprained both ankles in france and trying to find the French words for stretch bandages etc when you're in pain isn't easy.

°Mattress topper from dunelm, comes in a zipped bag, put it back in the bag after use.
°Camping chairs, we use the seat belts on the rear seats to strap them down.
°Portable toilet, we have a bucket with a lid and a toilet seat £25 Go Outdoors, wee's only!
°clothes folded in a big shopping bag, when parked up we leave it in the front seat.
°walking boots in the footwell when parked up.
°coats we hang up using S shaped hooks.
°storage hangers with pockets attached to the back of seats for items you need to keep handy, torch, lighter, wet wipes, make up (I need it, don't judge), deodorant, mirror etc.
°All cutlery, cooking utensils, pans, tea, coffee etc are stored in a plastic box with lid, kept in the house then packed in the van when needed so we don't forget anything, still in the box, the box can be kept under the awning and used for storing throw away bbqs.
°we strap everything down in the van when travelling then sort it on arrival, takes us about 30 minutes.
°invest in a solar panel so you don't need electric hook up.
°invest in a really long electric hook up cable
°invest in a diesel heater
°before you have your first trip make sure you know exactly what every button and switch is for, really work out how everything works, you don't want to rock up somewhere and not know what you're doing.
°outdoor rug is handy
°old fashioned windbreakers are really useful
°if you have gas rings in the van don't use them for anything other than boiling water, cooking pasta, heating milk. Frying is a nightmare in a van, fat splatters and the smell 🙄
°cook outside, disposable bbqs, gas rings etc
°download movies onto a tablet, we have a TV but if we're off grid we don't have a signal, it's lovely getting into bed with a brew and watching a movie.
° bin bags, have a separate one for used loo roll, take all rubbish with you when you leave and don't leave rubbish bags outside overnight as it attracts wildlife, double bag it and keep in the van.

You'll get there op, it's fab and at first it's all trial and error but that's part of the fun.
Join groups on fb like Dubbed out community, motor home stopovers, pub stop overs you'll get plenty of tips.
Happy campervanning 😁

Dubbed our community is great but dangerous for your wallet. I've ended up finding out about so many must-have purchases for the van that I didn't know I needed. 😂

That's so funny, me too plus spent quite a few quid on stuff for my Dub Dog too😂

me too. Although the half price dry robe everyone bought after the code was shared on there earlier this year was a bargain buy!

If you've got a rock and roll bed, get a topper if you don't want sore hips. We haven't got a Panda or Duvalay, just a small double from Amazon which does the job just as well.

We have a drive away awning which is great for extra storage. I upgraded it this year with a carpet so it's nice and cosy now.

A foldable fire pit is good to have. Ours was less than £15 from Amazon.

Packing cubes save space and can be shoved under the bed.

Hooks that go on the back of the seat for coats, jumpers etc.

Ooh I saw knock off dry robes in primark on Saturday £14 & they were selling wetsuits but I didn't look at the price of those

A remoska for cooking in the awning and first time out I wrote down what we had taken, and whilst we were away we realised we’d forgotten things so we added them to the list. Now the list is laminated so I just tick of when things are in the van. We found the packets of salt pepper and sauce useful too.