As a rule, of course, “less is more” applies here, because you only have a limited amount of storage space in your camper van, after all. But to help you make your road trip as pleasant as possible, here are our 7 “must-haves” for your next van life adventure.
1. Camping furniture
Because you don’t want to do without comfort completely on your outdoor adventure, we recommend you take a camping table and chairs. These should fold up, to save space. You can now also get camping chairs with an integrated drinks holder so that even on shorter stops you can just reach out for your cold drink or morning coffee and put it down again easily. Take a look at our range to find the right travel mug for you?
When buying your camping furniture, go for good quality and maximum stability so you can enjoy it for longer. After all, it’s your dining and living room when you’re on the road?
For even more comfort, we also recommend a hammock. They’re fabulously relaxing and they don’t take up much storage space.
2. Cookware and tableware
When it comes to tableware, you should make sure it’s light and unbreakable.
We recommend easy-care tableware made from bamboo or enamel. Enamel is also very heat-resistant, so you can put enamel pots straight onto the stove.
Make sure too that you have plenty of versatile tableware, so you can use, for example, your deep pasta plate to eat muesli from too. That means you don’t need to store as much tableware.
Your pots and pans should also be light and compact, above all. We recommend cookware made from stainless steel or aluminium. The advantage of stainless steel is that your meals won’t start to burn as easily.
A folding silicone sieve should also be part of your camping kitchen. It will be great for rinsing your vegetables and the sieve takes up hardly any storage space.
You’re a caffeine junkie and can’t start the morning without a coffee? Then we recommend a coffee maker that you can put straight onto your stove, or our coffee maker with integrated solid fuel stove so that you don’t have to go without your caffeine kick on your road trip ? The advantage of both of these options is that they’re environmentally friendly and you won’t cause any unnecessary waste.
You’ll also find all the camping cookware you need in our range!
3. Camping stove
You still want to eat well even if you’re on a road trip, but not every camper van has a built-in cooker unit. Or maybe you’d just like to cook outdoors now and again. In any case, a camping stove or grill is another essential to take with you.
Once again, you need to make sure that your stove or grill is light and compact.
Ideally, you should choose a stove whose separate parts can be packed inside each other, or a foldable bbq.
You’re sure to find what you need in our selection?
4. Lighting
The day is drawing to a close and gradually it’s getting dark. Now it’s a good idea to have a headlamp or head torch with you, because this will always throw its light where you need it and leave both hands free. That way, you can still do your outdoor washing up in the dark, or carry on reading your book outside the van on warm summer nights. In addition, a head torch is nice and small, and can easily be stored almost anywhere.
Solar lights or oil lamps provide the right light if you just want to sit together and chat on mild summer evenings. Both types of lamp are very popular, as they don’t need electricity which might be a bit scarce on your outdoor adventure?
Modern battery-powered lamps are also a great alternative. You can charge them up during the day using your solar energy system. Make sure that you use LEDs here, as they provide a particularly bright light and need very little electricity.
5. Practical Gadgets
The aim of van life is to get back to nature, but you might still find it difficult to do without your mobile phone or camera completely. Because you won’t always be able to find a power source on your road trip, you definitely need to have a mobile charger or a power bank with you. You can use it to charge your smartphone up in an instant. Then you can charge up the power bank using the cigarette lighter next time you start driving or use your solar energy system next time the sun comes out ?
Because you won’t want to take a fully equipped toolbox with you on your outdoor adventure, we recommend packing at least a multi-purpose tool. Then you’ll have, for example, pliers, a tin-opener, bottle-opener and screwdriver in one there.
If your van has a little more storage space, you can also take a smaller compact toolbox with you on your trip, of course.
Maybe you’re a “wild camper”, but still want to have a shower every day? Then we definitely recommend packing a solar shower. You can simply place it on the roof of the van during the day, or leave it in the sun and when you get back to the van in the evening, after a surfing session, for example, you can enjoy a warm shower straight away? Here’s another little tip, by the way: Make sure that your shampoo and shower gel are biodegradable, and you’ll be doing something good for the environment at the same time?
A solar shower can be folded up small and so you’ll find room for it even if space is tight!
6. Sleeping bag
For ideal sleeping conditions, we recommend going for a good-quality sleeping bag. It will keep you perfectly warm or make your nights pleasantly cool, depending on the time of year.
You can buy sleeping bags in different shapes and sizes, which means that you’ll always be able to find the right sleeping bag to suit the storage space available and the purpose you need it for.
7. “Tidiness is half the battle”
This might not be our favourite saying, but on camping trips in particular, you have to admit that it’s pretty true?
Because your camper van only has limited storage space and you don’t want to subside into complete chaos, we advise you to develop an effective system for keeping things tidy. Practical organisers/utensil holders and storage boxes can help here.
You should go for a system in which everything has its fixed place and you can still get hold of things quickly. Utensil holders that you can hang directly onto the backs of the driver and passenger seats are very practical. They have lots of space for smaller items and are easy to reach any time.
