Useful Items For Your Motorhome
Useful Items For Your Motorhome
We have been living in our motorhome pretty much full time for almost 4 years. We spend the Autumn/Winter exploring Europe and the rest of the time working as campsite wardens. Our motorhome was our first and neither of us had much previous camping experience so knowing what we would need was a bit of a minefield. There is so much to choose from and some things especially tables and chairs we have bought several different types before we have found the best ones for our needs.
Disclaimer: This document does contain Amazon affiliated links – for those who don’t know this means should you purchase anything via the links we will receive a tiny commission (usually pennies which goes towards the cost of running our blog www.2togsontour.co.uk and maybe a refreshment or two) but we guarantee the item will not cost you anymore than if you buy direct from Amazon. All the items in the list we have personally purchased and used and have therefore included some tips/comments on most of the items which we hope you find helpful.
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Bathroom
| Hair straighteners – 12V | Not as good as GHDs, but do a reasonable job | Rechargeable straighteners |
| Hair towel | Great for removing excess water especially when a hairdryer isn’t to hand | Hair towel wrap |
| Hairdryer folding 1200 w | I use with invertor on low heat setting | Travel hairdryer |
| Micro towels | Quick drying and easy to store | XL microfibre towel |
| Shower head | Good for reducing water usage – on/off button is a useful addition | Water saving shower head |
| Turkish towels | Quick drying also great as beach towel or wrap – various colours we have red and blue. | Turkish Towel |
| Toothbrush holders | Finding a place for our electric toothbrushes has driven us mad for over 3 years – they always get knocked off the small shelf and have to be put away each and every time we set off. These holders are a perfect solution | Electric Toothbrush Holders |
Bedroom
| Cup Holder | We have fixed single beds which convert to a kingsize bed we therefore don’t have any space for bedside shelves – these cup holders fit in the gap in the side of the mattress and are great for storing our phones, drinks | 3 in 1 cup holder |
| Folding Boxes | Great for storing clothes and items in overhead cupboards | Ikea folding boxes |
| Mattress Topper | 3” memory foam single topper – can be cut to shape | Mattress topper |
| Packing Cubes | Great for storing clothes – we each have our own colour for easy identification | Packing Cubes |
Kitchen
| Coffee Machine | Sometimes instant just won’t cut it. LOL You will need EHU or an inverter at least 1200 watts. | Nespresso Mini Coffee Maker |
| Collapsible washing up bowl | Good for easy storage | Collapsible washing up bowl |
| Digital spoon scale | Compact weighing scale | Digital Spoon Scale |
| Dinner Set | 16 piece melamine dinner set. We chose this make because they are lightweight, hardwearing and look a little less like a picnic set than some other brands.
I think when I come to replace my dinner set, I may go for this design, although our current set is still going strong after almost 4 years of daily use 😊 |
Dinner set – latte
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| Drying mat | Good for putting on worktop for extra drying space | Drying Mat |
| George Foreman Grill (small) | The grill in our van isn’t the best so we find this really handy for grilling meat and vegetables and also doing toasties. It will also run off our invertor. | George Foreman Grill |
| Hand Blender | Good for soups, sauces and smoothies – use with inverter | 350 w hand blender |
| 3 in 1 blender, chopper & whisk | Decided to upgrade from hand blender as often want to chop herbs etc, make breadcumbs and thought a whisk would be handy to safe the old arms 😉
3 In 1 600W hand blender ,chopper/food processor, electric whisk, immersion mixer – Includes 500ml Chopper Bowl + 700ml Beaker
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600 w hand blender |
| Ingeniou Saucepans | Removable handle for easy stacking. Can be used on hob and in oven so double up as cake tins and casseroles – various sets and sizes available | Ingeniou pan set |
| Oven shelf | Our motorhome oven only came with one shelf so we bought an extending extra shelf | Extending oven shelf |
| Plastic bowl | Great for baking | 4 litre plastic bowl |
| Plastic storage boxes | Use in fridge to contain items when travelling | |
| Rubber tray | Multi purpose – use in top drawer for extra work surface, cutting bread on to contain the crumbs, use as a draining area etc, etc | Anti-slip tray |
| Saucepan protectors | A great way to protect your pans, stop rattling whilst on the move – we also use them between plates. | Saucepan Protectors |
| Slow Cooker | Light weight stainless steel insert which can be used on stove to sear meat before slow cooking | 3.5l slow cooker |
| Spice Rack | Great for those must have spices | 3 tier spice rack |
| Storage rack | Good for making better use of cupboard space | Extendable cupboard rack |
| Washing Up Bowl with handles | Great for trips to the washing up sinks | Square bowl with handles |
Electrical
| Electrical hook up lead (EHU) | We carry a 25m and 10m and find this covers most eventualities | 25m 2.5 EHU lead
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| High efficiency 430W 12V Dual Battery MPPT solar charge controller/regulator for up to 50V solar input | A vital component in any solar system. | Dual Battery Solar Charge Controller |
| Laptop charger 12v | 12v laptop charger – compatible with most well known brands, but check Amazon listing for full info | 12v Laptop Charger |
| Polarity Checker | For testing the correct wiring of electrical hook up points. | Polarity Checker |
| Satellite – Auto dome | Really nice low profile auto seeks twin LNB sat system. | Maxview VU Qube Auto II Satellite System |
| Satellite roof mount | For above permanent roof fixing. | Maxview Cube Roof Mounting |
| TV – 12v | A great telly – USB/DVD/Freeview. Good picture. does what it says on the tin. | 12v 20″ TV |
| USB clip light | We bought a pair of these and have found them very handy to conserve power when not on hook up | USB Clip Light with Flexible Neck, Touch Sensitive Control |
| USB rechargeable strip lights | Perfect for adding lighting to cupboards. Attached by magnetic strip. | USB rechargeable motion sensor strip lights |
| USB sockets (12v) | Our motorhome only came with a one USB socket in the habitation area – that certainly was not enough for all our tech equipment, so we have added 4 extra sockets which makes life much easier. | 12 V USB sockets |
Security/Safety
| Bug zapper racket | You definitely won’t regret investing in one of these – a very effective way of dealing with all those annoying flying creatures that always seem to find there way into your van. Electronic Bug Zapper Racket for Mosquito, Wasp, Pest, Insect Control – Battery Powered Indoor and Outdoor Swat Bat |
Electronic bug zapper racket |
| Disc lock | Motorcycle disc lock. An extra security measure that we have added to lock the driver’s seat in its rear facing position thus making almost impossible to drive (will require you to drill a hole in you swivel seat plate) – any questions please feel free to ask. | Disc lock |
| Door locks (external) | We have added these to hab and garage doors for extra security | Fiamma Door locks (3 pack) |
| Fire Extinguisher | We currently have one of these however they do need replacing every 5 years.
When we come to replace our current extinguisher, we will consider getting one of these instead – less mess and do not have a lifespan |
Small Fire Extinguisher
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| First Aid Kit | Great compact kit | First Aid Kit -309 Pieces |
| Gripper mats | Can be cut to size to put in cupboards/shelves to stop things moving around when on the road. | Gripper mats |
| Knife | Multi use | Gerber Bear Grylls Pro Knife |
| Mosquito killer/light USB rechargeable | We have tried several different ways get rid of pesky mossies who always seem to manage to find their way into our van – this one has been more successful than the others and is USB rechargeable.
Electric Mosquito Killer Camping Lights, 2 In 1 Portable USB Rechargeable Fly Killer Bug Zapper Lights Tent Light |
Rechargeable bug zapper/light |
| Portable Jump Start Pack | Small, portable, and convenient as having jumps leads and no one to jump from can be an issue. | Guluman Portable Car Jump Starter 16800mAh 800A Peak Ampere All 12-Volt SUV Truck Car Battery Booster Jump starter |
| Rachet Straps | Used to strap front cab doors for increased security | Cam Buckle Straps |
| Roadside Emergency Kit | Everything you need in one kit. | 10 Piece European Travel Kit |
| Smoke Alarm
CO Detector |
First Alert Smoke Alarm | |
| Snow Chains | We debated whether we could justify the expense of these and in 3 years we have only had cause to use them once (thankfully) when we caught in an unexpected snow storm in France in April – they were easy to fit and worth every penny | Snow Chains |
| Torch – large | Quite heavy so could double up for protection if required | Heavy Torch |
| Tow Rope | Heavy-duty, 4 tonne AA Tow Rope is highly visible and 4 metres in length. It comes complete with carry bag for easy storage | Heavy Duty Tow Rope |
| Tyre Inflator | Compact and well built – in my opinion an invaluable piece of kit as lots of petrol station’s air supplies won’t go to some of the higher pressures required for motorhome tyres. | Ring RAC900 Heavy Duty Tyre Inflator Air Compressor |
| Vodafone tracker | At some point we may decide to get a full blown tracker, but in the mean time this is a great little GPS location tracker, that’s small enough to be tucked away in the motorhome. It allows you to track anything in real time from your smartphone even when you’re not nearby thanks to a built-in sim, for full functionality a V-Sim subscription is required at £2 per month | Vodafone tracker |
| Wheel Clamp | After much thought and research we decided that this make/model would be the best for our use, although not the heaviest of wheel clamps we wanted something that was highly visible, quick and easy to use so we wouldn’t be put off from using even for quick stops ie. Shopping. Lays flat for storage. | Milenco Wheel Clamp |
Outside/Interests
| Alexa | Alexa | |
| Bike Clamps | Great little quick release bracket to keep your bikes fixed down in your garage while travelling. | Bike Clamps |
| Cadac Carri Chef 2 – gas bbq | A larger size suitable for families | Cada Carri Chef 2 – large |
| Cadac Safari Chef – gas bbq | We have an older model – this size is compact and great for outdoor cooking for 1-2 persons | Cadac Safari Chef – small |
| Chair – folding | We also have a couple of basic folding picnic chairs which are ideal for guests or using on the beach | Folding camping chair |
| Chairs – Kampa Comfort | With hundreds of different of styles it’s difficult to choose the best one for your needs. We have tried several ourselves. Mrs B loves her gravity chair but they can be quite heavy and are good for sitting at a table. | Kampa Comfort chair |
| Clothes airer | 4 Arm Aluminium Rotary Camping Clothes Airer 16m Washing Line Drying Rack | Clothes Airer |
| Colouring Book – My Heart is Like A Singing Bird | It’s great to have a selection of things to amuse yourself on wet days. There’s hundreds of different themes and designs to choose from – this once is based around inspirational quotes – great to lift spirits on a wet day. | My Heart is Like A Singing Bird |
| European Map | We mainly rely on tech to plan our routes – but sometimes it’s easier to get a better overview of a route using a good old fashioned paper map. Although this map is quite large we find it stores nicely under one of our seat cushions. | 2021 Philip’s Big Road Atlas Europe: (A3 Spiral binding) |
| Footrest (Kampa) | We use our Kampa reclining chairs the most and have purchased footrest which clip on for extra comfort when chilling. | Kampa footrest |
| Ground Pegs – drill in | 30 x Drill in heavy duty tent/awning pegs – suitable for grass, rock or hard ground (with free drill adapter – much easier than the hammer in ones 😊 | Drill in tent pegs |
| Inflatable Kayak | We have previously had moulded kayaks and loved them however we realised that from our weight and storage point of view they would not be suitable to take with us on our adventures. So we put them up for sale and look for a suitable replacement. As with everything there is a wide choice of inflatable kayaks available, ranging from under £100 to north of £1,000 and beyond. After a bit of research we decided to go for a 3 man vessel giving us more leg room and to something that felt sturdy and durable – the last think we wanted to do was to get a puncture whilst out on the river or in the middle of the lake. The Sevylor weighs just under 18kg and comes in a carry case making it more portable. We have had great fun using our kayak on several rivers and lakes on our travels including Lake Annecy which was an amazing experience and comes highly recommended! | Sevylor Hudson 3 Person Kayak |
| Kindle | I have had my Kindle for several years and would not be without it. They are the perfect solution to have your own personal library at your finger tips whilst travelling. | Kindle Paperwhite |
| Levelling ramps | Mr B can’t sleep unless our van is as level as possible – we aren’t fortunate to have an automatic level system so these are the next best thing.
I think when the time comes to replace them we will look at getting the 4 step version |
Milenco Triple Motorhome Levelling Ramp Set
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| LPG adaptors | A must have accessory if you intend to travel abroad and have a refillable gas system | LPG adaptors |
| Paint pens – acrylic | Another easily portable hobby I enjoy is rock painting. When it comes to pain pens there’s hundreds of different makes and colours to choose from. I have found this set good value especially as the tips are double ended with two difference thicknesses. | Premium Acrylic Paint Pens |
| Sock/ small clothes airer | Small clothes airer – or as we call it the underwear chandelier. Great for drying small items on – we hang it in our shower or on wing mirror when not on a site. JVL Folding Sock Dryer Complete with 20-Piece Clothes Pegs |
Folding small airer |
| Step | Annoyingly our Adria does not come with an electric doorstep and as far as I am aware it is not possible to retrofit one. There’s whole range of makes and models available but we have found this one to be sturdy yet not too heavy. It’s been going strong for almost 3 years – we left our first one a coffee stop in the Alps on our first trip! | Fiamma Heavy Duty Motorhome Camping Step |
| Sun umbrella | Great for taking to the beach, on a picnic or outside your van if you don’t want to use wind out awning. | SONGMICS 160 cm Parasol, Beach Umbrella, UV50+, |
| Table – folding | Like chairs we have had several different tables over the last few years. We have found that we have ended up using this one the most. It is lightweight, height adjustable and has a hole for a sun umbrella should you have one. | 4FT 1.2M Folding Camping Table |
| Wifi Booster | A great piece of kit to help you to connect to any Wi-Fi in your area. It will help with just out of range campsite Wi-Fi and allow you to connect multiple devices – meaning you would need to only pay for one campsite Wi-Fi pass if its not offered for free. | Solwise wifi router/booster |
| Yoga mats | I could lie and claim that we spend hours using our mats for yoga and meditation sadly that’s not the case, but we do find these mats great for taking on the beach or a picnic. | Yoga Mat |
Cleaning/Maintenance
| Citric Acid | A natural de-scaler – we use it a couple times a year to de-scale the boiler. | Citric Acid |
| Dyson handheld hoover | Not cheap, but having tried two others previously ,including a VAX, we have found this one much better. | Dyson Handheld Hoover |
| Extending washing brush | Great for cleaning your pride and joy | Extending washing brush |
| Fenwicks scratch remover | Great for buffing out small scratches in plastic windows. | Fenwicks Windowize Scratch Remover |
| Fenwicks waste tank /drain cleaner | This helps to remove/eliminate the build up of bad odours in the waste tank. | Fenwicks waste tank/ drain cleaner |
| Puri Clean | For cleaning and sterilising the hot and cold freshwater system. We usually do this a couple of times a year or sooner if tank has been filled with non-potable water. | Puri Clean |
| Toilet tablets | We find these more convenient than liquid especially when on the road. One of the best we have found so far. | Walex Camper Porta Pak® Fresh Scent
Walex Green Camper Bio-Pak Fresh Natural Enzyme toilet additive |
| Water hose connector cap | Makes life easier when filling up your fresh water tank – removes the necessity to dangle a potentially dirty hose into your tank. | Fresh water hose connector cap |
| Window Clips | Replacement window clips for Horrex Blinds | Horrex blind clips |
| Windscreen wiper stands | Ideal for stopping the wipers sticking to the screen when stationary for long periods thus preventing the build up of dust and dirt on the blades that can cause scratches on initial start up. | Windscreen wiper stands |
Upgrades/improvements
| Bed slats | Our motorhome has been in almost constant use for over 3 years -recently we noticed we were waking with stiff backs so were considering replacing our mattresses. However, on inspection we noticed that some of our bed slats had lost their curve. We therefore thought we would replace them – there is a marked difference – no more stiff backs and are currently still using original mattresses. There are various widths available and they can be pre-cut to required length. We choose to replace with slightly wider than original slats. | Replacement bed slats Slat holders |
| Dashboard white dials | Fiat Ducato 2015 onwards (Automatic UK Model Only) White Dials. – We struggled to see the standard black dials (speedo, rev counter etc) – these are a huge improvement | White Speedo Dials |
| Double fridge fan | In our opinion a must fit for all 3 way fridges, especially if you use your motorhome in temperatures in excess of 25c. | Double fridge fan
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| Gas bottle filling level indicator | Gas bottle filling level indicator for propane gas bottles 5,11,33 kg – great to working out when you next need to fill up | Gas bottle filling level indicator |
| LED Headlight Bulbs | LED headlight bulb – MOT safe. These bulbs have been checked by an MOT inspector using their beam pattern checked and exactly replicate the original halogen bulbs. | Dipped beam bulbs
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| Stabiliser legs | If your budget doesn’t stretch to a hydraulic self-levelling system – these may help. They are easily fitted to the rear chassis of your motorhome and will almost eliminate any unintentional “rock n roll” at the back of the van 😉 | Wind down stabiliser legs |
| Shower plug/waste Reich Right Angled Sink Waste 39 mm – |
Unfortunately, both of our plugs/waste in our shower tray disintegrated (Adria) – they were also quite small so sourced a slightly large replacement | Shower plug/waste |
| Thetford Toilet Extractor Fan | Thetford’s version of the SOG system helps to keep the living are smelling fresh and aids with breakdown process. | Thetford Toilet Extractor Fan |