Top 20 Essential Camping
Accessories
Many Clients Who Are New to Campervan Life Ask Us What Essential Camping Accessories They Might Need for Their First Trip – So Here Goes!
So when we were deciding what we should stock in our brand new Sussex Campervans shop, we used our own campervan experiences – as well as ideas from our ever-growing family of owners of Sussex Campervans – to put together a wish list of practical items you may need or desire. We’d been asking campervan owners for their tips and tricks as part of the research for our new book, Camper Van Life – and it made us realise that all that shared experience is really valuable to newcomers. So here it is – our checklist of the top 20 essential camping accessories.
They had their compact Nissan Camper conversion built to order by Sussex Campervans and collected it in August 2015. Steve asked for no stag livery, but instead embellished the sleek Twilight Grey bodywork solely with his favourite creature – a lizard.
Why a lizard? “I like climbing with lizards – it means that I’m in a warm and dry place,” says Steve with a smile. He enjoys climbing, especially calling into Fontainebleau on the way home from the Alps, an area just outside of Paris used by many Alpine mountaineers for training. There were certainly lizards climbing alongside Steve as he tackled the famous boulders in the region.
Warm, dry weather is clearly a luxury for Steve. He recalls a more typical camping trip, which really made him appreciate the shelter of the campervan: “In North Wales I was climbing on Cader Idris, which was cold, wet and miserable. I was belayed on a ledge and watched a slug beat me up the rock!”
Top 20 Essential Camping Accessories
(Available from the Sussex Campervans shop)
- Whistling kettle or silicone folding kettle
- Collapsible Washing Up Bowl
- Folding saucepan and 3-Section Frying Pan
- Folding Toaster
- Cutlery set and cutlery tray
- Melamine tableware – plates, bowls and mugs
- Tea towels and cooking equipment
- Non-slip mat and folding storage boxes
- Side Step
- Folding camping chairs (we love the Kampa Tub chairs)
- Collapsible bucket
- Toilet chemicals – blue for the pan, pink for the flush, dissolving toilet roll pack
- Flexible filler tube (to fill water container from sites with less accessible taps)
- Satnav and road atlas
- Hook up cable
- Rechargeable lamp (we love the YourLite Bluetooth Speaker and Lantern)
- Levelling wheel chocks
- Steering lock / wheel clamps
- Dustpan, brush and cleaning wipes
- Duvalay (or other bedding)
Desirable Extras
- Travelpod Air Awning (driveaway awning) and rubber mallet
- Portable Gas BBQ and gas hose connector
- Sweep II lightweight broom
- Camper Van Life, by Daniel and Rebekah Lopez-Ferreiro, paperback book from the Sussex Campervans shop when you visit, or Kindle online
Personal Kit
Plus of course you’ll need your washbags, towels, shoes and clothes. Flip-flops are handy for campsite shower blocks, and lightweight quick-drying clothes that you can wash as you go are perfect for long tours in hot countries! Bobbie, who drives her VW Caledonia to southern Europe or beyond every winter, shares her top campervan packing tips in another blog.
I hope this gives you plenty of ideas to get you started. There are other items available in the shop to tempt you – when you visit Sussex Campervans – but these are our top 20 essential camping accessories.
