Camping Equipment List

[jonesey]

Hi all,

As a complete beginner to Cali's and motorhome camping I've got a few ideas about what camping bits I need to buy to equip our Cali but would love any suggestions and ideas that we could maybe turn into a sticky beginners list (like the do's and don'ts). Unless it's been done before that is but I can't find a thread.

So I've got ideas like:

Mains lead
Long water hose
Mobile mains kit?
Camping Pots and pans
Camping toaster
Kettle
Cutlery
Rug or carpet for floor
Storage boxes
Portable loo
Converters (plug/mains converters?)
Mattress toppers
Mattress bag
Carbon monoxide detector

etc!

Cheers
Chris

 

[calikev]

Hi Chris. What's a mobile mains kit :?:

 

[Silverfox]

Hi Chris

One of my best buys, Remoska cooker from Lakeland
Raskel duvet
Emergency kit if traveling in France etc
Storage boxies
Fire extinguisher
Side screens for your awning
Torch

And the list goes on and on and on

Kevin

 

[jonesey]

Cheers, good suggestions!

Calikev - a mains kit is just a mains hook up cable that terminates with uk 3 pin plugs and not into the van. Saw it on gooutdoors.com

 

[calikev]

Cheers, good suggestions!

Calikev - a mains kit is just a mains hook up cable that terminates with uk 3 pin plugs and not into the van. Saw it on gooutdoors.com

Got you

 

[Gaila]

carbon monoxide detector - is this important? I heard that the gas bottle was safe and there are 2 switches to turn it off. As for the van heater, does the window have to be open a little if the roof top is closed?
I haven't started my camping list yet, is there anywhere where you can get fitted sheets for the mattress for both below and above?

 

[jeff]

if sleeping with the roof down i would always open a front window a touch. slept in it all closed up and in the morning there was not enough oxegyn to light a match.

 

[HistoryBob]

Help with water hose please.
How long?
Which fitting for the tap end?
Which fitting for the Cali end?
What are the normal taps on sites like?
Do the taps on the continent vary from the ones in the UK?

So many questions, so much to learn

Have Fun

Bob

 

[jeff]

i just use the brandup 10l water carrier hangs on awning rail easier to use than a hosepipe as some site taps are not hose pipe friendly.

 

[KernowLad]

I use a 2m hose off cut with an old Hozelok connector just in case. So far, so good!

Also roof cover
Levelling chocks
Euro adaptor plug
Hook up cable
Pop up tent to stash stuff if needed.
Basic interior thermometer

 

[burko73]

If you use a home lock connector and length of hose also take the tap connectors as well. Hose lock do a pair of adapters that screw onto your outside tap at home there's a white one which screws into anorangeone. The connector just slots onto this once you've screwed it onto the tap at the campsite. This covers 99% of eventualities.

 

[NickJones]

We've been using our Cali for about a year now, coming to it as complete campervan / caravan newbies. We have 2 boys (now 3 & 6) and looking back on the stuff we bought that we use the most:

• 
  Pots & pans - found some rubber pop-up ones that are great and save a lot of space.
  Inner lining for the pop up roof keeps it a lot warmer and (more importantly) darker in the mornings for the kids.
  Portable toilet - invaluable. We had a glorified bucket with a seat but moved up to a proper chemical one. Well worth the extra cost.
  Toaster - don't have one and haven't yet missed it.
  Kettle - found a good poup one that's a great space saver.
  Levelling blocks - a later purchase after having learned the hard way what effect even a small slope can have. Rate these as critical!
  Electrical hookup - discovered that we rarely use this.
  Cheap disposable door mat - to keep just outside the van to try to minimise muddy wellies and shoes coming inside.
  Mattress topper - a definite must.

Stuff we realise we ought to buy for this year:

• 
  A wind breaker - when cooking outside the wind chill this Easter was biting.
  A decent coffee maker.

Hope this gives some help.

 

[jonesey]

Thanks Nick, and all who have contributed.
I'm collating it all into a list in a google doc - will publish the link when v1 is done.
Keep any more ideas coming, every post has helped me so far.

 

[sidepod]

Bottle opener and Martini glasses over and above all else.



S.

 

[Californiaman]

One of my favourite space savers are 'travel' style towels. We've got 3 different sizes from Lifeventure. Brilliant, folds really small, dries really, really quickly.

Frisbees, kite.

 

[Bjohnson]

Clothes line and pegs!

We usually hang towels under the awning, but the clothes line (long piece of string and some Of those tiny carabiners) also gets threaded between either the driver and passenger handles (above the doors) or between the plastic eyes in the pop top if the weather is bad and we need to dry towels and tea towels inside.

 

[nezzler]

Kitchen drawer liner - ikea sells it on a roll for a few pounds - cut to size for all cupboards and main drawer under seat. Stops all rattles, especially if cut & scored to go up the sides by 1 - 2". Protects from kettle marks etc. . . too!

 

[2CV67]

Kitchen drawer liner - ikea sells it on a roll for a few pounds

I bought some of that & cut it to size.
Since then, I have been waiting a couple of weeks with it all under a pile of books, hoping it will uncurl one day...

 

[gatvol]

Handheld Vacuum cleaner. Views will vary on this due to the space it takes up, but if you get a good one it cleans up so much faster than manual methods. i have a dyson dc31 and it does an excellent job. I have tried a variety of them over the years, this is by far the best I have seen

 

[sidepod]

Handheld Vacuum cleaner. Views will vary on this due to the space it takes up, but if you get a good one it cleans up so much faster than manual methods. i have a dyson dc31 and it does an excellent job. I have tried a variety of them over the years, this is by far the best I have seen

I'm liking this idea. Our trusty lab does like to shed the odd DNA sample. :cool

S.

 

[nezzler]

Kitchen drawer liner - ikea sells it on a roll for a few pounds

I bought some of that & cut it to size.
Since then, I have been waiting a couple of weeks with it all under a pile of books, hoping it will uncurl one day...

I found putting it in the airing cupboard assisted - its a pain I know!

 

[Clare H]

To Nick Jones re pop up pots & pans - wher didi yu but these? They sound just the ticket!

 

[burko73]

For travel type towels try decathlon if you have one locally. We had life venture ones that were quite expensive. In France in decathlon we got the same towels for about 1/4 of the price. We've now got a decathlon in Southampton ( which is wierd as I keep expecting the staff to speak in French to me) and they do them in there. Same as life venture but cheaper. We even have a couple especially to dry off the dog....

Also exped dry bags are useful for stuffing waterproofs etc and odds and sods in before chucking them in the rear cupboards etc.

Im gonna bin the Cali warship bowl as it takes up too much room n the sink and isn't big enough. Ortlieb ( or similar unbranded one ) foldable wash up bowl from our t4 now comes with us for washing up and carrying stuff back and forth from campsite sinks.

We use the idea grey bins, 3 for a tenner type as one fits behind passenger seat and then in side door footstep when we're set up on site. They take a carrier bag as a bin,iner as well which is handy.

 

[Calincolnshire]

I know these may not be classed as camping equipment but we find them useful:

Crocs are handy shoes as they are easy to get on and off when we get into the van, when we camped at Easter we found it a pain taking boots/shoes off when we wanted to go to the toilet/shower block!! These now live in the bottom of our wardrobe.

We also carry a 12volt phone/ipad charger (essential when you have a 15 year old camping with you), dominoes/cards and various other travel games eg connect 4 etc. These don't take up a lot of room and live under the kids seats

 

[burko73]

We always take carcasonne, the board game. Takes up no space as you build the board as you go along....