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Buying a motorhome/Campervan is one expense the second expense is filling it with stuff! All the necessities you need to make your home on wheels livable while on the road.
To help you get started with setting up a motorhome I have put together this guide sharing with you the contents of Matilda, stuff we think you absolutely need and our favourite things we purchased which we deemed useful. We were lucky as she already came loaded with goodies like kitchen equipment, bedding, towels and a few useful accessories like tools and outdoor furniture, so we didn’t have to buy much. In saying that, in the first few months we spent money and acquired things we found we needed. The first month was our most expensive month!
If it’s your first motorhome/camper then I would hope you would find our guide useful.
The Learning Curve
Before we bought Matilda we had only ever rented campervans and only on two occasions. At home we camp with a tent so having a motorhome was a learning curve and a different experience. In the first couple of weeks we discovered things and made a couple of bloopers but that was all part of the learning experience.
One thing we did find when packing Matilda for the first time is we had too much stuff! In the first 5 weeks we spent in the UK we discovered what we absolutely needed and what we could offload saving on both weight and cupboard space. On our way back through Hoogeveen where we bought Matilda we dropped off the excess.
What we think you need
Hose Pipe (long) and fittings
Not all freshwater points supply a hose. You will need to carry your own with a few different screw fittings as not all tap fittings are the same. Another reason to carry your own hose is you know where it has been! Believe it or not there are some disrespectful travelers out there that will use a freshwater supplied hose to wash out their toilet (yep, yuk). Make sure the hose is of good length as you can’t always pull up right next to a tap.
Electric Extension Cable and Adapters for Electric Hookup
If you want electric, then this is a must. Most campgrounds have what they call a “caravan plug connector” some may have (more rare) standard power points. We found the best setup is to have two adapter cables (male and female, the female is shown in the photo) and a long extension cable on a reel. This gave you the best of both worlds, a connection for a caravan point hookup or just using the extension cable standard plug. Make sure the extension cable is long as some electric hook-up points are a distance from where your parked.
Thermal Blinds
More modern vehicles have blinds built into the drivers cabin windows but older vehicles don’t. These are essential not only for privacy but also too keep the heat in during the colder months.
Leveling Ramps for wheels and Stabilizers
Another absolute essential if you don’t want to sleep on a slope! It’s a fact that not all parking spots are going to be dead flat there will be some incline and that is where your leveling ramps come in. I suggest investing in a good pair with a good three tier raise, Fiamma are a good brand. We bought a pair of Fiamma’s second hand off Gumtree as the ones that came with Matilda were not high enough. Stabilizers are your small square yellow blocks which you place under your stabilizer stands. We used these when parked for more than a day, stabilizer stands reduce movement of your camper when moving around inside. In conjunction with your ramps you will need a spirit level so you can check for level.
Webbing straps/Rope
Always handy to have rope and webbing straps tying things down especially the awning when its windy.
Inverter
If you plan on free camping or not using electric then an inverter is an invaluable piece of kit especially if you have a laptop or tablet. If your just using phones and happy to wait until you have electric to charge your batteries then its not really required as it is an expensive piece of kit. We were lucky we were lent one for the duration of our trip and used it quite a bit when free camping.
Basic Tool Kit
There will always be a need to fix something on your vehicle so having a toolkit is invaluable. Vaughan is handy so kitted out his toolbox with everything from a socket set, screwdrivers to side cutters and more. Having a roll of duct and electrical tape is very handy.
Outdoor Setting
Sitting outside your van on those nice days is all part of the motorhome/camper experience.
Spare Bulbs and Fuses
You don’t want to be caught short with a blown fuse!
Washing Line
We had both a washing line and a clothes horse. We had a good length of washing line that we strung up between the awning legs or between a couple of trees. The best clothes horses are the small fold-able camping ones which you can pick up in any camping and outdoor store.
Duct and Electrical Tape
One of the best things to have in your toolkit, they fix any issue temporary. Both duct and electrical tape saved us in a couple of situations. We used the electrical tape on our skylight when the rubber seal had perished and during a rainstorm water came in. We used duct tape to fix our step when it got caught on a rock.
Bikes
Unless your camper is small (panel van size) and can fit into a normal car park spot then parking your average motorhome/camper in a city or town or even close to some natural attractions can be a challenge. Investing in pedal power can take you into those places where your forced to park a distance away. We used our bikes quite often not only for getting into places but also for leisurely rides and most European cities/towns especially the Netherlands have bike friendly pathways. We were lucky we had one bike for free (mine) from Happy Campers and picked up a bike for Vaughan quite cheap from a second hand store and when we finished our trip we sold it back. A bike rack came with our motorhome and we invested in a bike lock to lock the bikes to the rack. Unlike Australia bike helmets are not compulsory in Europe.
What is nice to have
The following is a list of items which if you had some extra cash to spare are a good to have and can make you’re life a little more comfortable on your extended trip.
SOG Unit Installed on Your Toilet
It’s no secret that the most unpleasant job in your motorhome/camper is emptying the toilet! If it doesn’t already come with a SOG, then fitting one can make living in your motorhome/camper more comfortable on the nose. You still have to empty the contents; you can’t escape that! But what you do reduce is the smell and the cost of adding chemicals. Basically, a SOG replaces the need for chemicals as it draws air from the outside to help breakdown the contents of your cassette. Purchasing and installing comes at a little cost but if you plan on having your motorhome/camper for a while then it will more than pay for itself.
For more information on how it works and how to install one then visit this excellent blog “Installing a SOG Unit on a Thetford Chemical Toilet” created by Our Tour.
Second Leisure Battery
We didn’t have a second leisure battery but if you do plan on doing a lot of free camping then it might be worth investing in a second battery.
MiFi
Having good internet was important to me for my blogging and planning. We bought a 4g-Huawei E5577 MiFi unit with an antenna from Motorhome WiFi in the UK, they had the best deal and their customer service is excellent. Having the external antenna gave us a much stronger connection and faster speeds.
While in the UK we bought EE Sim cards for both the MiFi and our phones. Before we left for Europe we bought Vodafone sims. Vodafone doesn’t have the usage restrictions that other UK mobile companies have. We were able to use our sims continuously for the time we were in Europe with the “roam like your at home” plan, in other words charges are no different in the EU to that of the UK and top up is easily done on-line. This may change with Brexit.
In non-EU countries like Montenegro and Bosnia we bought local sims which were cheap and had plenty of data.
Reversing Camera
We didn’t invest in one of these, I was the reversing camera! But having one is invaluable not only to see who is behind you but also help you back into parking spots.
Dash Cam
We bought a Nexbase 412GW in the UK which is a full 1440p Quad HD, the quality of the video is excellent. They are not too expensive and can be handy for evidence in case of an accident. We also used it to record our journey at times particularly in the scenic places like Norway. Now we use it in our car back in Australia.
Electric Kettle
In our 2018 trip with Matilda we only had a kettle you put on the stove. In our 2019 trip we decided to add to our kitchen a small electric kettle which proved to be a great move when hooked up to electric.
Portable Grill/Oven
This came with Matilda and we found we used it all the time when hooked up to electricity.
BBQ
Keeping with Aussie traditions we bought ourselves a small kettle gas BBQ which we used a fair bit in warmer places like Croatia. We would hook up the BBQ to our second gas bottle.
Water Carrier
I only invested in one of these in our 2019 trip as I didn’t trust the cleanliness of the water in the motorhome tank.
Stuff We Bought
As I mentioned the first month or so was our most expensive as not everything we wanted or needed came with Matilda. Here is a list of things we purchased, some of which went back to Australia with us!
Kitchen
Omnia Oven
British friends of ours that spend much of their time living in their camper recommended this Swedish invention. Basically the Omnia Oven works like a convection oven and sits on a gas hob making it very useful for baking, warming up those pies and making practically anything you can make in an oven when you don’t have access to electricity. In our Omnia I made stews, casseroles, heated up pies and pastries and even cooked a small roast and vegetables.
Coffee Aeropress
Vaughan loves his coffee! This was another item our friends recommended to us and Vaughan loves it. This quick and easy espresso coffee maker delivers such a rich and aromatic cup of coffee that it rivals any other brewing method and its small size and portability makes it great addition to your travel gear. The other great thing about the Aeropress is the complete kit including press, spoon and filters costs less than $50.
Toaster for Gas Stove
We didn’t have an electric toaster so bought this toasting device which we are familiar with as we have one in our camping gear back home! The advantage of this toaster is you can use it free camping and it doesn’t take up much space. The disadvantage is you can only do one slice at a time.
The remainder of the list is self explanatory.
- Splash Guard
- Good set of chopping knives
- Cheese slicer from Denmark
- Cheese Boards
- Pot Stands
- Oven Glove
- Measuring spoons
- Scissors
Other
- Leveler’s
- Thermal Blinds
- Water Container
- 50 litre bin
- Storage tidy for books, maps and pens
- Storage basket for bathroom
- Clothes Horse
- Tools
- Multimeter
- Various Tools
- Hot water bottle
What is in the House..
Kitchen
When your house moves then the last thing you want to hear in your cupboards is the sound of breaking glass and china! Crockery, cups and glasses should be unbreakable, and Melamine is the best to have and can easily be bought from camping and outdoor stores. In saying this I don’t like drinking my tea out of plastic cups, so we have china mugs and so far, they have survived. Our wine and beer glasses we acquired from the Ascot Race course on a race day we attended.
What’s in our cupboards?
- Metal Kettle for use on gas stove
- Electric Kettle
- Cups/Mugs (China)
- Stubby Holder
- Camp Toaster for gas stove
- Plates large and small (Melamine)
- Coffee Press (Aeropress)
- Large plastic cups
- Beer, Wine and Champagne Glasses (melamine)
- Two large Salad Bowls (Melamine)
- Colander
- Large and Small Bowls (Plastic/Melamine)
- Storage Containers
- Large and Small plastic measuring Jugs
- Large and Small saucepan with lid
- Saucepan
- Milk Jug Saucepan
- Siv
- Kitchen Utensils (Chopping Knives, Serving Spoons, Ladle, Spatula, Wooden Spoon, Tongs, Salad Servers,Can Opener, Collapsible Measuring cup, Whisk, Masher, Scissors etc)
- Chopping Boards
- Cheese Boards
- Cheese Grater
- 2 Frying Pans (small and large)
- Baking Tray for use in Electric/Grill oven
- Wok
- Omnia Oven
- Splatter Screen
- Cutlery
- Vegetable Peeler,Cork Screw,Bottle Opener, Cheese Slicer, Measuring Spoons
- Oven Glove
- Pot Stands – We bought some nice ones from countries we visited
- Small hand towel
- Washing Bowl, sponge and cloth
- Collapsible Drainer and Tray
- Tea Towels
- One large dustbin. Originally, we had a small bin hanging off the kitchen cupboard by the door but it kept getting in the way and we fill it too quick. We bought a larger bin and keep it under the table. We have small bin in the bathroom for used toilet paper.
- Cleaning stuff
- Grill/Oven – This came with the van and we use it when hooked up to electric
Tips to reduce movement
- We bought a roll of the sticky matting which we lay in the base of the cupboards to reduce movement.
- We store small dry foods like packets, spices and jars in plastic containers.
Bedding and Towels
We have two single dooners (Duvets) down filled and one double fibre filled. We chose to go singles as it adds to warmth as they overlap. The extra duvet I have is used when it’s really cold. We have 4 pillows. We have 2 sets of bedding and 2 sets of towels (2 of which are our own travel towels from home) and beach towels, blanket
In the bathroom we have a large hand towel and floor towel
Other household stuff
- Fly swat – It’s had plenty of use!
- Dustpan and Brush
- Broom
- Travel Iron and small ironing board (never really used this much)
- Collapsible clothes horse
- Storage Tidy
- Plastic tub for vegetables and drinks
- Mosquito citronella candle and plugin
What is in our Garage..
- Leveling Ramps and Stabilizer Pads
- Thermal Blinds
- Folding camp chairs
- Folding camp table
- Electrical reel and cable attachments
- Hosepipe and various hose fittings
- Long Washing line
- Winder for awning
- Washing Hanger for smalls
- Buckets of clothes pegs
- Jumper Leads
- Water Containers
- Large funnel
- Toolbox
- Wheel Clamp
- Beach Umbrella
- Straw Mats for beach
- Socket Set
- BBQ
- Hazard Triangle and visibility vest
- Inflatable Lilo
- Hammock
- Large bucket which contains:Peg hammer, Duct Tape, Multi meter, Spare bulbs, WD-40, Motor Oil, Vehicle Shampoo, Windscreen Wash, Chamois Leather, Fold up ruler, cable ties, First Aid Kit, Electrical Tape, Bungy Cord, Small Fire Extinguisher, Crimping Tool, Extension Piece for Electric Cable, Tow Rope, Alan Keys, Tent Pegs.
