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The best motorhome accessories
Motorhomes are great for getting you out to an idyll in the countryside, but there are ways to make your campsite even better – these are the top 10 accessories you should choose...
Motorhomes are a tremendously convenient and comfortable way to experience the great outdoors. After all, you just need to sling some clothes and food into it, fill it up with fuel and off you go.
And that’s great – you’re already well beyond camping under canvas – but good as the experience is, there are ways to make it even better. Simply by getting a few choice accessories to go with your motorhome, you can make life on the road and at the campsite even easier and more comfortable. Here's our selection of the 10 best picks...
1. Levelling blocks
There are few things worse if you're a motorhome users than getting to your chosen location only to find that the ground is so uneven you’ll be cooking, sleeping and relaxing on a slant for the next few days. Levelling blocks fix that by allowing you to drive onto them, making your motorhome level. They’re light, robust and easy to store, and they’re also inexpensive, costing from just £29 online.
2. Collapsible bowls and cookware
Collapsible bowls and strainers are the camper’s friend. For a start, they’re light. Secondly, when you’ve finished using them, you can collapse them down and they take up a lot less space than conventional crockery. Good ones from dedicated camping outlets are constructed from BPA-free silicone and are very heat resistant. Check out camping websites such as Go Outdoors for the full range.
3. Solar panels
Some motorhomes come equipped with a solar panel fitted, but if yours doesn't, they can be a wise investment, especially if you end up at a site where you can’t hook up to a mains power outlet. Admittedly, a powerful 100W item isn’t cheap, at around £300, but it will allow you to keep your motorhome’s batteries topped up, and should even allow you to watch television for a few hours each day. It's also a great way to charge up small devices such as smartphones and GPS navigation units.
4. Broom
You’re out in the middle of nature so it stands to reason that you’re quite likely to bring some of it with you when you step inside your motorhome – be it gravel, mud, grass or other organic material. There'll be crumbs too, from enjoying a few biscuits or crisps while you wait for the latest rain shower to pass. A small broom and dustpan will allow you to keep the floor clean so you can wander around in your socks without worrying about stepping on something.
5. Head torch
It’s dark in the countryside. Properly dark. The sort of darkness that is thick and all-enveloping, and makes falling into ditches or tripping over the washing up dangerously easy. That’s where a head torch is essential, because it always looks where you’re looking yet keeps your hands free. Many are powered by batteries, with plenty of rechargeable models available. Most cost less than £20, so they're a real bargain.
6. Smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarm
You’ve doubtless got smoke alarms in your house, and most people have a carbon monoxide alarm too, so why wouldn’t you have them in your motorhome? Let’s face it, there’s a far greater likelihood of there being naked flames around when you’re camping off the grid somewhere, so anything that can alert you if they get out of control has to be worth investing in. They really could save your life.
7. Bluetooth speaker
Whether you want to listen to an audiobook or your music playlist, a portable Bluetooth speaker is a worthwhile investment for any campervan enthusiast. It will let you listen to everything that’s stored on your phone or tablet, without channelling it through the device’s own tiny speaker.
8. Solar lantern
There’s a big problem with the sun – it’s only around for half the time (if you're lucky). All that darkness gets in the way of the fun, but what if you could harness the power of the sun during the day to keep the darkness at bay during the night? Step forward the LuminAID PackLite camping light, which packs down flat when charging then unfurls into a large and effective lantern at night.
9. Anti-mosquito wristband
If there’s a downside to being out in the countryside, it’s that you have to share it with other wildlife. That often means mosquitos, and they can turn a peaceful evening by the campfire into an itchy hell. French company Para’Kito has come up with a wristband that contains a pellet that releases essential oils to render you unappetising to insects. Better still, each pellet lasts for 15 days.
10. Power inverter
A power inverter is vital if your motorhome doesn’t have any three-pin sockets. A good inverter will simply plug in to your van’s 12v power outlet and let you plug in low-drain items such as tablets, smartphones and laptops. Prices can range from as little as £30 for a single-plug item to around £100 for a multi-plug device. They're available from outlets such as Argos and Amazon, as well as bespoke camping supply firms.
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