30 Best Campervan Accessories For Extra Fun trips

Ah, life in the van and on the road… it’s a blissful heaven of freedom, travel and good times. But whilst your campervan is central to your experience, it’s always made more special by having the best campervan accessories. Accessories to consider range from those which are specifically designed as accessories for campervans to those from the camping and travelling world which we can tell you will raise the bar of your experience.

So, don’t just chuck some random items in the van and make do. Choose wisely, choose intentionally, and really make your campervan life, the best life. Get a selection of these campervan accessories.

 

1. Awesome campervan awnings

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Heading out in the campervan is all about getting out into the great outdoors, and whilst you love your little van for its cosy and snug interior, once you’re at camp, you sometimes want a little more space. Many people consider this to be one of the most essential campervan accessories.

The solution and the mother of all accessories for campervans is your awning. It sounds simple, but choosing your campervan awning can quickly make you feel like you need a degree in engineering and terminology.

Which campervan awnings are best and most appropriate will depend on your van model and needs. Are you planning on sending the kids out there to sleep? Or is it just a porch so that you can kick off your muddy boots without being rained on?

When choosing, think about the weight and how much space it’ll take up in your van. Think about whether you want a wind-out style, permanently mounted on the roof. Alternatively you may want a drive-away style, so that you can effectively leave it as a pitched tent when you head out for the day. Think about the material and construction.

Don’t forget to make sure your camper van insurance covers accessories which will be outside the campervan, such as awnings!

2. Rest and relax with foldable furniture

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Yep, card games around your campervan table are one thing. Full blown chilling out, dining, and inviting your pals over is another. The solution is foldable camping furniture which is functional and creates an outside eating area with a bundle more space and these are popular campervan accessories, especially if you have invested in a campervan awning.

From tables which allow you to lay out a glorious feast of antipasti to folding chairs which enable you to gather around the fire for stories and marshmallows, folding furniture makes life easier.

Choose lightweight and easy to clean. Do make sure you’ve considered where your furniture will be stashed in the van. Think about the needs of your van-group. You may do well with an all-in-one picnic bench, or fishermen’s chairs might be more your style and offer flexibility. You can even get folding foot stools to really bring some luxury to camp.

3. Batty for door mats

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Want to quit the interruption that shouting at kids brings to your sense of Zen when they, again, walk mud into the van?! One of the simplest campervan accessories is a bog standard door mat – preferably one for inside and one for outside. Honestly, it’s transformative.

Choose an interior mat which has a rubber non-slip backing and can be rolled up and washed.

Your exterior mat needs to be lightweight and great for doubling up as shoe storage. Make it lightweight so that it doesn’t soak up dew and condensation like a sponge.

What’s more, there’s something exceptionally homely about wandering up to your campervan to be greeted by a welcome mat. Choose a design that makes you happy.

4. Get fresh with a portable campervan shower

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So the surf called you, that hike ended up a sweaty affair, or your Wild Kid took mud bathing to a whole new level and… oh dear, very few campervans have space for their own shower and your camp site might not have any. This can limit where you choose to camp up, being restricted to bigger sites that provide a shower, but come with the associated issues of, well, people. Campsite showers are rarely pleasurable experiences and can, quite literally, put a real dampener on your experience.

A solution is to choose a portable or dedicate campervan shower. This is one of our favourite campervan accessories, so we wrote a dedicated post with lot of options for you to check out. That way, you’ve got your facilities with you, wherever you are. What’s more, choose a solar-powered option and it won’t be a case of bracing the cold either.

You’ve got height and gravity in your favour. Make sure you can mount your shower on the top of the can and you can have gloriously al fresco showers. In fact, there’s something simply amazing about enjoying an outdoor shower with a beautiful natural backdrop. It’s so amazing that people go to 5* hotels for this. You can have it on the side of your van.

5. Hang tight for hangers and washing line kit

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Does your other half laugh at your crazy riggings of guy ropes and pegs so that you can hang up everything from tea towels to swim suits? Getting everything dry, and keeping it off the ground, can become an exercise in campground Cat’s Cradle.

But, seriously, it doesn’t need to be that hard! All you actually need is this retractable washing line kit and rust free pegs. According to the make, they work slightly differently, but they make drying things easy whilst ensuring your camp zone doesn’t require ninja-like skills of navigation. You can attach one end to your campervan and another to a nearby tree branch or other solid object.

It takes a while to get the right number for your van lifestyle, but once you’ve done it, you’ll be mighty grateful, especially if it means no more tripping over a guy-rope-come-washing-line. At around £3.99 this is one of the cheapest campervan accessories on our list.

6. Light is bright

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Rock up to an unpowered camp and lighting can be a problem. You’re probably all set inside the van, but what about once you step outside? Whether you need to navigate your way to a bush that’s going to preserve your dignity, julienne some carrots for dinner without julienning your finger, or pick that splinter out of your palm, you’re going to need some portable lighting.

Battery operated LED lamps are usually the most versatile and come in a huge range. They offer excellent brightness for their size. We love ones which can hang on the outside of the van, or in your awning. Add a few torches to your accessories stash too. And for a super heart-warming feel to your camp, choose some solar-powered fairy lights.

7. Chill out with a campervan fridge

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There’s a whole heap of choice when it comes to campervan and portable fridges. They make sunny days awesome; being able to reach for a cool can of ready-made Pimms or beer. Chilled crisp white wine will elevate your evenings under the stars too. You’ll become the most envied people in sight.

Fridges for campervans either plug in and run off the van, or you can also get solar powered ones. Which you choose will depend on where you are and what you’re demanding off it! Built in ones will enable you to make much more effective use of space.

Portable fridge’s can take up a shed load of room which you might be short of. Campervan fridges are also often one of your most expensive accessories, so make sure your insurance is top-notch. But when you’ve got cold milk on your morning cereal, life’s good.

8. Fire up the BBQ

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From a simple grilling rack for the fire pit, to a full blown portable BBQ, being able to pitch camp and cook up a storm over a proper fire is a must-have for anyone living the van life. You can’t beat the smoky outdoor taste of delicious fare griddled on a barbecue. It’s the taste of summer alongside your van, and perfect for warming you all up if it’s an autumnal night with a nip in the air.

What’s more, as far as accessories for campervans go, this one boosts your limited stove-top capacity. Gas, coal, or a simple rack to add to a fire pit is your choice.

So will it be lemon and garlic veggies? Or are you after that seared steak? Or a traditionalist who’s just after the bangers? Whatever you choose to BBQ, don’t forget the tongs!

9. Weave in the Wi-Fi

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Yes, there are times when jumping in your campervan and hitting the road is all about unplugging from your device-dominated life. But there’s also something sublimely beautiful about snuggling up with your camp companion and embarking on Netflix and Chill.

You also need Wi-Fi if you’re gonna make your mates insanely jealous with your travel snaps. Uploading them to social media loses its charm if you have to climb a tree to do it. Or you may need it for the practical purpose of planning your next route stage, so you don’t get lost again, or making some bookings because the 10% discount always only applies if you book online. Of course, if your campervan has become your workspace, you probably need a reliable connection too.

Pocket Wi-Fi with a small and portable wireless device or dongle allows you to hook up with Wi-Fi via your mobile.

10. Level-up to a good night’s sleep

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Let’s be honest, not every pitch leads to a good night’s sleep. Being squashed as your other half rolls against you and wedges you up against cold metal ain’t much fun. Furthermore, if your sink doesn’t drain, it can all get a bit nasty. Hunting the vicinity of the van for suitable rocks or just a flat patch can get a bit tiresome.

If you do more with your campervan than merely go to ready-made-nice-and-level grassy sites, then one of the most best campervan accessories will be levelling ramps. Roaming and pitching up in legal but out of the way spots means levelling ramps are the solution to geographical landscaping issues. Choose ones which are the right size for your vehicle and designed for its weight including the contents and you!

You’ll find they offer you more freedom about where you can camp.

11. Cuddle up with cushions

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Awesome for their comfort-versus-weight ratio, and super easy to chuck in the van, is a humble stash of cushions. Big ones, small ones, just make sure you’ve got lots of them. Use ones with washable covers and you won’t mind when they inevitably end up picking up the dirt of your travels.

Lots of cushions in your campervan make it all about luxury. It is how you make your campervan a real home-from-home on the road; a cosy den of happiness. We love a mish-mash of designs, which eclectically work together. However, maybe you prefer channelling your inner interior designer and choosing ones which match your van theme?

12. Pull down the right blinds

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Those cutesy curtains may look gorgeous but do they do anything to stop you being fried out of your van from your blissful slumber thanks to the burning sun of a summer dawn? Or do they help to keep you toasty when the temperature dips and you’re fighting frostbite and the moment when you have to get out from under the covers?

No, thought not. Thermal blinds are your solution. In summer they keep the heat of the sun out, and in winter they keep the warmth in. It’s all about temperature regulation which is a tricky thing to handle in the van. They can extend the length of the seasons you’re happy to head out in the van too.

You can get all sorts of different thermal blinds for campervans. From simple suction-fixing blinds to ones you build in, the choice is yours. We definitely recommend having one for the front windscreen at least.

And shh, if you’ve got a mould problem in your campervan, thermal blinds will help condensation down which will help. We won’t tell anyone.

13. Top of the morning to comfy sleep

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Most camper aficionados rely on simple foam mattresses. They are light and they do the trick. All’s good. Of course, many are fully integral to the seating too, so there are limits to how you can change them. But for many, they aren’t the most comfortable if you’re sleeping on them for more than a night or two. You don’t need to ditch the foam entirely, just get mattress toppers.

Even better, if you fancy a night under the stars, or want to sunbathe in comfort, then your mattress topper can be moved out of the van when you need it. Choose ones which squash up small, unless your bed is able to stay out whilst travelling.

14. Swing by in a hammock

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Frankly, camp life and hammock life go hand in hand. You just can’t beat the feel of kicking back in your hammock once you’ve pitched camp. It’s the stuff that travel dreams are made of.

Hammocks don’t take up much room at all, and neither do the good book and the sunglasses to go with them. Just thank us for adding it to your list of accessories when you’re gently swinging back and forth in a summer breeze taking in the view.

Be warned though: from now on you’ll always be looking for places to camp with perfectly spaced trees. It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it.

15. Van Foodies

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Let’s be honest: cooking in the van can be either an incredible, mindful and tasty experience, or downright disastrous. It’s not just about your culinary skills and the ability to pick up fantastic ingredients on your travels. It’s also down to having the right kitchen equipment.

A core part of making sure you have all of the accessories you need for your campervan means having everything you need for a fully-stocked kitchen. You need pots, pans, stirrers, knives, kettle and whatever else floats your culinary boat.

Choose compact options but always make sure you know where the items can be stored and secured safely. There are loads of hacks out there, such as fixing jar lids to the underside of shelves and then screwing the jar on from underneath. And hooks are your friend, dear campervan-lover, hooks are your friend.

16. Sun’s up for solar panels

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Solar panels for your campervan are a boon. They allow you to make use of all that sunny open air time to power up most electrical things in your van, from fridges to lights to laptops. That means no worries about batteries going dead or expensive electricity on the road.

There are two main options: van mounted solar panels on the roof or portable solar panels that you use at your destination. There are pros and cons of both, but for planet-friendly van-life, solar panels are a must.

17. Cool down with fans

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Van life is fabulous, but no matter how well-insulated your van, it can be a cool box or a cooker and spin on a dime between the two. On belting summer days, when the sun pounds down on your van, it can have a pretty uninviting interior. They tend to trap the heat and it can lead to an uncomfortable few hours until the coolness of darkness takes hold. The interior heat also stops your van being the place to go for shade in the heat of the day.

A portable plug-in fan is a must-have accessory for summer days in the van. It gets the air moving and ensures that even on the hottest of nights you get a good night’s sleep. There’s an extra bonus too: fans keep the mozzies and the midges on the move and away from a night time feast on your ankles!

18. Pop up the parasol or golf umbrella

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A parasol is a must-have accessory for campervans that can easily be tucked into the van when you’re on the road. There are times when you don’t want to go to the faff of putting up the awning but you need some quick shelter or shade.

A parasol or gold umbrella is perfect. Dash to the campsite loos in a rain shower, sit with a good book in the sun, get the BBQ lit… you’ll find that a parasol or golf umbrella soon becomes your right hand on site. The only problem comes when you have to share…

19. Switch on the plug in kettle

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Yes, there’s something blissful about putting on an old-fashioned camping kettle over the stove or fire. Meanwhile, back in reality when you want your cuppa now, there’s a lot to be said for the beauty of a modern plug-in kettle. A small travel kettle is perfect for a campervan.

It’s not just about your tea and coffee needs either, a plug in electric kettle is useful for getting water up to temperature quickly for washing up, doing your morning ablutions and more. If you’re going to give over a little of your van’s kitchen worktop space to something, make it a portable kettle.

20. Save your mornings from spills with travel mugs

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You’ve made the cuppa in your kettle and now you’re all set to sit and enjoy your brew. Along comes your camp mate, the dog or an errant child and your much-anticipated cup of hot stuff goes flying all over you, the van and your mood. There’s nothing worse than a spilt hot drink in a campervan. Yes, there’s no need to cry over spilt milk, but there’s every reason to cry over spilt coffee that’s got into every nook and cranny and turned your only clean trousers into camo-effect.

Lidded travel mugs are the answer. Not only are they insulated and so keep your favourite hot drink warm while it takes you 20 minutes to cook your bacon or get distracted by a family game of cricket, or the night air goes cool, the lid ensures that spills are minimal and often prevented altogether. Now you can put your brew on the table in the van and even the most excitable toddler testing out the bounce-factor of the van’s suspension will be no challenge.

21. Never leave the van without power packs

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Solar panels are awesome, camp site electrical hook-ups are brilliant, but sometimes you need power when it’s been a lacklustre day in the sun department or you’re miles from a campsite. If you use your phone for GPS on your hike away from site, or want to snuggle up with your e-Reader on the beach, then portable power packs are the way to go.

You can simply charge portable power packs off your solar panels or from the site’s electrical hook-up when you can. Then, you’ve always got long-lasting power back-up when you need it and away from the van.

22. Go up high with a roof rack

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Space is at a premium in your campervan and storage can be a campervan’s nemesis. If you find yourself always wondering where the heck you can put that, then a roof rack will soon become your new best friend. It’s a wonderful storage solution that’s easy to get to, spacious and versatile.

There are tonnes of different options when it comes to campervans and roof racks, so do your research on which will work best for your van life and your van model.

23. Bounce for bungee cords

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We do love a bungee cord or two and know they make van living so much easier in a myriad of ways. From holding together the windbreak and parasol so they take up minimal space to fixing stuff onto the roof to serving as a way to hold things safely on a shelf, bungee cords are the secret weapon of campervan accessories. You can even use them to hook up a portable shower, or fix a hammock, or hold a bag shut.

The potential for what you can use bungee cords for in your campervan are only limited by your imagination. Take a sneak peek inside any campervan on a site and do a bungee cord inventory… you’ll discover they are here, there and everywhere.

24. Fire up the fire pit

Stoves have their place, barbecues have their role, but fire pits make camping come alive. You simply can’t beat evenings spent around the campfire and for that you need a pop-up or portable fire pit. Amongst friends you’ll become the place to be, you’ll keep snuggly warm, and you can toast marshmallows. What more do you want?

A portable fire pit is a must have campervan accessory for us. We can leave behind everything else and we’ll still be happy if we have a trusty fire pit. Scavenge for fuel or buy on site and everything is good. If you can bring a portable trivet to go over the top you also have a BBQ or even somewhere to dry wet socks.

25. Take your book to the toilet

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If you’re lucky enough to have a campervan with enough room for a toilet then hooray for you. But even if there’s no room to fit a WC within the van, a portable toilet might just be one of the best campervan accessories for you. It saves you traipsing over wet fields and battling with the hygiene (or lack of) of other campers.

If you’ve ever forced yourself out of your snug campervan bed, tried to navigate the door silently, and banished any hope of returning to sleep with the hit of cool air, then you know why your own loo is going to change your life.

Portable toilets are remarkably easy to use (and by use we mean change and clean, not do your business…). Most have indicators to let your know when things are getting full and easy wipe clean set-ups.

26. Pop up the shower tent

Image source: Campervantastic 

We’ve already shared that one of the most important campervan accessories is a shower. However, something else that will transform your camping shower experience is a pop-up shower tent.

Even if you’re fortunate to have a shower inside the van, you lose height and anyone over the age of about 9 will be somewhat grumpy. Or, you could mount your shower up outside to get the head height but then you’ve got the problem of privacy.

A portable shower tent brings you height and privacy. That’s right, you can get clean and not be crouched down or attempting to shower in your swim stuff.

Discover more splashtastic campervan shower ideas.

27. Make it fast with quick drying towels

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You’ve had the shower and now wet towels reign. What’s more, in an attempt to pack lightly, you’ve only got a towel that’s marginally bigger than a hand towel and refuses to cover your nether regions.  It needn’t be that way.

With quick drying microfiber towels, you can have a beach towel sized beast of a towel that gets dry in lightning quick time. They are super-absorbent and the best ones come with a hanging hook so you can pop them up to dry off in the breeze once you’re done. We promise you’ll be hooked to this essential campervan accessory.

28. Fill it up with portable water containers

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Yes, you might have a tank that feeds your taps, but camp life needs water and it needs lots of it. A portable water container is a way to ensure you’re not constantly traipsing back and forth to site taps with your 500 ml water bottle and cursing the distance between the tap and your van.

With a 5 litre portable water container, you will always have water to hand for drinking, cooking, washing up, showering, laundry, cleaning the dog etc. etc. Even better, choose a collapsible one and it won’t take up vital storage space when you’re on the road either.

29. Do it all with a collapsible washing up bowl

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If you think a washing up bowl is just a washing up bowl, you’ve been missing trick after trick. A washing up bowl can be used for storing things, serves as an ice bucket for evening drinks, is great for lugging stuff about, doing the smalls laundry, prepping the veggies for dinner, bathing the baby and more.

As such, having a washing up bowl, no matter your van set up, is to us an essential campervan accessory. Choose a collapsible one and it’s easy to store when not in use. We know that many forgo a washing up bowl because it is bulky; a collapsible one solves that problem.

30. Keep things clean with a portable vacuum

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You might have a doormat, and you might be the cleanest camper on the site, but the reality is that dust and grime gets inside. Not only are there a million nooks and crannies that make a dust pan and brush or standard vacuum tricky to use, you also want to have some way of cleaning that’s to hand whenever you need it.

A portable vacuum can be charged and doesn’t use much power. You can reach into tricky-to-get-to spaces and whip it out when the kiddoes have knocked over the bag of rice or the dog has made friends with a dust bath. A handheld portable vacuum will keep you sane by ending dirt inside the van.

The contents of your campervan

All of the above best campervan accessories will improve your life in the van no end. However, don’t forget that your campervan contents are valuable, as well as your van itself. You don’t want to be heartbroken if you’re unable to replace the contents following theft or damage.

Self build campervan insurance policies allow you to cover things like internal fixed features and accessories, which are perhaps harder to ‘price-up’ in insurance terms. But whenever you choose new campervan insurance, always may sure it covers the contents too. This will ensure that all your gadgets, valuables and accessories are covered, should there be a problem.