Essential Caravan Accessories / Packing List 

Great videos. As a yachtie I suggest a box of matches for the loo. Lighting a match after smelly visits eliminates the pong immediately. Dont put the used match down the loo usually it is put the other end of the match box.

Vinegar and baking soda are excellent drain cleaners. It’s also good to pour a kettle of boiled water down the shower drain every week or two to prevent that from becoming blocked.

Packing up to leave on Monday and this popped up in my feed!!!! Amazing timing. I think I need to unpack a few items ha ha

Love your videos thanks for doing them.

Watching this made us want to buy a van or a mobile home.The list of accessories that one needs doesn't seem to be huge.You're videos are full of great tips, for sure they will help a lot of people out there who are thinking about adopting your lifestyle.Keep up the great work.It was lovely to hear the rain in the background, stay dry Karen.

Great Video. Thanks

KiaOra. Just found your channel and thumbs up to you for this channel. As a Kiwi who loves camping it's awesome to see a local big ballsing it up and doing what they love. Look forward to your future videos. Go the Kiwi summer!!

Great info Karen, really helpful to new van owners.

Thanks for posting this really useful guide

Great Channel Kat, informative and enjoyable to watch.. what more could you ask for.. Hello from the UK 🇬🇧

Hi Karen, In two days we set off for our first two week trip in our brand new little van. Thank you for this great video. Enormously helpful, as were the comments.

Great vlog Karen, very detailed and informative. Also love your friendly fun presentation style. Keep up the great work 👌🏻

Enjoying your tips and tricks

I'm fond of your videos! thanx for sharing and keep up the great work! greetings from Italy :)

Great video! You are right in saying go away for a bit first and see what you need! We carry loads of stuff we rarely use :)

Great practical video, Thank you.

Love it... u r awesome. Keep up the great work..and keep smiling..

Hi Love your videos admire what you do on your own keep them coming. Liz. Liverpool UK

First time watching and very impressive. Subscribed!

Really nice and usefull this video! Thanks a we looking forward your new video! Enjoy your weekend

Very helpful! Thanks

Thank you so much for sharing. We bought a tiny van and i had NO idea of what i need to take. Your video has been extremely helpful.

Very informative. Thanks.

Thanks K, really interesting. Definitely for me a small Honda or Yamaha generator and you never have to worry about power. Also extra deep cycle batteries to increase the amp hours you can run on solar, is a must for me.

Great info Im thinking of doing the Grey nomad thing doing my homework first Loved you're video

This is so cool. I have always dreamed of having my own caravan or at least renting one for a trip. Thanks for the tips - you seem great at not overdoing it with bringing too much with you. I tend to overpack for a weekend trip so I can't imagine how I'd pack a caravan! I'd recommend some rubber collapsable Tupperware, it's great because you it takes up very little space when you're not using it! I'm trying to transition to a zero waste lifestyle so I would be curious to see how that would look in a caravan! Thanks for sharing :)

Hi Karen. Just found your channel via The Trudgians in the UK. We just started caravanning and are planning a mega tour of Europe next year. Your videos are great. All the best. Pete

Great video K, you are very frugal, I tend to gather way too much stuff. The pink chemical that is for the toilet flush we stopped using as we started to get black bits from it and so did some friends of ours and when we looked into it further it was all through the pump. Big mess to clean up. Best to stop using it, you don’t need it and use less of the other one too as its too strong and if your empty it regularly your just wasting your money and putting chemicals into the sewerage system. Save yourself some big $ Keep up the great work

Great informative video. Very useful tips for any caravanning beginners 👍

So excited to find your channel- it's always been my dream to explore NZ in a van.... and we're about to do it! Just quit my job and soon we're setting off on our world adventure! Thanks for the inspiration and ideas. Maybe see you out on the road somewhere!! 😀 👍

Great vid Kaz

Love your vids keep up the great work. We live in ours and we have quite a bit more stuff. Loved hearing the rain ☔️. X

Hi Karen, love your story so far, any chance of numbering your videos, I'm losing track of which ones I've seen, unless I'm missing something. It's good to see Girls can do anything and your struggles and how you overcome them, well done. i see the Weather hasn't changed much since i left 22 years ago, still rains a lot. Keep up the good work

Great list mate! Make me miss living in a van in New Zealand. Wish we were this organised though! Haha...

Jiff is best for cleaning pipes or whatever that block up. That iv found anyway. Awesome vid handy thank you will be using the tips in our caravan

The towing mirrors that I use are the ones that strap directly to the vehicle doors. These are brilliant as you can set them up along side the door mirrors and use both. Only issue is you have to check they are fastened tight as driving in rain loosens them off! Extra torch and a headlamp are also handy if you ever find yourself without power during the night

We got a deep electric frypan (non stick so just wipes out to clean) and microwave.. Never used pot and pans since. .. Thinking of pulling out our oven/stove all together

Hi Karen, Happy to see you have 2 bottle gaz ! Your product brand are the same as in france, (AJAX, PERSIL, AQUA KLEM) it's crasy. For our family ( we are 5 in the caravan ) we use plastic tableware, so at the end of the meal, it's go to trash can, and so the are only big cooking pot or "cookeo" ( i don't know if you have this in NZ ) to wash, but it run on 230 V and if you aren't connect you can't run it even with an inverter. In France no caravan have an hoven, or it's very rare, but's in UK caravan it's common ! See you later Denis.

sugar soap wipes are amazing on windscreens

Now we always carry a box of matches, after the lighter stick zippy thingo failed on us in middle of nowhere!

One day we're going to travel around NZ in a caravan. We'll be coming back to watch all your videos when we finally do it. A few things I would never have thought of like the ramps to level out the caravan. Just wondering Karen, how long are you planning on doing this for?

suggestion: collapsible items like buckets/colander/ funnels/bowls etc great space saver idea. cheers

Music. My fm radio will always be with me

Nice list Small watering can to fill toilet Flush only thing that seems to Work for me

Aim is to do this to eliminate the mortgage and actually have a holiday - permanent one. lol. Love the videos.

Good job but I would recommend getting another chock one for both sides.

Great video Karen. I always carry an assortment of cable ties and maybe a small tyre pressure gauge would be handy.......atb Andy.

HI Karen i always carry spare food for emergency breakdowns or maybe slips or earthquakes also spare water, gas, and matches in case you need to light a fire.in the middle of no where. Cheers bill

Hi Karen, I feel for you as you describe the things going wrong with your caravan, but being a UK built van, its perhaps not as robust as what is needed in NZ, but I guess your options were not great when you bought it...and now its yours, unless you trade it in, or sell it, not a lot you can do but try to stay on top of things as they go wrong....I don't know if you have any Aussie built second hand vans there, but that would have been a better option but maybe more expensive .....you are doing very well as an inexperienced caravaner and I wish you all the best....John

Hi Karen, could you do a video about your solar and batteries. You have 330W solar. How did you decide on that and the amp hours for your batteries? Thanks

Hi Love your videos. Regards to your levelling ramps, the Chock block you have doesn't look compatible with the Rams you have.

hey where did you get the colapsical clothes dryer, I'm impressed with that, and the fan looks good

I reckon you have it covered...👍

Fab video - we have the same drain mat and clothes airer lol!! Here in the UK we have hitch locks as well to secure the hitch - do you have them in NZ? I think normal chemical pipe cleaners might be too strong to use in the vans pipe work as they aren't built like normal house piping? Loving your vids! 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

Kia ora K Where did you buy that extendable clothes drying rack from please?

I use puriclean for water pipes and water tank. Great stuff, not sure if they sell it in NZ. Have a look at a refillable gas bottle, Safefill sell them here in the UK, but again not sure about NZ.

As promised the list of some basic foods to carry and what it's possible to cook, nothing fancy of course Here's the list of essential foods I keep in my van, always have tinned tomatoes, pasta and dried parmesan and you have a meal. Tinned ham, dried potatoes and dried onions, make up dried onions and then add mash and make into patties and fry with ham. Tinned tuna and tinned new potatoes and a big dob of butter. Pre cooked rice because it doesn't need to be in the fridge and stir fried with fresh or tinned mushrooms and a sprinkle of soy sauce is a great meal on its own Quinoa and chick peas are great stand bye's as well and even dried eggs and milk and some tinned mixed veg and a sprinkle of garlic powder or garlic granules makes a great quick omlette, Stock cubes with dry noodles make a full tummy and Bovril If you like it makes a great warmer on a cool night want any more ideas let me know Happy travelling from the wheeliehavingfun caravaner

hey I know its an older video (i just found you the other night so have been binging!) but drain cleaner = baking soda and white vinegar, easy! In fact white vinegar is pretty cool for heaps of stuff I've discovered, especially ants! (altho you may be lucky that you're off the ground so ants wont find you ;)

Wow! That's alot surprzing storage for a small space

I wondered how you stored items. racks hooks etc

bucket to fill toilet,crate of stella beer and a bottle of vodka job done lol great vid thanks

What? No zip ties for maintenance? Forme it would be the first thing I buy, they are a must have for repairing! Great video BTW, very helpful!

It's probably not right, but this is what i do for the drains:- Soda Crystals. (loads, until it gathers and completely covers the hole), Leave for 5-10 minutes. White vinegar (1 cup usually does it) and pour away with boiling hot water. Leaves a nice clean smell and clears out the pipes. :)

My late uncle told my mom to pour a cup of bleach down each drain once a month and she would never have a stopped up drain. She did and no stopped up drains. I guess the bleach eats the fats and other stuff in the drains. Of course she didn't live in a caravan so I have no idea if it works in a caravan. 😟 A hand bag with random crap wrote on it. 😁 I must have missed the part where you said you need two propane bottles. Well, you don't have to have the second one but it does come in handy. 👍

Measurers, sieves, fly sprays are weird things to have in life let alone when camping. Awesome series though.. well done Kate.

Best drain cleaner, pour baking soda down the drain and pour vinegar on top of the baking soda

First Aid kit ;)

baking soda and white vinegar is good for unblocking drainpipes

You are cute like your video keep on caravanning

We carry 1 normal plate and a bowl for microwave purposes. And then a melamine set.

Thank you for this list, I am looking at getting a Caravan, Thank you so much.

spare fuses

I hope you're not using the bug spray indoors - some screens should be pretty good at keeping them out, and when it's not sufficient, hair spray will mess up their ability to fly, and then a tissue can finish off the job.

helpful - you learn to do with less....good to be a minimalist

Don’t forget a flashlight

Karen you are soooo cute

The only accessorie I would need in my van would be Karen :+)

I may of misheard but did you say New Zealand is moldy ? 😂

A CAT

Hi Kay, Where did you get your Mop from pls?