Thinking of useful extras for motorhome

our Cadac has its own gas cartridges but i would have a gas point fitted if we moved to one that needed a hose connection....however, ours can be used anywhere not just tied to, and fairly close to, the van...

i also made my own 'trailing socket' for external 230v use, primarily for the Teppanyakki grill which is extremely useful...

so we have outside gas or electric cooking which matches our varied stops, with or without EHU.

spent many a month in Spain, in wintertime, and South of France at end of Summer but havent yet felt that 'air con' was a requirement...

I guess the need for 'steadies' depends on the size and layout of the van, the length of rear overhang and the occupants' weight but our small van with short overhang (and slim occupants) doesn't necessitate such measures.

agree, all great additions to a van....

Good thread this on what is considered pre--equisite extra's for each persons new motorhome, our first two extra's which were included in the deal were silverscreens and aire conditioner which we  had fitted to help keep us cool in the summer.

Unfortunately we were due to pick it up in Madrid on the 16th march two days after the lockdown here so it is still in Madrid awaiting us, think we might give it a miss for the foreseeable  future considering how bad things are there.

Stay safe

Phil

The outside gas point is on the agenda has we have the large Cadac, will probably have it done this service due in July. That's a question l have been quoted, 185 for a service which is just an oil change, has to be done by them to keep the warranty or by vat registered garage, the habbitational is 200. Is this the norm my caravan habitational was only 130 what's the difference with a motorhome, can anyone explain. l am hoping to do a deal with them if they fit the solar panel, gas point and road pro, will want a significant reduction for all that work.

Heethers

Keep safe all

The charge for the servicing, both cab and hab seems quite reasonable to me, I certainly pay a bit more than that, probably £500 for both. I expect it varies from region to region. Rather ironically the Bailey we purchased in March 2019 only needed the hab service this year. The cab service being every two years and in current circumstances it is quite possible that we might not done very much mileage this year!!!

David

i agree that each person's touring style will influence the type of extras they go for...

those that park a MH on a site for ages might feel a proper awning will give more space, but if that long stay is in the sunshine then perhaps not, preferring to sit outside.

some might feel a drive away awning is great, allowing a long stay but easy use of the van as transport....however, those who only camp for a couple of days before moving on (rather than going out and back repeatedly) might not bother at all, prefering the ease (and speed) of a wind out canopy.

the presence or not of ehu everytime you camp will also be a big driver as to the extras fitted....

if you 'always' use sites with ehu then the van will be full of 230v appliances to play with, but if you venture away from mains power regularly (or even from time to time) then some thought will need to be given as to how the various appliances/devices will operate...

heating, hot water, kettles, fridges are easy....turn on the gas...but multiple days like this will use more gas and Calor bottles (especially the smaller ones) arent cheap to exchange....and if you're doing your off grid camping abroad then you wont be able to exchange them.....

so, this is when a refillable system might be considered...gas at the pump here is about 30% the price of a 6kg exchange and continental adaptors allow filling all over europe...

lights, water pump and heating fans all run from 12v, and phones and tablets are easily plugged into 12v sockets...but what about those few items that are mains only...?

some computers need a mains transformer, Sky boxes are mains only, ebike chargers are also....and dont forget the hairdryers..

luckily, generating 230v from your 12v leisure battery is easy....just fit an inverter.....but the size depends on whats being supported and lengthy use will use lots of battery power....so, an extra battery might prove useful...

but. how do these batteries get charged?.....well, while driving, of course, but folk may not drive every day but still wish to consume power.

one of the easiest ways of replenishing this is to fit a solar panel which can be set to charge your leisure batteries and also keep the vehicle battery topped up.

the larger the panel the better, along with a modern MPPT regulator will provide independence from hook up using free sunshine...

so, touring style can dictate/influence the type of extras we go for.

some are fairly cheap, some require a heftier investment but each needs to be weighed up against the benefit they provide.

good luck browsing the catalogs.....what else are we going to do?

My motorhome came with both outside gas and 230v electric points but no external TV point which would have been useful on a few occasions. I have a Cadac Grillo and have modified the gas feed to be able  to change tails to use either the motorhome's gas point or a 4.5Kgm bottle but my preference is to use a proper charcoal BBQ. I carry what the mood takes me. At home I always use a charcoal BBQ.

The fitting of a TV external socket is on my to do list. I have the socket it is just a bit further down my DIY list.

peedee

Although supposedly optional extras, the U.K. Version of the Hymer we bought came with a lot of extras. More 240 volt plug sockets than I could ever reasonably use. Lots of 12 volt sockets and numerous USB's, which are very useful for charging pads / phones and means we don't have to take the chargers away. External BBQ point which we use a lot. Cab blinds and door flyscreen. Whip TV aerial, which works very well. We also added a wind out awning, solar panels and refillable gas. Also an outside TV point for use on club sites with loops and the sat dish if required. One thing I think that is essential is a spare wheel, ours fits on a bracket in the garage. Although I might not be to change it, the breakdown service can when they arrive.

We decided against a sat dish or dome on the roof. The dome on our caravan at circa £1200 was nothing but trouble being out of action half the 6 years we owned it. In this country freeview is generally very good. Abroad we made do with DVD's and got news via apps and online newspapers. Last year I did pack a freestanding dish in the garage, as our Avtex has a freesat tuner, but other than a test never used it.

one thing i did get prior to our Spain trip was a spare tyre...ive never carried one before but decided on a change of policy....

dont have a wheel (yet) but felt the recovery network would be able to provide a tyre change...sourcing the correct tyre might be the tricky bit.

its stored in the garage at the moment....found a convenient location, but might get an underslung cradle made up when this all dies down.

i reckon we have just about everything we need....the van rides really well using correct tyre pressures, so cant see the justification for air suspension...

the relatively short wheelbase makes it easy to level and its short length makes finding the 'best' place on the pitch (where rules allow) straightforward, so hydraulic levelling isnt on the horizon...

inside we have pretty much everything we need....we dont have a microwave but have no need of one as 90% of our camping is in warm weather where salads and fresh food (usually eaten outside) is the order of the day...

with refillable gas, a solar panel, twin leisure batteries and an inverter, we're 'extra'd' up for camping anywhere and i cant really think what other items we might consider...

any suggestions, team?

All good points , outside tv socket ? hope thats when you are wild camping and not annoying others on sites . Lovely quite night ,one person ruins it . I use earphones , so as not to ruin others peace and quite .Am i being miserable ?

Outside TV socket

Not sure if your serious but you didn't put any smileys.

Perhaps external TV input would have been a better description. It's a socket on the outside of the van to plug the loop aerial on the EHU bollard (often found on CAMC sites) into. So that TV can be watched inside the MH in low signal strength areas. This avoids the need to try and squeeze it through an almost closed window. Never have and never will watch TV outside.