Things to get to make life very comfortable

It's good to see how everyone is different LJ, good thread. Everyone does their trips away differently, it's the diversity of the campers that make it interesting. There are always some folk who believe their way is best & attempt to harangue those that don't conform to that way. It's your life-enjoy it

We all need different things when away from home on trips & do admire the sourcing of the many bargains.  Having said that I hope the OP’s weight carrying allowance is within the legal limit of the law & hopefully he has had this checked at a weighbridge when packed for a trip.  

We also have an electric cool box which we purchased at Halfords last year. It can work on mains as well as 12 volt, so we can plug it into the cigarette lighter in the car when travelling. 

All to there own, we carry stuff that others probably wouldn't approve of, so politely 'I don't give a t**s'.  At least 5 cameras, lenses, tripod, scope, bino's etc., etc The weight of all that gear is probably more than the total weight of the blow up furniture.

Good for you LJ and enjoy your style of vanning

Wow, Freezer  Must be small to fit through the caravan door.

As said each to their own but it makes me think about load margin and weight distribution.

It also made me think about asking what other things folk carry around the country?  I'll confess to having a very small & lightweight Dyson upright on board that lives in the bottom of the wardrobe, didn't buy it specifically, it came from a flat we sold last year and was just sitting in the garage. Comes in to it's own having 2 Border Collies on tour with us

Look forward hearing what others take along with them, Just off now to make sure I have packed the chemical kit for the caravans Spa/Hot tub  

When our lot were young, we didn't have a caravan but family holidays meant we went away completely loaded with "stuff" (plus the dog!) You forget how much families take away with them. Now we travel light because it suits us. As long as you can safely load everything and keep within weight limits enjoyment is what it's all about. 

We all have different ideas on what we need for our touring life.  It would be rather boring if we were all the same.  My only concern is the weight.  When we had our last caravan I put it on a weighbridge loaded for holiday to find we were only just within our max weight. I do hope the OP has checked his actual weight on a weighbridge and that the items are loaded suitably inside to insure stability.  

something I carry that not many of you will a portable loo, it's stored under my bed and stays there all the time ,I have to be careful what I take put some plastic drawers in when I 1st got it ,then some smaller narrower ones now not take either with my camper being small I have to get away from cluttering it up to much or I will get claustrophobic and need to travel as light as I can as I use it all the time !!

Oh dear, I feel I must clarify this post some more. Like I say, the freezer is one of those small cube shaped affairs which weighs next to nothing when empty. The reason we take this if we are staying for a week or more is that we take a vast amount of food and drink items with us in the first place so we don't have to pay extortionate food prices shopping at small spar shops etc in rural isolated areas or overpriced tourist resorts where they have you by the short and curlies. Strangely enough, our food shop is predominantly done at Aldi too.

Although being relatively new to it all, I did say we had planned and researched for around five years before we bought our van so was fully aware of MTPLM etc knowing what kind of experience we wanted when we eventually purchased our van. This included calculating the weight of a motor mover which is why we got a two wheel heavy duty one despite it being a twin axle van. Yes it is a 26ft twin axle Swift and our tow car is a Shogun LWB 3.2DiD. I maintain and inspect both car and van regularly especially tyres and brakes etc.

We have a roof box too so I load in such a manner that all the real dense and heavy stuff i.e awning, poles, food, alcohol etc is in the car evenly distributed and low down at floor height where possible and the van itself hardly carries anything that wouldn't normally be in there. Spare clothes and all ancillaries are only loaded in the van on arrival at the site.

I did draw the line with my wife though. We have two dogs which sometimes come with us and at home we had two metal cages. These where clearly way too heavy to add to our all up weight limits so we have bought two of those collapsable canvas dog cages which weigh nothing but allow the dogs to settle comfortably in the awning when not out on walks with us.

We of course carry a comprehensive first aid kit and medicines (and also one for the dogs too), as well as fire equipment.

I don't know if I dare mention now that we have two heavy duty Milenko wheel clamps as well as Hitch Lock and Ball not too mention the van is alarmed all in compliance with our CC Insurance.

Finally, for the comments on why bother leaving your house if we take that many home comforts, the answer is simple. We bought the Caravan to get away from where we live and enjoy the rural coast lines of the UK instead of the urban sprawl and noisy neighbours etc that we have to put up with for the other 10 months of the year.

Thanks anyway all who have commented and indeed your cautions on the weight issue may well help others new to Caravanning that maybe had not thought about things as intensely as we did before committing to purchase.

It was the Norm many years ago with our previous 2 caravans, and the smell the gas lights made