Things to get to make life very comfortable

Posted on 07/05/2017 20:41 by Little Jack

Hi all,

We just thought we would share with other fellow newbie’s to caravanning some of the comfort items we bought and where to get things from. As you can see from my profile, we have only been Caravanners since March 2016 however we had put five years thought and planning into this venture prior to van purchase. Some items, we had started buying as and when we came across them before we got the van. 

Firstly, never under-estimate how good Aldi is for Caravan and Camping stuff and very cheap. One of the best purchases we made at Aldi was an inflatable sofa for in the awning. This was a robust and substantial made item with a velour finish. It is a three-seater but in reality seats two adults very comfortably and isn't made of the thin plastic stuff that lilo’s are made of either so shouldn’t puncture very easily. It also folds down into a double bed if required too. It has two cup holders built in at each side too. We bought this for I believe £25.00 at Aldi the year before we bought the van. So impressed were we that we looked up the manufacturer online and purchased a matching single seat arm-chair to go with it. Again, this too folds down into a single bed if required.

We also purchased a small electric air pump with multi / connections so we don't have to have a heart attack inflating the furniture.

Aldi also supplied us with our rotating three stage space heater for the awning too and this only cost £15.00 at the time.

This weekend, we purchased a spare 25m EHU cable from Aldi for just £25.00. We don't particularly need this as we have one, but things do break or get nicked so I'm told when you are off site for the day so we thought at that price, why not have a spare.

Aldi will also sell levelling wedges and Caravan covers too on a seasonal basis but we already have these.

Moving on, we purchased a small freezer (household type) so we can carry and have a supply of frozen foods with us in addition to the way too small Caravan freezer. We bought this second hand from the British Heart Foundation shop in Preston Lancashire. We simply prepare the freezer in the van whilst we it's being charged up at home in the days prior to departure. As long as you are not travelling for more than 10 hours, it keeps everything frozen throughout the journey to the site then is simply plugged in again. In addition to this, we purchased a 40Lt electric cool box second hand but as good as new on the "Pre-Loved" website. This is a fantastic item as it plugs into the mains and also has a car charger built in so you can run this whilst travelling to your destination. Its ideal on site for keeping your beer, wine and the kid’s 2Lt pop bottles which fir exactly inside it.

Our van is a four berth with fixed double bed at one end and of course the front benches make into a king sized double too. We purchased excellent double and single mattress toppers from B & M Bargains for literally a few quid which make for excellent sleeping comfort. Rather than keep taking bedding from home, we also bought quilts, pillows and covers all colour co-ordinated to the wife's specifications from B & M too.

All of our pots, pans and crockery etc we simply bought from Asda but we did treat ourselves to colour co-ordinated plastic beakers and un-screwable wine glasses (also plastic) from our local branch of Campbell’s Caravans shop.

We got camping tables and chairs and an actual second hand Swift Caravan table again on the Pre-Loved website.

We always take our house-hold slow cooker with us but again, you can buy these from Asda for not much money and of course we always take our Dolce Gusto Coffee machine from home.

Finally, we bought decent flat screen TV with free-view from a local auction house and this only cost £25.00 and looked as good as new.

There is much more I could mention but these are just some ideas on how to make life ridiculously comfortable and enhance the whole touring experience. We would like to hear from other people who might have suggestions on stuff to take.

Posted on 08/05/2017 10:30 by Little Jack

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.

Posted on 08/05/2017 12:47 by Tinwheeler

Good post, LJ. Thanks for coming back.

I would just say that not all small rural shops are out to rip you off. The owners need to make a living and so often it costs them more than you'd think to get supplies and run their businesses. For instance, transport costs to Cornwall are going to add to costs, and water rates alone are sky high down here. The businesses provide a service to tourists, as well as locals, and it's a case of use it or lose it. People who boycott local businesses when away could be said to be failing to give something back to the very areas they wish to enjoy. 

Posted on 08/05/2017 13:23 by huskydog

Spot on TW , a lot of local business owners work hard to provide a service and support the local community