Travelling or camping with a caravan allows you to take your creature comforts wherever you go – you don’t have to pack light and you can put the kettle on in any location. Without a doubt, caravan camping is a luxury away from home.
Once you have invested in a good caravan and go on your first trip, you’ll discover that the vehicle by itself is not enough. There are certain accessories that you’ll need in order to improve your overall experience. To save you from having to find out all by yourself, here’s a list of the most useful camping trailer accessories explained in thorough detail.
Contents
- A Good Caravan Cover for Protecting Your Investment
- Towing Mirrors for Better Visibility on the Road
- Steps for Preventing Injuries
- A Gas Bottle Holder – Store Your Gas Securely
- Levelling Ramps for Keeping the Caravan Steady and Balanced
- Water & Wastewater Containers for All Your Hydration and Hygiene Needs
- Leisure Battery for Powering Your Appliances
A Good Caravan Cover for Protecting Your Investment
A caravan is a significant investment, so when looking for essential camping trailer accessories, you may want to start with a caravan cover. If left unprotected, your caravan is going to be exposed to dirt, rain, tree sap, UV fading and scrapes to the bodywork. And due to this, you need a quality caravan cover, especially when you store your vehicle for the winter.
The cover you choose should be breathable so that it can allow moisture and condensation to escape from the inside. It also has to be waterproof to provide protection from the elements.
In order to get the right size of caravan cover, you have to measure the length of your caravan body from front and back (parallel to the ground). There is a large range of sizes for covers to suit all types of caravans. In case your caravan is between sizes, go for the smaller option. On the contrary, if you go for the larger size, the excess material will prove difficult to secure and might tear in windy weather.
Towing Mirrors for Better Visibility on the Road
By law, the driver must be able to see for a distance of 20 m to the rear and 4 m on either side of his outfit. For this purpose, you as a caravan driver, need towing mirrors that are secured to your vehicle’s door mirrors and extend the field of vision along both sides of the caravan. When choosing these caravan accessories, ensure that they fit securely and pick ones that you can afford without stretching your budget. In other words, the more you pay, the better the structure you will get.
Steps for Preventing Injuries
When you open the door to your camper, you are probably looking at a quite high jump. The last thing you want when on holiday is to deal with a sprained ankle or some other type of injury obtained while climbing in and out of your camper.
These days, all new caravan usually come with a large, stable plastic step. However, if you have had your caravan for years and it’s an older model or you buy a used caravan, it may not have a step, so you need to buy one. There is a range of step types to choose from – folding steel steps, metal steps that don’t fold, adjustable steps, double steps, steps that are also boxes to contain small items, etc.
A Gas Bottle Holder – Store Your Gas Securely
Gas is the most common power source for caravans. For this reason, one of the essential accessories for caravans you will need is a gas bottle holder. An adjustable and lockable gas bottle holder will store your gas cylinders securely on the camper trailer. Choose one with insulating trim to reduce vibrations.
Levelling Ramps for Keeping the Caravan Steady and Balanced
These caravan accessories are essential for keeping your camper trailer in place. It’s necessary to use such ramps to level out your caravan if you want to comfortably sit and sleep inside when being camped on uneven ground.
These ramps are usually plastic or aluminium blocks. There are levellers with grip tracks intended for muddy or soft ground and step level ramps so that you can adjust the gradient.
Water & Wastewater Containers for All Your Hydration and Hygiene Needs
You can choose between small water containers that you carry to and from the tap. However, a much convenient option is wheeled water containers. These containers have to be refilled once they are empty, typically that is once a day. This way you will always have fresh water when travelling with your caravan.
Typically, these containers are cylinders with two tyres around the edge so that you can pull them along, holding a handle that clips to the top and bottom of the cylinder. Water containers can be found in different sizes.
When it comes to wastewater containers, again, you can choose between whether you want to carry them to the site’s wastewater emptying point or you prefer to pull along easily on wheels. Again, wastewater containers on wheels are much more convenient.
Leisure Battery for Powering Your Appliances
Unless you have a caravan that is designed to be used on mains hook-up only, you need a battery. These batteries that are used in caravans are called leisure batteries. Typically, they’re 75 to 110amp-hour. These batteries will enable you to power your caravan and the devices within it.
