What to take?
Its hard to know what you will need and what to take with you for a long trip away in such a tiny van, we were surprised at just how much we could fit in and we are still way below the maximum weight load, we made a short video a while ago from our first adventures away sharing just how much we can fit in our tiny home;
We have recently created our own Amazon Store! Great products we use and recommend for van life all in one place; https://www.amazon.co.uk/shop/theexpawers
Below is a list of a few of the items we have in the van, they are not all necessarily must have essentials but they make things easier (or a lot more fun!) we use a lot of them daily and recommend them all;
Inflatable SUP board — love this, great for just having some fun on the water.
Inflatable KAYAK — perfect for going off for the day exploring, taking supplies and a picnic.
Dry Bag — Essential for taking anything with you on the SUP boards/Kayak, keeping all you valuables safe and dry!
Water Shoes — We use these alot when going into the water and on the boards, especially if we cant see the bottom, saves you standing bear foot on anything that might be unpleasant!
SUP Board Adjustable Seat — Turns the SUP board into a kayak!
GASOLINE Stove — Everything tastes better when cooked outside and this makes you do just that, as well as being a great back up to your onboard kitchen setup.
Zip Bags for Clothes — These are an absolute game changer, our clothes are now arranged neatly at all times, you need these in your van life!
OCTOPUS Clothes Dryer — perfect for hanging in the van to dry your smaller items of clothing.
MINI Projector — perfect for the van (fits in your pocket) we love watching movies when we have time and why not watch them on a big screen!
Bluetooth Speaker — fantastic sound with deep base and ideal to take music with you anywhere or for enhancing any movie experience (we have two of these!).
Portable POWER BANK — definitely a must have for van life, charge on the solar during the day then you have extra power to charge USBs at night.
12 v Laptop Charger — Uses so much less power having one of these instead of using an inverter and mains power charger, absolutely essential for us, universal for all laptops.
Portable FREEVIEW 9inch TV— nice little TV, good to have the option to watch local TV wherever you are in Europe.
Walkie Talkies — another must have when in remote places and you have no phone reception, keeping in contact and a bit of fun.
SOLAR Shower — this works great for heating up water in the sun, be careful as water temp gets very high on a hot day!
12v Shower — simply plug in and drop the pump in bucket of water, put up your hula hoop shower curtain and you have an indoor shower!
USB Shower — ideal for the van, amazing battery life. Similar to 12v shower but you can be take this bad boy anywhere!
Porta Potty — we chose this one as it is under 30cm in height so fits under our bed storage.
Portable Urinal — great little invention with a female adaptor. Has been used many times, great for those times when you cant go in the bushes!
Omnia Stove Top Oven — what a brilliant bit of kit! no oven? no problem!
Ridge Monkey — a vanlife must have item, say no more!
Whistling Kettle — we love our little stove top kettle, these things last for years.
Camping Toaster — this is actually better than we originally thought, a compact little device to pop straight onto of the flame.
Gas Stove with Grill — we have a stove inside the van, but this is a great alternative for cooking outside too, comes with a fabulous little grill.
Water Filter Jug — we fill up from taps wherever we can all over Europe and run the water through this before drinking, not been sick yet!
DOUBLE Bike Rack — a brilliant strong, sturdy bit of kit, we have travelled thousand’s of kms all over Europe on all kinds of terrain with our bikes securely on the back of the van using this great bike rack.
Levellers — we use these so much!
20L Water Container — sturdy and strong, no leak container.
Dog Life Jackets — the boys look adorable in these, and safety first!
CO2 Detector — essential!
Flexi Solar Panel — this has been stuck to the top of our van for a few years, still working great.
Fold Out Solar Panel(24w) — another great bit of kit, perfect for taking with you on a hike too!
USB Rechargeable Fan — brilliant little fan we use in bed to keep us cool, also has a led light!
Double Head 12v Fan — This little fan is great, so powerful with 3 settings.
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