UKC

Not sure if I need any more 'useful gadget inspiration' for our old transit motorhome but I want some all the same! I would normally ask these questions on a motorhome/camper forum but from searches it seems you get the usual boring old ideas from seasoned pensioners.

So what are the most useful (or just gadget cool) accessories you have in your van/estate/motorhome while on the road?

I'll start with:

100w solar panel (free energy man!)
Huawei mifi device (3g/internet on the go)
12v usb sockets (charge any modern mobile etc...)
Cheap asda tablet (music/films and upload your photos from the day via the memory card)
Led equalizer from eBay China (bounces the bars to music - get your groove on for 7 quid haha!)

Old climbing rope is great for climbing themed decorations also.

Most useful tool by far has to be 'sikaflex' that stuff will stick to anything.

In reply to Oogachooga:

nalgene bottle ;-D ;-D

In reply to Oogachooga:

Oo... fun thread!

in addition to the above:

decent inverter and 240v socket
no need for solar panel - the leisure battery holds charge for at least 3 days, then just start the engine to recharge it.
remote control dimmer for lighting - no getting out of bed or need of torches.
excellent stereo and speakers (also with remote control)
walnut floor - it's way better than tacky lino!
carpeted front cab
loads of windows
blackout curtains all round
beer and cheese fridge obviously
a wind break so Mrs G can have a private outside loo
sikaflex indeed!
neodyneum magnets for hanging things on the van wall (eg remote controls, keys etc)
happy faces

and that said, we're off to Cornwall in 30 mins to start our summer van tour of the UK. Woohoo! Have fun!

In reply to Oogachooga:

AA membership

In reply to Oogachooga:

Heavy duty twist ties. Awesome for stopping things moving around, tying bicycles to seats, bicycles to other bicycles, hanging things off other things etc.

In reply to Oogachooga:

fingerboard attached to the outside of course! can't find a pic, but I think Alex Honnold had one

In reply to Oogachooga:
A solar panel is one of the best mods I've added, keeps my fridge running 24/7 that keeps my beer & wine at a perfect temperature which makes me a happy camper Haven't had to pay for hook-up since...

Not really a gadget but adding a swivel base for the double bench seat up front has totally transformed the living area, creates loads more space.

I've recently hard-wired a RaspberryPI running as a Plex server and USB socket into the van. So now all I've got to do is plug in an external HDD, flip a switch and I can wirelessly stream videos to my iPad.

In reply to jalien:

Fingerboard is a friggin good idea!

On the inside of the door though so it doesn't scream 'we're climbers', steal our expensive draws!

Charley, what fridge do you have out of interest? How much power does it consume roughly?

In reply to Oogachooga:

diesel heater?
underslung lpg tank?

Useful thread as we've just bought a van and about to have it converted - looking forward to more ideas

In reply to Oogachooga:

We bought a T5 this year that came with a digiital tv tuner complete with aerials in the windscreen and remote control. The TV monitor flips down and it also plays DVD's. Handy for checking the weather forecast & rainy days.

We have double USB chargers that plug into the cigarette lighter, although I've seen that it's now possible to get 2mains double sockets which 2 USB chargers embedded (only works when hooked up).

Would like to improve the sound system - any recommendations?

In reply to kevin stephens:

Check this guy out for ideas: http://deepredmotorhome.com/

In reply to Dave Rumney:

Sound system in ours is probably a bit spit and sawdust for your t5 but we added a new head unit connected to some mordant short corner speakers that we had spare. Suits our van but maybe not to your taste? Loud enough as well.

I am looking for a surround sound system with active subwoofer to replace the house speakers with. Something a little more discrete and more kick for bass (but if it ain't broke...etc etc).

In reply to kevin stephens:



If cheap gas is your desire you could look at a GasLow system, they aren't that cheap to buy but if you use a van in winter with a gas heater like a trumatic then you use a lot of gas and LPG from a garage is massively cheaper than camping or calor gas. Also, you get a couple of converters to account for the few types of filling pumps that are in use so you've no problems getting gas anywhere in Europe.

In reply to Dave Rumney:

If you haven't already done so, first step in improving your sound system is deadening the door panels and sealing up the air holes around the doors... improves mid-bass massively for £10 if you use flashing tape, a bit more if you want the non-bitumen based professional deadening.

I used flashing tape, does the job well and haven't noticed any smell even in 40+ degrees in the Alps a couple of weeks back.

In reply to gethin_allen:

My safefill system was pretty cheap, although as there's no external fill point you sometimes get refused at the filling station... if you have the bottle by the side loading door ready to go, and don't lift it out, they rarely notice though

In reply to Oogachooga:

I went for a Vitrifrigo C50i in the end. Cost more than the my full sized fridge in my flat and was the most expensive item in my conversion but have to say it is brilliant. Slim profile, room for big bottles in the door, quiet and works great.

Think it uses just under 3amp when it's on it's coldest setting. Used to get around 3 days out of my leisure battery before I fitted the solar panel.

Saying that I've got a mate who just uses a standard coolbox which also does the job for a long weekend.

In reply to Oogachooga:

Interesting. Do you have them in the back corners of the van or somewhere else?
Is a head unit like a power amp.

The previous owner of our van appears to have spent a fortune on the tv and DVD system, but the sound still just uses the standard door speakers and they sound terrible.

In reply to Dave Rumney:

We added a 12v car head unit under one lot of seats and then have the speakers above head height facing the seating area.

I did originally put the speakers out to give sound for the entire van but found in order to hear them in the seating area (where most of our time is spent when in the van), you had them up loud enough to hear it outside.

In reply to charley:

Cheers, one for next year's van budget. Our current one is dead.

So it uses around 72 ah a day. My solar panel gives 8 amps per hour at full summer Sun. Probably would run my 100ah leisure battery down after a while if I didn't move to charge it as well.

Might consider this over a gas one though as at least it gets powered for free on 12v and you can always turn it down I suppose.

In reply to Oogachooga:
When I did my (almost) year tour of Europe, we weren't staying on campsites and I think the best things about the motorhome were:

- Solar panels (2 massive ones)
- Gas heater (also had a refillable LPG tank but be aware that Spain sells it in far less garages than other places Europe. I used GasIt instead of GasLow. Cheaper and seemed to be an excellent product.)
- Huge water tanks (never know how long it'll be before you find another tap)
- Tablet with excellent lithium battery (not a van part but keeps quiet nights interesting whilst watching tv episodes and films)
- Shower (we didn't figure out how to use ours until we in the process of selling the van but it would have been amazing if we'd figured it out on the trip)
- Stealth safe (I had a hidden safe bolted to the floor with security bolts for putting laptops, money, passport, etc in. Made leaving the van less of a worry as it was very unlikely they'd be able to get into it whilst we were away).
- Fridge (I broke ours within a week of having it by leaving it on gas whilst driving. Would have made life much easier if I hadn't)

I was worried about having a small motorhome as opposed to a converted van as I thought it'd be too big to get to all of the mountain crags, etc, but it was fine. Fully recommend it over a converted van. It's nice having more space and bed that's permanently made up. I wish I was wealthy enough to own one now.

In reply to Oogachooga:

My panel only generates 4 amps in ideal conditions. This lets me run the fridge on it's coldest setting and still keeps my battery topped up during the day.

On an average, UK day it generates 2-3ish amps. I normally keep the fridge on low (setting 3) which still keeps everything nice and chilled. When going away I switch it to full while I'm driving there (battery gets charged by the alternator) then switch it back down when I arrive.

When I'm home, I rarely switch the fridge off and my 100w panel seems to run it just fine. Had it over a year now and haven't drained the battery yet.

In reply to charley:

Nice, cheers for the heads up!