Packing your caravan

We often get asked about packing. What are the essentials? How many clothes do you take? This varies greatly depending on how you operate in your van. Are you a minimilist camper, or do you need all your creature comforts? Do you holiday for a week or two at a time, go for a couple of months, or live in your van? Do you have a family with young children?

We are sharing what WE take and how we pack our caravan. We recognise this might not be right for everyone. We've certainly increased the amount of stuff we take over the last 30+ years.

KEEP PERMANENTLY IN VAN

We leave the following in our caravan permanently:

• 15amp electrical lead, 10 to 15amp converter, water hose, waste hose, bucket, stabilizer leg winders, awning tie towns, chocs and levelers for wheels

• cutlery - forks, knives, spoons, teaspoons, 2 sharp knives, pair of tongs, spatula, wooden spoon, vegetable peeler

• mugs and drinking cups

• bowls and plates

• kettle (one electric and one for on gas stove)

• toaster

• 2 saucepans, 2 frypans

• 1 plastic chopping board, 1 timber chopping board (for grazing platters etc)

• a set of BBQ tools

• can opener, bottle opener

• jug for boiled water

• washing up detergent & cloths

• alfoil, glad wrap, garbage bags, zip lock bags, paper towel

• matches

• tea towels ( 2 sets of 2)

• broom & dustpan

• laundry items - wool wash detergent, clothes pegs, disinfectant, disposable gloves, portable clothes line, cleaning rags, dirty clothes hamper

• torches

• ant rid/fly spray, talcum powder (put on stabilizer legs to deter ants)

• rain umbrella

• playing cards, games

• First aid kit, suncream, insect repellent

• Toiletries bag per person including shampoo/conditioner, brush/comb, toothbrush, toothpaste, hair products, soap

• Bath towel per person (+ one spare)

• Spare toilet paper

• BBQ

• outdoor mats

We currently use sleeping bags with cotton, silk, or polar fleece inners (depending on weather) as we have found this easier on the road than sheets and blankets. I only ever air sleeping bags in the sun and wash the inners and pillowcases. This list is per person/bed:

• mattress protectors (1 per bed + 1 spare for bunks)

• sleeping bags (1 per person + 1 spare)

• pillows and pillow cases (1 per pillow + 1 spare)

In summer we use polyester sleeping bags and cotton or silk inners. In winter, down sleeping bags are warm and light and you can boost warmth with inners made out of polar fleece.

CLOTHES

We take 5 changes of clothes for the current season and 2 for the alternate season. By this we mean, in summer we take 5 pairs of shorts and 5 tshirts with 2 trackpants and 2 jackets/jumpers. If travelling in winter, we would swap this and take 5 pair of long pants and 2 pairs of shorts (for that odd nice day).

If you are going to be travelling in both warm and cold weather, then we recommend starting out with one seasons clothes in the van and the other packed away (either in car or in box under bed or somthing in van) and swap when you need to - unless you have a lot more cupboard space in your caravan than we do. If you are travelling in both warm and cold weather, or full time, there are options like zip-off pants available.

Summer packing list (per person):

• 5 pairs shorts

• 5 tshirts/short sleeve tops

• 6 pairs underwear

• 2 bras (for the ladies)

• 5 socks

• 1 hat (plus spare hat for each child)

• 2 zipoff/tracksuit pants

• 2 jackets/jumpers

• 1 pair thongs, crocs or slides

• 1 pair sneakers or hiking style shoes

• 1 swimmers (plus 1 extra for children, a rashie top)

• 2 summer pyjamas

• 1 rain jacket

Winter packing list (per person):

• 5 zipoff/tracksuit pants (or jeans if preferred)

• 5 long sleeve tshirts/tops

• 3 warm jackets or jumpers

• 6 pairs underwear

• 2 bras (for the ladies)

• 6 socks

• 1 hat (plus spare hat for each child)

• 1 beanie

• 2 pairs shorts (unless you have zipoff pants)

• 2 tshirts/short sleeve tops

• 1 pair thongs, crocs or slides

• 1 pair sneakers or hiking style shoes

• 2 winter pyjamas

• 1 rain jacket

If you are going somewhere really cold, we would also add gloves, scarves and thermals to the above.

Polar fleece are great warm jumpers/jackets for caravanning as they are lightweight, easy to wash, and quick-drying. You can also get them in different "weights" (ie. thickness) which have different levels of warmth. You can wear a lightweight polarfleece underneath a thicker weight one also, so we always have one of each with the thicker weight one being one size larger so that you can bulk up underneath it.

FOOD

The only food we leave in our van is some dried herbs and S&P. Even these are in a tightly sealed container.

The two (2) reason we do not leave any other food in our van are: ants and mice! Any type of food attracts these critters, and having had horrific experiences with both, we find it easier to take all food out (even if its only a short time between trips) than to deal with the cleanup.

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Loading your Caravan for Towing

PACK HEAVIER ITEMS LOWER & ABOVE AXLES

A caravan is more stable with a lower centre of gravity thereby making your towing easier and safer, so pack heavier items (such as tinned foods, books) in low cupboards. The best place to put heavy items is over the axles, followed by the front of the caravan. The rear of your caravan and top cupboards are best for lighter items.

This becomes even more important if you have a heavy air conditioner in your caravan roof, its wise to offset this as much as you can.

Too much weight in the front of the caravan increases you caravan's tow ball weight; too much at the rear may make your tow ball weight too light. Both of these can affect your vehicle's towing capability - and lead to crashes!

LOAD EVENLY ON BOTH SIDES

Again, your caravan is more stable if loaded evenly on both sides. How you pack each side will depend on the layout of your caravan.

Consider

1. Does your caravan have a fridge on one side, and an oven and hot water system on the other side?

2. Or are all your appliances (and therefore weight) on one side?

If it's the second one, pack heavier items low down on the opposite side to balance you caravan.

BEFORE TOWING, MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS PACKED SECURELY

In the last hour before departure, we always double-check all cupboards, fridge, boots etc to ensure everything is packed in a way that it won't move.

Two examples that deserve consideration are your fridge and pantry. These contain items encased in glass jars/bottles or plastic containers - both of which may smash during travel and create a big mess. If you have just done a shop, both may be full and therefore everything is jammed into each other unable to move... but by the end of a 5 day free camp (for example), your fridge and pantry may be almost empty leaving lots of empty space. To compensate, relocate all items to the same shelf and/or pack empty spaces with teatowels/towels etc.

Velcro or double-sided tape can be used to stick things like remote controls, soap dispensers etc to the wall. Just be aware that anything permanent like this, while equalling less items for you to pack/unpack, may affect your caravan's resale value.

DETERMINE YOUR CARAVAN'S WEIGHT

It is critical to determine your caravan and tow vehicle weight before towing. If you are overweight not only is it unsafe for your family and can put a lot of strain on your tow vehicle - but it is also illegal and will void your insurance in the event of an accident.

The best way to determine your weight is to fully load your caravan and either go over a public weighbridge or utilise a mobile weighing company. We weigh periodically when we are fully loaded and just after a big grocery shop to ensure compliance (as you tend to gain weight as you travel and pick up souvenirs etc). If you are new to caravanning, mobile weighing companies are excellent as they can explain how best to load your particular set up to ensure the safest travel.

Happy packing!! Feel free to comment below with any questions (and we will endeavour to answer to the best of our ability).

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