41 very useful Campervan gadgets

How to choose campervan gadgets that are worthy of precious space

My goal for this post is to give you a guide to fun but very useful campervan gadgets and  gear that can truly make a difference in your vanlife experiences.

Most “campervan gadgets” blog posts include a lot of cool but unnecessary stuff that will either turn into clutter in your van, or get pushed out by more necessary equipment.

So in the spirit of one of our very popular Campervan Essentials List, please enjoy our carefully curated campervan gadgets.

Criteria for getting on my list of useful campervan gadgets

I didn’t want to just create another list of “cool gear”, so I put some effort and thought into the campervan gadgets that can really improve your travel experiences.

I suggest that, before you add anything new to your van that will consume precious storage space, you consider this brief list of requirements.

• Time tested, not fad based
• Durable
• High quality
• A smart use of money and space
• Useful on a daily basis, or…
• Providing daily value, as in safety gear

In short, items on this list must provide a high level of value for the long haul.

I hope you find this list of Campervan gadgets useful to your Vanlife journeys.

Campervan gadgets for comfort, relaxation and fun

Some of us find all our travel fun outside of the van, in the forest, on the ski slope or on the beach.

Others want nothing more than to snuggle up in the van and read a great book, enjoy time with kids or partners, listen to some great music…

As with the rest of this post, I wanted to be diligent with my suggestions. Please let me know in the comments about your favorite relaxation and fun campervan gadgets.

Folding chairs and tables

If you do any entertaining, you’ll need more table and seating space than most vans afford.

Even if your van has a dining space, you’ll often want to sit outside to eat, play games, sit under the awning, or just enjoy the moonlight.

We love the Coleman Outdoor Compact Table for it’s portability and because the smart design allows you to tuck your legs under while seated.  Our Rating
The highly rated CORE Equipment folding chairs fold down to a packable size and offer comfort and durability so they’re perfect for Vanlife. You’ll also want to consider a reclining camp chair or two, if space allows. Our Rating

Portable Camp Showers

Whether or not you have a shower built in to your van, a portable camp shower can be a vanlife game changer.

I use mine to rinse off bikes, shoes and other gear after a muddy or dusty MTB ride. If you’ve got dogs on board, a portable shower is a must, and they can be just as useful for grubby kids after a day at the beach.

A portable solar shower can be a life saver when you’ve run out of fuel or don’t have a shore hook up for your campervan hot water heater.

The ADVANCED ELEMENTS 5 Gallon portable solar camp shower is a great solution for keeping clean on the road. Hang the bag in the sun to heat the water, or add heated water as needed.  Our Rating
Nemo Helio Portable Camp Shower: While many portable camp showers are gravity fed, the Nemo Helio offers a foot pump system do deliver all the pressure you need to hose down people and gear as needed.  Our Rating

Camping blankets

What is the best blanket for camping? That depends on many factors, of course, so we wrote an extensive post about Campervan Bedding to answer this and many related questions.

I think that the right blanket designed for the unique needs of Vanlife is a great addition to any van.

Out to watch a solar eclipse, meteor shower, sit by the campfire on the beach? You’ll want a cozy, durable blanket.

A good blanket or two can get you through the night if you run out of power or fuel for heater or just reduce need for heat in general.

In this van dwellers humble opinion, nothing beats Merino wool and the Woolly Mammoth Woolen Co Merino Wool Camp Blanket is a brilliant application of this amazing material. Merino is soft (not scratchy), antimicrobial, washable, breathable… Magical. Our Rating
Since the Horizon Hound Down Camping Blanket is waterproof, it’s perfect for an evening on a misty beach, or a dewy mountain boondocking site. The durable, washable, lightweight design make this blanket a brilliant addition to any campervan bedding collection. Our Rating

E Readers

It’s often overlooked, but Vanlife isn’t all hikes and beaches.

It often includes rainy days, sick days, downtime waiting for a repair…

Not that you need those excuses to crack open a great read.

Disappear into a great book, load a PDF repair manual for your van, or park yourself in a reclining chair to watch a favorite show.

Great for casual or serious readers.

I carry a Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1-Inch Tablet for watching movies, reading books on the Kindle app, listening to music and podcasts and even to work on Vansage in a coffee shop now and then. For a lot more speed, storage and a host of other great features, consider a Samsung Tab S7 Our rating
The Kindle Paperwhite technology is easy on the eyes featuring adjustable warm light to shift screen shade from white to amber They’re waterproof, feature Bluetooth connectivity and Audible integration. PS- The new Kindle Oasis is beyond enticing. So many great features. Our rating

 

Headphones

This old Van Traveler has to admit; teenagers have something figured out: When life gets a bit overwhelming and confusing, put on a set of headphones, curl up in a corner and refuse to make eye contact with anyone.

Okay maybe don’t take it that far, but a good set of headphones can provide a kind of privacy and independence when the world is a bit too much.

A word about speakers: You’ll notice I didn’t include speakers, Bluetooth or otherwise, on this list of campervan gadgets. That’s because I don’t want to hear my neighbors music when parked in a peaceful campsite.

So, in the spirit of “do unto others…”, I don’t broadcast any sound of any kind from my van.

This is where my favorite headphones come in.

And yes, when I’m feeling like I need a break from my travel partner, I slip on my ‘phones (I have the Mpow’s) and zone out for awhile.

For the ultimate in portability and minimalism, the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro True Wireless Earbuds are perfect for active Campervan folks. PureNote Driver Technology, wireless, Over 21 hours of play time (7 hrs x 3 charges from the charging case). Our rating
Mpow 059 Bluetooth Headphones Mpow makes a great product (take a second to check out the review numbers on these. Crazy!). I have sensitive ears so I prefer over ear headphones. These feature foldability, soft ear covers and wired mode. Our rating

Games

I like to keep a deck of cards, a chess/checkers combo set and one or two popular board games on board.

Physical games help to reduce stress by getting us out of our heads and giving us something to focus on other than the everyday problems of life.

Games provide an opportunity to teach strategy, patience and concepts of competition and sportsmanship to children.

They’re also a great excuse to invite campsite neighbors to socialize.

Peradix Magnetic Chess Checkers travel Set  This is a full size set with handy storage bags. Magnetic pieces means a game can be played while on the road, or set aside for later play after driving to a new destination Our rating
Scrabble Deluxe Travel Edition I’m not a great speller, but I love words, so I have a love/hate relationship with scrabble. Scrabble is my favorite board game. This set is a brilliant addition to any campervan gadgets collection.   Our rating

 

Campervan gadgets for the kitchen

In terms of space taken up, Campervan and campsite cooking equipment can quickly get out of hand.

I’m guilty of sometimes carrying unnecessary kitchen stuff and I have to frequently purge, or suffer a lack of space to get anything done in my kitchen.

Sporks

While I do keep a set of metal camping cutlery on board, I rely heavily on Sporks for daily eating utensils.

I can get through most meals with one utensil, never use and throw away plastic utensils at restaurants, and I use very little water and soap at clean up time.

Durable, easy to clean dishes

While I love enamel ware outdoor gear, it’s relatively heavy and can chip over time.

My preference is very well designed plastic dishes and bowls for the van.

Takes a beating, available in a variety of designs and colors and light weight.

For families, a set of 8 Tapirus Sporks is the way to go. But you might want to treat yourself and your partner to these FnessCity Titanium Sporks.  Our rating
Camping Mess Kit for 4 with Mesh Bag We don’t often recommend unbranded products, but this one’s highly rated, priced right and fits our need for durability and quality. Our rating

Portable grill

Depending on your van, kitchen set up and cooking style, this can be considered a totally unnecessary luxury item, or the most important piece of gear you own.

I keep a simple grill on board because I love to grill fish or a steak and vegis a few times a week.

And then there’s the practicality: As long as I have some wood or briquettes, I can cook.

The simplicity and durability of the Texsport Heavy Duty Over Fire Camp Grill make it a highly valuable addition to your campervan kitchen.  Our rating
A grill with a built in fire pit, without using up the storage space of a traditional BBQ.. Very cool.  UCO Flatpack Portable Stainless Steel Grill and Fire Pit Our rating

Cast iron pots and pans

Many Vanlifers are anti cast iron due to their weight. In my opinion, this is missing the forest for the trees.

Quality cast iron is forever, it provides perfectly even heat distribution, cleans up easily once you learn how, and you get to feel superior over all the high tech pan people.

10″ Backcountry Cast Iron Skillet For me, the 12″ is a bit big, but if you’ve got a crew to feed, you might consider it, or a set of cast iron in various sizes. Our rating
Dutch ovens are among the most versatile cooking tools and the The Lodge 5 Quart Cast Iron Dutch Oven is no exception. Stews, soups, baking (hence “oven”), whatever you need to do over a heat source.  Our rating

Water boiler

Instant water boilers, while not completely necessary, are more than a frivolous luxury.

Because the mechanism that heats the water is in a contained space, they boil water more efficiently than a stove top cooker, which allow a lot of heat to escape into the room.

Water boiler power use

One con of these gadgets seems to be that they use a lot of electricity (1000 to 1500 watts), but this is one of the reasons they’re more efficient than other water boiling methods: getting the water to boiling quickly reduces heat lost during the process.

Another bummer is that 12 volt DC water boiler pots tend to not work very well because the wattage just isn’t there to boil the water quickly.

If you’re running an inverter and have plenty of battery power storage and/or solar power, or spend a lot of time on shore power, you’ll benefit greatly from one of these wonderful campervan gadgets.

You might want to skip this one if you depend more on an LP gas system, camp stoves, and other non electrical energy.

Fortunately there are some great campsite tea kettle’s that do a great job of bringing your water to a brisk boil over a flame.

The Secura Stainless Steel Double Wall Electric Water Kettle offers rapid boiling, auto shut off, boil dry protection, cordless serving, stainless steel..  Our rating
GSI Halulite Tea Kettle Halulite conducts heat better than titanium for more efficient fuel use.  Our rating

Portable coffee maker

Even if you drink tea, a visitor will need some coffee at some point. That’s just how the world works.

If I don’t have my favorite espresso machine handy, my second choice is a french press.

Being a klutz, I’m personally responsible for the breaking of around 146,227 glass french press carafes in my lifetime.

So for Vanlife, I switched to a stainless press and have never looked back.

And if espresso is your thing, there are some really great portable espresso gadgets available, too.

If you’re a solo coffee drinker, the wonderful Mira 12 oz stainless press will do. For everyone else, get the 1 liter Veken Stainless Double-Wall French Press  Our rating
I love espresso and being a Seattleite, I’m a bit of a crazy coffee snob. The Wacaco Nanopresso Portable Espresso Maker makes great espresso and it’s a rare, brilliant campervan gadgets. The money you’ll save by avoiding those Starbucks pit stops will quickly pay for this.  Our rating

Lighting gadgets for Campervans

A dark van is a sad van and with so many great, reasonably priced lighting products, there’s no reason to suffer in darkness.  So, let there be lighting!

Lanterns

With so many advancements in LED, portable solar and rechargeable batteries, the camping lantern world has exploded with really great products. So much so that the topic of lanterns could easily fill an entire blog post (so we wrote one).

Some of these wonderful gadgets have stood the test of time. Like the good old Coleman Premium Dual Fuel Lantern. A mainstay from childhood for many of us.

But we’re blown away by the range of rechargeable and solar choices available today.

The Tough Light LED Rechargeable Lantern offers 200+ hours of light on a single charge! 400 lumens of output, a cell phone charger and a 2 year warranty. Our rating
Goal Zero never ceases to impress and their Lighthouse 400 Lantern and USB Power Hub is no exception. Our rating

Rechargeable LED Headlamps and Flashlights

Need to set up camp or install snow chains after dark…  Strap a headlamp on a partner or a kid, say, “just watch me” and they’ll be lighting your work.

I keep two headlamps and about a half dozen small LED flashlights tucked into multiple nooks and crannies around the van.

I got sick of throwing batteries away, so I’m now dedicated to as many rechargeable campervan gadgets as possible.

White Cree 500 Lumen Rechargeable LED Head lamp 2 pack. Motion sensor, waterproof, 5 lighting modes. Definitely best to have two headlamps on board Our rating
WUBEN 1200 Lumen USB Rechargeable flashlight Rechargeable battery included, water resistant, 5 light modes. Our rating

LED Campervan lighting strips

The tech has come a long way on natural white LED lighting and many builders are installing LED strip lights under cabinets and for general, all ’round lighting.

Low energy use, easy to install and lots of great product options.

These don’t tend to be waterproof, so keep that in mind when choosing where to install them in your van.

Onforu LED Strip Lights Kit Dimable, 33 feet, 600 bulbs, 5000k Daylight White light Our rating

 

Campervan gadgets for health and safety

Personally, I get as excited about vanlife safety and security gear as I do electronics, kitchen gadgets or just about any other campervan gadgets.

This is partly because there are few things as important to me as a good night’s sleep, and a high level of preparation helps a lot with that.

I love high quality, well designed equipment that solves a problem with efficiency and elegance.

Add to that some potential life saving advantages, and I’m fully stoked.

Please take the health and safety of yourself and your travel partners seriously.

Fire extinguisher and fire blanket

I’m often astonished at how cavalier some Vanlifers are about extinguishers, alarms and general knowledge of fire safety.

You’ll find all you need to know about fire safety and related equipment in our campervan fire safety guide.

Hopefully you’ll find something of value here for your van.

Kidde Pro 5 Carbon Dioxide Fire Extinguisher, UL Rated 5-B:C We recommend having at least two extinguishers on board. More for bigger vans and RV’s. This one’s a great start… Our rating
FYJ Emergency Survival Fiberglass Fire Blanket Whether you have open flame gear (stove, heater, candles…) or not, it’s best to keep a fire blanket on board as they can be used to smother any type of fire.  Our rating

Carbon monoxide detectors and alarms

A surprising number of RV trailer and Camper van users are lost each year to CO poisoning.

Doesn’t require LP gas or open flame, as every van has a motor and those produce Carbon Monoxide and exhaust systems get old and leak.

Please make this campervan safety gear a priority in your van.

First Alert Battery Powered Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detector & Alarm Literally every van needs at least one.  Our rating
First Alert Hardwired Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detector If you’ve got the power source and a little know-how, you can double up with a hard wired smoke and CO detector. Our rating

First Aid Kits

I used to find myself holding an old, beaten up firs aid kit and asking “what is all this stuff for?

So I decided to get some basic training and started doing regular first aid kit inspections to make sure all the gear is up to date and functional.

Doesn’t take much effort to get some basic training that could save a life or at the very least, substantially reduce the trauma of an unfortunate ouchie.

326 Piece First Aid Kit Exceeds OSHA and ANSI Guidelines. Hard plastic case for durability. Wall mounts or folds for storage. 13″ X 12″ X 4 Our rating
Medicine for the Outdoors: The Essential Guide to First Aid and Medical Emergencies  The secret to getting the most out of a book like this one is to READ IT. Also, keep it on board.  Our rating

 

Camping knife and multi-tool

I carry a folding knife with a clip every day. I often find it useful.

I had to try 3 or 4 different knives before I landed on the one I like best.

One thing I realized is that I don’t need a sword in my pocket, just something sharp and reliable and low key.

The knife I use the most has a blade just under 3″ long.

When on the road, staying in the woods, I use my knife multiple times per day. It’s one of my most useful possessions.

Western Active Honey Badger 2.87″ Pocket Knife Easy open, smart grip and blade design, sharp, handy. A highly rated knife at a good price.  Our rating
SOG Multi Tool with Pocket Knife with EDC Sheath If you’re not into carrying a knife around all day, consider a multi-tool. Keep it in a door side pocket, toss it in a backpack for a day hike.  Covers most basic tool needs without digging through a tool box…  Our rating

 

Campervan leveling gear

I put this under health and safety because if your van is parked off level, some of your equipment might not function properly, you won’t sleep well and it’s just harder to function over all.

We wrote at length about leveling your van in this post about Campervan Jacks.

Camco Yellow Interlocking 2×2 Leveling Block Interlock for stacking, T-Handle carrying system, Pack of 10, high visibility yellow Level your van in minutes.  Our rating
Smittybilt Tri-Fold Shovel A good shovel can mean the difference between happily rolling on to your next destination, or sitting for days on end waiting for help.  Our rating

Jumper battery pack and jumper cables

Whenever possible, I like to be the guy who gets to say “yes” to the inevitable question “does anyone have a set of cables? I need a jump”?

I also prefer to not need that help from others.

Carrying a fully charged jumper pack and a set of cables that reach all the way to my house batteries covers all those bases.

Energizer 1 Gauge 800A Jumper Battery with 30 Ft Booster Cables  Long enough that you can park your van BEHIND another vehicle to jump. 800A clamps, nylon carry case, truck rated Our rating
We Cartman 4 Gauge 20 ft Booster Cables in Carry Bag If you’ve got a solid house power system, you may not need a jumper power pack.  If that’s the case, some quality cables will do the trick.  Get them long enough so they’ll reach from your house batteries to your motor battery. Our rating

 

Handheld battery powered vacuum cleaner. Whisk broom & pan

A messy van is a stressful van. Hence my decision to put these gadgets in the health and safety section.

In a house or apartment, if you topple a plate of potato chips, you can put it off for a bit while you finish the movie or whatever.

In a van, a small mess can overtake your entire living space very quickly.

I keep a 12 volt mini vacuum and a whisk broom and small dust pan on board and I tend to use both of them daily.

HOTOR DC 12V Corded Car Vacuum Cleaner  Filtered 12 volt vacuum with carry case, cleaning tools, ample cord and all the power you need to keep that van spic ‘n span. Our rating
Camco 43945 Dust Pan with Whisk Often you’ll find it easiest to grab this smart little dustpan/whisk combo, scoop up that shoe dirt or crumbs and tuck it away again. Perfect size for the van and snaps together for flat, minimal storage. Our rating

 

Thanks for reading! Please comment…

Let me know what your favorite campervan gadgets are.