Have you met Evie, our 1982 Bedford CF Mk 1 facelift van? We bought Evie in a bit of a sorry state and have spent the last four years giving her lots of love, including a new interior, a paint job and a LOT of engine work as well as taking her on myriad camping and festival trips. While the big jobs have been satisfying, half the fun of doing up your own van is in the accessories, gadgets and space- and time-saving hacks you come across along the way. These are ten of my favourite bits and bobs for making year-round van life more fun and comfortable, including Bluetti’s power banks and solar panels, which are currently available for bargain prices in the brand’s Black Friday sale.
8 gadgets and accessories I love in my campervan
1, Voited Cloudtouch blanket, £128
This deliciously soft blanket is lined with fleece and comes everywhere with me in colder months. It snaps together to form a makeshift sleeping bag or stuffs into its own pocket to create a fluffy pillow, so it’s great for sticking on a van bed or sofa, and it’s made with recycled materials. A lovely gift for van lifers.
2, Falconware enamel crockery, from £6
Bomb-proof enamel is perfect for van life – it’ll take knocks and scrapes and is perfect for your morning cuppa or an evening glass of wine. Falconware’s is the best and comes in myriad colours to match your van’s paintjob.
3, Bluetti AC180 + Charger 1, £549 + £299
Find the freedom to park up off the beaten track with Bluetti’s AC180 portable power station, which I pair with their Charger 1. This big beast of a power bank has 11 outputs for all your gadgets and gizmos and can be charged via AC, a generator or solar panels, so it works whether you’re in a campsite or camping in the wild and can be recharged quickly at home, gaining 80% of juice. I charge my phone, laptop – even fairy lights – on the go with this power station and love the AC180’s handheld design, which means I can easily move it and store it in our tiny rolling home.
Portable power stations and solar panels aren’t usually cheap – but you can grab a bargain with one of BLUETTI’s Black Friday deals. Their range of portable generators and solar panels can be used for everyday life, camping, emergencies, or remote worksites as well as being perfect for campervans. You can also get an additional discount of 5% on BLUETTI’s official website and Amazon by using the coupon code “BLUETTIOFF“.
4, Fairy lights, £14.99
Whether we’re in a campsite or a festival I string up festoon and fairy lights inside and outside our van, a lovely way to make a cosy outside space when night falls. I try to avoid battery-powered lights as fixtures as they aren’t good for the environment – rechargeable accessories I can plug into my Bluetti power station are perfect and mean I don’t have to rely on solar panels if the skies are grey.
5, Solar shower bag, £13.08
A hot shower and a coffee and you’ll be ready for any outdoor adventure. Even if you’re DIY van camping, you can have a posh wash with a portable solar shower, which heats up during the day for warm water on tap.
6, Ultimate Ears Boom 4 Portable Speaker, £129.99
Take your tunes along for the ride with a wireless and totally portable Boom 4. These lightweight speakers are completely waterproof, drop proof and play 360-degree sound and stow away nicely when we’re on the go.
7, Yeti Tundra Cool box, from £250
We don’t have a fridge in Evie, so if we’re parked up in the wild for a new nights, I bring along this Yeti cooler to stash dairy and other fresh things in. It’s expensive, but it’s far better than your average cheap and cheerful cooler, holds everything we need for a weekend and doubles up as an outdoor coffee table.
8, Campingaz Camping Chef double burner stove, £44.45
Keep it simple with this portable two-burner stove with a grill. This stove lives in Evie’s small kitchen and is perfect as it’s compact and easy to store by closing the lid but powerful enough to whip up anything you would on the stove at home.
