Gadgets for Campervans & Motorhomes: Making Life Easier

Tailoring your campervan, motorhome, or RV with the right accessories is crucial for a comfortable journey.

As full-time road trippers, we’ve discovered essential gadgets that make a big difference on the road. During our year of campervanning through 32 European countries, we encountered and solved many issues with practical solutions.

We also overland in Africa in our Bush Camper and travel Western Australia in our 4×4 with a rooftop tent using many of these same accessories. These gadgets are versatile, fitting motorhomes, camper trailers, and caravans alike.

Below, we share our top picks for campervan gadgets that enhance your travels and solve annoying problems.

Let’s dive in and find the perfect campervan accessories and best motorhome gadgets.

ESSENTIAL CAMPERVAN GADGETS AND ACCESSORIES

Discover our top campervan must have gadgets that make a significant difference on the road. These essential accessories ensure a safe, comfortable, and hassle-free travel experience.

1. Second Battery

Fit a high-capacity auxiliary battery or even two. When wild camping without electricity, 12V batteries will be your go-to power supply. AGM/Gel-type batteries are popular as they are well-priced, maintenance-free, and tolerate deeper charging.

2. Solar Cell

3. Dual Battery Isolator

The isolator performs an essential task: it isolates the starting battery at a certain minimum voltage, ensuring it always retains sufficient voltage to start the engine.

4. Levelling Blocks

5. Vehicle Jack

The campervan may or may not come with a vehicle jack.

The jack’s load rating should be a minimum equal to or exceed the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR), which is the vehicle’s weight plus the maximum allowable payload.

A bottle jack comes in various load capacities and is compact enough for easy storage.

6. First Aid Kit

You don’t want to use this often – but having it there could be a lifesaver in an accident. We always have a weel stocked one on board.

7. Fresh Water Hose

Although plastic hoses are cheap (the option we chose), if you are concerned about saving space then you should consider a collapsible fresh water hose.

I’d probably stick to using a plastic hose for the greywater as it is easy to run some disinfectant down the hose to disinfect it and remove any smell.

8. Deadlocks on Side Entry Doors

This deadlock system can be mounted on either a sliding door or a normal hinged door. This deadlock system is mounted externally on the vehicle and is not only effective but a visible deterrent to would-be thieves.

Campervan owners that we spoke to that had this installation said that they had never had a break-in.

9. Headlamp Beam Deflectors

These stickers are placed over the headlights themselves and are useful in stopping the headlight beam spread from dazzling oncoming drivers when driving your campervan/motorhome in a country that uses the opposite side of the road to what the vehicle is fitted for.

A left-hand drive vehicle will have a different beam spread from that of a right-hand drive vehicle.

Another consideration is if you find yourself in a night-time vehicle accident, then it’s possible that your insurance cover may not cover you.

10. Heavy Duty 15/20 amp Surge Protector

This multi-socket electrical reel has integrated surge protection.

A few times we had voltage surges after connecting to mains power at a campsite and it was the breaker in the electrical reel that tripped, keeping the vehicle completely isolated.

SPACE SAVING GADGETS FOR CAMPERVANS

When space is at a premium you are going to value space saving gadgets for campervans and motorhomes. These are a few that we have that collapse down freeing up more storage space.

11. Collapsible Space-Saving Sink

There are some really great options for space-saving in a campervan and a couple of great ideas we use are the collapsible bucket and portable sink.

The ones we use collapse down to about 50mm or 2 inches in height, making them easy to tuck away into a small space.

12. Collapsible Bucket

13. Kitchen Space Saving Gadgets

Here are a few space-saving gadgets we use while camping to ensure every bit of valued space is used carefully.

USEFUL CAMPERVAN GADGETS

14. Tyre Pressure Monitoring System

I have these on both my 4×4 in Africa and in Australia.

The Tyre Pressure Monitoring System is designed to read the real-time pressure of all tyres simultaneously and transmit this data to a monitoring system. The tyre pressures are displayed in a standalone unit that can be mounted inside the car.

The monitoring system can also be configured to sound low-pressure and temperature alarms. If a sensor fails, the unit will alarm. We use external sensors in our vehicles, and it gives us great peace of mind.

Pressure sensors can be of 2 types: an internal or an external type fitting on the tyre valve. When considering external sensors, look at the sensor units that have replaceable batteries and are waterproof and dustproof. If you tow a trailer, you can also fit extra sensors to those tyres.

15. Dash Magnets for Phones and Tablets

We have these in both our 4×4 campers. The mount is stuck to the dash using an adhesive pad on the unit’s base, leaving the magnet to hold a phone or tablet.

Generally, these units have a flexible stem allowing the angle of the magnet to be adjusted for better visibility of the iPhone or tablet.

16. Jack Stands

The jack stand has an adjustable height and is used to support a vehicle that is already jacked up.

If there is any possibility that you may need to get underneath the vehicle when using either a portable jack, then placing an appropriately rated jack stand under the axle will act as an additional safety measure should the jack fail.

We have a couple of 3-ton-rated ones ourselves.

17. Locking Wheel Nuts

These wheel bolts protect your wheels against theft. The normal methods of removing the wheels nuts with a socket will not work as a special ‘keyed head’ is needed for the removal of these security bolts.

One security bolt is fitted to each wheel with all other bolts kept as standard. Remember to keep the security ‘keyed head’ in the glove box in case you need to change a tyre!

18. In-Line Water Filter

This is for the motorhomers. This unit does not require mounting and connects in-line between the water supply and the water tank via hoses. Depending on the unit you choose, the filter will reduce sediment and bacteria and improve the water’s taste.

19. Portable Filtered Water Container

20. Wifi Extender/ Router

Getting out to the back-of-beyond is great but losing the wifi signal is not. A wifi extender/router will boost that weak wifi signal and act as a personal hotspot for all your devices ensuring that you stay connected.

21. Portable Clothes Hanger

At some stage, you’ll need to hand wash some clothes which is no issue but finding somewhere to hang the wet items may be challenging.

Some campsites are strict and do not allow clotheslines to be erected so having a drying rack to hang over a campervan window then becomes a super handy item.

22. Remoska Electric Cooker

The latest buzzword in the world of useful gadgets for campervans and motorhomes is the Remoska. It’s an all-in-one electric cooker with a viewing window and is available in two sizes with the standard being 2 litres and the larger 4 litres. The standard size is good for couples.

A useful addition to this little gem is the Remoska cookbook. 

12V CAMPERVAN ACCESSORIES

Here are a few of our favourite 12V accessories for campervans and campers. These gadgets ensure you stay powered up and prepared, making your travels more comfortable and efficient.

23. Kindle (charges with 12v)

Our Kindles are essentials while travelling. They can be fully charged in 2.5 hours with just 9 volts.

24. Rearview Camera

 These units come in wireless and wired versions. The lenses have varying fields of view (60 to 170 degrees) and can focus close to the rear of the vehicle or further away, depending on the model.

25. 12V Cigarette Lighter Splitter

 If you need more than 1 USB port in your vehicle, then using a 12V cigarette lighter splitter is just the trick. There are a few options: whether you need 2 or 3 USB ports and one or two 12V sockets.

26. Portable 12V Air Compressor

Air compressors can be powered from the campervan 12V battery or via the cigarette 12V socket. Be sure to check how long a compressor can operate before it must stop to cool.

A couple of important factors to keep in mind are that there is an adequate length of hose to reach the rear wheels and a digital pressure readout.

27. Portable 12V/18 V Drill

 A 12V drill is a great handyman’s tool and often comes with a set of different types a size of screw heads.

TOOL KIT ESSENTIALS: GADGETS, BITS AND BOBS

Most road repairs are likely temporary fixes that keep you going until you can have a professional sort the issue. In this case, you won’t need a diverse range of tools, but you’ll certainly need something.

28. Handy Toolkit

Campervan & Motorhome Gadgets and Accessories… That’s a Wrap

Campervanning and motorhoming are definitely fun ways to travel. Accessorising your campervan/motorhome with useful and practical gadgets for campervans not only makes it personal but also makes the whole experience a lot more enjoyable and stress-free. 

I hope you have an opportunity to use these campervan gadgets and accessories and if not, then at least it’s food for thought.

Thanks for reading, and happy camping!

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Read more:

• Europe: Campervanning in Europe
• Campervan / Motorhome Tips: The Best Motorhome Tips for Beginners
• Road trip Inspiration: Road trip Quotes and Images to Inspire Your Next Adventure
• Road Trip Tips: 17 Fantastic Road Trip Tips For Couples