New to vanlife? Campervan tips for beginners

Are you new to vanlife? Do you feel absolutely overwhelmed at the prospect of getting out in your camper? Or maybe you have you purchased your campervan and wondering where to start? Don’t worry we have a few helpful campervan tips for beginners in this handy post. Sometimes it’s about trial and error and working out what works for you.

I often get messages on social media asking how we manage to sleep five in our campervan … where do we put all of our ‘stuff’ on road trips or general ‘where do we start’ type of questions. If I can give you one little bit of advice it is to remember to do vanlife your way; whether it be on weekends, holidays, long road trips, short over night stays near to home, with an awning, without an awning, wild camping, planned campsites. Don’t compare yourself to others. Just do you.

We have had our converted VW T5 campervan for over 12 years now, and have learned a lot along the way. Here are a few of our top campervan tips for beginners;

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Tips for newbie campervan owners

Plan ahead, have a rough idea of your route

Sounds simple but it makes a huge difference. Have a rough idea beforehand of your route, journey times and where you plan to stop. We try to limit our journey times where we can but sometimes it’s just not possible.

We do try to camp near to ferry ports to allow us to catch early morning ferries without getting up at the crack of dawn, and we aim to factor in breakfast or lunch breaks into the journey. We have arrived really late and in the dark at campsites before and ended up having to pitch up in the car park, that can be really hard with young kids (and a dog), so we try to have a rough idea of journey times, toilet stops, and if possible limit the miles in one go.

Think about where you are staying, and what you need from a campsite

We opt to use campsites as wild camping is just not easy for us with having five and a dog in a T5. Therefore good campsites are really important to us.

We love to find campsites with direct access to water so that we can pitch and paddle with ease.

A campsite with a sea view is always a joy, not to mention campsites with a little luxury such as a hot tub or a swimming pool.

Think about what you need in a campsite, is it dog friendly? Are there campsites that are really family friendly with activities on site such as a play park or swimming pool?

Having a beach, or lake or town nearby, bike route, or maybe a pub or coffee shop within walking distance of the campsite means you don’t have to pack everything us just to move the camper to head out for the day. A day or two of not putting the bed away can be heavenly let me tell you.

Don’t forget you campervan essentials

Now it’s time to pack the camper. So… what are the ultimate Campervan essentials? Those must have items for your camper trip!?

It always helps to work from a general campervan packing list so you don’t forget anything major. That being said – it’s not the end of the world if you do. We have forgotten bedding, pillows, and the stove before. We have always managed.

New to vanlife? Dont forget your bedding

One thing I get asked a lot is what bedding do we use. We have used Vango sleeping bags for years and they are great in the pop top roof. More recently we have moved to Fine Bedding Company Coverless Duvets. Honestly the most beautiful lightweight duvets and they pack into a really small carry bag too. We then just hang the bags on hooks on the back of the drivers seat.

What I love is you can wash and dry in less than two hours if you need to which is brilliant. We love these duvets so much we bought extra sets for home too.

Packing for your first trip -Packing cubes

The only way to organise your clothes in a small space – packing cubes are amazing. If you haven’t discovered packing cubes before, then let me introduce you to something that will change your holiday packing forever. Packing cubes are small fabric containers that allow you to organise your clothes. We use packing cubes for the camper van, but they are amazing inside a suitcase or small holdall too.

I use a packing cube (or packing pod) for each family member, and then an additional packing cube for swimming gear, and night wear usually. They often come in different colours so they are easy to identify too.

Practice putting your awning up beforehand

Sounds straightforward but honestly it can save so much drama. We have spent hours trying to put up an awning with no idea what we are doing. You live and learn.

Putting it up before you leave can make sure there are no problems, rips, items missing etc.

Storage ideas to organise items in a small space

There are so many useful storage ideas to help you organise your items in a campervan.

A few of our favourite things that we use are;

• Back of the seat storage hooks
• Back of the seat organiser
• Small pop up tent for bulky items such as car seats.
• Non slip matting and velcro
• Collapsible items to save space

Click here for our post on clever camper storage ideas!

Campervan tips for beginners: Think about your campervan cooking

Planning your meals means that you can also plan your shopping beforehand. We use the space under the passenger seat to store tins and cupboard items.

We cook outside as we opted not to have a sink or stove in our camper so we use our cadac bbq or our Coleman stove. I try to pre cook a couple of meals so that they just need to be reheated in a pan and this is a great timesaver.

Using the ridgemonkey has also made cooking so much easier. You can make some lovely one pan meals in a ridgemonkey such as nachos, omelettes, mini pizzas, full English breakfast, toasties! the list is endless.

Can you live in a Campervan With A Dog?

Living in a campervan with a dog or cat is possible and we love taking Wilf our golden retriever with us on our travels.   

You may find our post on vanlife with a dog helpful. We introduced our golden retriever puppy to vanlife very early on and he loves it. He is a really good traveller too and doesn’t really make and fuss on our long journeys or ferry travel.

A few things to think about before you travel;

• Are there any restrictions to taking a dog to another country?
• We recently took our dog to France, and we had to organise an animal health certificate and rabies vaccination beforehand. We also had to organise a vet visit for a wormer before returning. Read up on beforehand to ensure you have everything organised.
• Are the campsite dog friendly? There are some great UK dog friendly campsites with dog wash facilities and dedicated dog walking fields etc. The campsite can also help to guide you on dog friendly restaurants and cafes, beaches etc.
• Where is your dog going to sleep and what do you need to take with you? We take a lead, harness, collar and tag, tick hook, collapsible water bowl and feeding bowl, spare lead, blanket, towel and food. In the winter we have also taken the mud daddy (wilf loves a bit of mud).

New to Vanlife and Travelling with kids?

Find everything you need to know about vanlife with kids here.

Probably one of the biggest questions I get asked is where does everyone sleep. Over the years we have tried out different sleeping arrangements depending on the age of the children. You can read more about sleeping five in a VW camper here.

Think of ways to entertain the kids especially on rainy days or long road trips. We have a few favourite games including uno, ok!, chop chop, and dobble that we always take and take up little space in the camper.

We also like the gifts in a tin, as there are plenty of different options for different ages, ranging from building your own camper, sewing, car games etc.

Bring everything you need

Documents you may need to bring or download beforehand on a trip,

Passport

Animal health certificate if travelling with a dog abroad from the UK

Relevant permits – for example you will need a permit if travelling to Guernsey in a campervan

Ferry times and tickets

Driving license

Vehicle insurance documents

If you are travelling in Europe from the UK don’t forget;

UK stickers

European breakdown cover

High visibility jackets

Warning triangles

Headlight deflectors

First aid kit

Spare bulbs

Please do check what you need before you travel.

New to vanlife- campervan tips for beginners

So there you have a few campervan tips for beginners – I hope you have found it helpful if you are new to vanlife and wondering where to start. I am also over on Instagram and Facebook – and we have a campervan with kids Facebook group too so please do reach out if you have any questions!

And one last thing….enjoy vanlife and make some AMAZING memories… you won’t regret it!