Vicki and Glenn from Happy Campers Australia share some of their best tips to make your caravanning lifestyle easier, many of which won't cost you a lot of money.
Let us introduce ourselves…
We are Vicki and Glenn, also known on socials and YouTube as Happy Campers Australia.
We have been caravanning for many years and traveling full time in our offroad single axle caravan since 2018.
Over the years we have picked up dozens of small tips that make caravanning easier and set up quick and simple. We have given you a small selection here with no solution much more than $20.
Here are our top tips, in no particular order.
Protecting your medication
We all have a cupboard full of assorted medications. It doesn’t need to be the middle of summer for temperatures in those cupboards to soar. Most medications need to be kept below 25°C to maintain their efficacy. We have lined the interior walls of our medication cupboard with a windscreen sun protector cut to size. This reduces the temperature significantly. You can pick protectors up at most homeware and cheap stores as well as Blu Tack or double-sided tape to adhere them to your cupboard.
Let there be light
Installing sensor lights into your caravan — especially the bathroom — can be a great idea and good safety measure. Head to a hardware store and you’re sure to find a whole assortment of options that can suit your van. The simple addition will make nighttime toilet trips so much easier and safer.
Water pump warnings
Did you know that caravan flick mixer taps can bounce open on corrugations? It is easy to forget to turn off the water pump before travelling. We found out the hard way, losing all our tank water on the Oodnadatta Track, SA, of all places! They say you learn by your mistakes, so now when we turn on the water pump our hack is to leave the cupboard door open and only shut it when the pump is turned off prior to travel. Meaning if the door is open, the pump is on. This does mean the door stays open for the duration of our stay, which some of my OCD caravanning friends struggle with, but it works for us! And the concept of a visual reminder can be easily reworked to suit your style of travelling.
Solar panel solutions
Caravan solar panels need cleaning regularly. We carry a collapsible ladder for this purpose. Our tip for leaning the ladder against the caravan in the correct position is a small piece of electrical tape in the centre of the solar panel location, so the ladder can go in the same place every time to reach both ends of the panel without repositioning the ladder. Although the collapsible ladder is not one of our tips, we do get asked where to buy them. The telescopic ladder that we use is available from Snowys Outdoors or Big W. The electrical tape is the tip for this one, and everyone carries that in their toolbox. As for cleaning the panels, we usually just use a chamois to remove dust and dirt, with an occasional application of a good quality car polish sealant which keeps them cleaner for longer.
Cleaning rear-view cameras
The rear-view camera on a caravan also needs to be cleaned regularly, especially when travelling on dirt roads. To make it easier to reach, we have purchased a flip-down single step from Ovesco, the type used on trucks. This has been placed on the rear bumper with U-bolts. The step gives secure footing to simply wipe the camera clean.
Half the awning, half the work
Did you know you can use half an awning? We rarely tie down our awning as we generally only have short stays. Half a caravan awning is more stable in wind without tie downs, and often gives enough sun protection within the van to keep temps down.
To set up half an awning follow these steps:
- Pull the awning down until the top arm can be slid up into position.
- Retract awning until it reaches the circular lock.
- Lift the main awning arm high enough to clear the caravan door.
Quick ratchet release
The awning ratchet release is usually reached with the provided long hook. We have attached an electrical cable tie to the release knob so that it can be reached easily from our caravan step (rear caravan door) This saves time at set up and is much easier if you have a rear door.
Drop-down table handles
Outdoor caravan drop-down tables can become difficult to open in cool weather. We had tried gently sanding the top for an easier fit, but it was still difficult to open. To overcome this, we added some D-pull handles, which have proved to be a great option. A gentle pull while pushing down on the opening lock ensures that we no longer have a problem opening the table.
Indoor clothesline
An indoor clothesline is a great addition to a caravan setup. Hanging clothes inside while driving to the next campsite is a practical way to dry clothes. With the van closed up and the window blinds open to let the sun in it essentially becomes a laundry drying room on wheels. We have run a plastic-coated line in the bathroom, from the wall to the edge of the shower. It is only small, but it holds four t-shirts or similar.
Multi-purpose eyelets
Two 6mm stainless steel eyelets attached to the main awning arm make perfect tie down anchors and can also double as a place to hang a clothes airer or coat hanger to dry clothes. The eyelets can be purchased at any hardware store or a marine chandlery.
Storage solutions
Space on the rear bumper can be utilised by extending the rear bar out slightly (around 60mm), usually by loosening the U-bolts underneath the caravan and sliding the bumper out. This allows the dirty gear bag to be mounted in front of the rear spare tyre, but also gives room to mount ammunition boxes on either side of the bar. “Ammunition boxes?” you ask. No, not for ammunition personally — but we do find that a lockable box of that size is perfect for all water adaptors. A second box holds our tie-down ropes and pegs. Having the ammunition box located on the rear bar means there is no rummaging through tunnel boots and so on when setting up, and we find that it is a much better use of space. SCA Plastic Ammunition Cases are available from Supercheap Auto.
Staying sanitary
Emptying the toilet cassette is a necessary job that goes hand-in-hand with caravanning. One of our most simple suggestions is to leave a tube of hand sanitiser in the hatch for quick and easy clean up after emptying.
Stubby holder storage
To avoid your stubby holders disappearing on you after a long drive, use the cap off an empty spray can are the perfect fit for your favourite Neoprene stubby holder. Just find somewhere in your setup where you can screw a spray can lid and then your stubby holder will never get lost. We mount ours under the kitchen cupboards next to the wine glass storage.
Protect your wine glasses
If you want to avoid cleaning up broken glass after a long drive on corrugations in rural locations, then its a good idea to sort out a way to protect your wine glasses. Wine glass racks are available from most storage shops. We use the type that holds two stainless steel wine glasses upside down by their stem. A small Velcro cable tie stops them from sliding out during travel. This is also mounted under the kitchen benches and is ‘easy access’ for that first wine after setting up. Reusable Velcro cable ties are available from Jaycar Electronics.
Extra door storage
Our most popular modification is our caravan door storage. This is a very simple and cheap way to have essential items within easy reach of your outdoor area. Items can be hung with D-clips or use it as toe-down shoe storage.
You will need an aluminium strip (10mm x 3mm) from your hardware store. Bend it into shape, as per photo. Make sure to mount these bars above and/or below the door-locking mechanism; this is most important as you do not want to interfere with the door lock. This also means the bars cannot be positioned anywhere else on the door.
Happy travels
These tips have just made life on the road a little easier for us. Hopefully they will help you too!
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