It’s not just the caravan you need to think about when buying a touring caravan. There are lots of caravan accessories that will make your life easier, and help you enjoy your time on the road even more!
Awning
Awnings can provide extra living or sleeping space, as well as protect you from the elements. They’re also great for storing more oversized bulkier items, making a caravan feel less cramped!
An awning should be not only durable but also easy to erect and take down. They come in many different shapes, sizes and materials.
Check out our buying guide to the best caravan awnings.
Leisure Battery
If you are buying your touring caravan privately it is quite likely that a leisure battery will be included. However, most brand new tourers, or those purchased from a dealer, might not include one.
You will need a leisure battery for powering appliances in your tourer including, TV, kitchen appliances and lights.
Check out our buying guide to the best leisure battery.
Portable Heater
Even if your caravan already has heating it’s worth investing in some portable heaters to warm up certain areas or occasionally the caravan awning. You can buy any gas or electric heater that you would normally buy for a camping trip – just make sure for an electric heater that the wattage isn’t too high or you will run the risk of tripping the electrics at the site you are on.
Gas Bottle
Most second-hand caravans will come with a gas bottle included. How much gas you use in your caravan will largely depend on whether you use it for heating the caravan – most modern day tourers will use a combination of electric and gas heating.
Steps
There are a variety of different caravan steps available, plastic or metal, single or double rail handles, foldable or permanently up. Some caravans will come with steps included, but they might not be suitable for your needs any mobility.
Motor Mover
Whilst not essential, a motor mover will make moving, hitching and pitching your caravan a much easier experience. The motor mover that you buy will depend on whether you have a single or twin axle caravan, as well as the weight of it.
Mains Hook-Up Cable
Hooking your caravan up to the mains electric when on-site is useful, but you will need a suitable hookup cable to make it happen. Always double check you buy the correct cable and adaptor to prevent any overloading on your appliances.
Portable Water Carrier
Having an extra supply of freshwater comes in very useful to ensure you always have a supply on tap. They come in a variety of sizes with the larger ones having the capacity for 40L/50L of water. These larger sized carriers will be rollable, making transportation of them when full much easier. They usually come with a hose and a tap connector.
Wastewater Container
Although completely different to the fresh water carrier mentioned above, you will also need a waste water container. For obvious reasons, it’s important not to interuse the two!
Grey waste water is essentially the water from your washing up, showers etc rather than any toilet waste (this is known as black waste)
Most campsites will have a specified area to dispose of wastewater – definitely don’t just get rid of it in the ground or in a bush, it’ll become a health hazard and damage the surrounding area.
Towing Mirrors
It’s really important to be aware of towing rules and regulations, whether you are towing a caravan or a trailer. Current rules on the GOV.UK website state that;
You must have an adequate view of the road behind you.
Fit suitable towing mirrors if your trailer or caravan is wider than the rear of your car.
GOV.UK
The above link goes on to say that you ‘can be fined up to £1,000 and get 3 penalty points for towing without proper towing mirrors.’
In addition to the above legalities, inadequate towing mirrors may invalidate your caravan insurance.
Most caravans will be wider than the car you use for towing your caravan and so appropriate mirrors are a must.
Spare Wheel
Although it might be tempting to remove the spare wheel in order to reduce the weight of your caravan, it’s not a good idea. You never know when you might have a caravan tyre blowout and it is unlikely that your breakdown policy will cover you for a replacement, and if it does, it might not be the right one.
Alarm
Depending on where you store your caravan, it might be worth adding an extra layer of caravan security by fitting it with an alarm. Most caravan storage facilities should provide adequate levels of security to prevent theft but if you are storing it on your driveway you might want to add a security alarm and or motion light.
You should also consider adding an LPG and smoke alarm as well as a carbon monoxide detector alarm.
Leveller
A caravan leveller is a useful piece of equipment to ensure you never have to sleep on a slant! Chances are many caravan pitches will be uneven or even on a very slight incline and so a levelling ramp or wedge is vital to prevent your tourer from rolling away!
Water Heater
Hot water is a necessity for most when touring in their caravan – if you’re waking up in the comfort of a bed, you want the luxury of hot water in the mornings, whether it’s to wash your face or clean the dishes!
Chances are your caravan came with a water heater but if you are in the market for a replacement you can get a variety of different types including electric and/or gas water heaters.
Curtains
If you don’t like the design or style of the caravan curtains that came with your tourer you can buy ready made ones, or, order some bespoke custom made ones.
If you don’t like getting up when the sun rises you might consider getting some blackout curtains. Make sure to store them properly.
Microwave
Most of the newer caravan models will come with a built-in microwave, but if you have an older caravan or your current caravan microwave needs replacing, you might be on the lookout for one. Consider the space you have to house the microwave, as well as the weight and power of it.
Solar Panels
Caravan solar panels are a renewable energy source that you can harness to power your caravan. They are often installed on the roof of the caravan, and they use photovoltaic cells to convert sunlight into electricity for storage in batteries. This is an excellent way to reduce your carbon footprint while also enjoying life with your family on holiday.