Last Updated on April 30, 2024 by Nikole

Sometimes all it takes are some campervan accessories to keep your van organized, clean, and fun during your road trips. All of these camper van gear items are great for weekend warriors or full-time van lifers.

Hello fellow campervan travelers, Nikole and Clark here! We have been on the road with our van for about a year now, but we have been traveling the US for about 5 years. We hope to share with you some of the items that have become useful for us on our road trips with our van.

Here are some of the items, gear, and accessories that have made our life on the road easier. let’s jump in!

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information.

Chargers, generators, and battery gear

Power consumption can be a hassle for most van lifers. You CAN go without power if you really want to rough it in your van.

Our top priorities are lighting, washing our clothes, and eating warm food. Here are a few power accessories for your camper van that have proven to be really handy in powering all of the equipment you’ll need to live comfortably.

Battery bank- Battery banks are great camper van items for weekend warriors that want to keep their phones or tablets charged. We use our Flash Fish battery bank for our phones and lighting. It usually lasts us two full days as long as we are conscious of the way we are spending our power.

Generator- Gas generators are the perfect items for those living in a van. They can power bigger things such as microwaves, small heaters, and washing machines. Yes, there are camper van washing machines, more on that later though.

We really don’t use our generator except for when we use our microwave while boondocking.

Small USB Phone Charger- Small USB battery bank items are key for trips where you go hiking, biking, or kayaking. When we take our camper van to a great hiking spot I typically have to charge my phone during my hike because of all the pictures I take, plus I have an obsession with topping off my phone battery.

Battery Converter- You can get a converter for a vehicle battery that does well for TVs, laptops, and lighting. We even use ours to power the microwave when we don’t bring along the generator.

Extreme Weather Camper Van accessories

When you travel in a camper van you are bound to come across many different climates. When we were traveling to Arizona we found that Flagstaff was about 30 degrees cooler than Pheonix. It’s great to be prepared for any climate condition with the ever-changing weather.

Heaters- Heaters can be stored in any sized camper van year-round. You can find super small ones so you don’t need to worry about space. Make sure when using a heater, you give the front plenty of space. Never crowd It with clothing or anything of the sort.

A/C unit- There are two types of A/C units that we use on the road: the Icey Breeze for boondocking, and a stand-up unit for campgrounds.

The Icy Breeze is best for cooler nights because the ice in it melts pretty quick. It’s designed more for tent camping than camper van use, but it still does the trick when we don’t have a power source.

Our stand-up unit is what we use at campgrounds. We don’t have a generator strong enough to power it. We just set the unit in the front seat with the hose pointing out the window and our van is an icebox.

You can also check out the Zero Breeze and use the code: SAVE50 to save $50 on your order.

Bathroom Gear

Using the bathroom on the road used to be a big challenge for us, especially when restaurants closed their dining rooms when the Covid pandemic first hit us. We could never find a bathroom when we were traveling!

Here are some solutions we came up with to go on the go, and even shower on the go.

Chemical Toilet- My all-time favorite camper van bathroom accessory would be our Theford chemical toilet. Having a toilet in our camper van made life so much easier to go boondocking wherever we wanted.

I was scared at first to use our chemical toilet, but I just needed to learn how to dump and clean it.

If you don’t like the idea of a chemical toilet in your camper van, check out these other toilet options you can choose from.

Portable Shower- We love our Innovation portable shower head for getting clean when there are no shower options.

All you need to do is get a bucket of water and dunk one end of the hose in the bucket. Push the button to turn it on and you have fresh water to clean yourself with.

Privacy Shelter- We keep our privacy shelter with us at all times. We don’t have a restroom in our transit van, so we set up the toilet and shower in the shelter.

Go-Girl Cup- I lOVE the go-girl cup because it’s extremely portable. I’ve heard a few complaints about the product leaking out the back, but I have personally never had a problem with it. I just lean forward with it as I go.

Instead of using the Go-girl brand, I use Sunany.

Kitchen Accessories

Cooking on the go doesn’t have to be a hassle. In fact, having the appropriate Kitchen gear can change a chore into a pass time.

I love cooking, and I would consider it one of my favorite activities when we take our camper van out. Here are a few van life accessories we love to keep in our camper van to make cooking more enjoyable.

Camping Stove- Having a propane portable stove has been the best space-saving option. Our Coleman stove fits full-size pots to ensure no tipping.

Cooler- Our Lifetime cooler is a perfect alternative to a Yeti. The ice stays frozen just about as long, but it has a cheaper price range.

Coffee Press– Addicted to caffeine is an understatement. Making our own coffee on the road has saved us at least $5 of Starbucks coffee each day.

Our coffee press is our favorite Appliance to use on the road and at home. The coffee flavor is 10x better than that of a coffee pot or Keurig. Check out our video on Instagram to see how the coffee press works.

There are several other coffee-making methods for delicious off-grid coffee making.

Water Jugs

Water jugs are perfect for off-grid camping. Here are a few things water jugs are useful for.

• Washing dishes
• Flushing your chemical toilet
• Drinking
• Showering
• Spraying dirt off of camper van gear

Hammock

Hammocks can open up a whole new set of opportunities from free camping to chilling with friends.

One of our favorite things to do at our campsite is set up the hammock and take a nap after a long day of exploring.

We are always looking for deals meaning we don’t always purchase off-brand items. However, when it comes to hammocks, Enos have proven to withstand it all. I have had mine for 8 years and it’s still going strong.

Check out our hammock purchasing guide to find the perfect hammock for you.

Bikes

So, how about those gas prices!? Bikes are a great way to get around without driving your camper van even more.

Biking is perfect for towns where your campsite is close to everything, or if you find yourself camping overnight in a Walmart parking lot.

We love our Lectric electric bike and our Trek mountain bikes. We purchased both types of bikes on the Facebook marketplace for great deals.

If you would like to check out similar electric bikes, check Magicycle to get $100 off your first purchase by using the code SAS100.

Organizational Camper Van Accessories

The only way you will have a successful and enjoyable road trip in your camper van is if you stay organized and clean within your van. Otherwise, you will be spending your whole trip trying to find important items.

Having a place for everything in your van will help you from going crazy. There’s nothing worse than knowing you put the shampoo in the van, but two hours later you still can’t find it.

Bins- I am obsessed with bins, and for good reason. Bins are a great item to keep everything organized and to keep you from losing your mind.

We have separate bins for our kitchen items, food, and other items.

Anything Collapsible– There are so many accessories that give you collapsible options. You can purchase collapsible sinks, bins, measuring cups, and mixing bowls.

We don’t have collapsible items yet, but we plan to get them so we can save even more space.

Clothing Organizers- I not only love these Yamiu clothing organizers for taking trips in our camper van, but they are also great for flights. You can use them to organize your suitcase when you go on any kind of trip.

These are so great because it keeps all of our clothing separate. I won’t have to search through my husband’s clothes to find mine. It also saves space because everything is neatly organized instead of thrown in piles.

Washing Clothes in a Camper Van

Washing Machine: Being able to wash your clothes in your van will save you many trips to the laundromat. We don’t have a washing machine yet, so we usually just pack what we need for the length of our trip. We also don’t go on super long trips as of yet.

If you would like to know more about which washing machines work best for camper vans you can check out my guide to van life laundry.

Clothes Line- Even though we don’t do our laundry on our trips yet, we still use a clothesline. Clotheslines are great for drying bulky towels, swimsuits, and literally anything wet.

You never want to keep wet stuff in your van as it can create mold problems. A clothesline on the outside of your van can help prevent moisture in your camper van.

Cell Phone Mount

A cell phone mount is just a little camper van gadget that may be quite useful. When you require the GPS while driving, a dashboard mount is really beneficial.

It helps to give you a hands-off trip and keeps your family safe while you drive.

Quick Dry Towels

We use microfiber towels on lake days. They dry ten times faster than a traditional bath towel. The main disadvantage of microfiber towels is that they leave a skin-to-skin feeling when drying off.

I would recommend trying out Turkish towels. They still have similar drying abilities as microfiber towels, but they don’t leave your skin feeling dry. We haven’t tested them yet, but we want to do so soon.

Safety/ emergency Camper Van gear

You never know when an emergency will arise. There are many things that can happen on the road, and there are items you can have in your camper van to help fix some of those things.

It’s important to have safety gear on the road because you don’t want to get stranded out in the middle of nowhere.

Here are some accessories that will help you overcome emergencies that may arise.

Sleeping Gear

I was one of those folks who was hesitant to buy a camper van because I was concerned about getting a decent night’s sleep. Our camper van bed, on the other hand, is far comfier than our home bed.

Here are some of the bed items that we use to make our bed so comfortable.

Slat Bed Frame- By far the easiest bed frame to make is the pull-out slat bed. This is perfect for laying on your bed at night and saving room by sliding it up during the day. Check out our guide on how to build the perfect slat bed for camper vans.

Mattress- The most comfortable part of our camper van is the mattress that we custom-built. You can learn about how we built our mattress here.

Bedding and blankets- What would a bed be without comfy blankets to snuggle up to. We love our sleeping bags or cotton comforters to sleep with. Which one we use depends on the weather.

Yoga mat

A yoga mat isn’t just good for staying fit on the road. It can also be great for sitting on the beach, having a picnic, or extra padding for a bed.

Canopy

Awnings and canopies are great accessories for camper vans, especially when it’s pouring rain. We have a camper van that is far too tiny to cook inside, so if rain is anticipated, we set up a cover.

Canopies are also great for shade on a hot day. Shop canopies and awnings here.

Fold Out Tables and Chairs

We take out tables and chairs everywhere with us, even on day trips.

Tables are great for cooking, laying your gear out, or playing a card game.

Chairs are perfect because they keep you from sitting on the ground or an uncomfortable tree stump.

Lighting Accessories

We love our RBG lights! They are perfect for lighting up our small size camper van. We installed them around the edges of our ceiling. If you need more than RBG lighting, come check out our guide to camper van lighting.

Privacy Items for Camper Vans

Having your privacy inside your mobile home is a must, especially if you are spending time at campgrounds where you are close to your neighbors. Here are a few privacy items you can purchase for your van.

Curtains- Curtains work great for windows. The tint on our windows didn’t prevent others from seeing in our van at night time, so we installed curtains on the back windows.

SunShade– Not only are they perfect for keeping your camper van a tad bit cooler sun shades can also provide more privacy for your front windows.

Other

You honestly just never know when you will need some straps for your van. Maybe something is coming loose that you need to fix, well, good thing you have some straps to hold it in place.