In my opinion, van life is fun no matter what. But having some of these camper van accessories can really step up the game for your camper van set-up. Whether you are looking for the perfect van life toys, a great outdoor setup or a way to get out in the boondocks without having to worry. These are some must-have camper van accessories!
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Camp Chair:
There are TONS of camp chairs out there that come in all different shapes and sizes and can fit any budget.
Jake and I had the Ozark Trail Oversized Quad Camp Chairs for years. They are $15, have 2 cup holders (that fit Hydroflasks or Nalgene Bottles), and are actually pretty comfortable. But after many years of sun damage from extensive use, they bit the dust.
So, we have since upgraded to the Eddie Bauer Backpack Chairs so that we can use them both at the beach, camp, or really anywhere we need a chair. We felt they were a little more versatile. Plus they have a cooler that can fit a 6 pack of beer or beverages of your choice!
If you are low on space, consider getting the Crazy Creek Padded Folding Chair or an REI Flexlite Camp Chair.
A camp chair just isn’t a camper van accessory you can live without.
Outdoor Mat:
An outdoor mat is one of the best camper van accessories because it protects you from the ground. Our favorite outdoor mat is the CGear Sand-Free Mat. It’s perfect for those campsites that are a bit sandy and you don’t want to track in the sand and dirt into your camper van.
Plus I feel like it just adds a few extra square footage to your totally camper van space!
Camp Table:
I think another great camper van accessory is a camp table. Whether you want to set up a full outdoor kitchen or just want a place to set a few things other than the ground, a camp table is a nice camper van accessory to have.
We have the Ozark Trail Small Aluminum Table. It is a bit small, but we felt we didn’t have much room to spare to get a much larger table. I’d say it’s best for just having a side table, but not quite big enough to fit a camp stove on.
But there are tons of great camp tables that could suit your camper van needs! Especially if you cook outside a lot, you should invest in a larger table!
Awning:
An awning is a great camper van item to have during the day when the sun is strong. While we vanlifers love to get outdoors, we also need to protect ourselves from the elements. So an awning is the perfect camper van accessory!
The MoonShade is a portable awning for your outdoor adventure. You can set it up during the day, and completely take it down during the night to safely stow it away. Jake and I absolutely love having an awning for our campervan, without having to sacrifice our stealth factor! Which sometimes an awning is a sure giveaway for a van being a camper van. And the MoonShade is a fraction of the price to other camper van awnings.
Use code: TwoRoamingSouls to get $30 off a MoonShade Awning
Bug Net:
There is nothing more annoying than opening the doors to get some fresh air in your camper van and being bombarded with bugs. So, I think a must-have camper van accessory are bug nets.
Depending on the size of your doors, you can either purchase a designated magnetic screen or you might need to make your own.
Jake and I have a wide but short door in our camper van, so we decided to make our own bug nets. We bought mesh netting, and cut it to the size of our door. We then added velcro around the edges of both the metal frame of the door and edges of the netting. Then we added weights to the bottom of the mesh so it would hold tight to the bottom without flapping open from a strong breeze. This created a nice seal around the door so no bugs could get in. You can do the same for the back doors.
Bug nets can allow you to get a nice breeze through the van without unwanted visitors.
Hammocks:
Personally I not only think a hammock is one of the best camper van accessories but a must-have accessory for any outdoor adventure. It’s the best way to relax out in nature!
Jake and I love hammocking so much, we added hammock hooks to the back of our campervan. But you can go the easier route and just attach to two trees, or step up the game and get a portable hammock stand, so you don’t have to always rely on trees. (For instance, the desert!).
Portable Kayak:
One of my all-time favorite accessories for our camper van is our Intex K2 portable kayak. Sometimes just sitting on shore or going for a quick swim isn’t enough for exploring some of those beautiful bodies of water. So having a portable kayak is a luxury item we absolutely love having. Plus you get a little exercise, which is a win in my book!
I will say it does require a little extra room in your camper van, but is so worth it! Here are a few other great portable kayaks for vanlife to choose from!
Small Insulated Cooler:
While you are paddling along in your inflatable kayak or hanging out in your hammocks, you might as well have a few cold beverages and maybe some cold snacks! So having a small insulated cooler is a great accessory for your camper van.
We love our RTIC Soft Cooler, because it keeps our items cold all day long at a fraction of the price of a Yeti cooler. Plus it acts as additional storage for food in the garage of our campervan when we aren’t using it. Our insulated cooler quickly climbed the list for our essential campervan accessories.
Insulated Koozies:
Once you take out the cold beverage from your insulated cooler, you don’t want it to get warm right away. So another must-have camper van accessory is an insulated koozie.
Omnia Oven:
An Omnia Oven might be one of the coolest camper van accessories. It’s your way of “oven cooking” on a stovetop. So if you love baking cakes, bread, and casseroles, this is a must-have campervan item!
An Omnia Oven is designed to disperse the heat evenly without first burning the food at the bottom.
Trust me, from personal experience, I’ve tried cooking cookies on a stovetop with a regular frying pan… they will burn!
Campfire Grill Grate:
One item Jake and I have had from the very beginning of our camping days is a Campfire Grill Grate. This is great for cooking over a campfire and to get those perfect grill marks. And let’s be honest, cooking over a campfire just gives you that true camping vibe. So whenever we meet up with friends or family we prefer to cook over the fire. A campfire grill grate is a great camper van accessory.
Solar Shower:
If you don’t have a shower in your camper van conversion, then a solar shower is one of the best camper van accessories.
How a solar shower works, is you leave it out in the sun for a few hours, and bam, you have hot water. Jake and I also have a pop-up shower tent, so during those colder months or on a windy day, you can stay warm.
Jake and I have the 5 Gallon Advanced Elements Summer Solar Shower, click the link to check out our review. We also did some research on the best portable showers for vanlife & camping.
Quick-Dry Microfiber Towels:
Having a heavy large towel can take a bit longer to dry and more storage space in your camper van. So switching to a quick-dry microfiber towel can be a game-changer in your camper van.
They dry so much quicker than a larger towel and take up way less space. This is not only good so you can fold it up and stow it away, it means there is less moisture floating in the air of your camper van while it drys.
Portable Toilet:
A portable toilet might not be essential to some, but I absolutely love having a portable toilet in our camper van. Jake and I have a cassette toilet, which fits almost any budget and is perfect to have when you gotta go #1 in the middle of the night. Or in public places, where using nature isn’t an option.
If budget isn’t an issue or you need a bathroom for going #2, check out these great compostable toilets for vanlife.
Foldable Bike:
A foldable bike is a great toy to have in your camper van. But I will say, they can take up a decent chunk of space, so I would make sure having bikes in your camper van is a priority.
Having a bike in your camper van can be an awesome way to get around in cities. Especially if you have an extra-long camper van, where street parking can become a challenge.
Bikes are something Jake and I haven’t added to our setup yet, but it is definitely high on our list! Or maybe for the next build! 😉
Portable Battery:
Having a great solar set-up is important for your camper van conversion. But sometimes the solar set up you have might struggle in the winter or if a huge storm rolls through. So sometimes having an additional portable battery for your campervan can be a great additional camper van accessory.
For example, Jake and I got stuck in a snow storm in Utah in the middle of June. We were running low on power, the weather was cold and we couldn’t get out of our campsite.
We basically just played games because we wanted to keep our fridge on and have lights at night.
Using our phones and laptops wasn’t an option unless we wanted to run out of power before dark.
So if we had a portable battery, we would have been able to continue to work and maybe run a small heater to keep us warm. This is just one example where we wish we had an additional battery, but there are plenty of times an additional battery would have come in huge for us!
Portable batteries come in all sizes and power supply, so follow this guide for the best portable battery to fit your needs.
Small Heater (But only if you have a large battery bank):
A small heater in your van can be great for those bitter cold nights in the winter months or extra chilly mornings. But having an electric heater in the van will need a large battery bank.
We have the Brightown Mini Desk Heater which can get you through those extra cold temperatures. But it does suck up some serious power for electrical systems and definitely can’t heat the van much more than 10 degrees.
But I have been very thankful to have this little heater to warm up my feet on some of those chilly mornings.
Another great addition to our cold-weather campervan accessories is a heated blanket. It can be perfect for warming up the bed before nighttime, or just serve as an extra blanket.
If you don’t have a good power bank, you could consider getting the Mr. Buddy Heater which runs off propane. But these do take up a decent amount of space in your campervan, so storing it during the colder months could be a challenge.
Plus you will need to get proper ventilation, therefore you often let out the hot air from running your ceiling vent fan. We do have this heater as well, but at times it can feel unsafe to make sure you have enough airflow.
Reflectix Window Covers:
During those warmer months, having window reflectix can just about save you from a heat stroke! We have found reflectix super helpful for keeping the heat out of our campervan. And we got windows that wrap around our whole van.
So I would say reflectix is an absolutely essential camper van accessory. You can get a sun shade for your front windshield relatively inexpensively. But for the side window around the van, you might need to DIY some on your own with a Double Reflective Insulation Roll.
Phone Mount:
A must-have camper van accessory is a cell phone car mount for when you are driving. You are driving your home on wheels, so you do not want to look away from the road for one second!
Portable Bluetooth Speaker:
Can’t forget about having good tunes in the van! A portable Bluetooth speaker is a must-have item in the van. Our suggestion is to get a quality one, so you have good quality sound!
We personally love the JBL Charge 3. It’s small, waterproof, puts out great sound & bass and it’s portable. Whether we are just chilling at camp, or out on our portable kayak, we have music with us at all times!
Leveling Blocks:
There is nothing worse than driving all night to find a campsite and the only spot left is un-level. So a good camper van accessory to have is leveling blocks. But I will say they often take up a decent chunk of space. Therefore, make sure you have a space to stow them away when you aren’t driving.
Or to save on space, try the Flat-Jack Air Tire Level.
Traction Boards:
Traction boards were a late addition to our camper van, and we are soo happy to have them. While they definitely take up a ton of space, they give us peace of mind when you go off-roading and away from civilization.
There have been a handful of times when the road gets a little soft. Or one time we thought our van had the clearance over a ditch, and well…. we didn’t and got stuck!
So traction boards are one of the best camper van accessories if you ever drive off pavement or travel to remote areas. You also don’t have to break the bank with a $300 pair. Jake and I have used our X-Bull Traction Boards a handful of times and they have worked great every time! Check out our Traction Board Review.
Traction boards can easily be stored on the roof rack so you don’t have to take up valuable space in your van.
Shovel:
Whether you are going #2 when nature calls, or maybe you get yourself in a little accident (like the story above!), you should always have a shovel with you in your camper van. We love our foldable shovel, so it can easily be stowed away when not in use! And it is very durable when constructed!
Portatable Jump-Starter:
Most camper van travelers go off-grid. And sometimes there might not be another vehicle for miles. So one of the best camper van accessories is a portable car battery jump start. These battery chargers just sit charging your battery for 5+ minutes or so and you should be able to start the vehicle right up without someone having to jump-start your camper van!
So in my opinion, this is a must-have campervan accessory, especially if you travel off-grid to remote areas!
Telescoping Ladder:
Last but not least, is a telescoping ladder. Unless you have absolutely nothing on your camper van roof, a telescoping ladder is a must-have camper van accessory. Whether you have a cargo box, rooftop deck, or solar panels, it can be essential to have a safe way to get onto the roof.
We use our telescoping ladder for hanging our solar shower, cleaning our solar panel, getting into our cargo box, etc. And it’s a fraction of the price compared to mounting a ladder onto your camper van.
Takeaway | Best Camper Van Accessories:
These camper van accessories can change the way you vanlife. If you have some or most of these campervan accessories, you will be set up pretty well and living your best life on the road.
You don’t have to worry about getting stuck out in the middle of nowhere with no cell service. Or can have some of the best vanlife toys that can keep you entertained for days!
Jake and I have most of these items or they are on our Christmas List 😉 and they are pretty much vanlife essentials in our book! We hope this guide is helpful and you enjoy your time on the road!
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