Small van, small essentials?

[Krazykate]

I've had a good look at the 'search' option but I think I'm pretty hopeless at narrowing it down.
A new small van, have you any recommended essentials?
I have absolutely nothing and very little storage so any suggestions welcome!
Shall I start?...a corkscrew?

 

[cyberyacht]

I drink tank water and don't get stomach upsets either.

 

[Krazykate]

I'd add 8" chef's knife, small veg knife & bread knife. Only 'cooking' knives you need.

Ikea do excellent ones - add their stacking mugs for a good cup of tea...

Exactly what I have on my list. Things are getter smaller and have ten uses now!

 

[Dave and Jen]

Not cheap, but I have one of these hoses which folds up into a small plastic box with extra accessories I carry eg different fittings for taps etc

Hozelock Superhoze Yellow Expandable Hose pipe (L)30m

The dynamic design of Superhoze enables it to expand up to three times its original length for easy reach and then shrink back in size after use for convenient storage.

www.diy.com

If you look at the reviews for these hoses- not good many complaining they burst- Mine has just done the same so a trip to B@Q to get another or refund.
Dave

 

[Krazykate]

I drink tank water and don't get stomach upsets either.

Good to hear someone has a good constitution!
I think as long as I whoosh through the system regularly it will be fine.

If you look at the reviews for these hoses- not good many complaining they burst- Mine has just done the same so a trip to B@Q to get another or refund.
Dave

Thanks for that, will keep looking, thank you.

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[faraway]

If you look at the reviews for these hoses- not good many complaining they burst- Mine has just done the same so a trip to B@Q to get another or refund.
Dave

That’s bad luck. I’ve had one for a few years and it’s still going strong.

 

[Revolvor]

Of course you can use a hose...... I also dislike storing hoses that are damp inside.

After I've filled my tank, I grab the middle of the hose and whirl it around over my head, so all the water is driven out. ( Make sure you've got lots of space! )

 

[Shrimp]

Any new hose will do for filling the tank, you don’t need a food one.
We have a 5ltr water can for drinking & tea.
You can find collapsible just about anything nowadays, bucket, washing up bowl, colander. Fold up pot stand.
I couldn’t find plastic cooking spoons, solid and slotted, that weren’t a mile long so hubby cut them down to a suitable length.
Try to find stuff that will do several jobs.
Travel towels (mountain warehouse) dry very quickly & are not as bulky and heavy as towelling ones.

 

[dryad]

Citron Relay, East Neuk Convertion 5.4mt. Theres a tiny fridge in at the moment and I would like to put in a large compressor fridge so reducing storage further.

you will be amazed at just how much you can stow away in a citroen relay..
when i had mine and had to empty it to give to my daughter, the essential and personal gubbins that i took out, it nigh on filled the shed up and a large corner of my lounge..
but then, i am a squirrel and hoarder and seemed to take nigh on everything i thought i needed bar the kitchen sink...well, thats because there was a sink already in there..

the most essential things to take, kettle, tea bags, wine to share and a very big smile and sense of humour, you can't go wrong then..

wishing you a long and happy motorhoming life..

.

.

 

[stuartholmes]

Skip corkscrews, wine comes in screwtop bottles nowadays
Apart from towel & toiletries, bedding (best lightweight duvet your bugdet allows & a fitted fleece underblanket is our favourite) saucepan, frying pan, kettle, your favourite six utensils and some washing-up liquid you only need a torch & an umbrella.

Everything else you get when you feel overcome with desire.

That's what we did & don't regret it! Take your time, there is far too much sparkly stuff begging to have money spent on it and a few too many Hyacinth Buckets trying to keep up. Not worth the stress.

I've had a good look at the 'search' option but I think I'm pretty hopeless at narrowing it down.
A new small van, have you any recommended essentials?
I have absolutely nothing and very little storage so any suggestions welcome!
Shall I start?...a corkscrew?

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[BrochMike]

Skip corkscrews, wine comes in screwtop bottles nowadays

Please, please do take a corkscrew/waiters' friend (incorporating bottle opener)...

It's really only in UK (eg. Tesco) where screw-top is considered appropriate. Certainly not seen one in France or Spain that contained wine I'd be prepared to drink!

 

[Tonks]

A decent knife! An absolutely essential essential!

I have one of these serrated utility knives in the van, and another (older) one in the house. They're brilliant for prepping practically anything. I bought my first when in my pre-van days, while staying at a holiday cottage whose idea of a sharp knife was something akin to a butter knife. I still use it almost daily and it must be 14 or 15 years old now. So I got another one to keep in the van. It's good enough for bread too, if you like rolls, cob loaves or bloomers. If you like regular 'tin loafs' you'll probably also need a bread knife as I find the utility knife isn't long enough for them.

I discovered I'd need a bottle opener after I'd had the van about a year!

I also have duplicates of my phone charger and iPad cables, plus 12v USB adaptors which permanently live in the van. That way I can't get four hours from home and realise I can't charge either item...

 

[Krazykate]

Any new hose will do for filling the tank, you don’t need a food one.
We have a 5ltr water can for drinking & tea.
You can find collapsible just about anything nowadays, bucket, washing up bowl, colander. Fold up pot stand.
I couldn’t find plastic cooking spoons, solid and slotted, that weren’t a mile long so hubby cut them down to a suitable length.
Try to find stuff that will do several jobs.
Travel towels (mountain warehouse) dry very quickly & are not as bulky and heavy as towelling ones.

Hi early bird!
I was just thinking about short utensils last night. Feel a bit of sawing coming on!
I have the towels much to my OHs disgust
Have a nice day.

Skip corkscrews, wine comes in screwtop bottles nowadays
Apart from towel & toiletries, bedding (best lightweight duvet your bugdet allows & a fitted fleece underblanket is our favourite) saucepan, frying pan, kettle, your favourite six utensils and some washing-up liquid you only need a torch & an umbrella.

Everything else you get when you feel overcome with desire.

That's what we did & don't regret it! Take your time, there is far too much sparkly stuff begging to have money spent on it and a few too many Hyacinth Buckets trying to keep up. Not worth the stress.

Too true, However , a couple of Duvalays did jump into the basket!

 

[stuartholmes]

Please, please do take a corkscrew/waiters' friend (incorporating bottle opener)...

It's really only in UK (eg. Tesco) where screw-top is considered appropriate. Certainly not seen one in France or Spain that contained wine I'd be prepared to drink!

Wow, good info thanks. But who knew we were more advanced that the europeans. I was led to believe the move away from cork bottle-stoppers was an environment issue, is that incorrect?

 

[stuartholmes]

Too true, However , a couple of Duvalays did jump into the basket!

I cannot understand duvalays. My brother & his wife have them & tried to persuade us but really, how are they better than a sleeping bag with a full-length zip that's not fastened??

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[BrochMike]

the move away from cork bottle-stoppers was an environment issue, is that incorrect?

Cork is fully sustainable & environmentally friendly [...] 100% natural, renewable and recyclable.

At least according to this supplier

 

[Krazykate]

I cannot understand duvalays. My brother & his wife have them & tried to persuade us but really, how are they better than a sleeping bag with a full-length zip that's not fastened??

I suppose you don't know til you've slept on one! All I know is if you see forums and speak to people in general they rave about them

 

[Hedgewitch]

I suppose you don't know til you've slept on one! All I know is if you see forums and speak to people in general they rave about them

I resisted getting a Duvalay for ages because I just could not see the point of attaching the sleeping bag to a lump of memory foam, and in my previous van it would have been a real pain to try to roll it up for storage.

When I changed to the VW it was instantly obvious that without a decent foam topper I was not going to sleep well so I bought a Duvalay “VW Shaped” topper and can truly say I sleep better in this van than ANY other RV previously (and there have been a few). Yes it takes up half the space behind the seat during the day but decent sleep is priceless and I would not now be without it.

edit to add: when I ordered mine I phoned the company to check which thicknesses would be best. As I like a softer mattress I assumed I would need the thickest topper. wrong. The thicker ones are for larger people whose weight will compress the product more . . . so as I am a skinny thing I got the regular one and it’s bloomin’ brilliant.

 

[stuartholmes]

I suppose you don't know til you've slept on one! All I know is if you see forums and speak to people in general they rave about them

I'm happy that you're happy!!

(But I'm still not getting one!)

 

[kev54]

Cork is fully sustainable & environmentally friendly [...] 100% natural, renewable and recyclable.

At least according to this supplier

Yebbut - cork engenders a 10% waste of bottled wine due to mould inherent in the cork - that’s why you should smell it before pouring. The French (and moreso the Portuguese) have a hard time accepting that screw-tops make a better seal.

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[BrochMike]

Theres a tiny fridge in at the moment and I would like to put in a large compressor

Another thing not to rush. You're rarely far from a shop to restock and compressor needs power...
I'm sure there are lot of threads debating pros and cons

 

[BrochMike]

have a hard time accepting that screw-tops make a better seal

Agreed - hence the need for a corkscrew

 

[Krazykate]

I resisted getting a Duvalay for ages because I just could not see the point of attaching the sleeping bag to a lump of memory foam, and in my previous van it would have been a real pain to try to roll it up for storage.

When I changed to the VW it was instantly obvious that without a decent foam topper I was not going to sleep well so I bought a Duvalay “VW Shaped” topper and can truly say I sleep better in this van than ANY other RV previously (and there have been a few). Yes it takes up half the space behind the seat during the day but decent sleep is priceless and I would not now be without it.

edit to add: when I ordered mine I phoned the company to check which thicknesses would be best. As I like a softer mattress I assumed I would need the thickest topper. wrong. The thicker ones are for larger people whose weight will compress the product more . . . so as I am a skinny thing I got the regular one and it’s bloomin’ brilliant.

I've hardly any storage and don't usually put things in the loo, but that's the plan!

 

[Krazykate]

Yebbut - cork engenders a 10% waste of bottled wine due to mould inherent in the cork - that’s why you should smell it before pouring. The French (and moreso the Portuguese) have a hard time accepting that screw-tops make a better seal.

Both make that beautiful soft glug, glug sound when you are pouring that smooth, full bodied liquid into a glass to the same level.

 

[interbear]

Please, please do take a corkscrew/waiters' friend (incorporating bottle opener)...

It's really only in UK (eg. Tesco) where screw-top is considered appropriate. Certainly not seen one in France or Spain that contained wine I'd be prepared to drink!

We’ve actually found that in France, surprisingly, some of the boxed wine is very acceptable, no corkscrew required and there is more of it I would however only apply this logic to chilled wine of the white variety.

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[Orion]

If you're worried carry some decent plastic bottles for your drinking water and just use the tank water for everything else. We've been doing this for 20+ years and never suffered any tummy upset.

We do this because the 0.5l bottles are handy to keep cold in the fridge. Refill them from the very cheap 5.0l or 6.0l large containers available from European supermarkets using a pump like this:

https://amzn.eu/d/0b56qXAI

Ignore the price as they can be sourced from the same supermarkets or Chinese shops in Spain for much less.

 

[Shrimp]

I've hardly any storage and don't usually put things in the loo, but that's the plan!

You may find it’s cooler than the rest of the van, if it’s a big enough area-good place to store fruit & veg.

 

[Beryl]

Skip corkscrews, wine comes in screwtop bottles nowadays
Apart from towel & toiletries, bedding (best lightweight duvet your bugdet allows & a fitted fleece underblanket is our favourite) saucepan, frying pan, kettle, your favourite six utensils and some washing-up liquid you only need a torch & an umbrella.

Everything else you get when you feel overcome with desire.

That's what we did & don't regret it! Take your time, there is far too much sparkly stuff begging to have money spent on it and a few too many Hyacinth Buckets trying to keep up. Not worth the stress.

I so misread that...

 

[stuartholmes]

I've hardly any storage and don't usually put things in the loo, but that's the plan!

Well you do call yourself krazy Kate so I guess that's ok. I'm sure most people put crap in the loo...

 

[carolyn]

I cannot understand duvalays. My brother & his wife have them & tried to persuade us but really, how are they better than a sleeping bag with a full-length zip that's not fastened??

You can get the topper without the sleeping bag. We have them but I have to confess we don’t like them and have gone back to just having a double quilt on the bottom. One of many expensive mistakes!

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[pjay]

Citron Relay, East Neuk Convertion 5.4mt. Theres a tiny fridge in at the moment and I would like to put in a large compressor fridge so reducing storage further.

We've got a Fifer M too, I thought they were all fitted with compressor fridges, mine has one (isotherm) in the space below the wardrobe, its more than big enough for the two of us.

Check out Night Owls, a bit like a sleeping bag duvet, we have 2 that roll up and store nicely in the overhead locker with room to spare, they can zip together as a double if req'd.

Pete