What to buy for setting our first motorhome

[Irish Rovers]

We have just bought our first motor home (Swift Bessacarr 597) and are excitedly (impatiently) awaiting delivery to Northern Ireland. In the meantime, I thought I would ask you guys; what are the essentials we will need for a first motor home that we wouldn't necessarily think of? Obviously we will need bedding etc, but using your collective experience, what else should we consider? Picnic tables and seats, etc, etc. We would be really interested to see what your experiences have been

 

[Irish Rovers]

Parabolic wing mirrors (if not already fitted)

Battery-to-battery charger - research what they do.

If you have a motorhome garage then ratchet straps rather than bungees for securing heavy items.

Roll of non-slip matting for lining bottom of cupboards to stop glasses/mugs/pans sliding and for making coasters for glasses on table(inside or out) if on slight slope.

Refillable gas bottles.

Phone charger with cigar-lighter plug.

Bio washing machine liquid or sachets for the toilet cassette - to save buying the expensive liquid they try to sell you.

Don't buy a kettle - use a saucepan to save space. Preferably stackable pans to save more space.

Ice cube bags - for when you trip and twist an ankle. Can also be used for G+T

A good cook.

Big smile - for when you are sitting with a beautiful view having a sundowner and thinking of all the stupid b******s stuck in a high-rise flat.

Geoff

Washing machine liquid is a good idea. Never heard that before. Thanks

 

[GeeCee]

I agree with most of the advice on here, especially about don't buy anything till you know you need it. Attached is a list I generated after our first trip abroad. And to be honest we used them all at some point. The grip mats though I bought on return home from the first trip after getting stuck on wet grass site in southern Spain, and again in Portugal when we had to be towed onto the nearest asphalt.

 

[suavecarve]

Ice cube bags - for when you trip and twist an ankle. Can also be used for G+T

Reusable ice cubes. God send, though rather than ice cubes we used frozen grapes and blueberries to keep the wine chilled before we found the reusable ones.

Exterior chairs. Go for light ones, which if you like lounging get the extra foot extensions, buy decent ones, not worth scrimping on these.

 

[Irish Rovers]

I agree with most of the advice on here, especially about don't buy anything till you know you need it. Attached is a list I generated after our first trip abroad. And to be honest we used them all at some point. The grip mats though I bought on return home from the first trip after getting stuck on wet grass site in southern Spain, and again in Portugal when we had to be towed onto the nearest asphalt.

Thanks for sharing that. Ill have to study your list.

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[nicholsong]

Is it the G+T that causes the trip to twist the ankle?

Where did you get your good cook....have you got a link, I could do with one?

She is mine, all mine, but I can run her a good second,

 

[Beacons]

Warm bedding extra blankets we froze to death on our first night .Kettle for gas hob . Bottled water .

 

[wigster]

Go away a few times local and buy what you need as and when you need it , i bought a few things that i thought i wanted but never used.

 

[KiwiKampers]

Half the fun of kitting out our UK motorhome was touring the charity shops and buying the things we needed knowing that we were:
a) buying them cheaper,
b) "saving the planet",
and c) making a donation to charity.

 

[Nicna]

We have just bought our first motor home (Swift Bessacarr 597) and are excitedly (impatiently) awaiting delivery to Northern Ireland. In the meantime, I thought I would ask you guys; what are the essentials we will need for a first motor home that we wouldn't necessarily think of? Obviously we will need bedding etc, but using your collective experience, what else should we consider? Picnic tables and seats, etc, etc. We would be really interested to see what your experiences have been

we bought our first motor home just over a year ago and we were surprised when we realised it didn't come with the cable to plug into the electrics and also has bottles!! You will also need cleaning fluids for toilet and toilet paper that is recommended for your loo. Sure there was more but probably just repeating others advice. Good luck

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[sgl5gjr]

Can opener

 

[Ian Bosman]

Patience.
Cork screw.
Good tyres.
Levelling blocks.
External thermal screen for windscreen.
Sat nav and good set of maps.
Spare tyre,jack.
Watering cans and/ or hose for water filling.
Luck.

Enjoy!

See the good tyres, make sure that they are load rated for the vehicle. Look for the word Camper or the Letter C on the size code. We got caught out when we had two blow outs on a trip into Germany with ordinary car tyres. All right for very short runs but long distance you need to correct loading rate.

 

[Ian Bosman]

Patience.
Cork screw.
Good tyres.
Levelling blocks.
External thermal screen for windscreen.
Sat nav and good set of maps.
Spare tyre,jack.
Watering cans and/ or hose for water filling.
Luck.

Enjoy!

Gas bottles, go for FloGas or if you wish the refillable variety unless you have a built in tank for gas. UK gas stations are getting few and far between so I gather

 

[Stuart]

Bottle opener.......spare bottle opener because you'll lose the first one. If you've got space and payload take a long EHU cable as well as a shorter one. This takes care of the sites which insist on you parking a certain way round with the bollard on the other side of your van to the socket and situated on the next pitch along! If space is against you just take the long one.

 

[Blaydon]

Hi there - some great ticks listed - all good.
If you are going over the water - a few EHP adapters are a good idea. Not needs so much these days but in some countries you need their fitting.
I have a magic tool box. Basic sockets, screw drivers, tapes, and of course, cable ties. There is a great adage - 'never take anything that only does one job'.
A good quality multi-tool covers a lot.
Water tank top up hose is worth having and a water carrier when you can't get to the tap. Leveling ramps are essential - I can't see why folks don't level up when they stop.
Any fool can be uncomfortable.

D

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[NoName]

We have just bought our first motor home (Swift Bessacarr 597) and are excitedly (impatiently) awaiting delivery to Northern Ireland. In the meantime, I thought I would ask you guys; what are the essentials we will need for a first motor home that we wouldn't necessarily think of? Obviously we will need bedding etc, but using your collective experience, what else should we consider? Picnic tables and seats, etc, etc. We would be really interested to see what your experiences have been

What I would caution about acquisitions, is to take recommendations by bloggers with a pinch of salt. Many “review” items that are costly & not necessarily the best for purpose. The sole aim , seems to be to direct you to Amazon, so that; they , the blogger, get commission. Call me a cynic if you like but to me that is how it appears

 

[mitzimad]

cork screw and a credit card all youll need

 

[pandas]

And fuel

 

[pandas]

you might ask what have we bought that has been a total waste of money!

 

[Bucket]

If your hob hasn't got built-in sparkers get one of those Piezo thingummies. Matches of course.
I never subscribed to the watering can, it takes up too much space, we carry 2 medium size flexi buckets like the big builders ones, multi-purpose. I've jigged up a water filler using plumding pipes and a funnel for topping up the fresh water. Haven't used a hose pipe for years even though I still carry it.
You will find you can get much more in lockers and cupboards etc. if you get various plastic boxes to fit. It's also easier sometimes to find stuff by pulling the box out.
If you are like me and love coffee you will want to carry the right equipment. We use the moka pot and an aerobie Aeropress.

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[Rodders1234]

We like using plastic trays from bargain buys to organise personal belongings and food. Various sizes, used in cupboards and the fridge.
We don’t have an oven so we like our wok inside and BBQ outside.
Towel dryers.

 

[gwyntaxi]

We have just bought our first motor home (Swift Bessacarr 597) and are excitedly (impatiently) awaiting delivery to Northern Ireland. In the meantime, I thought I would ask you guys; what are the essentials we will need for a first motor home that we wouldn't necessarily think of? Obviously we will need bedding etc, but using your collective experience, what else should we consider? Picnic tables and seats, etc, etc. We would be really interested to see what your experiences have been

Hi there and welcome to fun,
Might be a good idea if possible to have a weekend on your drive, that way if you’ve not put something important in the van you can always pop in the house to get, it I have duplicated just about everything that I have in the house so that I don’t need to take anything back home, even tho our van is parked on the drive, because you can that whatever you take out you will forget to put it back in the van the next time out.

 

[Irish Rovers]

cork screw and a credit card all youll need

I like the way you pack

 

[Irish Rovers]

If your hob hasn't got built-in sparkers get one of those Piezo thingummies. Matches of course.
I never subscribed to the watering can, it takes up too much space, we carry 2 medium size flexi buckets like the big builders ones, multi-purpose. I've jigged up a water filler using plumding pipes and a funnel for topping up the fresh water. Haven't used a hose pipe for years even though I still carry it.
You will find you can get much more in lockers and cupboards etc. if you get various plastic boxes to fit. It's also easier sometimes to find stuff by pulling the box out.
If you are like me and love coffee you will want to carry the right equipment. We use the moka pot and an aerobie Aeropress.

Mrs Rovers is VERY keen on good coffee. I think a coffee machine is an essential

 

[Machbuster]

further to the many good ideas, I would recommend pots and pans that can be put together, to save space. A little spray bottle with vinegar to spray for ants. A rubber mat to put outside the habitation door to get rid of some of the dirt before entering. I use a tent-like outside for relaxing and protecting boxes and the like, like bikes. That makes it easier to use the van. Good luck

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[TerryL]

Maybe we will bump into you around the roads

Perhaps a motorhome driving course?

 

[Blaydon]

Mrs Rovers is VERY keen on good coffee. I think a coffee machine is an essential

I too love a good coffee - I use a Bodum travel Coffee Press mug. It gives real coffee but keeps hot for a couple of hours- and fits in the cup holder on the MH. It is good for 100 miles! They go for about £25 but mine has lasted three years so its worth it.

 

[pxh38257]

We did our first trip and learnt the hard way.
levelling blocks, had been given a small set but were not high enough so go for a quad set.
We had a water hose with hozelock connectors on each end, we also had the cap that fits on the inlet with a hozelock connection, but not the fitting you screw on to the sites water tap that you then connect the hose too.

 

[TerryL]

BUT SERIOUSLY

Don't buy anything until you've had a trip or two. In the interim you, like us, have probably got lots of spare stuff at home that you can take if you think you might need it - only you know how you live and what is "essential". After a few trips take out anything you didn't use - the wife is a gadget freak and has something for every possible occasion but am I allowed to chuck it out?

But once a year, at habitation check time, we empty out everything that didn't come with the base vehicle and only put back stuff we actually used in the last year (emergency bits excepted of course). It's so, so easy to go over your payload limits.

There will be essentials you need but they may come with the vehicle, or maybe you can twist your dealers arm? 25m electric hookup cable; something to refill water tank with (I have a couple of short hoses plus a long-neck watering can); set of decent wheel ramps to help levelling. After that it becomes more of how you use your van but you'll only find out when you start!

 

[faraway]

Good security system

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[Despicable]

We made a 'check list' on the computer that we keep up to date and print off prior setting off. The items listed above seem to cover most essentials and quite a few nice-to-haves; but, as said before a lot obviously depends on your own personal needs.
You know how you pass your time; what are you going to do on rainy days? What do you do in the evenings? If you use the Internet then how will you stay connected? Your phone? A MiFi? Some sites have free WiFi access, some you have to pay.
At the end of the day, whilst in Western Europe you're never a thousand miles from civilisation and appropriate shops.
Enjoy, it's an adventure, not a test or exam.