The essential packing list for campervan and motorhome hire
Updated February 2019
BY KERRI McCONNEL
This essential packing list for campervan hire contains lots of little things that you may not normally think about, but make your life a whole lot easier when on the road. Whilst we think we have a very comprehensive list, each time we go on a motorhome road trip, we usually find some extras to add to this list.
I’m going to assume that everyone knows how to pack their clothes for their destination. This is simply a “useful extras guide” for what to pack for your motorhome holiday.
A great feature of hiring a campervan for your holiday is that most of the things that you will need during your trip have already been included by the hiring company. But, hiring companies are not all built the same, so it’s best to check before you arrive to ensure the basics are provided, and most importantly, included in your total cost.
We keep adding to this list everytime we travel in a motorhome or campervan. Even with all of these things on board, I keep finding more ways to make life easier when on the road.
We use France Motorhome Hire as they provide fully equipped vehicles
These include such things as:
- Kitchen equipment including pots, pans, cutlery, crockery, glassware, sharp knives and scissors, colander
- Road safety equipment – warning triangles, hi-visibility vests, jacks etc
- Maps/GPS – if you have included this in your hire
- External campervan equipment – Water hose, electrical cable, adaptor for hooking up to mains electricity and levelling blocks
- Gas bottles
- Cleaning equipment – dustpan brush, broom in some cases
Here are a few other items that are highly useful and should make any campervan equipment list. I know we couldn’t do without them.
Chamois
If you are travelling with your own motorhome then you will have this problem well and truly sorted. Motorhome owners have padded the silver insulation for the inside, keeping them cool and warm when needed. They are also great for privacy at night. On the outside, they will have another silver lining that also helps with insulation and the dreaded windscreen condensation.
When you hire a motorhome or campervan, however, it is unlikely that these will be included. It would be great if they were, but it’s just not often the case.
Each morning, especially in winter, where it is cold outside and warm inside, the windscreen is usually dripping with condensation. Years ago we used to use paper towel, but we would go through so much. The other alternative was using a towel but these just get wet and are a pain to dry if you are travelling all day. Now, we use a chamois and it’s so simple. It’s easily transportable, doesn’t weigh much and is more economical than buying paper towel.
Packing cubes
I am now a packing cubes convert. Having used them in suitcases before, I took them with me on our latest motorhome trip. What a breeze it made unpacking and keeping things organised in the motorhome. I simply kept the cubes up in the storage space above our bed, making them easy to access each time we needed them. I would highly recommend them for long motorhome trips as it would be seriously annoying to have to keep diving around bags and suitcases every day.
Plastic bottle stoppers
Faced with such a wonderful range of whites, reds and champagnes/sparkling in Europe, we’ve always got a bottle or two open. And, because most European wines have not succumbed to the screw top lid ( I can hear the French especially gasping at the thought of this!), taking our own stoppers always comes in handy.
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Note: most campervans come with a corkscrew these days.
Re-usable shopping bags
Because we eat a lot of our meals in the motorhome, we are constantly at supermarkets and local markets stocking up on goodies. In Europe, plastic bags are not provided free of charge. Culturally, Europe is a long way ahead in terms of the use of re-usable shopping bags. There is also a growing movement towards not using plastic bags for environmental reasons. We prefer to take our own bags as we can fit more in them (the wine and beer are usually heavy too!).
They are incredibly useful for our first big shop where we stock up the motorhome. We keep several in the motorhome and I also have folding bags that I carry with me for when we go to the markets. We never know when we are going to need them.
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Anti-bacterial sanitiser and wet wipes
Whilst these might be a normal inclusion for general travel, they are a great item to have readily accessible in the campervan. I usually keep some sanitiser and wipes in the bathroom and also up the front of the cabin, as there’s always a need to touch stuff that might be a bit yucky. (emptying the chemical toilet, using the water hoses, using public facilities etc)
First aid kit
A first aid kit is always helpful when you are travelling on the road.
Ear plugs and eye masks
We always try to stay in reasonably quiet locations but it’s not always possible. Memories of being parked out the front of a bar in Cannes are still vivid, as is the night we spent in Liesel in The Netherlands with scooters zipping around us all night.
Tip: If noise is an issue, try stopping at a France Passion site. They are usually on farms or in really quiet locations, ensuring you have a great sleep.
Light is never an issue for us in a France Motorhome vehicle as the windows have blinds and curtains, and the bedroom area is separated off from the main cabin with a curtain also. However, if you are a light sleeper or in someone else’s motorhome, it might be a good idea to also pack an eye mask.
Short, lightweight bathrobe
I highly recommend this item if you are going to be spending a lot of time in public campgrounds. It’s not something I would normally consider packing, but when you are in a campervan, it makes a lot of sense. Getting changed in public bathrooms can be a little tricky at times. Sometimes there is limited hanging space for your clothes/toiletries.
On some occasions, the facilities can be less than ideal. Getting undressed in your campervan and using a bathrobe means less hassle. I can’t recall the number of times my clothes have fallen onto a wet floor, or where the shower cubicle is so small, every part of it is wringing wet.
Hanging toiletry bag
For the same reason as above, it’s better to have something that hangs off a hook. We take bags just large enough to fit in the basics (soap, shampoo/conditioner, razor) for this purpose. The rest of your toiletries remain in the bathroom onboard.
Microfibre travel towels
If you are hiring a motorhome that doesn’t include towels I highly recommend these microfibre towels. They are also useful then for taking to the beach or public pools, without the bulk of having to carry large towels.
Universal travel adaptor
My biggest tip is to take more than one! Sometimes electricity is not readily available, so having a number of these means we can charge multiple items at once, taking advantage of the available electricity. We are huge converts to universal travel adaptorsand simply won’t leave home without one, regardless of where we travel to. Ours have a main power plug, four USB connectors and a USB-C connector (which I use for my Macbook). This means I could charge my camera battery, Macbook, our two iPhones and iPads all at once.
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Powerboard
In a hired campervan there is often only one power outlet, so a power board is also helpful for charging multiple items at once. Most people these days travel with a lot of power hungry equipment. Unless you are planning on being in an official campground every night, it could be days before you get access to electricity.
Sometimes you can only access electricity through service areas for a short period of time. A power board allows you to charge up everything you have in a short time frame.
Chargers and extra USB cables
The more the merrier! USB connections on board are useful when driving.
When we are connected to mains power, sometimes the power board is full. In this instance, I use the USB cables to connect my iPad and iPhone. That way everything is charging and everyone is happy 🙂 Getting power when travelling becomes quite an obsession!
TIP 1: I keep all of the cables and chargers in a cable organiser. This way I always know where I can find a cable when I need it. It also helps keep the cabin free of clutter and safety hazards.
TIP 2: Make sure your charger has enough watts/amps to charge tablets. Many chargers only have enough ampage to charge phones.
If you are planning on staying off the grid quite a bit and have a lot of equipment (especially laptops), consider taking an inverter with you. We use one of these all the time (converts 12V to 240V). The one below is for the American market, converting to 110V. I couldn’t do without our inverter.
Torch
If you don’t want to disturb your fellow passengers in the night, consider taking a small travel torch with you. It’s also handy if you need to go outside your motorhome at night.
Travel laundry liquid
Sure, you can buy laundry products wherever you travel but we love this product and have travelled with it for years. It’s compact so it doesn’t take up much room in the vehicle but it’s real power is that it is super-concentrated. We’ve been travelling with the same bottle for years (and I’m a constant washer!)
Shampoo bars
We also use shampoo bars now too, as a way of cutting down on our luggage and having less on board when we are in smaller vehicles. They are great space savers.
Entertainment
Our days are usually busy and tiring, so at night time, we look to kick back with a nice meal, a few glasses of wine and some tv to watch. But, in the campervans we hire, we don’t have a tv. In any case, if it did, it would be difficult to find English speaking channels. This is where our iPads and laptops prove their ultimate value.
Before I travel, I load up these devices and hard drives. I also download e-books and e-magazines. This is one of the reasons I love technology. We get access to so much and it doesn’t take up any room. I can even borrow library books online from my local library provided I have wifi access.
We also have our noise cancelling headphones and bud earphones, meaning my husband and I can watch different content whenever we want.
Super glue – tape – scissors – bubble wrap
When you’re on the road, items like these always come in handy. I’ve had soles come loose on my favourite pair of shoes, where super glue has come to the rescue. We’ve needed scissors to open packaging where a knife hasn’t been able to. [Note – some hiring companies do include scissors], and sticky tape….well it’s a fix all for so many issues.
The bubble wrap might appear a bit strange, and maybe we are just a little weird, so this mightn’t really be necessary for most people. But, think about what you are planning on buying overseas and whether it will need protection.
We buy a lot of food when we travel and much of it comes in bottles. Finding bubble wrap can be really difficult. We’ve walked the streets of Paris looking for it, and stopped at nearly every supermarket, house shop and hardware store looking for it, to no avail. Now, we take it with us. It’s light and serves as general protection inside our luggage anyway.
Clothesline
We get a bit spoilt with our campervan hire company, who now provide a clothesline and pegs. Even so, we’ve become accustomed to taking our pegless line with us. It’s great for using inside to hang up tea towels, and other lightweight items of clothing.
Plastic containers, bags and clips
Whether you buy these on your first shop or take them with you, they are a handy item to have on board. Because we buy a lot of food along the way from local markets and shops, we’ve always got a fridge full of goodies. The containers come in handy for leftovers and storing food and the plastic bags are great for keeping things fresh.
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Lock
We are ultra security conscious. We know that if someone really wants to get into your campervan or motorhome then they will, but we go to additional lengths to try and keep our belongings safe, especially because we travel with lots of equipment. Our view is that in the event of an issue, if we can prove to our insurance company that we went over and above to protect our stuff, then we stand a better chance of having any potential claims supported.
Recently we have started using bicycle locks to lock all of our suitcases and bags together in the campervan, whilst we are not in it. It only takes a moment to link them all together (preferably to something in the vehicle). If someone was to break in, they would need to first get past this lock, then the luggage locks before they could even attempt to steal anything. Stealing a whole bag is also not an easy task given they are all tied together.
They are all easy to pack
This campervan packing list covers many small and often easy to miss items that can make your trip much smoother. Your trip won’t be ruined if you don’t have them, but it’s sometimes the little things that count. We always make sure we have these packed with us for any campervan trip.
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 Kerri now travels regularly with her husband, Stirling, where eating great food, drinking quality beer and wine, and cooking international foods are integral to their adventures.
Great tips. It’s the little things that we always seem to forget. We have been packing a clothesline for years, but just this year I started remembering clothespins to go with the line. And I can think of a million uses for superglue. I’m going to start adding that to my packing list!
We used to take pegs but then bought the pegless line instead!
While we have backpackers here, it’s great knowing the camping style from the different parts of the world. Nice checklist for campers!
These are all fantastic ideas. The powerboard is a great one, this would have come in handy on the road trips I did in Australia.
Entertainment is always essential in a campervan, it can soon get boring. Amazing what even a pack of cards can do!
Thanks for these tips, I will be using some of these the next time I hop in a campervan for a road trip!
Thanks Tom. Yeah, we’ve played cards quite a bit too…..
Thanks for all the tips. I’ve only done one RV trip and yes we forgot to bring quite a few things but made the best of it. If the scenery is good I don’t get too bored
Forwarding this article to a friend of mine! They’ve recently renovated a bus and they are on their way to do a big roadtrip! Traveling via RV is definitely high up on our list- would love to do this! Great tips!
Thanks on both accounts Anna 🙂
Great tips! I wouldn’t have thought about some of these before. I specifically like the light bathrobe one. It makes so much sense but I can’t say that I have ever though of it before!
I learnt this one after the last trip and it’s such a great idea.
i have never hired an RV before but its high on my list. A road trip in Costa rica/Australian outdoors is just what the doctor prescribed 🙂 So, I am keeping this list handy for when I do plan one – some points are so important (powerboard, adaptor, first aid) yet often overlooked.
cool list of things to pack and to do, very helpful
Pleasure Norbert, thanks for stopping by.
with this super complete list we are all ready to go! next time you come to Paris (or France) you will find tons of bubble wrap in “Castorama” shops 😉
aaah thanks for the tips. I’ve never seen a castorama shop!
e traveled full time in an RV for five years and these all came handy!
Helpful tips for when traveling in a campervan. I def bring along some of those items you mentioned on my own travels.
This is a great list and enjoyed reading it. For some reason, I’m really into reading packing lists lately. I think it’s a wonderful adventure to use a camper and go wherever you please. I also liked the tip about the bathrobe. I bought one in Thailand and it has been my best purchase yet!
Thanks so much Gina, and yes the bathrobes work so well.
It’s always good to have some helpful reminders as I always forget ONE important thing. For us, it’s pepper and salt or some other condiments that we’re like, UGH we don’t want to buy a whole new bottle, we just want a little on the meat we’re grilling or something. Why did we forget it?! The stoppers are always a goood idea too. We just shoot to finish the drink hahaha
Haha love your form with the last comment 🙂 Yeah we don’t tend to worry about salt and pepper at all for that reason.
Hubby and I want to travel across the US in one of these so this will come super handy for us. Thanks for all this great information and Happy Roving!!!
You’re so organised Kerri. Some great tips here. You’re quite an expert on campervan travel! How long was your Europe trip? Is there a big difference between travelling around Europe and travelling around Australia in a campervan?
Hi Christina. The last trip was 42 days. Generally we go for 5-6 weeks as it makes all the effort worth it, and we find we really unwind. Always seems like we are gone much longer than we actually have too which is a good sign. From a technical perspective there’s not much difference. But, the sizze of the country/cities and therefore the roads, size of towns etc is very different. Far more space of course in Australia – not a lot of tight cities that you couldn’t drive into. Even the big cities you can take a motorhome in Australia. I find Europe is much more open to motorhomes though and it’s far easier and more accessible to free camp in Europe than in Australia.
Some good tips. Everything but the kitchen sink! It is a good job you have plenty of room, but that is the joy of a camper van I should think. Chuck everything in and off you go!
I’ve never travelled in a campervan before – but some of your essentials are totally useful what ever form of travel you take! I especially like the glass of wine that is your working equipment 😉 when in France hey!
A glass is never too far away Katie 🙂
You have a great detailed list right here. It is my dream to try a campervan and I will definitely try your suggestions and tips! Thanks!
Thanks so much. I hope you get there !
That is really a comprehensive packing list, can’t see anything that’s left out. The reusable plastic bags are a great suggestion, so that one can leave the place as it is and help in sustaining the environment of the place.
Thanks for the tips! I’ve never been in a campervan before, but now I’ll know what to bring! Never thought of bubblewrap though…
This is a great checklist. I will have bookmark for future use. Thanks for putting it together so I don’t have to!
I have never even been inside a campervan. How often do you take trips with the campervan? It sure seems more cost efficient than having to book hotel rooms and flights.
Samantha we travel reasonably regularly in a campervan. It’s a great way to relax even more without having to catch flights, pack/unpack, checkin/checkout etc. Great way to travel.
I would’ve never thought about packing a bathrobe – but it makes total sense! For camping as well, and hostel traveling (if you use share bathrooms). So much better than lugging your clothes to the shower. When I bring back breakable items from a trip, I heavy duty wrap them in all of my clothes in my suitcase – bubblewrap sounds better though!
Thank you for promoting the reusable bags. People have no idea how much plastic is a problem. The most I travel the more it hits me. Standing on a remote beach in the middle of nowhere Africa I found the beach littered with what looked like sea shells, but instead it was tiny pieces of plastic. It was a sobering experience, and sad.
Interesting post! I haven’t tried traveling with a campervan before, but I can imagine the essentials one need. I agree with everything, but instead of bring country-specific adaptors, I usually go with a general 150+ countries travel adapter. It costs more than 20 euros, but it works!
yes I only have mine because I’ve had them forever but if I was buying again I would do this too.
These are all great tips!! I understand the bubble wrap, don’t think you’re weird (or maybe I am too 😉 ). I definitely find your tip about packing a bathrobe very useful! Not only do your clothes stay dry, it feels comfy too 🙂 And getting power while traveling is definitely an obsession for me! My partner and I travel by hitchhiking and camping. Not often do we get the chance to charge our stuff! Often we go somewhere for a coffee but only in a place that has power plugs 🙂 We drink a few coffees while our laptops, phone and camera is charging! I’ll pass this article on to a friend who loves to travel by campervan!
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts Cynthia – greatly appreciated.
I have actually never been camping in a camper-van before (not even with a proper tent). I would agree that the first air kit is essential, you never know what can happen and you should always be prepared. Never thought about bubble wrap before but that’s a great idea as I tend to bring a lot of food too back home.
Thanks for these tips. We got back from our first motorhome trip last week and used most of these. I also took some antislip mat and some silicon placemats (the thin heat resistant types). I stuffed bits of tehse between all crockery, pans etc. Also between grille pan rack and grille pan. It cut a lot of noise in our rented motorhome.
Also put some non-slip mat on the cab shelf and cubbies so that we could safely store, ipads, sunglass cases, book or two etc whilst driving.
I’d also add:
– a decent glass cleaner to keep windows and mirrors clear (applies to cars also, but mirrors so important on a motorhome).
– Euro 2 pin hookup adaptor (only used once but invaluable when needed and cheap)
– bike rack warning sign if travelling in countries which require it by law (and possibly a cover) – the picture at the top of the article would be illegal on public road in France etc.
– ipad to HDMI adaptor and HDMI lead if you want to watch downloaded content on the TV
– our motorhome was not equipped with an awning so we took a cheap tarp and poles to create some shade.
We didn’t take, but would next time, a door mat of some sort.
Hi Stuart, hope you had an amazing time. Thanks so much for taking the time to write up all of these as tips. They’ve given me some food for thought. Certainly as an Aussie, I couldn’t imagine taking tarps and poles with me but I guess buying them in those big supermarkets or a Decathlon once over there would be easy enough. We find the chamois cleans our windows really well but having said that we’ve always got those cleaners on board as well. The Euro 2 pin adaptor….not sure if this is different to what I’ve already mentioned. We use a Euro powerboard with three Euro plug spots plus we also have a couple of Euro adapters for taking our Australian pins directly into a socket. Is this what you mean? The bike rack warning sign is interesting. As you can see from the photo you have mentioned, this is a French registered and domiciled vehicle and this photo is definitely taken in France. We’ve driven all over France before without this warning and I would imagine that the rental company would have supplied this if it were indeed law. Shall check further into this. I agree that covers would be a good idea if you owned the bikes. We didn’t worry as these were rentals and they were “as provided” in terms of wear and tear. Never thought of the HDMI cable as we’ve never hired a vehicle with a tv, never needed to. We just use our devices and laptops. Good idea though. AGree with the door mat. Our motorhomes from France Motorhome Hire always come with a door mat and I couldn’t do without one. Again, the anti slip matting is a great idea. Our hirer has all of this in their cupboards but the rattling would annoy me so it’s a great extra.Thanks so much again for these, shall add them in as my “special audience list” 🙂
We are thinking of travelling through Europe for a few months we have 3 yr old and two dogs
Never Dione it before so we really need to plan and get as much info and help we can
Hi Yvonne, why don’t you join my facebook group, Motorhoming in France and maybe you can start to ask some questions there. https://www.facebook.com/groups/motorhominginfrance/ .