Essential accessories for your caravan or mobile home
Are you getting close to buying your dream mobile home and starting to think about what you'll need in it?
In this post, I talk about the main accessories you'll want to consider buying.
My Experience
When I drove to that first campground with the caravan, I realised there were quite a few accessories still to purchase.
I highly recommend staying near a town with good shops when you go on your first trip in your mobile home. There will be items you didn't realise you needed until you're living in it!
I regularly visited Burnsco, Mitre 10 and Kmart over the next week.
**This post contains some affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on the links. Yay. Some are just straight links.
List of Essential Accessories
Below is a list of necessary items for each part of the caravan or mobile home. Resist getting too many extra items as there will be limited space!
Kitchen
- Kettle - electric or stove top depending on if you'll be plugged in or off-grid
- Small pot - there will be limited space!
- Fry pan - be aware that anything that sits ontop will likely rub it when moving
- Cutlery - keep to a minimum
- Plates / bowls - not much space
- Cups - avoid glass
- Bottle opener / can opener combination to save space
- Small knife
- Bread knife
- Pealer
- Spatcular
- Scissors
- Nested measuring cups & spoons
- Sieve / strainer
- Bag ties / bag clips
- Zip lock bags
- Gladwrap / tin foil / baking paper
- Small plastic containers - for spices, flour, sugar and left over food
- Disposable baking trays - so handy as any fat or leftover sauce clogs in the pipes
- Tea towels
- Oven glove
- Cutting board - your vehicle might already have one
- Dish rack - your vehicle might already have one. I've ended up using a drying mat to save space
- Toaster - only good if you are plugged into the power. Your stove might come with a grill tray made for toasting
- Tin cooking tray - your vehicle might already have one
Exterior
- Hose - check it's safe to drink from
- Hose set - with hose connector and nozzle
- Tap adapter - handy if fits 18mm and 25mm as taps are different sizes and generally missing this part
- Hose extension / coupling - not necessary but handy to join 2 hoses together for extra length
- CRC / grease - the stabilisers and wheel jockey will start to squeal
- Jack / lug wrench - check you have the parts needed to change your tyre!
- Leveler ramps / chock block - If it's a caravan, you'll need a chock too!
- Rope - always comes in handy
- Wheel lock / clamp - make it harder for someone to steal. Check insurance is happy with type
- Towing mirror - avoid suction cup version as they get in the way
- Exterior mat - handy on extra wet days when the steps start sinking into the soil
Cleaning
- Dish scrubbing brush
- Dish washing detergent
- Roles of cleaning wipes - very handy
- Paper towels
- Wet wipes - very handy
- Broom - takes up space but handy. Think about multi-purposed so you can clean the exterior too.
- Small dustpan - will be regularly used!
- Surface cleaner
- Window cleaner
- Fly spray or swatter - there will be insects!
- Floor mop - find the smallest you can and one with disposable floor wipes makes life easier
- Bucket - for washing exterior or shoes
- Disposable Moisture Absorber - perfect for under the bed
- Sugar soap cleaning wipes - great for those marks that just won't leave!
- Drain cleaner - I'm still looking for a good brand. Let me know if you have a favourite!
Bathroom
- Personal toiletries - tooth brush, hairbrush etc
- First aid kit - bandages, disinfectant etc
- Medicine - Strepsils, pain-killer, insect repellent etc
- Toilet paper - Either buy paper specifically for the cassette toilets or 2ply from the supermarkets
- Toilet cassette chemicals - Check what your toilet manufacturer suggests. For me, blue or green liquid in the toilet cassette and pink in the flush water
- Window wiper with foam on back - handy for the combination shower toilet to get rid of water on shower base
Tools / Stationery
- Screw Drivers
- Different sized screws and nails - some of the walls are crazy thin
- Pliers
- Needle and thread
- Permanent marker - for anything communal at campgrounds
- Road map - sometimes there is no reception
Laundry / Clothes
- Clothes drying wrack - consider your space. A concertina system means you can set-up inside on wet days. Or consider a clothes hanger or an exterior clothes rack.
- Pegs
- Laundry capsules - capsules for easy transport
- Laundry bag - best if it's easy to fold away in space you'll have
- Coat Hangers
- 2 towels - one for the beach
- Hanging clothes organiser - my wardrobe had no space for t-shirts, socks etc
- Squishy light-weight box for storing re-wearable clothes - consider where you'll put clothes you'll want to re-wear?
Living Area
Extras to consider:- Fan - needed in summer! Your caravan might have one
- Hot water bottle - very handy in winter
- Fire Alarm
- Fire extinguisher - needed for your self containment. Place by door
- Gas Detector
- Spare fresh water and waste water tanks - you might find it's handy to have small tanks as backups
Bedroom
- Bedding - 2 sets of sheets, pillows, blankets, duvet cover.
- Squishy bag - to hold spare bedding
That's a longer list than I realised when it's all written out like this!
I haven't mentioned the internet or anything to do with entertainment in the caravan. You can read more about that here.
Do you have anything you would add? I'd love to hear in the comments below.
