Caravanning Essentials: Editor Sootheran's List

In this new series, each month a Caravan magazine staffer or a Caravan reader will reveal the touring gadgets and accessories that they think are crucial. To kick it off, here are the editor’s essential items.

John Sootheran
Job	Managing Editor
Age	50
Family	Emily, Archie & Orphelia
Caravan	Test vans
Towcar	Volvo XC60
Favourite Destination	West Coast of France

Caravanning club membership

Finding a good quality site, having specialist insurance, free technical and legal advice, making savings on fees, ferries and pitches mean being a member of a caravanning club is essential to me.

Fortunately, the Caravan Club, and the Camping and Caravanning Club are two excellent organisations which provide all of the above and more making membership great value. 

Foam ear plugs

It can get quite noisy when you cram a six-foot teen into a compact caravan bunk (the joy of using test caravans and not your own!), so I always pack some foam ear plugs to ensure a good night’s sleep. They are so effective I reckon someone could break in and steal the fridge… or the kids, and I’d be totally oblivious.

They say you can’t put a price on a good night’s sleep, well, you can… it’s £2.59 for a pack of three pairs from Boots.

Olympus Tough 860 camera

I don’t go anywhere without this amazing little camera. It lives up to its name as it’s both drop-proof and waterproof, even my kids haven’t managed to break it. It shoots stills (up to 16MB) and HD video. It’s got a cool panoramic mode and has subject-specific settings for every eventuality. It lives on the beach in summer and, unlike me, never suffers from sandy appendages.

A newer version is available, the 870, with prices starting around £250.

Flip flops

Flip flops are essential in any campsite shower as they dry quickly and are easy slip on and off. I like Gandy’s Flip Flops, a brand created by two brothers who survived the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, in which their parents were killed. Each pair sold, results in a donation to the ‘Orphans for Orphans’ charity, which the brothers created. Look good, do good. £14-£22 gandyslondon.com

Wacky Practicals folding kettle & Yorkshire Tea

What a combo! Our little collapsible kettle is always the first thing to get used once we’ve pitched, and we always take Yorkshire Tea for a great cuppa. £33 wackypracticals.com

Leatherman multitool

I’ve had this brilliant multitool longer than my wife and kids. It’s fast gaining family-heirloom status! It contains a dozen useful tools and gets used on every trip for something or other. I tend to use the blade, Phillips screwdriver or pliers, but there are also tools to fettle an aardvark or defuse a nuclear bomb. Genuinely essential and designed to last forever.

Ikea bags

Simple genius: strong, light, cheap, washable and capacious. We each get one of these to pack for our trips, that’s our allowance. Once packed, they’re pleasingly squishy so you can shape them into any locker space. They’ve got a name: Frakta, and cost just 40p from the Scandinavian superstore.

Thule Roofbox

Even with a caravan in tow, you’ve got to get the weight distribution right, which means packing most of your heavy stuff in the car is the sensible option. My Volvo boot soon fills up, so we always fit our Thule roofbox. It’s a big old beast, but clamps quickly and easily (and securely) onto the Thule roofbars.

I have the car height, with roofbars and roofbox fitted, written on a Post-It Note on my vanity mirror, for quick reference, though we often take the box off if heading into town. Using a roofbox also keeps sand and wet clothes/towels out of the car on beach trips. One bit of advice: Always buy vehicle-specific roofbars, the ‘universal’ ones can be more trouble than they’re worth. thule.com

European Outdoor Chef City Grill

This is one of the best things I’ve ever owned. It’s beautifully made, super portable, cooks brilliantly and actually looks cool too. You can cook everything from bacon to paella on it, though ours mostly sees bangers, burgers and, frequently, a leg of lamb.

It’s a doddle to use and internal baffles can be altered for different types of cooking. Electric piezo ingnition and thermometer come as standard. Ours is five-years old and still like new.

outdoorchef.com/en

Oil cloth

We like our home comforts when we’re away in the caravan, and a big part of this involves our al fresco dining. Mrs S loves setting an ‘attractive’ table and the basis of this is her trendy Cath Kidston Antique Rose oil cloth.

This hard-wearing table cloth isn’t cheap, but it lasts for ages, protects your table and looks pretty good. You can buy it off-the- roll at outlets from John Lewis to B&M and Focus.

Truma Ultraflow Waterline

You can’t beat a fully-serviced pitch with water source and waste disposal. Even though I have my own 15-year old who is perfectly capable (and perfectly reluctant) to fill the Aquaroll two to three times a day, there’s something reassuring about a permanent water supply when you’re taking a shower or washing up in the van.

Truma’s Ultraflow Waterline features a 15m long hose with requisite connectors on each end. It has proved flawless, quickly connecting tap to van with no hassle or dribbles. Around £70 truma.com

Top Five Items to pack

Common sense will hopefully ensure you have the basics covered such as a first aid kit and a tin opener. The caravan club have a comprehensive check list to print out on their website if you are at all worried on that score (though I would argue whether a butter dish could really be classed as ‘essential’). These are our must haves:

1. Sachets

Love ‘em or loathe ‘em they certainly make the caravan lighter and the work load easier. Bulk buy from a cash and carry or simply ‘accumulate’ them from hospitality trays, the following can all be bought in sachet form and save having to carry large bottles, jars and equipment:

• Hot chocolate, cappuccino and other hot drinks.
• Ketchup, mustard, most condiments.
• Shampoo & body wash
• Salt, pepper and sugar.
• Laundry detergents.

2. Flip Flops

Even if you’re holidaying in The Cairngorns in December, flip flops or crocs are a must have for those public shower blocks.

3. 2 x 5 litre water bottles

These large bottles of spring water are cheap to buy in the supermarket but come with a useful carry handle and are perfect for filling and storing water once you’ve used up the initial supply.

4. Bin with lid

We bought a 2-3 foot high plastic bin with lid on an early expedition and would now never be without it. It travels in the shower cubicle holding wash bags and is moved to the awning upon arrival. We’ve only every used it once for rubbish as it has a myriad of uses; laundry basket, recycling storage bin, or muddy shoe receptacle. Once we even used it to bath the dog in.

5. Real Essentials

We never travel without at least three copies of Caravan Magazine. Whatever the problem, the answer will be there somewhere.

What are your caravan essentials? Share your top tips on our Facebook page here: facebook.com/Caravanmag