A vanlife, or camper checklist is a vital part of preparing for a life out on the open road.
Whenever you Google phrases like “camper checklist” or “10 essentials for vanlife” you’re bound to find a multitude of opinions about what long-term travellers believe are necessities.
With so many different items that people recommend, how do you filter down what you should take with you, to ensure you have the most fun on your journey?
It all comes down to what you’re interested in. There will always be those items that are activity-specific, but you don’t need flippers and a mask if you’re not into snorkelling, obviously!
We’re basing our list on the 10 items that had the most impact for us during our journey, aside from your absolute necessities like sunnies and a hat. For a more comprehensive list, check below for how to download the full DINGOtex Essential Packing guide for Life on the Road!
Does your packing list include these things...?
- Multitool
- Packing cells
- Water filter
- All-round utility shoes
- Diesel heater
- Bug zapper
- Merino gear
- Pee bottle
- White flower oil
- Fishing gear
10. Bug zapper
A key item in any camper checklist is some way of dealing with unwanted bugs and insects.
A rechargable bug zapper that doubles as a lantern is a great bit of kit to have in the great outdoors. We found it incredibly useful for those pesky little bugs that still get inside your camper somehow!
You never know when a starting a campfire might be difficult. There might be a complete fire ban on in the area, or maybe the place you’re staying just doesn’t allow fires. Just as useful outside, these zappers are an excellent source of light and insect protection.
You can even run it on ultra-violet mode during the night inside (we would hang a teatowel in front of it so it didn’t disturb our sleep). They can run for 36-48 hours without needing a recharge if you just use this UV mode.
9. White Flower Oil (Pak Fah Yeow)
If you’re often the target of the dreaded mosquito, this Malaysian-invented cure-all has been helping sufferers of itchy bites for over 100 years. It is worthy of any caravan or camper checklist.
Also known as ‘Old lady perfume,’ for its refreshing, powerful aroma, it is a household essence for headaches, dizziness, muscular pain, and travel sickness.
Although we packed several other remedies for mozzies, this would always outperform every other cream, spray, or old wive’s tail, every time. The smell also becomes quite addictive!
It’s available from most Asian grocers, or you can find it online pretty easily.
8. Merino sleepwear / layers
If you haven’t had the pleasure of wearing merino to bed, or as an underlayer in cooler weather, you’re in for a treat. Merino clothing is also great when used as a layer. This makes it the perfect option for trans-seasonal wear, making merino a solid choice for 3 out of 4 seasons.
Merino wool is absolutely amazing at regulating temperature, is super comfortable and naturally anti-microbial. It’s also lightweight and lasts for many wears and washes. Click here for a deep dive into merino.
We’ve road tested many brands over the years and we can tell you, all merino is not created equal.
Our pick for quality and price is Macpac, usually bought on clearance both online or at selected dfo’s.
7. Packing cells
When you’re dealing with a lot of stuff in a compact space, like in a camper, van, or even a caravan, organisation truly is king. Packing cells are one of the cornerstones to achieving this organisation.
You can categorise your cells in whichever way suits you best. We preferred organising them by packing seasonal wear in bags (think simple, summer, winter, in between). Some people prefer arranging their clothes by type, like pants, tops, and so on.
The one thing NOT to do is to randomly stuff clothes into the cells! This completely defeats the purpose of using them in the first place. Instead, adopt a mindful approach of neatly rolling items, ala Marie Kondo-style.
6. Croc-style shoes
These hideous, yet super functional shoes are life changing on a long road trip. They’re so easy to slip on and off, which is great for keeping the inside of your camper or van clean.
Surprisingly you can even wear them in colder weather, serving as an ‘outdoor slipper’ when paired with thick wooly socks.
They’re also a really good choice for wet conditions, like fishing. You’ll especially be thankful when you decide to explore shallow reefs, rocky shorelines or just braving the public shower.
We managed to find these particular ones at BCF. The enclosed heel is something that we haven’t seen so much from other brands.
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5. Fishing gear
When we left for our adventure, we each owned a basic fishing rod, but were complete novices.
Fast forward 18 months, and you could say that we’re now fishing enthusiasts. There’s nothing quite like exploring fascinating new landscapes while looking for a few fish that might end up on the dinner plate that evening.
You don’t need to spend a fortune to get started. Get a couple of basic 2-4kg rods (around 7ft is good) if you want something easy to use and versatile for land-based fishing. If you’re interested in beach fishing, you’ll need a lot longer (10+ ft) and something a bit heavier (6-10kg or so).
Don’t forget essentials, like a sharp fillet knife, some braid and flourocarbon rated for your rods, and a pair of braid scissors. If you’re interested in using bait, grab some hooks (size 2-4 are good to start), some ball sinkers, swivels, and a few different sinker types.
If you’re interested in trying your luck with lures, we’d highly recommend soft plastics.
All you need to start are some soft plastics and jigheads in various sizes. If you’re not sure what to get something around a 1/8-1/4oz will be good to use in most weather conditions. By combining different colours and types of lures with differently weighted jigeads, you’re able to target many different species of fish with relatively minimal kit.
A landing net (pictured left) with rubberised netting and a short handle is pretty perfect for landing your catch off most jetties and estuaries that you might wade into.
A keeper net (pictured right) is a great solution to store any fish that you’ve caught. You can hang them off jetty pylons pretty easily, or you can attach them to your fishing bag as you explore the estuaries on foot.
4. Diesel heater
One thing you’re going to want to make sure of, is that you’re equipped to handle cold or freezing conditions. Our lowest temperature was 2 or 3 below zero and snowing, and we were in our underwear enjoying the toasty warmth a diesel heater provides.
It doesn’t actually shoot flames out like the picture above (although that would be cool i guess?), but what it does provide is a nice dry heat. The same type of heat that a wood fire actually produces.
Although fancy caravans might come with brand name models that sell for $2-3k AUD, we highly recommending looking at cheaper options of eBay or Amazon. You’ll pay around 10% of that price, and they’re simple enough to self install. There are also community groups on Facebook to help out if you get stuck or just have any questions.
The sheer amount of times we used the heater on our trip makes it rank right up there with the best things to have on a long road trip adventure. Just get one, already.
3. Water filter
We saw a lot of people when we travelled that didn’t have any filters that they ran their water through. After seeing the amount of gunk that these filters capture, I’d never leave for a big trip without one.
The type shown above is the “Squeeze,” made by Sawyer, is actually designed for back-country hiking. This means it’s ultra small and portable, and can filter water straight from any regular type of plastic water bottle (like the ones we recycle to create fabric for our eco-friendly travel sheets).
It just so happened to also fitted onto our camper’s sink tap via the supplied rubber hose, so we ended up using it full time, to run all of our water through.
Let me tell you, even though we used a carbon filter on our food grade hose to filter the water from supposedly potable water sources, you want one of these 0.1 micron filters.
2. Any cheap 2L water bottle
We actually did most of our trip without this magical bit of kit, but after speaking with some friends of ours on the road, we picked up this bottle from Kmart for $5 bucks. It truly deserves its spot high on the essential camper checklist.
Why is a simple 2L bottle on the list at number 2? Well, over time, we discovered that it wasn’t really that fun carting around a port-a-loo that was full of wee while driving all over creation.
Having a 2L bottle like this means that can you do your number 1s into a vessel that’s sealable, and that you can empty easily into a public loo or dump pooint at a later time.
It may not sound like much, but it’s actually brilliant to have this option at hand, especially when it’s so cheap but so useful.
For women, a $2 funnel can be used to create a jerry-rig version of the more expensive ‘She Wee.’
1. Multitool
If you’d told me before I left that i’d be wearing a multitool on my belt nearly every single day, I’d have said you were mad!
I soon found that this robust little tool came in handy almost every day. It could be for some little job around the camper, or simply cutting up a lemon for some fish and chips.
After some pretty in-depth research, we decided the Leatherman Wave+ was the best tool to suit our needs. We basically wanted something incredible durable, that had the basic tools we needed, but none of those that we didn’t.
The modular design of the Leatherman also means you can add or remove tools if you want to customise things further. Personally, I was really happy with the default tools of the Leatherman Wave+.
This little beauty gets #1 position on our camper checklist essentials, because before you know it, you’ll have lost count of the amount of times you’ve used it.
Want more?
Sign up to gain access to our Essential Packing (or gift-buying!) guide for life on the road.
You’ll also gain access to updates whenever we post new guides and articles, as well as special offers and promotions.