Thinking of buying a campervan- Ep.3. Accessories
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- Опубліковано 17 чер 2024
- Making the decision to buy a campervan is not easy and can lead to very costly mistakes. In the final episode of this 3 part series, we look at what accessories that we find absolutely essential when going away in our campervan.
We bought our VW campervan 5 years ago and have never looked back. In many ways, the freedom that it afforded us helped us make our decision to early retire at the age of 51 and enjoy a more adventurous life together.
We are Richard and Jackie and we live in the UK. Our plans for early requirement include relocating to the Yorkshire Dales, developing our forever home and travelling the UK, Europe and eventually the world in our VW campervan Nelson.
You will soon realise that we are complete UA-cam beginners with all the challenges of creating and publishing videos ahead of us, not to mention uploading when on the road.
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Check out our blog earlyretirementwanderlust.com
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Many thanks,
Richard & Jackie
Hi thanks for getting back to me ,I will have a look see if they have any that will fit my widows.
So helpful - I am getting my own van in a few weeks - thank you
Very exciting for you! Happy travels 🚐
So very useful - New van coming in a couple of weeks 🤸♀️🤸♀️
🚐🎉🚐
Regarding fresh coffee, I can recommend an AeroPress (in combination with the hand grinder you already have)
Oh the Aeropress pressure builds. Not sure that I can resist any further...I feel a purchase coming on😂 Our friends had one when we were skiing earlier in the year and it did make a cracking brew. Thanks for the comment. R
Just watched the 3 videos and found them interesting and informative. I’m considering selling my caravan and buying a camper as I’m now on my own, well I have a small dog as company, and this helped me a treat. 👍
Thank you. Happy travels whatever you decide 😊🚐
Having just semi retired from teaching at 56 and bought a T6 I love your videos and have got some great ideas on what to buy and where to go. I would be interested in where you got your window blind/vent from. Hope the house renovation is going well👍
Hi Andrew, we got our window vents from a company called CSI parts that can be found on face book. We had to specify and pay a little extra to get the bug net version. We also only ordered one to start with which was ok but we went back and got a second one that lets the air flow through a bit better. The orange window screen is from rainbow screens who we also found on Facebook and they are at all the campervan shows. They have a great range of colours and also pop top insulation covers which we are considering for our travels next winter. Hope this helps x
Greetings from Germany, we are on the way of our early retirement. With the same idea as you
It has been a great first year of early retirement, we are loving the freedom to travel
Wool Duvets are the best, worth the investment. Keep you warm in winter, cool in summer as it is a natural product. Have one at home after getting gaps in my feather duvet, no more gaps, love it. I got the “warm” one from “The Woolroom” 🥳
I’ve not heard of wool duvets before, sounds great!
@@earlyretirementwanderlust I recommend them to everyone as it has been a blissful change, I am getting my brother one for Christmas as he was asking about mine. I think everyone should have a wool duvet - bah 🐑
I recommend them too. I got mine from Devon Duvets, love it
No. Duck and down, tog per kg much better, but you need a decent one and never wash it.
we take two duvets a summer and duck/down winter one, sleep under one and one the other, brilliant...oh and two sleeping bags packed away. We have a slightly different R&R bed with a rear ledge where all our bedding goes and a camping table which can be used sitting in the swivel seat or bed seat...and also outside with 2 umbrella chairs. We are just off to the Alps (hence the sleeping bags) and was organising a hook up cable, have one at 15m and another 10m so that should work...and a European 2 pin plug, thanks for that info on lengths.
We are 300+ nights in 8 years, but I still work, aged 72. Live in Portugal so easier to travel and not limited in the EU, which must be a pain.
Hope you have a great trip to the Alps - that must quite a drive from Portugal! We were surprisingly warm and snug in the Alps in January and February in the van. It must be fab being based in Portugal with quicker and easier access to so many wonderful places 🚐 We have looked at the positive side of EU limitations in that it makes us really get out and explore around the UK and we have discovered some stunning places over the last few years.
300+ nights is pretty impressive whilst still working. Happy travels
@@earlyretirementwanderlust I have a small engineering company, so not exactly full time and I can answer inquiries on the road. Last year we went to Greece, crossing into Turkey and Bulgaria. Back in 2005 I went Russia and liked it a lot, so after Vienna we will head to Serbia, quite Russian I am told and into Slovenia and back into crazy Italy, Venice where my wife has never been...and home.
On the subject of ablutions, if I may..No.1s, We use sangria bottles, which are free and when you are emptying them people don't know, sangria bottles have a wide neck!!. No2s. Wild we use what I call a "mashitty", a flat ended machete to dig, again people don't know what you are doing, unlike a spade and who is going to attack a woman going into the woods carrying a machete? Now my latest idea we are going to try out a babies pot, the old fashioned type with a dog-poo bag inside...when you really have no other option.
Oh, some great ideas there, I’ve added the duck board and fire pit onto my shopping list along with a fire extinguisher 🧯, great advice, thanks 🤩
Glad you found some helpful bits 🚐😊
If I may make a suggestion, when you’re sitting in your van , due to where you’ve located your co detector, you’ll be breathing in co before the alarm goes off, it should be higher as co is usually a warm gas, as it’s produced by burning any hydrocarbons. Be safe!
Thankyou, that is not something we knew, we will definitely stick it up at the top of the unit 😬
Loved the video! Where do you store your duvalay topper & duvet when using the bed as a sofa?
We roll it all up and store it behind the rock and roll bed. It just about fits 🚐
We will probably get 2 frontrunner expander chairs as they seem to be revered by many and they pack down small.
I’ve never seen them but will look them up if ours break (fingers crossed they won’t 😬)
The first video I thought this guy looks familiar, the second video I thought I'm sure he was my PE teacher. Then when you said you retired from school then the penny dropped.
I hope you and Jackie are enjoying your retirement sir. 🫡
How lovely to hear from you, hope you are well. Takes me back a few years! We are loving our retirement from teaching… ps I am no longer Sir, just Richard 🤣
hi you2 love your vids i am long long,long retired with my westie charlie my wife the love of my life passed 4 months ago, i have a 2o22 vw 6.1 camper king van i am now starting to get out a bit and found it does get very warm on a hot day in side the van and was just wondering where you got your window blind / vent from ,the van has only done 620miles in it and hope to get out more take care .see you soon john and charlie.
Thanks for your lovely message we are so sorry for your loss. It must be so exciting to have a new van with all those adventures ahead for you and Charlie. We went down to Camperking when we were looking for our van, they are great! We got the blinds from CSI parts who used to advertise on face book, however I am not sure if they are still trading? I am sure there must be other companies out there that do them. Happy travels 🚐
Hi, can I ask where you got the secure vent insert for your sliding window? They look good and compact. I’ve only seen the Brandrup ones which are bulky and fiendishly expensive! Thanks.
Hi we got the window vents from a company called CSI parts on Facebook. When I have looked their page hasn’t been updated very recently so fingers crossed they are still going, we have had them for a few years now.
Great video, may I ask where did you get the vents from which fit into the window thanks
Hi we got the vents from a company called CSI parts on Facebook
Hi - have you got a list of the products? I had a look on the Amazon link in your bio, but unfortunantly the products discussed were not listed. I really need a windscreen cover and black out pads for the back (I have blinds but they are a bit of a faf and let light through). Many thanks and all the best on your adventures :)
The window screen cover we have was ordered through rainbow screens - you can find them online or on Facebook. They are not the cheapest but they are really good. Our interior blinds are all from vanshades - based in Yorkshire and you can order the units online. They are both thermal and blackout and do make a big difference in cold weather. They have since released a new version that also includes a bug net screen that looks fab. They are not cheap but they have a no quibble lifetime guarantee that we have used twice in 7 years with no hassle at all.
@@earlyretirementwanderlust fantastic, thank you. I'll check them out 🙌
Great video guys, for winter trips to Europe do you have to use winter tyres?
We didn’t last year, we just had chains incase we needed them but we have changed our tyres this year to all season tyres that have the 3 peak mountain snow flake (3PMSF) as we felt quite lucky we didn’t encounter snow in the resort last year!!
@@earlyretirementwanderlust Ah, that’s great to hear guys. Thank you. 😊
Hi I have just watched your film and I am interested in where you bought your bug vent for your sliding door window. I have a pegouet boxer van with sliding windows . And these would be great. Thanks
Hi - we bought the bug inserts from a company called CSI parts on Facebook a few years ago.
Just looking at buying a similar campervan so watching these episodes with interest, in episode 2 you said you were going to describe your awning setup, did I miss it or is it in one of the later episodes?
Hi, sorry no you didn't miss it, we realised that the awning was still in a lock up when we did the vlog! We have a simple fly sheet from a company called funky leisure that fits onto a standard C Channel awning rail that we had fitted as part of the conversion. it's easy to put up and packs into a bag about the size of a small tent.
@@earlyretirementwanderlust Thankyou, I liked the orange colour and the flexibility of the layout, I’m very jealous of your early retirement, enjoy!
Thankyou
Hi what make are your chairs? Love that they fold down really small, space is a premiumin our T5. Thank you.
Hi they are helinox chairs. They were expensive to buy but so far have lasted us 3 seasons and are still like new. We have had similar chairs from Tesco and Amazon which didn’t really last more than a season. We do love them and they are comfy 😊
@@earlyretirementwanderlust 👍thank you.
Hi, is your Duvalay topper the one that is designed to fit the T6 bed shape? I have seen them advertised and the one like yours, 5 cm deep, is around £200. Would you say it is worth it or would two thinner but cheaper toppers combined do the same job?
Hope to pick my camper up in a few days so Im looking around for "extras and gadgets"!
Many thanks.
Hi I think we did go for a RnR bed size topper. However I think it is more the comfort of having a small mattress instead of the stiff rnb bed that makes it so cosy. The only thing with 2 thinner toppers is just check how much storage space they take up. Happy travels in the new camper - it is so exciting going away - even now after 6 years! 🚐
Did you find a good site on the Ile de Re?
We have stayed on a couple of great sites camping Huttopia and le grainetiere
@@earlyretirementwanderlust thanks! We have just bought a VW camper and looking forward to some trips.
@davidjleyland very exciting
Where did you get your wool duvet sounds great...?
@irenemonaghan7954 it’s a brushed cotton duvet they sell them in loads of places. This one is about 10 years old!!
What's better the internal or external thermal covers?
We find the external blinds keep the van warmer and less condensation in the winter and cooler in the summer. But in windy and stormy conditions they can blow off! Also internal blinds are less conspicuous if stealth camping in more urban areas than a bright orange cover!!
@@earlyretirementwanderlust What diesel heater did you go for?
@marinejunkies9625 we went for a propex lpg heater as we have a tank under the van.
Great video! Could I ask the make of the sherpa blanket?
@enzadimaria4109 it is a passenger blanket that you can order on line