6 Of The Most Important Accessories For Motorhomes

There’s nothing quite like going on a motorhome holiday. Safe in the knowledge that the four wheels beneath you will provide both transport and a safe, comfy bed for the night, the road is, literally, your oyster; you can travel wherever you like and make virtually any setting your base for the night. However, buying the motorhome is just the start.

Beyond the vehicle itself, there’s an awful lot more you can invest in to enhance your vehicle when it comes to the world of motorhomes. Just like any hobby, it’s easy to get lost down the cul-de-sac of accessories and bolt-ons.  Ideally, of course, you'd love to have every possible enhancement to make your home away from homes as wonderful as possible.

There are, however, six key things you’ll need before setting off on your first motorhome vacation, which are arguably absolutely essential. In this post, we’re going to list the important stuff you absolutely shouldn’t leave home without, but which you may not have thought of:

1. Satellite Navigation

“Are we there yet?” asks an expectant passenger. Only, you don’t fancy answering that particular question, because one you’re quietly asking yourself is “where are we?”. Depending on the spec of your motorhome, you may already have sat nav built in, but even if that’s the case, it pays to have another close by, just in case. Happily, modern smartphones do a particularly brilliant job - if you install Google Maps.

2. Second (leisure) Battery

Nope, this isn’t for the engine, more for your leisure time. Any seasoned motorhome traveller will tell you how important a ‘leisure battery’ is, and for good reason; they prevent you having to switch to gas heating or making do without the microwave by providing a power source which, when operated in parallel, will provide vital juice for power-hungry devices like TVs and other leisure devices.

3. Dashcam

If you’ve ever marvelled at the number of videos that flood YouTube and Facebook featuring near-misses and other reckless driving, you may wonder why so many people have cameras attached to their dashboards. The ‘dashcam’ has surged in popularity of late due to the technology required becoming far more accessible, durable and capable of recording in high quality for impressive lengths of time. They’re great insurance tools, but also brilliant ways to capture the essence of your motorhome trip.

4. Reversing Camera

If your motorhome didn’t come with a built-in reversing camera, the chances are you’ve had one too many close shaves with static objects while parking up. That’s ok - they’re big vehicles. There are some fantastic retro-fit reversing cameras on the market and they represent a sound investment (there’ll be no parking assistance from your better half required, ever again).

5. Bike Rack

Sure, a holiday is for rest and relaxation, but it’s important to ensure your body gets its fair dose of exercise, too. When travelling in a motorhome, the absence of your local gym is a fair excuse, but neglecting the push bikes in your garage, isn’t. A bike rack will enable you to take your two-wheeled companions everywhere you go and will provide the ideal opportunity to explore your destination(s) without starting up the motorhome again.

6. Portable Vacuum Cleaner

The last thing you want to do while on holiday is house work, but given the fact that your motorhome probably didn’t come with it’s own housekeeping service, you’ll occasionally need to clear up after the more messy members of your family. Portable vacuum cleaners are inexpensive, unobtrusive and capable of returning your motorhome to as-new condition after a particularly strenuous night of partying!

As you may have spotted, we’ve left out the ultra-obvious from the above (you’ll still need that kettle and outdoor furniture), and have instead concentrated on the less obvious stuff that will cap off any motorhome adventure. Don’t leave home without at least one of them!