New (and first time) van owner from Cheltenham!

[mw2870]

Hello,

Matthew here, dad of two boys (8 and 4) and widowed about 18 months ago.
Just bought my first ever van (California Beach Tour), both me and the boys are super excited about going on lots of adventures with it.
Currently have trips planned to Wales, Northumberland and France!
I currently work part-time three days a week for a brain tumour charity, on the days the 4yo is at Nursery. He starts school in September, so hoping to increase my hours then!

Nice to meet you all!

A silly question, what is the one thing you wish someone had told you when you bought your first van?

Matthew

 

[tuono001]

Welcome.
First thing is to not get carried away buying things for it. Use first then figure out what you actually need.
Only thing I did buy straight away was a fridge, I have a beach, then bought as I went along.
Enjoy your new van.

 

[colintfcolintf]

Hi and welcome
try the beds for comfort - you may need a mattress topper
have your first night local to home, on your drive even. work out how things work, how to pack and what does / does not work for you with the comfort of home not far away!

 

[KevH]

Great tips above, do resist filling your van with ‘stuff’ that others recommend. Enjoy your van as VW designed it then try things out. I have a shed full of stuff that I don’t use but thought J did at the time.
Enjoy…The Northumberland beaches are ace by the way. So are the locals.

 

[AdventureX]

Hello, and welcome! We are relatively new around here too. We ordered our van earlier this month, and are waiting for it to be delivered. We hope you have many happy and memorable adventures in your van!

 

[m10chkcalifornia]

Also a new/recent owner. The one thing I really appreciated learning on here: don’t get extra ‘stuff’. Try it as is and see what you actually need. For us it was simply an emergency use loo - the excellent Bivvy loo. Part of the joy has been how little prep is necessary to just get away. We tried it on our own drive and figured what we needed for bedding. Not a lot. Enjoy. Am sure you will.

 

[pchmlk]

Welcome! We’re new to this, this year, too.

As long as you have a bbq and some decent mattresses, you’re good to go - the rest is all workoutable. Enjoy! It’s a great site for advice, I’ve learnt so much.

 

[mw2870]

Thank you all for the warm welcome!

I have plenty of camping gear already (water carrier, stoves, bbq, tables etc) as we have done plenty of camping previously.

Really good advice to take it for a couple of shakedowns to work out what you ACTUALLY need before you buy!

I've already bought a camping fridge and mattress protector (for the roof bed) but will wait before I get anything else.

Currently thinking the following might be useful, but going to see how I get on this summer without:
- Cordless hoover (Shark or similar) - mainly because where I park there is no power
- Hookup cable with RCD and a 12v trickle charger - mainly because the beach tour doesn't have a hookup - if I was moving every day, could easily charge off the alternator
- Low power 12v kettle (mainly for making a coffee on a day trip)
- Low wattage camping induction hob (would require hookup as couldn't run off leisure battery)