Vanlife Packing List & Gear Guide: Tips & Must-Have Essentials for Your Trips
A camper van packing list is essential for anyone living the van life. There’s nothing worse than getting to a beautiful destination miles away from the nearest store and realizing that you’re missing something important. Lucky for you, we have everything covered.
Whether you’re on a weekend trip or packing up your whole life in the van, this list will help you make sure you spend more time enjoying your journey and less time worrying about your stuff.
Table of Contents
- Why a Camper Van Packing List is Essential
- Storage & Organization Essentials
- Sleeping Gear You Can’t Skip
- Cooking & Kitchen Must-Haves
- Toiletries & Hygiene Items
- Clothing & Weather-Specific Gear
- Safety Essentials Every Vanlifer Needs
- Must-Have Tools and Maintenance Gear
- Tech & Power Essentials
- Fun & Leisure Items to Enhance Your Trip
- Bonus: Vanlife Packing Tips to Save Space
- Pack Smart, Travel Better
- FAQs
Why a Camper Van Packing List is Essential
Putting together a camping essentials list is important for a number of reasons. Obviously, you want to make sure you have everything you need. Packing a van requires a lot more than packing your carry-on bag for a weekend trip. In addition to keeping track of your stuff, a great packing list also helps you organize it all, which is essential in a small space.
A camper van not only carries a lot of stuff that needs to be remembered, it also has a lot of different places to store it. Having a good list with everything you need and where it should be relieves stress, saves time, and lets you fully enjoy your next adventure.
Storage & Organization Essentials
Before you pack all of your campervan essentials, you might want to make sure you have the right things to store and organize them. After all, what’s the point of having a bunch of stuff if there’s nowhere to put it?
First, it’s important to make sure your built-in storage is well organized. Use drawer dividers, and label each space. We suggest storing all essentials in built-in storage shelves, drawers and cabinets, this way you won’t accidentally take something important out of your van and leave it at home.
Arguably the most important part of storage and organization in a van is making smart use of the limited space. This is where hanging cabinets come in. Many people build cabinets into their vans, especially near the kitchen area. While these can be useful, there are more versatile solutions as upper cabinets for the area near the roof of your van or under the bed.
Using popular duffel bags as soft overhead cabinets is an amazing way to implement additional storage in your camper van. Not only can soft cabinets save you from a few bumps and scratches on the head, but these soft cabinets are easy to install and can add a pop of color to your rig. You can have duffels for each major category…whether it be hiking boots, cycling gear, beach supplies, spare blankets & pillows, or even (gasp) laundry.
LoftLockers are essential for making the most of these duffel bags as overhead storage. With just two bolts, your LoftLocker, and one of the compatible duffels, you’ll have the best storage solution you never knew you needed.
Sleeping Gear You Can’t Skip
For more van camping essentials, we turn to the bed, something you’re never going to want to leave underprepared. After a long day of driving, adventuring, and everything in between, you’re gonna want to plop into bed and sleep like a baby. We’re here to make sure you do just that.
Starting with the bed itself, you’re going to want a good, lightweight memory foam mattress. You’re also going to want blankets, and sleeping bags for those extra cold nights. Don’t forget a comfy pillow and your bed sheets!
You’re not always going to be sleeping in complete darkness. Sometimes the only option is a city street or a parking lot. So it’s important to have window covers to make your van a cozy little cave. You can use covers for your specific make and model of your van, traditional car window covers, or get creative and install curtains for some extra warmth.
Cooking & Kitchen Must-Haves
Making food on the road is a necessity, and these camper van essentials will make sure you never go hungry. The most important part is compact cooking equipment, like a portable stove or induction cooktop and pots and pans (usually one of each will do, you aren’t cooking for an army).
Food storage is important, so make sure you have some jars and tupperware and they fit together as well as possible. If your van isn’t fitted with a refrigerator make sure you bring a cooler with you, something collapsible if possible so it’s not taking up space when not in use.
Toiletries & Hygiene Items
No packing list of campervan must haves is complete without all the essential toiletries and bathroom items. Some of these are going to be the same things you bring with you on any trip, like toothpaste and shampoo. You don’t need a list for all of those (and if you do, it might be an interesting, smelly adventure). We’re here to help you with the things you might not normally think of.
For those without a fancy shower installed in your van, make sure to bring your portable shower. If you’re truly roughing it, just bring plenty of wipes. Don’t forget the toilet paper!
Clothing & Weather-Specific Gear
This camper pack list can be altered based on where you’re going and what time of year, but shouldn’t be overlooked. If you’re road tripping down the California coast and you forget your beach gear, it’s gonna be a bad time. But if you ignore your hiking gear and end up making a pit stop in Yosemite on your way back, it’s also gonna be a bad time. So it’s generally best to be prepared for any adventure, space permitting.
A great use of LoftLocker duffels is to have a bag for warm weather beach gear, and one for cold weather camping/hiking gear. They’re easy to organize, and can be removed to clean out at the end of your trip. No matter what adventure you’re embarking on, it’s essential to have rain gear, quick-dry clothing, and extra socks and underwear packed in the van. You never know when mother nature is going to strike.
Safety Essentials Every Vanlifer Needs
No matter what, always make sure to have the safety van camping essentials packed. These are things that should always stay in the van so that even in a rush, you can be confident that you’ll be safe on the road. These should stay in a well-marked, easy to access container.
For your own personal safety, always have a first aid kit, and backup water and food (only for emergencies, not to avoid going back to the store). It’s also smart to have a portable charger for phones and other electronics, and paper maps of your destinations whenever possible.
It’s important to have something to jump your van, and we recommend having a battery-powered jumper so you don’t have to rely on another vehicle, with traditional jumper cables as a backup. A fire extinguisher, a spare tire, and a mini backup battery or generator are also smart safety tools.
Must-Have Tools and Maintenance Gear
When traveling on the road, things are bound to go wrong from time to time, which is why certain tools are camper van essentials to making sure you stay rolling on towards your next destination.
A portable tire inflator is useful for maintaining tires after a few too many bumpy dirt roads, and it’s also great for bikes, paddleboards, or whatever else you might be taking on your adventures. It’s also a good idea to keep a multi-tool, screwdriver set, wrench and socket set, a hammer, , and any other specialized tools you might need for your specific setup.
For basic maintenance or a quick fix, nothing is better than gold old trusty duct tape. Zip ties are also a life saver, one of those things that you never need until you really do.
Tech & Power Essentials
A lot of your power campervan essentials will already be built in, so you can’t forget them even if you try. But there are a lot of smaller things that might slip your mind and leave you camping in darkness if they aren’t on your list.
If you don’t have your solar panels built into your van, make sure to grab them out of the garage before your trip. Same goes for your power inverter and extension cords. They seem obvious, but we’ve all forgotten things that you assume you would never forget.
On the smaller side, consider packing LED lights, even if you have some already installed. If the power goes out, you’ll be thanking me. On the same note, always bring backup phone charging cables , and a battery powered fanto make sure you’re comfortable no matter what temperature it is outside. If your van does not have built-in heat, consider bringing a portable heat source…..
Fun & Leisure Items to Enhance Your Trip
Don’t worry, we’re finally at the fun part of the camper van packing list. This part is obviously going to be very personalized and different for everyone or each trip. We’re here to guide you, but follow your heart and make this list your own!
Certain things like camper chairs and hammocks should be on everyone’s list. Sitting on the ground is fun sometimes but most of the time you’ll be thankful to have a clean butt and a comfortable seat.
Bring some things to pass the time! You won’t always be hiking or swimming, so bring some games, cards, books, and a journal. When it’s time to party, bring your bluetooth speaker and some easy to pack sports like a soccer ball or a portable net for volleyball or badminton. Lastly, remember your camera if you’re into capturing memories on something other than your phone.
Bonus: Vanlife Packing Tips to Save Space
Now that you have your guide to making a camper essentials list, we’ll share some tips on how to keep it all packed away!
If you’re a frequent flyer, you know all about rolling clothes and using compression bags. The same works for van life! Roll up all your regularly used clothing and label the containers, and use compression bags for out of season clothing that you still want to keep in the van just to be safe.
Make use of all of your space! Utilizing LoftLockers can help make the most of your upper and under bed storage and makes it easy to swap out depending on the adventure or season. Also use nets to turn any upright surface into storage, like doors or the back of your seats.
Pack Smart, Travel Better
Remember, planning ahead will save headaches down the road. An extra hour of preparation might save you several hours of driving and shopping.
Take our advice when making your list, but customize it to your own needs based on the size of your rig, the season, or the adventure! Just don’t forget the essentials.
If you like this article, save it and send us your customized list! Nobody is perfect and we might have missed something you think is essential! As always, make sure to tag us if you use LoftLockers in your build! We love seeing it. Stay safe out there wherever the road may take you.
FAQs
What should I pack for a week in a camper van?
You should be packing all of the essentials on this list no matter how short or long of a trip you’re taking! Just adjust the amount of clothes and food that you pack depending on the length of your trip. For a weeklong trip, you can customize the recreational items for your destination and season.
How do you pack efficiently for van life?
Pack what you need first, and then what you want! Start with the safety, maintenance, and power essentials, and go from there based on your space. You can always get extra clothes, food, or fun items. You never want to be stuck without the important stuff. Safety first, kids!
What should be in every van emergency kit?
Always make sure you have a first aid kit, a GPS, portable car jumper, emergency lights, and a road flare. You also always want to have a separate emergency stash of food and water that you never touch unless it’s an emergency, not just to avoid going to the store.
How do I stay organized in a small van?
Use smart organization tools! There are plenty of hacks for staying organized. Labeling everything is essential, and keeping things in the same place. To help with your overhead storage, use LoftLockers and your favorite compatible duffel bag to have an easy to swap out organization solution. Happy travels!
