One of the things that makes caravanning so brilliant is the quantity and variety of its associated gadgetry. Think of any item to do with home comfort and there's a fair chance it can be adapted to caravan life at very little cost or has a caravan version on sale in hundreds of caravanning stores around the UK.
Take the Cadac gas grill, with its interchangeable hotplate and wok and barbecue attachments. Rick and Bev Sharpe from Pontefract are delighted with theirs. "It's versatile, easy to clean, and packs away into its own container. We'll never use a standard barbecue again," says Bev. Cadac grills range in price from £65 to £165, depending on the attachments.
Rick and Bev are also pleased with their foldaway picnic bench (£15 from Netto) and the cup-and-plate holders that clip onto the arm of a chair (less than £5 from Towsure). These are not made for caravanners, yet they fit the bill. The Sharpes have home-made equipment, too. Bev's dad made their wheel clamp; a thief would need a nuclear warhead to get it off.
Steve and Pauline Tunnicliffe from Nottingham have also turned their backs on charcoal barbecues. "No matter how hard we wedged ours into the van," Steve says, "it would break free and make a real mess." They were saved by a former world heavyweight boxing champion. "The George Foreman grill was one of the best presents we've ever had," says Pauline. "Easy to use, easy to store, easy to clean." The Index catalogue offers a Baby George at £26.99 and carries on up to the Double Knockout at £73.99.
David and Kate Butler of Beverley also put cooking gadgets high on their list. "Our Cordon Bleu Slow Cooker is brilliant," says Kate. "We put on a meal in the morning, and it's ready when we get back in the evening." David adds: "And our Beauclair gas grill is really quick – and easy to clean. It packs into its own case as well." (£120 from Barrons of York.)
"We wouldn't be without our Lektro Maid cooker," says Noreen Campbell, of Wingate, Durham. "It's American and quite old, but it'll cook almost anything, and it's so easy to clean." Noreen's husband George chips in, saying that they find their George Foreman grill really handy in the van, too. Sue and Steve Hook from Darlington are converts from camping, so it's no surprise they have a lot of tips on awnings. "We love our Bradcot Portico," (£240 from Catterick Caravans) says Sue. "Rockbuster pegs are good," Steve adds. "They're £1 each in camping shops, and they work on hard-standing. They'll also make holes in hard ground for normal plastic pegs."
"We mark pegs and guy ropes with garden solar lights," Sue says, "so we don't trip over them at night. We got ours from a petrol station – £3.99 with £6 worth of fuel." Steve grins: "They also make the van easy to find when we're coming back from the pub."
Guy ropes no longer trip up Frank and Anne Hinchliffe of Macclesfield, either. "They can be hard to see, even in the daytime," Anne says. So she ties pine cones halfway up each guy-rope with ribbon. "It makes the awning look nice and rural," she adds.
Frank's prized possession is a telescopic broom with soft rubber bristles. (About £9, from most DIY stores.) "It's brilliant at getting hair and grass off carpet. I think it builds up a static charge that attracts the dirt," he says. "It'll even get gravel out of a grass pitch."
He is also delighted with his Cadac grill and his Shark mini fridge (£39 from Maplins Electronics). "It's dual voltage, and it keeps the drinks cold in the awning or when we're travelling," he says.
"Don't forget the washer thingy," says Anne. Frank shows us. "You clip the valve-end of the hose into a bucket, and it delivers water to the brush on vertical strokes up or down the side of the van. Horizontal strokes stay dry, to lather up." (Washmatic by WE Selkin; £20 from Manchester's G-Mex caravan show).
In a brand-new van almost everything is fitted as standard. Yet John and Margaret Sheard of Holmfirth still improvise in their 2003 Lunar Clubman. "We've got a fitted oven, hob and microwave," Margaret says, "but I use my Tefal Electric Steamer a lot. It cooks potatoes and two veg in 45 minutes, and while it's on I can be preparing the meat." (Sainsbury's, £20.)
"And we've used wasted space in the wardrobe," John says, "by fitting in a three-tier combined clothes rack and shoe rail." (Cost: £24.99 from Argos.) Yet the accessory that catches the eye is a little round camping table on a steel leg that you stick in the ground. "Just £2.99 from Manchester's G-Mex caravan show," Margaret says. "Ideal for a cup of tea. The leg dismantles into two sections that clip under the top."
Ian Armstrong from Northumberland wouldn't be without his Thermos Grill 2 Go (Focus, £90), which he says handles most kinds of cooking. "We never cook inside the van," he adds, "because of the smell."
He is also pleased with the covers for his Aquaroll, mains adaptor and Wastemaster. "At £30 each they weren't cheap," he says, "but they keep the inside of the van clean when we travel." (From FL Hitchman, via the Aquaroll website.) Michael and Kim Rowley have no doubts about their current caravanning prize possession. "These Lafuma chairs," they say, bouncing up and down to demonstrate their high quality, "are the absolute best. They were on special offer at Towsure in our home city of Sheffield; a snip at £45 each." Then Michael gets out a cordless drill with attachment. "And this," he says, "takes the effort out of winding the steadies up and down." The drill was £8 from Macro; the attachment was £4 from The Lawns annual caravan show in Hull. He has also fitted a reading lamp for his young daughter Charlotte. "Just £2 from an Elddis factory tour as part of a rally," he says.
The Rowley family dote on their dogs Max and Poppy. "They're part of the family," Michael says, "and our best accessory. They get us out and about and help us to meet people."
"They even travel abroad with us," Kim adds. "The cost of the dog passports comes to little more than we'd pay for kennels."
Campsite warden Frank Ingle of Doncaster would never be without his electric towel rail (from Lidl, £12.99) and his Kent Collection Telescopic Wash Brush (Focus, £8.99). "The towel rail solves all the problems of having wet clothing flapping around in the van," he says. "I set it up in the awning or in the washroom; it dries towels and clothes in a jiffy. And it's a safe temperature for a child." As for the brush: "It's plenty long enough to reach every part of the outside of the van. Use it to lather up, then attach it to the hose for rinsing off," he says.
Gary Sipson claims his best caravanning accessory is his Land Rover. His wife Jane says he's not kidding. Gary and Jane are wardens of Sherwood Forest Caravan Site in Robin Hood country. "We like the simple life in small certificated locations," Gary says. Then outlines his top gadgets for making life a little more comfortable: a Honda generator (from Handy Honda in Loughborough) and a Powerpart inverter (from site-owners Torksey Caravans). Together these give him 240V power to fire up his Sky digibox and laptop computer.
"As you can see," Jane observes, tongue firmly in cheek, "we love getting back to nature."
For DIY adaptations, Gary says he prefers older vans. "They give you more scope," he explains. "For example, you can get extra workspace in the van by fixing a couple of wood strips either side of the door and putting a temporary sheet of wood across the gap. You wouldn't do that to a brand-new tourer."
Clive and Betty Blease of Bolton face more space problems than most. "We love our Eriba Puck," they say, "but it is rather small – tiniest of a tiny range." To make space they have a Thule Weekender topbox, bought from a Citroën dealer ten years ago for about £200. "It keeps the van clear of shoes, table and chairs, and a lot of other clutter," says Clive. "And we've added storage by putting vegetable racks in wasted spaces, such as the bottom of the wardrobe."
They keep the rubbish in a carrier-bag fixed to the awning track with a peg. "Not all solutions cost money," says Betty. "And we carry three dedicated plastic bowls: for dirty dishes, clean dishes, and dirty children." Clive adds: "We don't have sophisticated fly-screens, but net curtains on the door and windows do the job just as well."
Some favourite accessories are very simple. For Paul and Vicky Smith from Mansfield, a bin-liner holder that folds flat is a godsend. The same goes for insulating mugs that you chill in the fridge, say Dennis and Sylvia Taylor, also from Mansfield.
For Stewart Heppleston from Huddersfield, a key family member is his guide dog, Upton. "Retired guide dog," Stewart updates us. "I'm waiting for my new one." Stewart and wife Anthea believe in the right tool for the job, so they get accessories from stores such as B&Q or Focus. "We can't be doing with fiddly little spirit-levels," Anthea says, producing a hefty builder's version. "I use my trusty lump hammer to drive in pegs," Stewart adds. "Wooden or rubber mallets are useless on hard standing."
Nearly all their other equipment comes from basic domestic suppliers – convector heater, awning light, small water container for that vital on-arrival cuppa and to let the dog slake his post-travel thirst, circular hanger/drier and extra hooks for hanging up stuff. However, the drill attachment for winding steadies was custom-made by an engineer friend, and Anthea ran up their awning tidy herself.
Pride of place in their accessory list, though, goes to their Reich Motor Mover. "It cost £1000 from Peter Roberts of Huddersfield," Stewart says, "but it has been worth every penny." Asked about tips for other unsighted caravanners, Stewart answers without hesitation. "Always have a wife with you."
Arthur and Evelyn Halladay of Canterbury are really pleased with the combined blinds/fly screens fitted by Arthur – and his mains down-lights.
Keith and Joan Bevitt of Beverley and Derrick and Margaret Branton of Swanwick caravan together a lot. "Two friends left this morning – and their initial is ‘B' as well," Derrick says. "We're called the B-Club." Lots of laughter. "Or we're called ‘those noisy Bs on the next pitch'," someone else says. More laughter. There's total agreement from both couples on their top accessory. "Motor movers. You'll not get much change from £1000, but think of what you save on clutch wear-and-tear," they declare. "Not to mention hernias," Keith adds dolefully. One couple has a Carver, the other a Reich. "Great, on site and at home," Derrick says. "But if two of you are using movers, they can both stop working," says Keith. "The signals from the remotes cancel each other out. So park one van, then the other."
Not all B-Club equipment is expensive. "We use shoulder pads to stop the awning frame damaging the side of our vans," Joan and Margaret say. "And we fitted lights in our front lockers," say the men. "Saves you trying to change a gas bottle with a torch in one hand, and there's enough light to hitch and unhitch." Their lights were workshop-fitted but they agree battery-powered lights would do. "Why don't manufacturers fit them as standard?" asks Keith. Back to the B-Club for the final word. "I built this," Derrick says, sliding out a plywood box that exactly fits the tall, thin cupboard separating the main seats from the dinette. "We fill it with stuff at home, put it in the car boot, then install it in the van when we get to the site. It saves weight in the van when we tow, and a lot of rummaging in the cupboard on site."
"And hernias from all the rummaging around," Keith contributes to the tale. Derrick ignores him. "But don't describe it," he goes on to say, "until I've had it patented." Oops!