Picking out the right gadgets can be a great way to enhance your tours. However, there are a wide array of options on the market, so you’ll want to make sure the ones you pack will actually make a difference to your campsite stays. That’s where our best caravan gadget guide comes in.
The Practical Caravan Awards 2024 have seen our expert judging panel use our decades of combined experience to select the options that we think are worth packing a caravan with when heading off on tour – in short, the must-have gadgets.
This year, we’ve selected the Remoska Tria as the best caravan gadget on the market. We really like how it offers multiple cooking options and only uses 610W of electricity. Here, you can see what we made of it and our other shortlisted products. You can also take a look at our essential caravan accessories guide to see our pick of the products that we think you’ll need on tour.
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The best caravan gadget is:
Remoska Tria electric multicooker
Reason to buy:
- Excellent money saving device with multiple cooking options
Reason to avoid:
- Relatively expensive, requires large locker to store
At a time when we are all keeping an eye on the pennies, the Tria is a gadget well worth investing in. For a start, it’s electrically powered – a great option when gas is so expensive – and it is incredibly versatile with three lids for multiple cooking purposes, hence the name ‘Tria’. The three lids consist of one glass, one soft-pressure, and one baking lid with a removable power cable that plugs into the end of the handle.
As an alternative to using electricity as a source of power, you can select either the glass or soft-pressure lid and it can be used on the hob or even on coals. For camping these multiple power source options make it an incredibly useful gadget and it only uses 610W of electricity. Bake, roast or grill… there is even a pressure cooker option. Our judges loved its versatility and high-quality performance.
Price: £219.99 at Remoska
The best caravan gadgets – the products we shortlisted:
Tower T17025 Vortex Compact Air Fryer
Reason to buy:
- A healthy and economic way of cooking
Reason to avoid:
- Only has a 1.5-litre basket, so not ideal if you want to cook large amounts of food
Over the last couple of years, air fryers have become hugely popular as people attempt to cope with the cost of living crisis. The low wattage Tower T17025 is perfect for caravanners, coming in at just 900w and with a cooking capacity of 1.5 litres. That’s a good size for two and it will save on gas as you can run it on your campsite’s electric hookup. We liked its sleek good looks and the useful 30 minute timer – a great addition to your kitchen setup when you’re pitched up at one of the best caravan parks.
Avtex W215TS Smart TV
Reason to buy
- Caravan friendly model with full range of TV streaming
Reason to avoid:
- Comes with a premium price
Most of us are content to have a relatively simple TV for our touring holidays. When you’re looking for the best caravan TV, you’ll want one that doesn’t take up too much space and that it can be powered by 12v. Well, in fact, you can have your cake and eat it.
This smart TV from Avtex is packed with features and allows you to connect to the internet and access streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, iPlayer, Sky and YouTube. You can watch full HD through your regular aerial or satellite dish and the slimline 21.5 inch model weighs in at only 3.1kg
GTech Multi MK2 Handheld vacuum cleaner
Reasons to buy:
- Light in weight and compact in size, good run time
Reasons to avoid:
- Fairly pricey, optional car accessory kit costs and additional £50
We all know that space is at a premium when you’re kitting out a caravan, but you’ll want to keep your home-from-home tidy when you’re out on tour – which is where the G-Tech Multi MK2 Cordless Handheld Vacuum comes in. It’s compact in size and light in weight, too, at just 1.5kg, so it’s simple to stash away in a locker when your cleaning is done.
It may be small, but thanks to its 22V lithium-ion battery the caravan vacuum cleaner offers 20 minutes of run time after a four-hour charge – you can keep an eye on how much power is left, too, thanks to the handy LED display.
Elsewhere, an LED headlight makes it easy to see into dark corners, and the onboard crevice tool allows you to access small areas at the back of lockers or down the sides of sofa cushions. The vacuum’s filter is washable, too, and you can also add on a car kit for even more useful accessories.
Specs
- Battery: Rechargeable Lithium-ion
- Voltage: 22V
- Run time: 20 minutes
- Charging time: four hours
- Dimensions: (H) 25cm x (W) 13.6cm x (D) 38.6cm
- Weight: 1.5kg
Karcher K 4 Power Control pressure washer
Reason to buy:
- Variable pressure settings allowing for safe use that doesn’t damage seals
Reason to avoid:
- Fairly heavy – will eat up more than 11kg of your payload
Traditional pressure washers are best not used on your caravan, because they can damage the seals. However, we were impressed by the Karcher K 4 Power Control, which has variable pressure allowing you to clean your van and tow car with care and less cause of damage. Move between gentle and full power as you see fit.
There’s an LED pressure setting display on the trigger gun for three settings, and a couple of blaster lances for complete control. An integrated system adds the right amount of detergent and the cleaning hose is a substantial 8m long, making it highly practical
Price: £219.99 at Karcher
Bluetti EB3A power station
Reasons to buy:
- Handy size and a variety of outputs for charging flexibility
Reasons to avoid:
- Pricey compared with some models; weighty, at 4.6kg
You’re sure to have noticed the rise in popularity of portable power banks – these useful units seem to have appeared from nowhere, but many caravanners now rave about them. That’s because they offer an easy-to-use power source – often mains voltage level – that can be tapped into at all times, even when you’re not on electric hook-up.
We extensively tested Bluetti’s EB3A earlier in the year, and were very impressed with its performance. It has a LiFeP04 battery with 268Wh capacity, and Bluetti claims that the unit will power an 80W television for three hours, a 60W car fridge for four hours, or a 10W light for 22 hours. The output ports on the power pack are a car-style 12V socket as well as a pair of 12V DCs, a couple of USB-As, a USB-C and a 220-240V AC/600W ports. There’s also a wireless charging pad.
Charging up the pack is easy: simply plug it into a regular mains socket for around 1.5 hours; you can also purchase a solar panel to allow you to charge it on the go.
Specs
- Inverter: 600W AC pure sine wave inverter (1200W surge)
- Battery capacity: 268.8Wh (12Ah)
- Cell type: LiFePO4
- Dimensions: 255 x 180 x 183mm
- Weight: 4.6kg
Transcool E3
Reasons to buy:
- Compact in size and light in weight, so it’s easy to store
Reasons to avoid:
- Not as effective as a full air-con unit; fairly pricey
Fitting a full-size air-conditioning unit to your caravan can be time consuming and costly – not to mention the fact that you’ll lose a fair amount of weight from your payload, too.
But if you aren’t relishing another summer spent sweltering in your tourer, it’s well worth considering the Transcool unit. This compact unit weighs 1.5kg and consumes from just 8W per hour; it can be powered via 12V, 24V or 240V sources. It should help your caravan feel a cooler place to spend time during warm weather: simply add water and ice (if you’d prefer – it can be run without), and the evaporative air-cooling and energy-efficient unit will create a cool breeze. Three fan speed settings are available, too, helping you choose the right level for you.
Included in the price is a replacement cooling pad, a carry/storage bag, a mains transformer so the unit can be used in a domestic setting, and a replacement cooling pad.
Price: £340 at iiequii
Written with contributions from Paul Critcher
- Take a look at the products that we picked out as the best caravan accessories on the market in 2024 too.
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