VanVan Campers'
Recommended Products
For your Trip
We’ve put together a short list of items we recommend to our renters. These are things we’ve used over the years and keep going back to.
Packing Cubes
I'm ashamed to admit that I made fun of my husband for several years due to his overly organized packing habits. As long as I have known him, he's used packing cubes and it wasn't until we met another couple (one of whom was a recent convert) using them on a trip to Africa that I was willing to give them a try.
They just make everything so much more organized when you're on the road. Furthermore each of the crates in our van will perfectly fit two medium Eagle Creek or three small (half) Eagle Creek packing cubes. How handy is that?!
We've been using Eagle Creek for years and love the quality of these but but any similarly sized packing cubes would do well in the crates in our van.
Duffle Bags
For those of you traveling from outside of San Diego, you'll find traditional luggage cumbersome in a camper van. We recommend traveling with duffle bags.
Even for those of you who are coming from San Diego... You've got your packing cubes ready to go. Why bother with any luggage at all. We've found it is handy to have a duffle bag on hand. There are always sweaters of jackets and other bulky items that could use a duffle bag for quick storage. Toss the duffle bag in the passenger seat when you're using the back half of the camper van.
Even outside of camping we've used this duffle bag so many times as an 'extra' bag if we anticipate needing more space on the return trip. Just throw it in your packed luggage on the way there, and on the way back you've got an extra bag. As always, we love Eagle Creek and their lifetime warranty. If you're in the market for a duffle bag, you can't go wrong with Eagle Creek.
Biscuits and Gravy
When my Husband and I went camping for two weeks in Iceland, we picked up food along the way in grocery stores and we brought about 18 camping meals with us. At least six of those meals were the Biscuits and Gravy meal by Mountain House.
I never get tired of this one and even consider it a treat. For mornings when you still want a big breakfast but don't want to put in the time to make a big breakfast...this is a great option.
For your Van
We had a great time stocking our van with what we thought would best fit the needs and space of a Cascade Camper. Here are a few of our favorites. If you rented one of our vans and had a question about something in there. Feel free to reach out.
Camping Table
I did a LOT of research before I settled on this table. I needed something that would be a suitable height with camping chairs (which sit quite low)...but wanted it to have the ability to use it as a food prep surface.
This table turned out even better than I could have hoped. In addition to it working exactly the way I was expecting, it fits perfectly in the space between the left passenger door and the bench in a Cascade Camper. This is a huge win since extra stuff in the van is a hassle if it's in the way.
There are a couple different options here, one of them has four adjustable legs, and one only has two (for leveling). Make sure you select the one with all four legs adjustable.
New Camp Cookbook
This cookbook is a great addition to your library if you like to cook while camping or if you want super easy recipes at home. (We've made a few of them at home). I was hoping that this would be good for folks renting our van. I'm not so sure about that. Since a lot of these recipes require preparation ahead of time, this probably won't be too helpful for our renters.
That being said, I've loved using this cookbook for ourselves. Recipes often feature a 'use it up' suggestion for perishable items. It's really well annotated between meals that require a fire, a camp stove, or are no heat recipes. And everything we've tried so far has been delish.
Camping Chairs
I find these camping chairs to be quite low but I like that for relaxing and sitting around the fire. I also like how compact these are when folded up. They are on the small side but then I'm a fairly small person.
The only downside I have found to these is that they burn/melt easily. The very first time we used these near a campfire a large ember landed on one and immediately put a 1/2" hole in the seat.
Camping Pots and Pans
Perhaps by now you've realized we over think everything...the pots and pans were no exception. Once we got our Cascade Camper van, we set about trying to figure out what cooking pots would fit nicely in the crates that slide under the bench.
Those crates are surprisingly spacious....but pots are also surprisingly bulky. The long handles on standard pots mean that you either have to go small or shop for camping gear. We love that this set feels like a regular cookware set once you get over the fact that the handle is detachable.
The non-stick works great and the size of these works well when cooking for two. The only downside of these was the lid situation. They do not come with a lid and finding a universal lid that would work well with these provided challenging. The lid we went with comes in a pack with two sizes. The smaller size fits all three of these Shineuri pots, so that's what we keep in the van.
Insulated Mugs
It is ridiculous how long we spent agonizing over mugs. I wanted to find super cute camping mugs in thrift stores. Kyle wanted to put insulated mugs in the van because he's more practical than I am. I eventually realized that not only do those classic camping mugs lose heat quickly, they're quite hard to find used and the cute ones are all suuuper expensive.
So I relented and told Kyle we could buy insulated mugs if they were cute AND affordable (relatively speaking). Lo and behold, these fit the bill perfectly.
We love them and our first renter liked them so much that she asked for links to buy some for herself.
French Press
If you have the space for a French press while camping...and you're not going to be carrying it...you may as well get a nice French press. Kyle is very particular about his coffee and chose this one for a number of reasons when we were stocking our van.
The first (and probably obvious) reason was that it isn't glass. It's best not to have glass when camping even if you are in a sweet little van. The second was that it's big enough for two people to have a decent amount of coffee.
We've been really happy with it and our renters love it!