Accessorising your motorhome

Whether it’s during the summer season or tucked up at home in the wintertime, there’s one thing likely to pique the interest of any motorhome owner – and that’s any opportunity to accessorise the beloved vehicle.

Even though your motorhome is already likely to be equipped to a high standard – especially if you’re lucky enough to own an Auto-Sleepers model – there’s always an opportunity to add a dash of your own personality. Accessories can give that extra definition as well as add more comfort and luxury – it’s what motorhome owners call accessorising.

Here are our thoughts on some of the most popular and potentially most useful accessories you’re likely to find.

Satellite TV

Old-style camping might have left you with little to do in the evenings except to play cards, dominoes, or board games. Thanks to the march of technology, TV in your motorhome can these days play a part in your evening’s recreation.

At one time, trying to get portable satellite technology into your motorhome (and the dish locked onto the beam) virtually required a team of rocket scientists and a budget the size of NASA’s. Fortunately, those days are now long gone and it’s really easy to get some great and easily configured satellite dishes and associated TV receptors.

If you own an Auto-Sleepers motorhome, of course, you’re almost certain to find that it’s already fitted with built-in WiFi alongside an LCD TV Point – or even the optional extra of a Mercedes-Benz or Peugeot Media Pack.

A WiFi booster

When your motorhome is fitted with the latest onboard technology, the last thing you’ll want to discover is that your campsite has not kept up to date with all that’s available or is in an especially remote part of the country.

That’s when you’ll be glad of your own WiFi booster – a simple and affordable piece of kit that can help keep you in touch and use all of those internet-based facilities you would do from home.

Awnings

These are fantastic for extending the living space of your motorhome. They come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, solution types and of course, prices.

In passing, remember your motorhome insurance might require you to take certain common-sense steps to protect your awnings when you are away from your vehicle.

A barbecue

Even with the best-equipped motorhome galley in the world, nothing quite beats cooking over an open flame in the open air – a barbecue is an intrinsic part of the whole camping experience.

You’ll not need to invest in a barbecue capable of feeding a football crowd either – they now come in extremely small and lightweight sizes, suitable for use outside motorhomes.

In partnership with the British Beekeepers Association, Valiant make an especially trim and foldaway barbecue ideal for packing into your motorhome and breaking open when you fancy an alfresco meal.

Fold up outdoor furniture

This may sound like something of a no-brainer when it comes to accessorising your motorhome. Yet strangely, it can sometimes be overlooked, and you might suddenly find yourself with nowhere to sit outside on a beautiful day.

This also isn’t any longer a question of digging out that old rickety deck chair that belonged to your grandparents (in fact, they’re just the kind of item that might be collectable and valuable!).

Current ultra-modern designs offer a range of sitting and fantastically inventive table solutions – and they can be collapsed back into incredibly compact sizes for storage and transportation.

Portable external lamps

These can be essential for maximising your time outside once the sun has gone down. They come in various shapes and sizes and use different sorts of technologies.

Solar-powered varieties are great for providing a very low level of basic finding-your-feet safety but for greater illumination, you may need to look at battery-powered models.

Yet again, this is an area where prices have fallen hugely over recent years – as a brief glance at the relevant Amazon UK pages will show.