No food.
Tins are too heavy, and packet stuff is just asking for vermin to get in.
We just take stuff for the first night and breakfast plus a couple of basics with us, otherwise we buy fresh the next day.
We took everything out at the end of this year as last even the salt etc went a bit funny.
In season we leave tinned stuff, tea coffee etc but in locknlock boxes.
We got fed up of moving everything bar food between house and the van so we have dedicated bedding towels toiletries etc and even some clothes.
We do tend to stock the van before we go though as we use the lakes a lt and the cost of good from Booths etc is higher than we are happy to pay for branded items etc.
We have bedding, toiletries, first aid kit, basic food and drink (e.g. Squash, tea, coffee, cereals and biscuits), games, and each child has a small box of toys and books all kept in the caravan.
We now have a much heavier car so can load the caravan with a lot more stuff, still have ~120kg of the load allowance left! Our towels and tea towels live in a reusable shopping bag in the airing cupboard. When we go away I just need to grab the bag, then when we come back I put it all through the washing machine and back in the airing cupboard so they are all ready for the next trip.
------------- From tents to trailer tents to a tin tent to an air tent to trailer tent and back to tin tent!
Thanks all. I now have a list and will build up that list a little as the weeks pass.
I've also got a friend who can help me make some duvets and duvet covers for the kids fixed bunks after seeing the price of the made to measure ones. Will be handy to have the kids bedding sorted for each trip :) im excited to get sorted now.
We have three stacker boxes that go into the van at the start of the season in Feb/March and come out at the end of the season in November.
One contains toiletries/first aid stuff/essentials such as tin foil, clingfilm, kitchen roll etc. One contains basic kids toys such as bingo, jenga, jigsaws, beetle drive, crayons, sticker books, colouring books. The last one contains wine, squash, my magic tin of herbs/spices/oxo cubes, rice pudding, soup, tinned tomatoes, sweetcorn, tuna, rice, pasta, tinned custard, tea, coffee, sugar and a jar of korma sauce. I then take a couple of days worth of fresh food (cheese, milk, yoghurts, veg, fruit..) Then I know that, wherever we end up and whatever the weather, there will always be something to make a meal from that we all will eat - it's usually worth it on the trips where it does nothing but rain and no-one wants to venture out of the van :-)
Although we have had tents, campervans, caravans and a folding camper, this year we are going back, from a FC to a caravan and so it will be a "first stock up" for us.
Although the base of an FC is similar to caravan, there is a host of differences and so what we can carry and where we carry it is chalk and cheese different.
For instance, we can pack stuff inside the van and in the fridge right up until we set off, not so in the FC.
We can hang clothes in the wardrobe and change our minds on which clothing we are taking. Not so in a FC.
We can easily access the front locker even after we are set up with the caravan. Not so in a FC.
So although we will pack lockers with bedding, condiments, clothes and personal gear, in the caravan, it will not have to be so permanent and prepacked as it has been in previous years using the FC.
We always have enough 'iron rations' in the van to make a scratch meal if all else goes wrong.
Since we only carry one gas cylinder in order to keep the nose-weight down, we discussed having something that would provide a meal that could be made with hot water from the (electric) kettle should the gas run out at a vital moment (i.e. situation normal).
On balance we decided not to make a bad situation worse so we rejected the idea of pot noodles.
Our last unit, a Pennine Folding Camper, came with 2 full 4.5KG cylinders.
In two years of use we had still not emptied one of these cylinders by the time I sold it a few months ago.
We are now towing with 2 11kg cylinders so I guess each one will last us for 4 years.
We have just emptied our folding camper which we are now selling having bought a caravan. I knew I kept it well stocked but I realise that possibly I had too much in there! However as someone said earlier, plastic tubs are an essential. I keep pasta, rice, cereal, biscuits, crackers, crisps as well as basics, tea, coffee, sugar, long-life milk, beer, wine, salt and pepper, herbs, vinegar, oil, mustard, sauces tinned foods etc.
You don't want to keep re-stocking. The most important thing for me is to be able to come home from work on a Friday night, hook-up and go. So of course bedding, toiletries etc are on-board.
Clothes for the break and towels are the only items I add!
Good luck with keeping your caravan stocked.
------------- Dartmoor Camper
Managed to persuade husband that we can go back to a caravan!
Booked 2014
Feb in Looe
Aug Camping Du Vieux Verger
Load up and get it weighed on a local weighbridge - you might have a shock. Most people I know have thought they were under but when weighed they were up to 100kg over weight.
------------- 'A sure cure for sea-sickness is to sit under a tree'
Quote: Originally posted by birder99 on 24/1/2014
Load up and get it weighed on a local weighbridge - you might have a shock. Most people I know have thought they were under but when weighed they were up to 100kg over weight.
I wonder how many people you know that have actually had their loaded caravans weighed???
The vast majority of caravan owners will take the unladen weight and work out their own idea of what their vans actually weigh.
They only take it to a weighbridge if there is a compelling reason to do so, IE it not towing correctly.
It is all very well saying we should do this and we should do that, but caravanning is all about individual tastes about a hobby and as such does not come under the must do's that one meets in workplace regulations.
Quote: Originally posted by LobeyDosser on 24/1/2014
Quote: Originally posted by birder99 on 24/1/2014Load up and get it weighed on a local weighbridge - you might have a shock. Most people I know have thought they were under but when weighed they were up to 100kg over weight.
I wonder how many people you know that have actually had their loaded caravans weighed???
The vast majority of caravan owners will take the unladen weight and work out their own idea of what their vans actually weigh.
They only take it to a weighbridge if there is a compelling reason to do so, IE it not towing correctly.
It is all very well saying we should do this and we should do that, but caravanning is all about individual tastes about a hobby and as such does not come under the must do's that one meets in workplace regulations.
------------- 'A sure cure for sea-sickness is to sit under a tree'
When I took my campervan to our local weighbridge, which has been in operation for many years, mine was the first camping/caravan type unit they had ever had in!!!!
We keep no food, clothing or bedding in the caravan at all due to the worry about attracting mice.
I'd cry if I went into the van one day and found mice had moved in and eaten through my bedding or worse still, the seat cushions.
Luckily for me, carrying stuff from the house to the van prior to going away only involves walking 10 metres each way, so hardly much work involved to get ready to go.
------------- 2015 - our 1st year of caravanning with a new baby. Can't wait! :)
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Stocking up the caravan
