I’ve spent much of my time on the road these past few years, reviewing motorhomes up and down the country and further afield (and in all weathers, although I am not complaining).
As a result, I think I have built up a fairly good idea of those little extra things you might need to make your journey more of an enjoyable tour than a rough slog. And guess what? Many such products are currently enjoying hefty discounts as part of Amazon’s Black Friday.
Here is my pick of the best – and don’t miss the top picks of Practical Motorhome’s editor, Sarah, either.
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- Browse the full Amazon sale now.
- Take a look at our pick of the best Black Friday motorhome accessory deals
Vango Blissful Double Air Bed was £130 now £74.49 save 43%
Perhaps you have unexpected guests, or your kids or grandkids have come with you, and suddenly announce that they want a bit of independence and wouldn’t mind sleeping out in the awning ? This air bed should come to the rescue. If you plug it into the mains socket (either internal or external) in your motorhome, it will be fully inflated in just three minutes – and will stay that way for as long as you need it, thanks to an automatic silent top up, which ensures there is no loss of pressure during the night.
The bed itself is 1.91m long and 1.4m wide, also lifting you 46cm off the floor, so it is not far off what you will find at home. Its coil beam construction should also ensure whoever sleeps on this has a superbly comfortable night. And yet it only weighs 8kg, so shouldn’t really eat into your van’s payload.
Kampa Folding Saucepan was £29.99 now £24.99 save 17%
I really don’t see why going away in a motorhome should prevent you from whipping up something really special in its kitchen, if that floats your boat. The trouble is, drawers in many of today’s motorhomes aren’t always big enough to hold the saucepans you use at home, or any you might buy on the domestic market. If you’re planning to put together a stew, however, you don’t want to have to put up with the kind of diddly little things you often see in camping shops.
This folding saucepan from Kampa should be just the thing, however. It can hold up to a litre when fully extended, but folds down so you can put it away neatly in even quite a small drawer. Combine it with some of Kampa’s stylish melamine crockery that looks like earthenware (available on Amazon but sadly not as part of Black Friday) and you could really liven up your motorhome table.
Odoland Camping Kitchen Utensil Organiser Travel Set was £27.99 now £22.09 save 21%
This dinky little bag could be just the thing if you find all your kitchenware getting mixed up with everything else in a frantic rush to make the most of every available space within your van – or if you prefer not to have to remember to take everything you use in your kitchen at home with you and then return it all again at the end of the trip.
Within here you will find some tongs, a spatula, a serving spoon, a peeler, one pair of scissors with an inbuilt bottle opener, one rice paddle, and a chopping board. The bag itself is waterproof, and everything within it is dishwasher safe, so perfectly easy to go through a cycle when you get home.
Dimplex Eco Chic Mini Radiator was £85.99 now £47.30 save 45%
Is the heater in your motorhome not good at getting everywhere? Or do you want to keep your awning warm so you can sit out in it for a longer part of the year? This oil-free radiator from Dimplex should provide an effective source of warmth at relatively low cost.
It heats up 30% faster than oil-filled radiators, and uses up to 9% less energy, yet still lets out 700W of heat, which your motorhome should be able to cope with. Controlled by a simple dial, it comes with a 1.3m-long radiator – easily long enough to connect op with any external socket. And it only weighs 5.4kg.
COSORI Small Air Fryer was £69.99 now £47.48 save 32%
Air fryers are all the rage at the moment, and, judging by how often we have seen one included in a motorhome demo model at a show, they are likely to become as familiar a feature in motorhomes of the future as microwaves have been – perhaps more so. But you want them to be on the small side – and lightweight. This COSORI model ticks both those boxes, being only 2 litres in capacity.
With a power output of 900W, which your motorhome should be able to cope with, it can cook meals in almost half the time of a conventional oven. It’s quiet too, making only 48dB of noise when running, and its non-stick surface means it is easy to clean. You can even put it in a dishwasher. What’s more, if you download the app associated with it, you can find 30 professionally devised recipes designed specially for it. No need to bring a cook book!
Renogy 100Ah Mini Size Lithium Battery – was £189.99 now £159.99 – save 16%
A good leisure battery, preferably a lithium one, is always a good investment, and this one, designed specifically for caravans and motorhomes, should be a safe bet. Measuring just 229 x 138 x 213mm, Renogy claims it is 13% smaller than other equivalent 100Ah leisure batteries, so it should be easier to fit into a tight space – a useful thing to know if you are building your own campervan.
Inside the battery metallic spacers keep the prismatic cells in position, so you can drive over rough roads without worrying about the battery short circuiting. It also has extensive protection against low temperatures affecting performance.
AUTO-VOX Solar Magnetic Wireless Reversing Camera Kit was £139.99 now £113.99 – save 19%
A reversing camera is a highly desirable item to have in a motorhome, even if your vehicle does provide some vision through a rear window. In fact, after I had a coach clip my side mirror off when I was driving a right hand-drive vehicle in France and I then had to drive 40 miles with effectively no rear vision at all, I think such cameras are essential. The trouble is, retrofitting a wired camera can be a very tricky job.
This wireless magnetic kit gets around the problem. You will need a USB port in your cab to power the main unit, but the camera itself connects wirelessly, and can easily be attached to the back of your van. It comes with infra-red night vision too, and is designed to withstand temperatures ranging from -20ºC to 65ºC. Best of all, it’s currently on a 19% discount.
BODUM travel mug was £18.90 now £7.95 – save 58%
A reusable travel mug is something I always forget to bring with me on my travels, so I end up having to buy a coffee in a paper cup at the motorway services, and then having to fish out all the associated debris at the end of the journey. Having a sleek mug like this 35cl number, which will fit easily into the drinks holder in your cab, is a much better way to be eco-friendly.
Made of double wall BPA-free plastic, it will keep drinks hot – or cold – for several hours. It also has a non-slip silicon grip. And best of all, it can be yours for just over the price of two coffees at the moment.
Outdoor Revolution Self Inflating Mattress Roll Bed was £104.87 now £88.99 save 15%
That inflatable double bed from Vango above is all very well, but sometimes you might need something smaller actually to go inside the vehicle. This single self inflating mattress from an equally respected brand has actually been designed specifically to fit on top of a rock’n’roll bed in a VW Transporter to make the bed more comfortable.
Made with soft peach fabric over PU memory foam for a really blissful sleep, it comes with a triple function valve you adjust depending on whether you are inflating, deflating, or want to keep air out once you have completely deflated it.When you have, it cane then be fully deflated and rolled up in its own carry bag. It only weighs 5.8kg.
Campingaz Party Grill portable camping barbecue was £51.83 now £43.99 save 15%
Little intimate barbecues like this are great if it is just the two of you away in a simple campervan that doesn’t have the sophistication of an external barbecue point so you can used whatever gas bottle you have in the van. This one can run off the smaller CV470 and CV300 cartridges, but can still boil a litre of water in five minutes and 40 seconds. With piezo ignition, it has three cooking options – grill, griddle, or flame stove. Some 30cm wide, it has a non-stick griddle top, and the grill legs and spatula are all designed to fit inside to make carrying it easier.
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