Features

How To Keep A Good Van Weight For The New Season

Dont let the new season weight you down

By William Coleman

The new official caravan and motorhome, oh and campervan, season is almost upon us. The mornings are lighter and the sunsets are later which means more time in the vans and sunshine. With all this new excitement it is time to have a look how we can keep the van weight down and not sacrifice anything we want to take away with us.

You can feel the excitement in the air, despite it still being a bit chilly. Although spring is still around 3 weeks away we caravan folk are almost, if not fully in some cases, ready to head into spring with a van full of kit, but can we overload the van due to pre season excitement?

Over packing is very much a real thing in my household. Last week myself and the other half flew to New York, we got an extremely cheap last minute deal, and as always we one of packed enough clothing to last a month. It was a 5 day trip!

Now, when it comes to overloading the van I am very much the guilty party, I do love to over prepare. So in the interest of keeping things at the correct weight let’s have a look at a few ways we can lighten the load and keep the clutter out of the van.

Make A List Then Shorten It

Each time I go away I have a list for different aspects of the van/trip. I break it down into day time living, night time, bathroom, kitchen and entertainment.

The list for each section is usually quite long as I get carried away in my head creating scenarios where I may need 3 separate spatulas and 4 different pans of the same size. A situation that can be resolved with some washing up liquid and a bit of elbow grease.

Once the list, or lists, are complete sit down and take a hard look at what will you actually use, chances are you’ll use even less than that.

Do not be afraid to remove items thinking you are having to compromise, I promise you, you’ll not need it.

Change Up Your Kitchen Tools

With a lot of new blood entering the caravan world there are a lot of lessons being learnt on the first few trips taken, some learnt the hard way.

One thing I always suggest to people is stay clear of heavyweight kitchen utensils, especially if you are worried about the weight you are towing. It may sound silly but all these small changes added together makes one big difference.

Lightweight plastic utensils, plastic cups, bowls and plates and anything collapsible. These minor changes will take a good few kilos off of the end weight of your set up.

Change Up From Factory Standard

Pretty much every factory standard folding table that comes with a camper, motorhomes or caravan does the job, but it doesn’t mean you cannot have a change up.

Are you really spending that much time inside the van during spring and summer? If you are a campervan user I imagine you will spend very little time so why not get a very lightweight plastic folding table? Same size half the weight.

Decide What Key Items You Need

This goes back to making the list and then shortening it as you go. When it comes to going away you think you need to bring the world with you. One of my family members was always of the mind that you would need to pack everything you’d use at home over the weekend into the van. Once the parmesan cheese grater and the blender came out I had to walk away.

And always remember that leaving things are home is not a compromise, it’s a sensible choice.