Motorhome Accessories You Actually Need (and Ones You Don't)

Spend ten minutes on a motorhome forum and you will come away convinced that you need 47 different motorhome gadgets before you can safely leave the driveway. Levelling ramps! Water purifiers! Solar panels! A dedicated GPS! A reversing camera upgrade! A composting toilet! The motorhome accessories industry is enormous, persuasive, and - in many cases - selling solutions to problems that do not exist. This guide to essential motorhome accessories separates the genuinely useful from the merely marketed.

First, a reassurance: when you hire from Heath's Motorhome Hire, the vehicle comes equipped with everything you need for a comfortable trip. Cooking equipment, crockery, cutlery, a gas hob, a fridge, heating, a toilet and shower - it is all included. You just need to bring your own bedding and towels. You do not need to buy or bring a single accessory to have an excellent holiday. But there are a few items that make life easier, and knowing which ones are worth having (and which are a waste of money) will save you from the forum rabbit hole.

What You Actually Need

Levelling ramps. This is the one accessory that every experienced motorhomer agrees on. Campsites are rarely perfectly flat, and sleeping on a slope is miserable. A set of plastic levelling ramps (Milenco or Fiamma are the standard brands) costs 20-30 pounds and lets you drive one side of the motorhome up until the vehicle is level. They weigh almost nothing, store flat, and you will use them on almost every pitch. We include a set with every hire, but if you are buying your own motorhome, these are item number one on the shopping list.

A decent torch. Not a tiny keyring LED but a proper handheld torch - something that throws a beam far enough to find your pitch in the dark, navigate an unlit campsite, and deal with anything that needs doing under the vehicle. A head torch is even better, freeing both hands for connecting hook-ups or checking gas bottles. A rechargeable LED lantern is useful inside for reading and ambient light without draining the leisure battery. If you are travelling in colder months, our winter essentials guide covers additional kit worth considering.

A first aid kit. Not the 200-piece emergency room kit that some companies sell, but a sensible one: plasters, antiseptic wipes, painkillers, antihistamines, tweezers, scissors, and any personal medication you rely on. Add insect bite cream in summer and a tick removal tool if you are walking in long grass. This is standard common sense, not motorhome-specific paranoia.

A carbon monoxide detector. Most modern motorhomes have one fitted, and all of ours do. But if you are ever in a motorhome without one, a battery-powered CO detector costs under ten pounds and could save your life. Carbon monoxide from a faulty gas appliance is odourless and lethal. This is not an accessory - it is a safety essential.

A fresh water hose and filter. Most campsites have drinking water taps, and you need a food-grade hose to connect them to your motorhome's fresh water tank. A standard garden hose is not food-safe - the blue or white flat hoses sold as drinking water hoses are the correct type. A basic inline filter removes sediment and improves taste, particularly on older campsite supplies. This is included with our hires, but worth knowing about.

A leisure battery monitor. Our motorhomes have a built-in panel that shows the leisure battery level, but if you are using a motorhome without one, a simple battery monitor (20-30 pounds) tells you how much power you have left. Running the leisure battery flat is bad for it and leaves you without lights, water pump, and heating fan. Knowing where you stand means you can manage your power usage - or decide it is time to find a pitch with hook-up.

Nice to Have

An awning or sun canopy. In decent weather, certain motorhome accessories like a small awning extend your living space enormously. It creates shade on hot days and a dry area for boots and chairs when it rains. Pull-out awnings are built into many motorhomes (including ours); if yours does not have one, a freestanding sun canopy does the same job. This is a summer luxury rather than a necessity, but a worthwhile one if you are spending more than a couple of nights in one spot.

A portable BBQ. The Cadac Safari Chef is the classic motorhome BBQ - compact, versatile, runs off a small gas cartridge, and cooks everything from burgers to pancakes. Weber do a small charcoal model that is also popular. A BBQ transforms a campsite evening, and the smell of cooking outdoors is one of the defining pleasures of motorhome travel. Check campsite rules first - some sites restrict open flames or charcoal BBQs.

A bike rack and bikes. Once you are parked up at a campsite, bikes give you independent transport without moving the motorhome. Cycling to a nearby village for bread, riding along a canal towpath, or exploring a quiet lane - bikes extend your range without the stress of navigating narrow roads in a large vehicle. Rear-mounted bike racks are the most common; make sure yours is rated for the weight of the bikes and does not obscure your number plate or lights.

A motorhome-specific sat nav. Standard car sat navs do not account for vehicle height, width, or weight - and the last thing you want is to be directed under a low bridge or down an unsuitable lane. Garmin and TomTom both make motorhome-specific models that let you input your vehicle dimensions and route accordingly. Google Maps does not do this. That said, for UK travel on main roads, a phone with Google Maps and a bit of common sense is perfectly adequate. The dedicated sat nav becomes more valuable on the continent, where bridge heights and restricted roads are harder to spot.

Don't Bother

A water purification system. UK and European campsite water is safe to drink. If you are concerned about taste, a simple inline filter (mentioned above) is all you need. The expensive UV purification and multi-stage filtration systems that forums recommend are designed for wild camping in developing countries, not touring the Yorkshire Dales.

A generator. Modern motorhome leisure batteries and solar panels (if fitted) provide more than enough power for lights, phone charging, and running the water pump. A generator is noisy, heavy, smells of petrol, and will make your campsite neighbours hate you. Some sites ban them outright. If you need more power than the leisure battery provides, book a pitch with electric hook-up. Problem solved.

Most "gadget" recommendations from forums. Magnetic fly screens, specialised windscreen covers, dedicated shoe racks, motorhome-branded cleaning products, cable organisers, dashboard phone mounts with integrated weather stations - the list is endless, and the vast majority of it will sit in a cupboard unused after the first trip. The motorhome forums are populated by enthusiasts who genuinely enjoy accessorising their vehicles, and there is nothing wrong with that. But if you are hiring for a week's holiday, you need approximately none of it.

A portable satellite dish. Unless you genuinely cannot survive without live television for a week (and honestly, the break will do you good), a satellite dish is unnecessary weight and hassle. Most campsites have wifi (variable quality, admittedly), and a 4G mobile signal covers the vast majority of the UK. Download what you want to watch before you leave, or - radical suggestion - read a book.

What's Included with a Heath's Hire

When you hire from us, the vehicle comes ready to go. Our standard inventory includes: full kitchen equipment (pots, pans, cutlery, crockery, chopping board, tin opener), levelling ramps, a fresh water hose, electric hook-up cable, a first aid kit, warning triangle, and a comprehensive vehicle handbook. You will need to bring your own bedding, towels, and toilet roll. For first-time hirers, we do a full walkthrough of the vehicle before you leave, covering everything from the heating controls to the waste water drain.

The truth about motorhome accessories is simple: the vehicle itself is the accessory. If you are new to motorhoming, our guide to your first night in a motorhome explains what the experience is really like. It has a kitchen, a bedroom, a bathroom, and a living room. It takes you where you want to go and provides everything you need when you get there. A few practical additions make life easier, but the best motorhome trips are defined by where you go and what you see, not by what you carry in the garage locker.

Pack light, bring an open mind, and leave the forum shopping lists at home. For more, see our packing list.