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KITCHEN & COOKING
Food Storage Containers
They’re collapsible and save a lot of space (YES!), air-tight, BPA free, microwave and freezer safe. Enough said!
Corelle Dinnerware Set
We went for Corelle because we didn’t want plastic dishes; it’s made of Vitrelle, a three-layer tempered glass. It’s light, it will last and it’s break-resistant (but not unbreakable!).
Fruit and Veggie Hammock
This is an item we added later after being on the road… it frees up some countertop space! Be aware that it will swing a lot when off-roading, so install it far from the wall if possible!
Turns out it doesn’t last very long…
Bamboo Folding Table with Aluminum Legs
This is the perfect space saver! It can be neatly stored along the fridge cabinet, then unfolded to be used inside OR outside the van. The Bamboo Top + Aluminum Legs construction makes it sturdy yet light. Neat.
Kettle
Not much to say here… oh yeah, it has a thermometer on top! It’s convenient to get the right water temperature for washing dishes and parts of our anatomy.
Manual Espresso Maker
We LOVE our coffee setup! It makes the perfect Latte or Cappuccino, no need to spend 6$ at Starbucks… you can read our full review here: faroutride.com/coffee/
Also get the Porlex JP-30 Manual Grinder for maximum extraction of flavors!
And the Nespresso Aeroccino Milk Frother, just press the button and enjoy hot milk & foam! It’s 120V but it’s rated at less than 500W:
STORAGE ORGANIZER
Velcro Storage net
Love these! They hold (very strong) to the back of the driver & passenger seats. We also purchased some self-adhesive Velcro (Buy from Amazon) so we can stick them on the side of our toilet-couch.
Quick Fist Clamps
We bought the 8 piece kit, and we’re using them everywhere! They’re perfect to hold heavier stuff without a rattling sound, yes!
Rear Cargo Net
We use it to secure our off-season gear together:
Velcro Straps
There are a THOUSAND uses for these! Here are some examples:
USB Cables Organizer
We didn’t see that coming. There are so many cables everywhere, and finding the right cable got irritating: Phones, Camera, GoPro, Drone, Kindle E-Reader, etc., etc.! We needed a neat cable organizer, here it is! We really like how the magnets clip to the cables, but, unfortunately, the magnets are not strong enough; we added small rare earth magnets that we had left over (we bought them from Lowes) and it’s MUCH better. The cable won’t fall while driving, and it’s still easy to get them from the rack.
Rear Doors Organizer
We can’t repeat it enough: each thing in its own place! Rear doors are another great opportunity for more storage! We bought a shoe organizer, cut it, and screwed it into the plastic trim on the rear doors (left and right). We used 1/2″ length screws.
ELECTRONICS
Kindle Voyage E-Reader
Like it or not, we have a LOT of time on our hands since we moved full-time in to the van. Thousands of books can be stored in this neat little thing! The screen is not like a smartphone or a laptop; it’s a different technology which is very easy on the eyes, and it’s basically like reading a book. Battery will last for weeks too, sweet!
USB Car Charger (Type-A and Type-C)
We installed 12V sockets all over the van because there are so many standards (USB Type-A, USB Type-C, etc., etc.) and they are likely to evolve with time. So we have a few of those to charge our SmartPhone (since our phones charge much faster with Type C USB Cords), the camera, the Kindle E-Reader, etc., etc.
SAFETY
Carbon Monoxide Alarm
Do you use any propane appliances in your van (stove, heater, shower)? Do you have an air heater (Webasto, Espar, Mr. Buddy)? Then you MUST install a carbon monoxide alarm!
Fire Extinguisher
You don’t need one until you need one.
MaxTrax
Alright, they’re not exactly a must-have; except if, like us, you like to play in harsh terrain. We recently got stuck in sand and learned that it’s not that easy to put a 8500 lbs. home on wheels back on the road… to make a long story short, we got us some MaxTrax:
And here is the long version of the story:
MISC
Tri-Lynx Levelers
We spent countless hours designing a van that would be comfortable to live in, built it, then parked it. We got dizzy and couldn’t sleep well because the ground is almost never level our there! We got these leveling blocks and we use them almost every day. A must-have! (we have the Air-Lift Suspension to fine-tune by small increments, but the blocks are still essential).
(hint: good luck finding rocks or wood in the desert to get you leveled…)
12.5ft Telescoping Ladder
Those solar panels need to be cleaned every month or so during summer and every time it snows in winter to maintain their normal output! The telescoping ladder gets us up there.
Collapsible Silicone Bucket 2.6 Gallons (10 Liters)
We don’t need that bucket. Until sh*t happens. And because we’re just humans, sh*t happens. We spill beer, stain our clothes with chain lube, forget to dry our mountain bike gloves after a sweaty ride, etc. We need that bucket, unfortunately.
Portable Clothesline
We like it because we can install clothes hangers and they will not slide toward the center of the clothesline!
Insulated Slippers
We went all-in for our floor insulation, but the floor remains the coldest area in the van. These slippers are insulated and super comfy! We say that the first thing we do in the morning is coffee; in fact, the very first think we do is jump into our slippers! (note: we actually have the MEC slippers, the equivalent of REI in Canada, and these slippers are very similar to ours)
Temperature & Humidity Station
Living in a van, we’re more subject to temperature than living in a house. We recently added this neat AcuRite 01094M 4 Zones Temperature & Humidity Station. Here are the features we like:
- It displays temperature & humidity for 4 different zones, thanks to the wireless sensors (the sensors are weatherproof)
- It displays “Today’s High / Today’s Low” with the press of a button
- For each zone, an audible alarm can be set if a high/low is reached (customizable); what’s the point? We use the alarm for two of the four zones: 1- For the fridge (if temp gets too high, for any reason) 2- For the water plumbing (we don’t want it to freeze and break).
Velcro Hook and Loop Self-Adhesive
We always keep some in the van! We apply it to everything (well, almost) subject to rattle: temperature station (see above), carbon monoxide alarm, decorative frame, etc. It works, and it’s surprisingly sticky on wood!
About your AcuRite 4 Zone Temperature & Humidity Station… You mention, one of the remotes is for the fridge and a second is for your water/plumbing. I’m assuming the base station is for monitoring the main living space. That leaves the more weather-resistant remote that I’m guessing is for monitoring the outdoor temp and humidity. Where did you mount that last, outdoor remote? I just received my AcuRite system and have been crawling around under the van to find the best location – out of harms way and less influenced by direct sunlight.
Thank you so much for sharing your details. The best conversion details I have read. Both exciting and intimidating:)
Have you weighed your van when fully loaded? Just curious. We are converting a Sprinter 170 extended and trying to stay under 9K fully loaded. Using Cat Scale to track weight.
We did and we noted the results here: https://faroutride.com/weight-summary/
cheers
antoine
Hi Guys!
Wondering if you ever wish you bought the 40 oz coffee gator. Seems 32 oz is a bit on the smallish side.
(I know you are going to argue storage…)
Cheers, Don
32 oz works just fine for us; we can make two teas from it. But if you have big mugs, you might need 40 oz yeah.
Cheers!
Salut Isabelle et Antoine!
Je suis sur le point de commander des articles recommandés par vous chez Amazon.CA! Les liens sur votre site nous ramènent à Amazon.com aux USA.
Comment faire pour que vous puissiez toucher votre commission de référencement?
merci pour votre grande générosité
Paul
Salut et merci pour l’attention 🙂
Je crois que lorsque les produits ne sont pas disponible au Canada, les liens vous envoie automatiquement sur Amazon.com aux USA. Sinon, vous pourriez chercher pour vos produits sur Amazon.ca en en passant par ce lien: https://amzn.to/2Xyzq7I
Merci et bonne conversion!
antoine