A road trip in a campervan: our tips before you set off

Renting a campervan

Before you dive in and buy a campervan, we recommend testing vanlife by first renting a vehicle. There are no lack of specialised sites and you can also rent from a private owner or from a professional rental company.

To do lists

Vehicle check up

Before setting off: check your vehicle (oil, coolant, windscreen washer, tyre pressure) and the kitchen and toilet facilities (water, gas, electricity).

Morning check list

Every morning: remove the levelling wheel wedges, close the roof, make sure the rear curtain is open for visibility when driving, the fridge door is properly locked and that the cooking utensils are put away or firmly attached.

What to pack

Levelling wedges (nothing can be worse than sleeping with your head lower than your feet!), gas bottle, water supplies, cigar lighter converter to charge your mobile phone, sleeping bags and pillows, cutlery, crockery, saucepans, lighter (or matches, but beware of wind), electric freezer box if the campervan doesn’t have a fridge, toilet paper and dustbin bags (so you don’t leave anything behind you), first-aid kit, headlamp, Swiss knife, tool kit and a spade to dig yourself out of sand or mud.

Leisure activity gear

Stand-up paddle or inflatable kayak, bicycle(s) on a rack, hammock or deckchairs, awning or parasol, warm clothes for cold nights and your favourite road trip playlist.

How much will it cost?

To get an idea of the budget involved, we asked our camper vanlife mates from Des fenêtres sur le monde who have been on the road for four years. This is what they said: “The budget is perhaps the trickiest point because there are so many different ways to travel in a campervan. It all depends on your lifestyle and pace of travel, without forgetting where you’re going and who you are travelling with (alone, couple, family), your leisure activities and your vehicle’s fuel consumption, etc.
In general, however, your budget can be broken down as follows: 33% fuel, 33% food and 33% leisure activities. If you’re more of a restaurant goer than a sandwich in the van type, then the food budget will be higher. Similarly, if you prefer 5-star campsites to camping wild, then your leisure budget will be higher. So, your budget will depend on how you plan your road trip.
Oh! one more thing: don’t forget to keep something aside for “mechanical glitches” on the road! We hope you won’t have to use it, but better safe than sorry!”