What a great idea…a campervan meet-up on a nice campsite, good weather and serious afternoon tea together! Just back from a great camping weekend in Kai, our Alphard campervan, talking campervan-geek with other vanners and eating delicious cake and scones…
I think more and more campervanners are choosing to meet-up and spend some vanning time together in all sorts of ways now. Vanlife Eats, run by Sophie & Mark, organised an afternoon tea-themed, get-together at Cotswold Camping campsite near Oxford. Around 20 campervans turned up on the Saturday afternoon to stay over for the cream tea on Sunday.
Let’s Talk Campervans
Although it was a cold night, we had bright, blue-sky days and it was nice to sit out together and eat serious cake and scones. Of course, there was plenty of time to talk vanning and have a look at each other’s campervans. Several people had converted their own vans and I am always amazed at how clever people are and the ideas they come up with.
Looking for a Rear Cover Solution
At the moment, I am looking for a rear cover solution for our Toyota Alphard van which has a tailgate. Our kitchen is at the back on a pull-out drawer under the tailgate (ingenious design by Northstar Conversions on the Isle of Wight). We also have a portable induction hob for inside when we are on hook-up. Otherwise, if we are off-grid and the weather is too bad to cook outside, we either have a sandwich or go to the pub (such hardship! Lol).
So, I am looking for an easy solution to put some sort of curtaining around the tailgate if it is windy or raining. This will also be where we can take a shower (in warmer weather, of course) with our bucket/ USB chargeable shower set).
Some of the other campervanners had done a similar thing and recommended shower curtains that clamp to the tailgate. The curtains are normally weighted down with chains in the bottom but one of the vanners had used 2p coins and that worked really well.
In Love with Magnetic Hooks
I was trying to think of an easy attachment solution for Kai and, at the moment, I am in love with magnetic hooks. These are really powerful, and I use one attached to the back of the van when I am cooking to hang my rubbish bag on.
So, I have just ordered a cheap shower curtain to play with and I am going to try the magnetic hooks solution as the shower curtains have holes at the top for hooks already. I’ll let you know how it goes.
The Big Picnic
Anyway, if you get a chance to go to one of Vanlife Eats events I would really recommend it. They are running a 3-day event called The Big Picnic 2022 on 26th/27th/28th August 2022. This is a camping/foodie event with lots going on and at a reasonable price.
Check out:
Vanlife Eats: https://vanlifeeats.com/
Northstar Conversions: https://www.northstarconversions.com/
Cotswold Camping: https://www.cotswoldscamping.co.uk/