Twelve months ago, we took delivery of our third caravan. This new van is our full-time home so you can imagine it has a lot of creature comforts, many of which we have fitted as a result of our experiences with our previous vans. I’d like to think after all this time we have figured out what works and what doesn’t and that we have got the mix right this time around.
So when I was asked by GoRV managing editor Max Taylor to write a yarn about my three favourite accessories in our caravan, I really had to put my thinking cap on to come up with a final list. After careful consideration, I reckon these three bits of kit are the ones that make the most significant improvement to life in our caravan.
SIROCCO II 12V FANS
We love free-camping and we do it as often as we can. But, if we are chasing warmer weather, it’s nice to be able to keep the temperatures inside the van at a comfortable level. All it takes is to have some air-circulating at night to ensure we have a comfortable sleep.
There are many fans available on the market but none are quite as effective as the Sirocco II 12V fans we have in our caravan.
They have a number of advantages. First, they can be aimed in almost any direction to ensure the air is directed where it is needed. They have three speeds so we can always find a comfortable setting no matter the conditions. The timer function allows us to have the fans going for part of the night before they automatically turn themselves off.
Another important feature of the Sirocco II fans is that they are very quiet. My wife is a very light sleeper and she hasn’t been woken up by them yet.
The biggest advantage of the Sirocco II fans is their very low power consumption. Even on the highest fan speed setting, they draw less than 0.5A each. I find that quite remarkable. It means we can turn on all three of our Sirocco II fans, run them all night, and barely put a dent in our batteries’ state of charge.
New for 2023: Sirocco II now comes with an extended 3-Year warranty, including for the Fans already being in the field.
Find your nearest stockist: www.siroccoii.au
DUAL COLOUR LED STRIP LIGHTS
Just about every modern caravan will come fitted with internal LED lighting. These lights are extremely energy-efficient, come in a wide range of shapes and sizes, and the bright white light they emit effectively turns night into day inside the van. They really are brilliant, excuse the pun.
There is one huge problem with these white lights: they attract bugs to the caravan like Las Vegas attracts gamblers to the middle of the desert.
I’ve researched this problem and all evidence points to the type of light these LEDs emit. Bugs are attracted to light at the blue end of the spectrum. It is why bug zappers use UV light to attract insects to their demise.
Light from the red end of the spectrum is far less attractive to bugs, which is why you see amber lights used outdoors in tropical areas of Australia. It makes sense to use amber-coloured lights in our caravans if we want to reduce the number of bugs coming inside.
We fitted dual-colour LED light strips to all the living areas inside our caravan. We purchased ours from Drifta Camping and 4WD but there are a few other companies selling much the same products. These feature a common power source and individual switches for each colour, so you can replace the existing single-colour LED light strips in your caravan very easily. They are durable, slimline and weatherproof, so they can be fitted outdoors if necessary. They are available in three different lengths and provide excellent output.
In a test I conducted, they reduced the number of bugs coming into our van by around 95 per cent. The effect is that dramatic.
More info: www.drifta.com.au
COWFISH VANCONNECT WIFI 4G 12V ROUTER
Let’s be honest. No matter how much we want to get away from it all, not having access to the internet is not a part of that. We need to stay connected to the internet for so many reasons, not least of which is to share our adventures with those back home. But as a lot of other travellers have discovered, getting good access to the internet while away can be a real challenge.
We live in our caravan so we have a very high data need. This includes smart TVs, a mobile office for work, several smart devices and a security camera. Then there are the network-connected devices within the van itself, such as the battery management system and even the hi-fi stereo system. We needed a good, high-performance router.
We bought a VanConnect WiFi Router from Cowfish Technologies and I have to say we’ve been very impressed with its capabilities.
The VanConnect router is a 4G modem that incorporates LTE-ADVANCED technology for download speeds of up to 300mbps. It came supplied with an external antenna but we have found the standard internal antennas work perfectly well for our needs.
The wi-fi performance is also very good, with more than sufficient range for all of our devices around the caravan and beyond. It has both 5ghz and 2.5ghz wi-fi networks, so it’s compatible with both old and new devices.
Connectivity is also impressive. You can easily connect an external storage device, such as a portable hard drive, with all of your downloaded media and, with the installation of a small app, access those files from your smart devices, such as phones, tablets and smart TVs – brilliant for those times when the internet is not available.
What I really appreciate about the VanConnect router is the simplicity of configuring and running the unit, thanks to the excellent documentation provided. All necessary functions are explained in great detail and easy to understand language. And if you find yourself with some technical difficulties, the support from Cowfish Technologies is first-rate.
More info: www.cowfish.com.au
What’s your favourite caravan accessory?
Reckon you’ve got an accessory in your caravan that makes life just that bit more comfortable? Why not share it with other GoRV readers? Let us know by emailing info@gorv.com.au
