Maximise your space

Caravanners are an inventive bunch, always coming up with ingenious ideas to solve everyday caravanning problems. Indeed, one of our readers even set up a Facebook page called Caravanning Clever Ideas, which allows visitors to share solutions.

It’s been so successful, its creator has published a book of the same title, packed with ideas to make your touring life easier.

The book provides suggestions about everything from hitching up to lighting, and here we’ve picked out a few storage tips you might find useful on your next trip.

Wardrobes Hanging dividers can be trimmed in length to suit the depth of a wardrobe and are useful for storing smaller items, leaving drawers free for other things. To prevent hanging clothes from falling off hangers while in transit, use an elastic band to keep them in place. You can also use ring pulls to hang more clothing from.

Awnings Hanging shoe store organisers can be used for all sorts of items, including shoes, and can be hung in awnings to leave space free in your caravan.

They are also low cost and easy to source online and on the high street.

Although there is less space in the caravan for shoes, a simple bracket makes a quick and easy solution for one or two essential pairs.

Segmented cases

Plastic cases with lots of sections of different sizes are a neat way of keeping tools, fuses or batteries ready to hand. This is also the ideal place to keep useful items, such as tape, screws and glue.

Caravanning Clever Ideas by Kurt Varley costs £12.99 and is available to buy at tinyurl.com/mryac7z3

Prepare

First, make sure you park with enough space to walk all the way around your van. Better still, find a slanted position so the water can run off. Douse the exterior with a hose to loosen the dirt and remove the worst of moss, leaves or grit.

Clean

Apply a suitable cleaning agent to your van in large sections and work it in with a soft brush, sponge or microfibre cloth. Before it dries, rinse with water or a telescopic water-fed brush. A formula suitable for acrylic can be used on windows, too. A silicone squeegee works on the body, but use a microfibre cloth to dry the windows.

Finish

Stave off dullness with a quick wax of the caravan’s exterior. This doesn’t offer cleaning properties, but coating with a good wax will protect your paintwork and help to keep dirt at bay. Apply the wax with a soft cloth and leave for up to half an hour before gently buffing it out.

Top tip

It’s best to avoid using a pressure washer on your van, unless you can carefully control the flow speed. Too much pressure can disturb window seals and TV antennae, or damage paintwork.