Outdoors

Everything that comes out once the handbrake's on

Ramps, grip mats, the waste system, the Cadac with a quick-release fitting, chairs, fire pit and the umbrella with two jobs.

Odd stories first. The golf umbrella has a second job as a distance marker when driving up levelling ramps alone: plant it where the wheel needs to stop, watch it through the windscreen (video here). The bike rack on the van is a motorised Thule Lift V16, bought second-hand because the new price is silly; the Elite G2 listed below is the fixed-rack alternative we'd buy new. The Cadac's quick-release gas coupling means the BBQ plugs into the van's external gas point in seconds. No bottle-juggling.

The water kit (flat hose reel, HEOSolution filler, Colapz collapsible waste pipes) packs into half a cupboard and covers every awkward tap and distant grey-water drain Europe has offered so far. Where those taps and drains legally are, and what a hard frost does to the network, is in water and waste on the road.

Field note

The Smidge head net costs about £4 and weighs nothing. In Highland midge season it outranks everything else on this page. Buy two; someone will borrow the first.

The ramps come out on whichever side the ground says, and knowing that before you arrive is the job of scoring a parkup for slope and tilt. The rest of the arrival routine is in the first motorhome trip checklist.

Thule Elite G2 Bicycle Carrier

£349.95 at time of listing

Cheaper fixed alternative to the motorised Lift V16

Everything that comes out once the handbrake's on

Thule Elite G2 Bicycle Carrier

Hindermann Basic Zwoo Bicycle Cover (2-3 bikes)

Milenco Quattro 3 Level Ramp Pair

Milenco 2905 Giant Mesh Grip Mat, 106cm (pack of 2)

Colapz Collapsible Waste Pipe System (4x1m)

HEOSolution 5251 Water Connector with Gardena

Clean Tabs Aqua Sol Water Treatment 300ml

10M Hose Reel with Flat Hose

Hozelock Double Male Connector (2291)

Hozelock Outdoor Tap Connector 1/2"-3/4" (2175)

Thule 307916 Omnistor Awning Hold Down Side Strap Kit

Blue Diamond POWER Pegs x20 (hard ground)

Daewoo Extension Reel, 2 Gang 5m, safety cut-out

Cadac Safari Chef 2 Pro QR BBQ

Male Inline Quick Release Gas Coupling (8mm bore)

SAMMART 5.5L Collapsible Bucket with Lid

Breathable Awning Carpet Weaveatex 2.5m x 4.5m

DOKIO 160W 18V Portable Folding Solar Panel Kit

Hi-Gear Vegas XL Deluxe Quilted Chair

Brentfords Fleece Throw Blanket 120x150cm

Smidge Midge & Mosquito-Proof Head Net

Citronella Candles 3x12oz (3-wick, 200hrs)

Portable Folding Fire Pit 42cm Stainless

Flamefast Smokeless Instant Lighting Fire Logs (12)

ACEIken Golf Umbrella 62" Windproof

Which end to point uphill, written down