We have now owned our 2020.5 Winnebago Travato GL almost a year, and we had a 2016 version of the model before that starting in 2019.
In our years of traveling in our van for both short and extended trips (including the 3 months cross country trip we just competed), we’ve collected a bunch of accessories that make small living easier.
In this post, filmed along the gorgeous banks of Lake Venango in Kansas last month as we headed westward – we share the RV accessories that continue to make the cut in our small van space.
Some of this stuff is also applicable to any RV – and we use them also in our bus and boat.
It’s amazing how much stuff can fit in a van, and it not feel cluttered at all.
First, the video:
None of this gear is sponsored, we purchased it all ourselves. Only links to Amazon are affiliate links which earn us a little ka-ching if you purchase off of them (thank you!). The rest – are just normal ole non-affiliate links, and we have no association with any of the products or companies.
Below is an embed of our blogroll listing all of our gear in the van – taken from our Gear Center.
Much of this gear is highlighted in the video above, where you can learn more about how these items fit in our van travels. These links might change over time from the video as we update the gear we travel with. It’s also presented randomized, so if you click back later – it might not be in the same order.
Van Stuff
Vanmade Gear Front Window Shades
We had a set of these made (olive inside, marine reflective outside) for our side door shades – so much better than the stock Travato shades.
Amazon.com: Bellemain Spice Gripper Clip Strips
We use these on the inside of the van’s pantry/wardrobe cabinet to store spices.
Amazon.com: Kamenstein Perfect Tear Paper Towel Holder
Mounted this with over the kitchen sink of the Travato – it’s great, except the cat thinks it’s a special toy for her to play with.
Flat-Jack Air Tire Levelers
VANLIFE Outfitters is the US distributors of these innovative inflatable bags for leveling a van. We purchased a set in the beginning of 2021 along with a battery inflator, and have ditched our leveling blocks. Pricey, but very convenient.
Amazon.com: Headrest Hooks
With the driver and passenger seats spun around while parked, these hooks provide extra organization in the front of the van. Great for hanging jackets, bags, etc.
Amazon.com: Hanging Roll-Up Organizer
We organize a bunch of ‘stuff’ in this bag – rolled up it fits perfectly in the Travato’s medicine cabinet. Each compartment is also removable.
Amazon.com : CGEAR Sand-Free Outdoor Camping Mat
The Small size is perfect for the van entry mat – folds up super small.
Amazon.com: Suction Cup Shower Caddy Storage Basket
These vacuum suction cup caddy and hooks stick to the walls of the Travato bathroom, and hold up incredibly well to road life.
Amazon.com: Camping Lightweight Hammock
This hammock is similar to the one we picked up at Costco – stuffs in a bag for easy storage, and actually quite comfy.
Amazon.com: Thermacell Portable Mosquito Repeller
AAAAH… mosquitos!! We love our Termacell so we can sit out doors enjoying an evening cocktail at sunset without losing all our blood.
e-JOE EPIK Swan Step E-Bikes
We replaced our 2015 E-Joe Epic SE’s with a pair of these in February 2021 – and we’re loving them! We move them from van and our boat.
Amazon.com: Thetford StorMate Broom
This broom’s handle telescopes and the broom part collapses. Great for small spaces like a van.
Amazon.com: Magnetic Fast Charging for iPhone & Watch
We have several of these scattered around the van & bus & boat for charging our phones and watches.
Amazon.com: Water Pressure Regulator
We use this with our bus and van to regulate the water pressure coming into our water systems.
Amazon.com: Cartman Collapsible Traffic Cone
Super handy for marking your site occupied if you leave, or holding a space, or for emergencies. They pack up small too!
Amazon.com: Kenwood Excelon DMX957XR CarPlay
We replaced the head unit in our 2020.5 Travato with this one – wireless Car Play ROCKS! (We got our kit at Crutchfield)
Amazon.com: Stainless Wine Glasses
Perfect wine glasses for outdoor use!
Amazon.com : Magnifying Makeup Mirror with Light
We use this mirror in the Travato’s bathroom – it helps with the limited lighting and awkward mirror placement.
Amazon.com: First Aid Kit
First aid kit we keep on all of our RVs and boat.
Amazon.com: SSR-313-54 Yellow SumoSprings
SumoSprings for the rear of the Dodge ProMaster – helps improve the ride! (Added to our 2016 Travato, standard on our 2020.5)
Amazon.com: USB Rechargeable Tactical Flashlight
We love these small flashlights – USB rechargeable (port built right in – nothing to lose), super bright, multiple modes and magnetic!
Amazon.com: SkyGenius Battery Operated Clip On Oscillating Fan
We have several of these battery/USB powered fans in the van and boat – great for extra air flow, and easily clips wherever we need them.
Amazon.com: TastePure RV/Marine Water Filter
We use one of these at the water source side to pre-filter water coming into our van, bus or boat (and have internal water filters too).
Amazon.com: AboveTEK Tablet Stand
For holding our iPads for watching movies or video conferencing. Perfect height, adjustable and can hang from things.
AmazonBasics Premium Wall Mount
We replaced the TV mount with this so we can use our screen as a monitor over the table, or watch TV from bed.
Collapsable Drinking Water Hoses
We carry a couple of these with us in the van, bus and boat. In the van, the 25′ version fits nicely in the waste hose compartment (instead of the waste hose).
Amazon.com: Oxygenics Shower Head
This water saving shower head is fantastic combing air with water to feel full pressure. We’ve had them forever!
Amazon.com: Natural Latex Mattress Topper
Ordered this in queen size and trimmed to fit the Travato 59G/GL mattress. Greatly improves the comfort, and bed still folds up without splitting the topper.
Amazon.com: CSS-1195 Coil SumoSprings
The SumoSprings for the front of the Dodge ProMaster Van – helps improve the ride! (Added to our 2016 Travato, standard on our 2020.5)
Amazon.com: Magnetic Phone Car Charger
We clip this to the AC vent fan to hold/charge one of our iPhones while driving.
Amazon.com – BLACK DECKER Pivot Vacuum
This rechargeable vacuum SUCKS! Very compact and awesome. We got it for the Travato, but it always ends up coming with us as move between the boat and bus too.
Amazon.com: 3Qt Instant Pot
Perfect size for fitting in the cabinet under the sink of the Travato, and allows us to create one-pot meals.
Amazon.com: Collapsible Water Carrier
We keep these on board our RVs and boat so we can ferry fresh water out to our boondocking or anchored location. Super handy!
Amazon.com: Cork Pops Legacy Wine Bottle Opener
We love this wine bottle opener. It uses compressed air to pop the cork right out. Quick, easy and quite snazzy!
Amazon.com: Coleman Fold N Go Propane Grill
We love this little grill.. super small, super efficient (and pretty cute!) Great for the small space of a van.
Rocky Mounts BackStage
We love this bike rack for our van – it swings out of the way so that our back doors can be opened, and is strong enough to hold two eBikes.
Airvent Cab Window Inserts
These inserts easily install and create airflow in the front cab while parked.
Amazon.com: YueYue Storage Boxes
3 of these fit nicely in the ‘pizza oven’ overhead storage area of the van. We organize extra dry food, paperwork and tech in these without extra clutter.
Amazon.com: Camco Bamboo Folding Table
Perfectly stows standing on its side under the Travato 59G bed. It has two heights – coffee table or dining table, so perfect for when there’s no picnic table.
Amazon.com : STRONGBACK Elite Folding Camping Chair
We bought our first set in 2018, and they lasted just over a year (being stored mostly inside our boat). They were replaced under warranty in mid-2020, but a year later already showing rust and wear when mostly stored inside the van.
Amazon.com: Happy Camper Holding Tank Treatment
We’ve used this organic powdered holding tank treatment for years – it works fantastically! No black or grey tank odors.
Amazon.com: RV Surge Protector – 30 Amp
We never plug into shore power without this – it lets us know if there’s a fault, and provides protection against surges.
Amazon.com: Magnet Hooks
We use a pair of these to attach a basic shower curtain to the back doors of the van to create a private outdoor shower area. No bar needed!
Amazon.com: Vintorio Wine Aerator
We carry these aerators to make our wines taste even better!
Amazon.com: Luci Lux – Inflatable Solar Light
These solar powered inflatable lights are great for ambient lighting!
Amazon.com: Blink XT2
We use these wireless cameras for security alerts, remote monitoring and temp alerts in all of our vessels. Operates over whatever internet connection we have going.
Amazon.com: Battery Powered USB Rechargeable Tire Inflator
We have two of these – one for carrying with our bikes, and one for inflating our Flat-Jack air levelers for the van. So handy and convenient!
You can also explore all of our RV and boat accessories – including kitchen gadgets, media, fitness & toys, technology, electrical systems and safety items on our Gear Page.
If you have RV accessories you love that you think might be a fit for our style – leave a comment and let us know (but please, no affiliate or promotional links if you’re involved with the product).
We’re always on the look-out for stuff that can enhance our mobile lifestyle.
We do plan to eventually do similar videos on the modifications to our van, our mobile internet setup and maybe our work setup. Let us know if you have other requests for content you’d like to see us create.
Barbara Brann says
Do you have your Blink mounted outside or inside your van?
Cherie Ve Ard says
We can do either as necessitated by the circumstances.
Darren D says
Now that it has been awhile, are you still fans of the flat-jacks?
Cherie Ve Ard says
Absolutely! Still use them regularly.
Jeff says
Got the Black and Decker for the RV and it works so well that we use it in the S&B house too. Got ours at Costco. It was one of those items just as you go in. I especially like it for sucking up cat litter. Out little one really gets rambunctious so it is a great tool. Don’t leave home without it!
Dakota Miller says
Great post, Cherie! My friend and I have been going on short road trips with her campervan recently. We have accumulated small accessories here and there that were life-savers during our trips. We plan on going around Colorado so I got us a compact table from Beckworth and Co. and also that same collapsible hammock you have. This has been very informative. Thanks for this!
Heidi says
So many tabs open now! 🙂
Mary says
I’ve added this valve to my shower head connection so I can turn the water all the way off when I soap up. For some reason, most wands with a turn off dribble water which I don’t want to do in my van with limited water supplies. There’s some nonsense about it being too much pressure but if that was true, then the faucet would have to dribble and it doesn’t. Been using this for years and never had a problem.
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00HSWPYIG/ref=sspa_dk_detail_4?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B00HSWPYIG&pd_rd_w=Jhv4y&pf_rd_p=54ed5474-54a8-4c7f-a88a-45f748d18166&pd_rd_wg=ZjkCt&pf_rd_r=RXA78QS5QGRVBGZQ1RFN&pd_rd_r=f65998c8-9b2c-4499-a260-3fbbc825f4d7&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFBT01QWjhMUjc1QTgmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA3Mjk2MzYxODlQSUNHVUxTUjBKJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAxNzI5MzUxRFAyOEYwRjRWVUYzJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfZGV0YWlsX3RoZW1hdGljJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==
And of course, excellent, helpful article as usual.
Mary says
This is the name of the valve: KES Shut Off Valve Brass Shower Head Valve with Handle Lever G1/2 Water Flow Control Valve Regulator Chrome, K1140B-CH
Sherry says
So happy to hear from you again. I really, really appreciate the update and a look at the things that you have found useful and how you are able to store them. You have demonstrated how Van life certainly can be very doable. I will be ordering a few of the things you have recommended and I think they could also be good holiday gifts. Love seeing Kiki relaxing on the bed.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Sherry
Denise J Craigen says
Thanks for taking the time to do this. I watched the video but am saving a link to this list to peruse “later” or when something becomes a need instead of a want.
Linda Lee Kelly says
I bought the Black and Decker vacuum when you featured it the first time. It really has strong suction and since we have just a 26′ RV, I seldom use the stick vacuum anymore. The swivel feature really helps vacuum out drawer and cabinets.
Linda Sand says
I bought a similar table from REI but mine has an aluminum top so safe for holding hot things. My collapsible traffic cones came from a truck stop which might be of interest to those not parked somewhere long enough to get an Amazon order.
Erica Hammer says
Great article and video.
Thanks for sharing things that work for you.
Will use some of the ideas with our Era 170X.
Enjoy your time back with Zephyr.