Packing our motorhome - part one

The video is a quick tour around our current motorhome, a Bailey Alliance SE. We’ve set it up as if we were heading off as a family, that’s Bex, myself and our two boys aged six and four.

It briefly shows how things are laid out and offers some top tips for those heading off on family adventures.

A summary of the tips and remarks are below:

• Organise the cab to make sure things you’ll need on your road trip are to hand (e.g. passports, wallet, water, coffee, sunglasses)

• Bluetooth Headphones are a great idea to allow the driver to continue to listen to music, podcast or audiobooks when the rest of the family has dozed off.

• It’s worth planning ahead and downloading content like music, books or TV and films for the kids before you leave home. This saves on network charges, especially abroad.

• Keep snacks close at hand in the cab to pass to the kids on longer road trips. Ideally food and drinks that can be passed or thrown back to them and opened/peeled by the kids without the need for the adult passenger getting out of their seat whilst moving. Choose food and drinks that’s easy to clean if spilled.

• Keep some wet wipes (the biodegradable type) everywhere. We’ve normally got some stashed in the cab, kitchen, toilet and dining area. Little people can make big messes.

• Car seats are bulky and unnecessary once you’ve arrived at the campsite, so we drop both of ours into a big, robust dry bag and stash it under the motorhome.

• Think about making things accessible when you need them. So, the kids’ clothing in the cupboard over their bed and likewise ours is above our beds.

• I use little cardboard boxes to further organise cupboards.

• Bex has a list for jobs to be completed on arrival and departure to ensure nothing gets missed (e.g. turning gas on/off)

• Don’t take more than you need. We take four plates, bowls, spoons, cups etc. That way you’re not wasting cupboard space on stuff you don’t need (and it forces you to stay organised and do the washing up).

• Bex’s likes to take a little vase and get some local flowers when we arrive. It genuinely brightens the place up and makes it feel more homely.

• We use a whistling kettle on the gas cooker rather than an electric one. So, after we’ve poured out the hot water we stick it outside so little fingers won’t touch or spill it.

• The boys sleep in the double bed that is created from the dining seats and table. During the day they use our single beds as sofa so we have blankets to throw over the beds to stop dirty hands and feet from getting over our duvets and pillows.

• Items that you’ll only ever need outside (deck chairs, barbeques, windbreak etc) sore them in the spaces accessible from the outside.

• We have a clothes airer that can hang in the shower or on the outside of the motorhome depending on the weather.

• A big IKEA bag is a surprisingly useful item, e.g. for throwing stuff into to visit the pool or beach or for carrying laundry.

• We have a plastic box with a lid by the door to keep our wellies or muddy boots in to keep them out of the living area. It’s just the right height so we can close the lid and slip it under the motorhome if the rain comes on. Keeping the wellies dry but out of the motorhome.

• Finally, we keep our ‘going out’ kit (gloves, hats, scarfs, hand-gel, face-masks) on the shelf by the door so you always know where they are and are reminded to take them on your way out.