Essential Upgrades for Your Caravan

If you’re a fan of camping and freedom while travelling, you’re probably a caravan owner. What’s there not to love? Your home is on the move, you can carry everything with you, and you’re free to go anywhere you like. As proof, their popularity is undeniable in Australia, with people visiting the beautiful remote beaches and mountains here with no restriction. 
However, caravans do have their limitations. They don’t come equipped with everything, so you might find yourself in situations where you’ll be stuck. Furthermore, you need to know how to use them in nature to make sure everything works properly. Also, like any other vehicle, anything can happen to them. As such, if you want to feel safe and confident with your caravan, it’s best if you get extra accessories. A great example of such accessories are towing mirrors, which are of great help. But there are other caravan accessories that can make your travels more pleasant, like caravan ladders, for example.

Ladders – Versatile Pieces of Caravanning Equipment

If it’s an essential tool at home, why not also have one for the road? There are many different uses for the one you have at home, so it only makes sense that there might be a few different uses for it on the road. Imagine being left without your ladder at home, unable to reach higher surfaces safely. Well, it’s the same when you’re on the road – caravan ladders can save you from a lot of stress. But, what are the uses for them on the road? And what type of ladder do you need?

Features to Look for in Campervan Ladders

First and foremost, you should ensure that you can easily store and transport the ladder. A fully extended ladder takes up a lot of space, and while that’s okay at home, you don’t want that on the road. If you don’t want a ladder to take up half of your storage space, you should get a foldable one with an adjustable height. Therefore, instead of carrying around a ladder that’s close to three meters tall, you can get one that’s the size of a small suitcase.
Adjustable height is the other crucial factor to keep into consideration when choosing a camper ladder. When camping with a caravan, you’ll need to use it both inside and outside for different tasks and heights. An adjustable ladder can save a lot of time, and you’ll be ready for any circumstances. 

Common Uses of Caravan Ladders

There are many situations where caravan ladders can make a difference. If you’re travelling with kids, rather than having to help them every time they need something, they can help themselves by using the ladder. Of course, this doesn’t mean that they should be unsupervised, as anything can happen with children. Using the sink, reaching cupboards or the bed will no longer be a mission, they can now reach them safely by themselves. 
On the other hand, a caravan can get dirty, especially the roof. You might be able to protect it while in storage with the help of covers, but it’s still going to get messy when travelling. And while some caravans come with built-in ladders for roof access, some don’t. Lastly, folding ladders for caravans are helpful around the campsite for tasks like adding an awning or general modifications in your immediate area.

Levelling Your Caravan

A caravan isn’t just a means to an end. It’s not so simple as just driving it somewhere and not having a care in the world once you set up camp. You’ll face plenty of uneven surfaces for your caravan, so you need to make sure that it’s evenly-levelled . There are plenty of reasons to do this, and there’s equipment specifically designed for this purpose. 

Reasons to Level Your Caravan

There are two main reasons why you don’t want your caravan to be uneven. The first one is personal comfort, while the second one is safety. It’s natural for us to dislike when something seems off. Thereby, if you don’t want to be irritated, you need to level it. Meanwhile, from a technical point, your equipment might not work properly if the electronics aren’t connected well. Having devices that make your trip more enjoyable is great and all, but it’s pointless if they don’t work properly or get damaged from falling off.

Equipment and How to Level

Although it may seem complicated at first, levelling your caravan is pretty simple. You must level it left to right, then front to back. For left to right levelling, you need specific equipment which must match the dimensions of your caravan. If you get even one piece that doesn’t match, it’ll be pointless. And you’ll need a leveller and a chock. 
Before I go on, you should make certain that the levellers you buy are both UV and water-resistant. The best material for this is polyethylene as it’s lightweight and durable. Then, you need to check if your caravan is single-axle or double-axle. Depending on the number of wheels your caravan has, you’ll need a different type of leveller. Also, the levelling should be done with at least two people. One should be inside the caravan controlling it, while the other checks if it’s levelled and monitors the positioning of the equipment.
All levellers have what is called a step. The step is the height at which your caravan is positioned. Never reverse on levellers. If you do so, the overrun could kick in. Always drive forward and then put in the chocks for extra stability and safety, don’t just depend on the hand brake. 
Front-to-back levelling is much easier. All you need is a jockey wheel and jockey wheel sink pad. You use the first to level the caravan and the second to guarantee that the wheel doesn’t sink in unstable surfaces like sand. You don’t want to put in all the effort just for it to go to waste. 
Lastly, you’ll need a spirit level. You can’t count on intuition to know whether your caravan is levelled or not. A spirit level is cheap, and it can be a huge help throughout the process. You can even use it at the beginning to see which side is more crooked and move it around to see the right position. But, there isn’t just one position that works for measuring with a spirit level. Sometimes, you might have to put it on the floor, while other times on the doorframe, etc.

GPS Tracking

You might do everything to guarantee a fun travelling experience, but a caravan isn’t safe from everything and anything. Like any other vehicle, it’s susceptible to theft. If you’re worried about this, then an iDrive LiveTrack GPS is your best choice. This device also gives you the benefit of accurate real-time tracking, which can change everything if someone steals your caravan. Plus, these trackers are compact and small with no antennas, so you can hide them anywhere and be sure that no one will find them. 
But, in case you’re afraid of someone robbing you, the Drive LiveTracker comes with an integrated Geo-Fence system and a G-Shock sensor. You use the Geo-Fence by setting up a virtual boundary around your tracker. If your vehicle moves outside of it, you’ll immediately get a notification. Meanwhile, the G-Shock sensor detects any vibrations in and around the tracker. If something’s up, you’ll get an alert promptly.