52 Caravan Hacks, Storage Ideas & Mods!

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Get your caravan organised in no time with these 52 caravan hacks, storage ideas and mods. We’re talking storage solutions, containers, towels, hooks, holders, nooks, make-up, jewellery, crockery, laundry, linen, clothing, cleaning, boxes, mats, dust proofing, DIY, BBQ ideas and more!

After living in a caravan for four years, I think I’ve finally got everything sorted. Gosh, who am I kidding?! Caravan life is a forever-changing gig. But I have tried (and failed at) so many different ways of doing things in my tiny home on wheels, right down to which bloody bin works. 

Not only does everything need to fit in, plus weigh no more than a feather, but it needs to be out of the the way and preferably not need to be packed away every time you move. 

There are a lot of boxes to tick!

So 400 bins and 168 hooks later, plus trialling 1000 different ways of doing things, this is where I landed. I hope some of these organisational hacks help to give you some ideas towards nailing your own set-up.

I’ve compiled a list of 52 caravan hacks, storage ideas and mods that worked really well for me. As always, I’m open to even better solutions, so let me know what you’ve got in the comments down the bottom!

Before just throwing everything into the van and bringing in extra weight with storage solutions, its important that you first know how to load a caravan correctly. If you’re not sure, check out the article below.

Check out these 15 caravan clothes storage tips for additional organisation.

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see our disclosures here.

52 Caravan Hacks, Storage Ideas & Mods

Shower Caddies

The first of my caravan storage ideas is one (or two) silicone shower caddies.

Everything in our shower lives permanently in the caddy, which means the shower is always travel-ready. Ours has never fallen off (even with off-road travel), making it a safe and secure way to store shower essentials. This one of my favourite caravan hacks!

These ripper suction shower caddies can hold up to 5kg and are removable, plus reusable.

Hang Kids Towels in Shower

Suction hooks in the shower are another one of our caravan storage ideas, perfect for drying the kids’ towels out of the way (adult ones can be a bit too heavy once wet). 

We just take the towels out and hang them over the bunk ladder while we’re all showering. Tesalate towels and other microfibre brands are great at drying really quickly.

These silicone waterproof hooks are brilliant as they can hold up to 2kg and you can move them around as needed.

Screw-in Hooks for Adult Towels

We quickly got fed-up with the towel rail in the hallway (across from the kids bunks). So we removed the rail and wow, it opened up the hallway space so much!

Sticky hooks however are definitely not strong enough to hold an adult towel, so we screwed in two metal hooks to the wall between the shower cubical and the toilet. That way they’re out of the way, but still easily accessible.

Get a pack of handy screw-in hooks (eBay).

Shower Door Magnets

How annoying is it when you’re parked on an angle and the shower door keeps sliding open! Just attach heavy duty magnets to the door and the door frame and you’ll never have to worry about it again. 

An added bonus is that if you do forget to clip the door back for travel, the magnets will catch the door, rather than it banging open and closed the whole time.

Get yourself a roll of magnetic strip with adhesive backing.

Sticky Hooks

Sticky hooks are one of the greatest caravan hacks because they can be used for so many things!

• Keys
• Cleaning cloths
• Jewellery
• Belts
• Hats
• Sunnies
• Towels
• Bathroom stuff
• Cooking utensils
• Bits & bobs… the list goes on!

Get a pack of super strong adhesive hooks and spot them around the caravan in order to hang anything light and keep the benches clear. Think about the bathroom, entry door, above the beds, kitchen and dinette seating.

Collapsible Laundry Bag

In the beginning we had a plastic washing basket that lived in the shower for our dirty washing. But, moving it in and out when showering (and having nowhere to put it that was out of the way), grew old pretty quickly. 

I picked up this large fabric laundry bag, which slots in beside the toilet just perfectly. Plus it’s light as a feather! When not in use, you can always fold it away and tuck it under the bed.

The foldable fabric laundry hamper is one of the more practical caravan storage ideas for your dirty washing. Here’s the full guide to doing laundry on the road for more tips.

Wall-mounted Toilet Brush Holder

We attached a toilet brush holder that attaches to the wall behind the toilet. It’s totally out of the way, but easily accessible. An added bonus idea that we’ve found is that the handle holds two toilet rolls perfectly. 

You know how annoying it is when you arrive at your destination only to find a whole roll of loo paper unravelled on the bathroom floor? Yep, you forgot to remove the toilet roll from the holder before travel! Well no more of those worries when you store the loo paper on the toilet brush handle.

With this particular one of our caravan storage ideas, the toilet paper has never unravelled!

Get a wall-mounted toilet brush holder/ toilet roll holder like ours below.

Damp Cloths for Kids

We hang a damp antibacterial cloth for each of the kids on the toilet roll holder when we need to conserve water. That way they can wipe their hands and feet during the day without draining the tanks.

An alternative is to have a container or bucket outside with a bit of water and a washer in it for the kids. That way they can clean up without running the tanks empty at the tap and dirtying up the floors inside the caravan.

Grab a couple of antibacterial washcloths – a different colour for each family member.

Holders for Everything!

I prefer to work smarter, not harder, which means I don’t like having to pack everything away every time we move to a different location. There’s enough to do as it is without worry about putting the soap away. So, I declare, holders for everything! 

The toothbrushes, soap and hand towel all have permanent spots, which also keeps the ensuite fully functional when we stop on the side of the road for lunch and need to use the loo or wash our hands.

Bathroom organisers are an absolutely essential addition to the caravan hacks list – get all the rails, racks, hooks and holders you need.

Make Up/ Toiletry Bag

Even though we’ve got the ensuite onboard, I still store all of my make up and body products in a toiletry bag. It’s so much easier to grab it all out in one bag when I want to use my lotions and potions. 

It may sound super obvious, but it’s the easiest way to pop all of your items away in the cupboard to store while travelling. Caravan life is pretty minimalistic, so we don’t tend to have too much stuff anyway.

Jewellery Hanger

I was stumped for so long as to how I could display my jewellery and accessories. I like to have them all laid out so I can see what I’ve got, otherwise I won’t use them. 

I found this nifty singlet/ belt hanger in an Op Shop before we’d even moved into our caravan, but I just knew it’d be handy. So, it now hangs against the bathroom wall with all of my pretties on it. However, I know this isn’t always practical for when the caravan is moving. So, I just lay it on the bottom bunk for travel days, particularly if we’re heading off-road. 

Another idea is to hang it in the closet against your clothing. These days you can get stylish jewellery hangers (with slots for earrings, bracelets & necklaces) that will hang nicely in your bathroom. There are also coat-hanger style jewellery hangers that can be stored in your wardrobe.

Roll Your Linen

Next is the list of caravan storage ideas is to roll up your linen and towels. This method gives you so much more storage space in the caravan cupboard. Plus, it’s easy to just grab the roll out that you need without pulling out a whole stack.

Travellers and military folk have been using the ‘rolling’ technique to maximise packing space for years.

Add a Clothing Nook

When we lifted the bottom bunk to access the under-bed storage, we noticed a large space above the drawer that was empty, yet could be useable. So, we added a shelf and it has effectively doubled Dom’s clothing storage from just one drawer to two!

Think outside of the box to find extra valuable space for your caravan mods. However, you always have to keep weight in mind when adding extra storage and items to your caravan.

Storage Pockets

When we bought our van, the top bunk had a storage pocket, but the bottom one didn’t because it converted into a dinette. So, we definitely needed to invest in a second storage pocket so that both kids could store their special items out of the way.

There are a range of storage buddies and pockets from Navigator, so you can mix and match what works for you and your space. You can also get all sorts of bed storage pockets on eBay, so you’re sure to find one that will do the job for you.

Storage Cubes

Our next caravan hack idea is to keep the under bed storage area organised with lightweight, fabric boxes. They are especially handy under the kids’ bunk for toys and helmets. Plus, the kids are more likely to use what they’ve got if they can actually see it.

Add some storage cubes to your caravan storage ideas list.

Shoe Box/ Basket

A thrifted basket pushed under the foot of our bed (which is just inside the door), is our shoe dumping ground and storage area. It’s especially handy when we’re on the move and can’t leave shoes outside the door.

There are a variety of of storage box styles around, it’s just a matter of finding what will work best with your space.

Add Shelves

If you want more cabinet space, then adding shelves without a doubt is the best way to do it. 

Not everyone is a fan of hanging their clothes and to be honest, you don’t fit as much in when you hang it all up. Being able to stack or roll your clothing is much better use of the space, if space is what you’re looking for.

Have a look through your cupboards to see where you might be able to add extra shelves to help maximise the usage of space. We added two extra shelves to a clothing closet to help sort the shorts from the shirts.

Change The Hanging Rail

If you’re like me and you do like to have hanging space, take out the hanging bar with the dedicated hanger slots and replace it with a normal hanging rail. That way you can fit twice the amount of hangers on it.

Get yourself an extendable hanging rail so that you can customise it to fit any sized closet. For more closet ideas, here are 10+ caravan clothes storage tips.

12 Volt Fans

We’ve installed one 12 volt Sirocco fan per person in our caravan. The Sirocco brand have the best reputation, but there are others on the market that also do a good job. With the Sirocco ones you have three different speed settings, plus you can also set a timer for it to automatically turn off during the night if you wish.

These little babies are worth their weight in gold for keeping the van cool in summer! An essential hack for caravan, camper trailer and motorhome travel. Order yourself some Sirocco fans, you can thank me later.

12 Volt Smart TV

Let’s face it, you can’t always get very good TV reception in a caravan (some people seem to be luckier than others), so it’s nice to have the option of Netflix if you’re in Wi-Fi range. Ours was an NCE 24″ 12 volt Smart TV.

To be honest, we don’t love it. After less than two years, most of the Apps became useless and wouldn’t update, so it became obsolete very quickly. Luckily there are more options on the market these days.

Diesel Heater

Installing a diesel heater underneath your bed or dinette seating is the best caravan mod for winter camping.

You can pick one up for about $150 off eBay and install it yourself if you’re handy with tools. They also come with a timer and handy remote, so that you don’t even have to get out of bed on a frosty morning to switch it on!

Inverter Power Board

We connected a power board to our inverter and attached it permanently to the wall under the dinette seat for ease of use when we are using 12-volt power. This is mainly used for charging the laptop and power tool batteries.

Make sure to get yourself a Surge Protected Power Board to protect your devices.

Clean with Reusable Cloths

We save heaps of space, weight and money by cleaning with reusable Norwex antibacterial cloths. It means we don’t need to buy and store disposables or bottled chemicals. 

Our cleaning products basically consist of a pile of cloths in the cupboard, which can be thrown into the wash for a clean. Many of our cloths are going on five years old and still going strong.

Here are 20+ tips for getting the caravan clean.

Microwave Storage

Who else uses the microwave as a storage box?! It’s a great, sealed storage unit, especially when you’re free camping and you’re not going to use it anyway. Making the most of every nook and cranny is what caravan and camper trailer hacks are all about.

Caravan Packing List

Never forget a thing with the ULTIMATE Caravan Packing List!

• Pre-filled with 600+ items
• 17 categories
• ‘Weight’ column (to organise payload)
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• Download once, use it over-and-over

Caravan Packing List

Griller Storage

We rarely use our griller… but it does make for a great place to store baking trays and moulds! You could store baking trays in there as well.

Open Up Empty Cabinet Space

Have you got any empty cabinet space that’s been blocked off? We found this nook above the fridge and decided to open it up and add a hinged door. It’s the perfect spot for storing Tupperware.

Australia Map Wall Sticker

The next in our caravan hacks is to get one of these Australia Map Stickers for the wall inside the van or outside the caravan/ car. Marking off the places you visit and roads you travel as you go is so much fun and oh so satisfying!

The Australian Map Stickers come in two different varieties – the outdoor UV stickers and the removable fabric stickers.

Magnetic Whiteboard

We picked up this magnetic whiteboard and attached it to the empty wall space between the kitchen window and the door. It keeps all reminders, shopping lists and notes in one handy place (and off the bench!).

Rubbish Bin

The rubbish bin has been a thorn in my side the whole time we’ve been living in the caravan. I’ve tried many different bins and there was something that didn’t cut it with every single one of them.

Until I found this metal pet food tin, which is actually the perfect solution for our space.

The metal container sits out of the way on the floor under the fridge and the lid seals it closed really well, so there’s no chance of spillages on travel days. 

A piece of non-slip matting underneath the bin on the floor stops it from moving around during travel – hooray for not having to pack the bin away every time! 

It’s big enough to clip a rubbish bag to one end of the bin and leaves some room for recycling at the other end. I never thought I’d ever get so excited about a rubbish bin!

Another option is one of the handy Navigator Collapsible Bins, which are available in small (40cm high) or large (60cm high). For more bin ideas, check out the full list of caravan and camping bins.

Pantry Organisers

Contain smaller items in your cupboards (especially condiments and spices) in boxes or containers to keep your cupboards from being turned upside down when you’re on the move. Containers also help to keep the space organised so you can easily see and access everything really quickly.

Get a set of pantry organisers to keep your storage tidy and accessible, or just use whatever various boxes and containers you’ve already got.

Potato Box

Potato boxes are a good way to store shelf veggies. They can be bulky, but the bottom of a kitchen cupboard or in a large drawer is a good spot if you have the space. Get a large Potato Keeper for your fruit and veg.

Empty Tissue Box (Bag Box)

An empty tissue box works well to stuff empty bags into for later use in the rubbish bin. We keep empty bread bags and other packaging that is going into landfill anyway, to use as rubbish bags. It saves the need for producing (and buying) more plastic unnecessarily.

The Cups Drawer

We each have our own insulated travel tumbler because they’re lightweight, unbreakable and work for both hot and cold drinks. Each one also has a lidded top, which means we can store drinks in the fridge without spilling the contents on travel days!

We’ve also got a few recycled jars with lids, which are stored inside stubby coolers. They’re handy to have for storing leftover odds and ends. Plus, they make great additional drinking glasses, especially when you pop in a stainless steel straw. Jars also weigh less than regular drinking glasses (yep, I actually weighed them) and are much nicer to drink from than plastic. 

A piece of non-slip matting on the bottom of your cup drawer will keep everything nice and secure while travelling.

Corelle Crockery

Corelle crockery is made from triple-layered Vitrelle glass that is chip and break resistant. They’re extremely lightweight and are much nicer to eat on than plastic.

Corelle is not overly expensive and easily accessible at both Big W (often on sale) and eBay. Pieces can be bought either in a set or separately.

Many caravanners swear by using Corelle crockery as a great caravan hack for the kitchen.

We used Corelle for years in the van and never had a single breakage. The plates and bowls were all stacked normally in the cupboard on top of some non-slip matting.

Rectangular Pantry Containers

Rectangular containers are a fantastic caravan storage idea for the pantry. They seem to be the easiest way to store kitchen ingredients and snacks. Mixing and matching both square and rectangular sizes means you can get the most out of your pantry space. 

There are heaps of brands around these days that sell these types of containers (such as Tupperware). Mine slot into an overhead cupboard quite well.

Dish Drying Mat

A fold-up dish drying mat is the best idea for doubling your drying space in seconds! I hang mine off a door handle to dry then slot it back into a drawer for storage. 

A dish drying mat is much more compact and slimline than a bulky drying rack. Even the humble tea towel will do the job.

Fry Pan Toaster

These Weber Frying Pans (with detachable handle) work brilliantly for cooking toast on the stovetop or BBQ when you’re camping off-grid. It takes no time at all, which saves on gas. 

I’m sure any stovetop fry pan will do the job, however these are the ones we’ve got and if you clean them properly and look after them, they will stay in good nick for a long time.

Once you’re done with cooking toast, just wipe them out with a damp cloth and pack it away. No need to store a bulky toaster!

Grass Muk Mat

Having an outdoor grass Muk Mat before you step into the caravan (at the bottom of the steps) and another mat inside the caravan door (at the top of the steps) stops so much dirt, dust and sand from hitting the floor. Because we all know how good kids are at wiping their feet… right?

Keep the sand, outback dust and campsite dirt outside with a grass Muk Mat. They come in a variety of sizes to suit your entryways (inside and out), as well as the internal caravan step.

Marine Carpet Mats

For an easy DIY caravan entry mat, head to Bunnings, buy a piece of marine carpet and cut out a piece to fit your caravan steps. We’ve got one for the step inside the door and one for the pull-out step (with velcro underneath). 

They are really easy to shake out or hose off if need be and again, stop a lot of dirt in its tracks. Plus, they keep your entry step carpet nice and clean underneath.

Annex Matting

This caravan hack idea might seem a little obvious, but it is an absolute must. 

Get the biggest annex matting that you can and make sure it fits the whole length of your awning. You’ll thank me when you pull up to a dusty bush camp with not a blade of grass in sight (but plenty of prickles)!

Find the correct sized annex matting below to suit your set-up.

Permanent Awning Clothesline

Adding a permanent clothesline to our caravan awning arms was one of the best caravan hacks to date. The total cost for the materials was around $20 and took under an hour to install.

Check out the DIY caravan awning clothesline article for full installation instructions. Or for more inspiration, here are 12 caravan washing line ideas.

I was initially using rope on springs until we got around to installing the permanent awning clothesline. 

We were once hit with a big storm that came from nowhere and we weren’t able to pull the awning in quick enough with all of the springs being attached. So, getting around to putting up a permanent clothesline got bumped to the top of the list.

The Pegless Clothesline is also a very popular caravanning clothesline as you can hang it up between any two secure points (poles, trees, car and van etc.).

Smalls Hanger

These little clothes hangers are a great idea for hanging socks, undies and other small bits. They create more hanging space without actually taking up any extra room on your clothesline. 

Another bonus for having a smalls hanger with you while you’re travelling is the fact that they’re so portable. You can it anywhere inside the van and even chase the sun outside with it.

The stainless steel ones are great because they won’t disintegrate in the sun like the plastic versions.

To help you get the washing done on the road, here are over ten RV washing machine options.

Peg Bag/ Apron

A peg bag is one of our handy caravan storage ideas, which is much more practical to use than a container. Mine is actually a Peg Apron, handmade by my beautiful late Aunty. I’ve just tied it up like a satchel, so I can throw it across my body when I’m hanging the washing. 

Let’s face it, you can be hanging washing in all sorts of places on the road, so convenience is important!

BBQARM

One of my fave caravan hacks is the addition for our BBQ – it’s a nifty BBQARM. We were sick of having a collapsible table for our BBQ, which was taking up too much space in the tunnel boot. Plus we didn’t like the idea of giving ants direct access to the BBQ. 

Our BBQARM stays on the caravan permanently and swings away for travel. The tray easily slips off and is stored in the tunnel boot, which is much more compact than our previous setup.

You can read all about how the BBQARM works to see if it will suit your needs.

Weber BBQ as an Oven

If you don’t have an oven in your caravan, never fear, the Weber BBQ is here! Yep, a Weber can easily be used as a griller as well as an oven. By placing the Weber Trivet and Convection Tray on top of the grill plates, then closing the lid, you can use it just like a normal oven.

We’ve got two of the Weber Fry Pans with detachable handles, which fit side-by-side on the Weber Q2000. Plus we’ve got the Weber Trivet and Convection Trays, which turn the BBQ into an oven (think cakes and pizza!). 

We don’t cook directly on our Weber Grill plates, ever. It’s way too messy and hard to clean. Plus, with limited water supplies at times, I don’t want to add any unnecessary cleaning to the list. 

It’s much easier to put a fry pan or trivet in the sink (or under the outdoor tap) to wash rather than having to clean the whole BBQ.

Outdoor Cupboard

We’ve got a small in-built outdoor cupboard which is under the bunks (but only accessible from the outside). This is a great spot to store all of the ‘outdoors’ items so that they’re readily accessible.

Some outdoor hatches also have 240v and 12v power outlets, which are handy for charging devices and plugging in the 12v TV for sporting events and movies under the awning.

Outdoor Tap

Before we bought our van I thought an outdoor tap was something we’d use occasionally. How wrong was I – we use it all the time! For rinsing clothes, washing muddy shoes, rinsing very dirty dishes (it saves dirtying up the kitchen sink), the list goes on. I highly recommend including an outdoor tap in your install.

We added a stone guard to the drawbar to protect the tap from things flicking up and damaging it. The last thing you’d want is to find the tap knocked off and your whole water supply drained out.

Seal Up Your Screens

We sealed around every screen frame on the inside of the van with No More Gaps/ Silicone to stop tiny bugs from getting in, plus to further insulate the van from draughts and dust.

Dust-proofing

Another of the great caravan hacks is to dust-proof your entire van. We sealed every nook and cranny we could find outside and underneath the van to stop the dust from finding its way in. 

After travelling through the outback, the only place we found dust inside was behind the washing machine. There’s obviously a spot down there that we missed!

Fly Screen Vents

One of our really simple caravan hacks is to cover your vents with fly screen mesh to stop the little bugs from finding their way in. This won’t make your van 100% bug proof, but it certainly helps a lot when you’ve got the windows open at night and the lights are on inside the van.

You’ll usually find a little vent above the door. Take off the frame and attach a small piece of the fly screen mesh inside, then reattach the frame. Easy as!

Single Grey Water Outlet

We added a permanent grey water outlet for the hoses. Now it’s one simple, single hose that we connect when we pull up, instead of three individual ones. 

Once you’ve got all of your bits lined up correctly, glue the pieces together with PVC Pipe Glue. We then spray painted ours all black to match in with our other hoses.

Insulate Pipes

And for the final idea in our caravan hacks and mods post… insulate all of your pipes underneath the caravan.

We covered all of our pipes with Air-Conditioning Pipe Insulation. The insulation stops the pipes from perishing from the glare off the road, which can cause damage over time. Plus, it also protects the pipes from being hit with sticks and rocks, putting them at risk of springing a leak.

This modification is time consuming, but worth it in the long run.

Bonus Caravan Hacks

Air Conditioning for Caravans

Let’s face it, Australia is hot. Gone are the days where camping is all about being uncomfortable for the sake of ‘camping.’ 

These days most caravans come with built-in Air Conditioners, but many of the older vans don’t. Here’s a great article on the Best Air Conditioners you can easily add in to your Caravan or Camper. 

Magnetic Spice Rack Wall

If you’re looking for a great caravan storage solution for your spices, creating a magnetic wall is a great idea. Have a look at RV Inspiration’s Magnetic Spice Storage Wall to find out how to make your own.

What are your best caravan storage ideas, hacks and modifications?  Share them with us in the comments below. 👇

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