When you’re out adventuring in new and unknown territory, enjoying some time off or exploring for a living, it’s imperative to have the most functional and reliable equipment in your van. You’ve invested both time and money into a vehicle that is now your home base when you’re on the road, and it should feel exactly like that: home. When you settle in for the night and reflect on the adventures of the day, you can be proud that you didn’t cut corners in outfitting your vehicle, and that you’re always prepared for what’s next. The team at Imtra knows it’s these qualities that really count in an overland and campervan vehicle.
What Is a Campervan?
A campervan is typically a van that has been converted to provide transport and sleeping accommodations. The most common types of campervans are built on Mercedes Sprinters, Ford Transits, RAM ProMasters and the iconic VW Bus, the Transporter. During the pandemic, camping vans have increased in popularity and people are ditching their homes to live a nomadic lifestyle on the road while working remotely. It even has its own hashtag: #vanlife.
What Do You Need for a Campervan?
There’s a wide variety of campervan equipment and accessories available on the market and this will usually vary by vehicle and the space that's available. With that being said, this is what you’ll typically find in a campervan:
Sleeping Quarters
A campervan wouldn’t be a camper if there wasn’t a place to sleep. You will typically find a fold-up bed that can maximize the space when it’s not in use.
Kitchen
Don’t expect a generous amount of countertop space. These are small kitchens with basic amenities such as a compact refrigerator and a small electric cooktop to cook on.
Dining Room
Typically a small fold-out table top to maximize the space when it’s not in use.
Storage
Campervans will utilize every inch it has for storage. If there’s an area not being used, you can bet that there may be storage available in that space. People will also buy roof racks to increase storage space.
Bathroom
A typical campervan may not have a wastewater tank or a shower. This is usually considered an upgraded feature for most campervans, but there are portable toilets and gravity-fed shower solutions.
Campervan vs Motorhome vs RV: What’s the Difference?
In some cases, you could call a campervan a motorhome because they are both self-powered recreational vehicles that provide transportation with living and sleeping accommodations, but you cannot necessarily consider a motorhome a campervan. Since motorhomes are typically larger, they may be classified as Class A or Class C, while a campervan can be considered a Class B due to its smaller size. Below are other distinctions among the three vehicles.
- Campervans usually refer to vehicles that were once used as regular vans for transportation and have been converted to also provide sleeping accommodations and comfortably sleep 2-3 people depending on the size. Campervans rarely have toilets or showers on board.
- Motorhomes are generally larger vehicles and built on a longer wheelbase. Motorhomes can comfortably sleep 2-6 people depending on their size, are large enough to stand up and move about in, and have fully-equipped kitchens, living areas, showers, and toilets.
- RVs or recreational vehicles is the general term used to describe a vehicle for camping and traveling purposes. Unlike motorhomes and campervans, RVs will typically require towing from a pickup truck or towing vehicle. It is common to use the term RV interchangeably for campervans and motorhomes in North America.
What Campervan Equipment and Accessories Does Imtra Offer?
Campervan LED Lighting
With over two decades of experience manufacturing and distributing low-voltage lighting, Imtra is well-versed in LED lights built with the highest-quality materials designed to endure harsh environments and last a lifetime. With over 1,000 light fixtures available from five different European and American brands of interior and exterior LED lighting, as well as manufacturing our own, Imtra has a lighting system for any and every application. Whether you are looking for interior downlights, exterior floodlights, task lights, rope or tape lights, accent lighting, dimmable or color-changing lights, Imtra has a solution.
With high-quality dimming and switching solutions from Vimar, as well as power conditioners and converters, Imtra can provide everything you need for the entire lighting circuit in your vehicle. In addition, Vimar offers power outlets and USB chargers in a modular system that simply click into a mounting frame alongside the switches for a simple installation and clean, finished look once the decorative cover-plate is snapped into place over the frame.
Campervan Electrical Systems
Imtra also offers Victron Energy’s battery chargers, inverters, monitors and controls. Their DC-to-DC chargers allow you to charge your battery bank with ease, especially with solar power. Victron’s smart-integrated solutions also allow for easy monitoring of all the electrical demands in your vehicle. To learn more about all that Victron has to offer for the overland market, check out their video series: The Victron Van Install.
Campervan Table Pedestals
In addition to electrical systems and components, Imtra offers some equipment and hardware that is simple to install and can make life in your vehicle more convenient. NorSap offers a variety of table pedestals that are easily removable from the floor, from the table, or both. With a simple twist-lock design, the pedestal connects & disconnects easily from the base plate for stowing away when you’re not using it. Many of their pedestals are also adjustable-height, so you can easily turn a table into a bunk and vice versa. Imtra also carries folding brackets and table supports from Rakego that can help you mount a table to the wall of your vehicle and have it easily fold away when you’re not using it to open up space in the vehicle.
Campervan Water Systems
Manual hand and foot pumps from Fynspray as well as portable and flexible water tanks from Nauta can make the water system in your vehicle as simple as possible with just a hose and a fitting to connect the two. This system requires minimal plumbing and has the added benefit of the water tank being portable, so you can remove it from the van and bring it to a water supply, or put it up somewhere high to create a gravity-fed shower. Nauta also offers portable fuel tanks if you need more than the gas tank can carry to truly get off the grid.
If you’re looking for quality gear to make your experience even better, contact us today and we will help supply products you don’t have to worry about failing, so you can spend your time doing what you set out to do.
If you're interested in learning more, check out our articles How to Add Accent Lighting to Your Van & Benefits of Bi-Color Lighting for Your Van or RV