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Hi, Have just purchased our first ever caravan, really excited and cant wait until we collect it.  I need to buy everything for it.  This may seem a silly question but can I store things in the cupboards whilst we are towing, Im not sure how much things will get thrown about?  Does anyone have useful tips on what to buy and what not to buy and also how to store things before I go out and waste alot of money.

Thankyou

Hi horace.  Welcome to UKCampsite.

You need to check that the catches on the cupboards are secure before you store anything in them while travelling. 

Just be sensible about the weight of any items stored in the cupboards.

Hi Horace , welcome to UKCS , click on this link loading the van correctly  , in the post Michael has posted some links to movies on how to go about loading your caravan correctly .

atb

Wizard

Thank you.  I will check that out.

Horace

We tend not to risk it, and only leave very lightweight stuff in the upper lockers.  I apply a very easy criteria, which is 'would this cause any harm if it fell out/fell over' and if yes, then it doesn't get carried in the lockers!

Anything dodgy gets carried in one of those folding crate things, or held in place in a bottle rack, or in my fridge door (which is quite well designed to hold onto things).

Things such as jam jars can cause quite a lot of damage to glass lids and worktops and cooking oil or milk is a disaster waiting to happen.

Hi, you asked for useful tips on what to buy or not to buy so here's some.

Don't buy overpriced electrical products from caravan shops just go to the high street stores and check for low wattage items.

It's very tempting with your first van to buy every gadget going but believe me you'll never use most of them.  Speaking as one who has a garage full of such gadgets, I suggest you go on your first trip with just the essentials and see what you actually miss.

Also, try and pack the heavy stuff over the axle.