Whether it's a weekend at the coast or six months on the road, most trips have the same moment: you're an hour in, someone asks "did you pack the -", and the answer is no. Some of those gaps are a minor annoyance. Others mean turning around, or doing without for the rest of the trip. This is the checklist to run through before you leave the driveway, organised by what each thing is actually for rather than as one long undifferentiated list.
The essentials you can't skip
Before anything specific to caravanning, a handful of things belong in every setup regardless of how long the trip is:
- Rego, insurance and roadside assist details - printed or saved somewhere that doesn't need signal to open.
- A spare tyre for the van, and the tools to change it. Not just the tow vehicle's spare - vans get overlooked and often don't carry one at all.
- A basic tool kit and some fuses, cable ties and gaffer tape. Most roadside fixes are held together by one of these three.
- A first aid kit stocked for more than paper cuts if you're heading somewhere remote - hours from help changes what "adequate" means.
- A fire extinguisher and a way to check total fire ban conditions for wherever you're headed.
- Head torches, not just a single torch. Two free hands at a dark boat ramp or a stuck cassette toilet is worth more than it sounds.
Water, waste and toilet gear
This is the category most first-timers underestimate, and it's the one this site covers in the most depth. Plenty of camper trailers, pop-tops and smaller vans don't have a toilet on board at all, so start with whether you have one before worrying about which kind - see choosing a caravan toilet system if that's not decided yet.
- No onboard toilet: you're relying on public and campground facilities, so a portable camping toilet as backup for overnight stops and long drives is worth carrying regardless. It also affects where you can free camp - most "self-contained only" sites assume a toilet on board, so check our self-containment checklist before you count on staying at one.
- Cassette toilet: you carry the cassette to the dump point yourself, so no hose kit is needed - just gloves, tank chemical, and the basics in our dump kit guide.
- Fixed black water tank: you'll need a proper sewer hose kit. Our Camco RhinoFLEX vs Valterra Viper comparison covers which one is worth buying and where to actually find one in Australia.
- Composting or dry-flush toilets swap the chemical-and-dump routine for their own consumables - our Modiwell EVO LE-310 review covers what that looks like day to day.
- Grey water needs its own plan wherever you're camping, toilet or not - see grey water and black water for what's actually allowed to hit the ground versus what needs to go in a container.
Power, connectivity and staying charged
Two gaps show up here more than any other: no way to get internet away from town, and no way to restart a flat battery without calling someone.
- Internet away from mobile coverage. If you're relying on your phone's signal, you'll lose it exactly where you need trip planning, maps and weather the most. Our Starlink Roam review covers what it costs, how much power it draws, and whether it's worth it over a cheaper hotspot-and-SIM setup for how you actually travel.
- A jump starter. A flat battery from a fridge left running or a light left on doesn't need to end the day - see our iTechworld JS60 review for what a decent one can actually handle.
- Enough spare 12V and USB cabling that a flat torch or a dead phone isn't a race back to the van.
Camp cleaning and comfort
None of this is essential in the way water or power is, but it's the difference between packing up cheerfully and packing up over it.
- Something to clear sand and dust fast. A pack-up morning with sand in every zip is faster with a proper blower than a broom - our TurboJet PRO review covers one small enough to live in a drawer, and the TurboJet OZ range guide compares it against the rest of the lineup if you want something bigger or cheaper.
- Shade and airflow for the site - an annex wall or side awning earns its keep the moment the wind picks up.
- A proper camp chair and table that isn't fighting you every time you set it up - cheap ones show it within a season.
Legal and self-containment basics
Free and low-cost camping in Australia often depends on paperwork you need before you leave, not after you arrive somewhere and get asked for it.
- Check whether your setup actually qualifies as self-contained with our self-containment checklist, and what formal certification involves in our self-containment certification guide.
- Rules on free camping - where it's allowed, for how long, and what "self-contained only" signage actually means - are covered in our free camping rules guide.
Something fun for the trip
Not everything in the van needs to solve a problem. If you're stopping at bridges, jetties or old boat ramps along the way, magnet fishing is cheap to get into, packs down small, and gives the kids something to do with an hour at a rest stop that isn't a screen. If bikes are coming along, our guide to bike safety and etiquette at caravan parks covers the one hazard worth actually teaching kids before they ride off, and if a footy or cricket set is going in too, our ball games etiquette guide covers where it's actually ok to play.
Quick checklist
- Rego, insurance, roadside assist details saved offline
- Van spare tyre + tools, basic tool kit, fuses, cable ties, gaffer tape
- First aid kit sized for how remote you're actually going
- Fire extinguisher + a way to check fire ban conditions
- Head torches for everyone old enough to hold one
- Toilet-specific gear sorted (cassette basics, sewer hose kit, or composting consumables)
- Grey water plan for wherever you're camping
- A way to get internet beyond mobile coverage, if that matters to you
- A jump starter and spare 12V/USB cabling
- Something to clear sand and dust at pack-up
- Shade, a decent chair and table
- Self-containment sorted if you're relying on free camps
Common questions
What's the one thing people forget most?
A spare tyre for the van itself, not just the tow vehicle. Vans are often sold without one, and it's easy to assume the tow vehicle's spare covers you when it doesn't fit the van's wheel studs.
Do I need a dump kit if I have a cassette toilet?
No - cassette toilets are carried to the dump point and emptied by hand, so a sewer hose kit is only needed for a fixed black water tank. See choosing a caravan toilet system if you're deciding between the two.
Is Starlink worth taking if I only travel a few times a year?
It can be, but the ongoing plan cost is harder to justify for occasional trips than for someone travelling for months at a time - the full Starlink Roam review covers the plan-pausing options and how the maths works out.
Does this list change much between a weekend trip and a big lap?
The categories stay the same, but how much you carry of each one scales up - more spares, a bigger first aid kit, and self-containment paperwork sorted before you leave rather than worked out on the road.
Last updated September 2026.