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Having a camper is a lot of work, but it’s also a lot of fun. What better way to travel and see the countryside than in a camper van that allows you to take part of your home with you? As a family or an individual, you can have a great adventure while staying in a comfortable motorhome. All you need are some very useful DIY camper upgrades.
Finding an RV with the features your family needs isn’t easy. Most people would love to have some luxuries to make life more comfortable. However, it is difficult to get all the amenities without paying a lot for them. Making DIY camper upgrades is the answer here.
You can certainly do your research and see if you can find an affordable motorhome that has everything you want at the best price. You can also buy one with the most features you can get to hit the budget you want to spend. Then you can upgrade it to make it even more convenient.
There are countless hacks that offer subtle but effective changes that won’t break the bank. Let’s take a look at some DIY camper upgrades and see what the top four tips are for making your RV home away from home.
Table of Contents
- Add a Diesel Heater for Those Cold Nights
- Bring a Table for Space to Prepare and Eat Dinner
- Upgrade Your Rooftop Tent
- Switch to Better Batteries
- Other Recommended Camping Gear
Add a Diesel Heater for Those Cold Nights
Summer is over, and your next travel destination will probably be really cold. Cold air can quickly creep into your camper and ruin your day or night. In the house, you would then turn on the heating, and the problem would be solved in a short time. With an easy DIY camper upgrade, you can have the same comfort in the middle of nowhere.
Depending on the equipment, heating could be a little more difficult in your home on wheels because not all of them come with a heater. Especially the increasingly popular do-it-yourself conversions often do not have a standard auxiliary heater installed. As for almost all life situations, some clever minds have come up with a few ideas for the winter months to keep your camper cozy and warm.
The Planar Diesel Heater fits very nicely into the nose of this trailer.
Therefore, since we are quickly approaching winter, heating should be at the top of your list when preparing for your next trip. We highly recommend the Diesel Air Heater from Planar Heaters. It’s light, easy to use, and cheap to operate.
The Planar Diesel Air Heater can quickly warm up your tent/camper to a comfortable degree. Likewise, it will do so with dry heat, so you don’t have to worry about condensation.
As you can see in our video above, since the unit sits outside the vehicle, there’s far less risk of carbon monoxide poisoning – a critical benefit of a heater like this.
Additionally, these heaters are fuel efficient, quiet, and can operate at altitude, so you get instant dry heat in virtually any environment. Nice!
Bring a Table for Space to Prepare and Eat Dinner
When traveling with a camper, space is always limited. Whether for eating, as a work surface, or for fun game evenings – nothing works without a table when camping. Even the largest and most comfortable campers suffer from the lack of space, so we always appreciate good ideas.
You are going to need a table first and foremost to prepare and eat your food. This is where the Tailgater Tire Table comes in. It’s inexpensive, durable, easy to set up, and just a plain good idea, which makes it a great DIY camper upgrade.
It attaches easily to your camper’s tire and provides enough space to do anything you want. It can hold up to 50 lbs, so you can even use it for cooking by placing a portable grill on top of it, and when you’re not hungry, you can use it as a workspace and put down some heavy tools on it.
Space is always at a premium when camping, so having something that gives you more space – without taking up much space itself – is a win-win!
Upgrade Your Rooftop Tent
Rooftop tents are one of the best accommodation solutions while camping off the grid. With a rooftop tent on top of your car, you can get behind the wheel and take on an adventure anytime. Popping up the roof tent takes less than a minute, and then there’s room for the whole family. It’s that easy.
Our choice when it comes to rooftop tents is the SMRT Summit Suite. With 33.39 square feet of floor area and 56-inch peak height, it is a very comfortable rooftop tent, and three adults can easily sleep here. The roof tent unfolds in seconds into an amazingly comfortable living space full of different uses.
Incidentally, the huge sleeping area with a high-quality and comfortable mattress can be easily reached using the ladder provided. From the sleeping area, three huge panoramic doors offer a clear view of the wilderness and starry sky. And when driving into the countryside, the SMRT Summit Suite is hardly even noticeable on the car and is one of the best DIY camper upgrades you can have.
Switch to Better Batteries
If you are still running lead-acid batteries or even gel batteries in your camper, you really should switch to a better option. Lithium batteries are currently the best battery technology on the market. In our opinion, the best option in the market right now is the LiFePO4 or lithium iron phosphate battery, and you really need this DIY camper upgrade for peace of mind about your camper’s energy needs.
These batteries are much lighter than lead GEL batteries, no longer need to be fully charged, and can usually be installed in any camper without changing the charging technology. Our choice when it comes to powerful camper batteries is the Ultimatron 100Ah batteries.
Ultimatron batteries deliver reliable power and excellent battery life. The LiFePO4 battery can be 100% discharged without being damaged. It can also deliver high currents and can be charged quickly. It’s the best of all worlds!
On top of all that, these batteries are smaller and lighter than AGMs, so you can save space and weight in your camper – two things that are always at a premium when camping!
With these DIY camper upgrades taken care of, you ensure that you’ll have a more comfortable and functional trip. Who doesn’t want that!?
Other Recommended Camping Gear