Where to look for useful tools, accessories and products for campervans?

Is it better to rely on local stores or online?

In this article, I’ll share my experience and show you what I used for my project.

80% OF THE TIME IT TAKES TO CONVERT A VAN, IS STUDYING THE THEORY AND FINDING THE RIGHT PRODUCTS!

As I like to repeat, the “assembly” in a camper project takes a lot (sometimes a lot!) of time, but still always less than it takes to get to that point, and it’s just the last part of the journey.

Figuring out what you’re doing, figuring out what products you need, and then finding them at an affordable price certainly takes up a lot more time than it will take you to assemble them (and a lot more time than you think!).

For this reason, I decided to write this article in which I tell you about my experience. First, I’ll reveal the websites I’ve relied on the most to find materials/accessories/tools useful for my project, then I’ll give you some advice on when to choose physical stores instead of online ones, and finally I’ll leave you a roundup of items that I have personally purchased (after extensive research!) and that may be useful to you.

Have a great read! 🙂

1. Do-it-Yourself Camper Products – Best Online Stores

Online commerce is nowadays a viable alternative to physical stores for the vast majority of products, and this also applies to items useful to convert a Do-It-Yourself van.

In fact, to convert a van, you often need more or less specific products that are difficult to find in physical stores (especially if you’re converting in a small town, as mine was).

Fortunately, we live in a world where everything is just a click away and nothing is too far away.

Personally, I can say that without the web, I would never have been able to get my hands on all the products I wanted and used to convert my van. In fact, the web often offers fast delivery and prices so competitive that even the largest physical store chains pale in comparison (not for all products, but for many!).

Below, I’ll leave you with links to the websites I relied on to find most of the products I used to build my Do-It-Yourself Camper.

2. Converting a Van: When Convenient Physical Stores

Online stores definitely allow us to save quite a bit of money on various products, and also get our hands on those specific products that we would otherwise never find around us.

That being said though, by RVing my van I have found that there are so many other things worth buying near us. Below, I leave you with a list of what I think makes the most sense to research locally:

• Screws,Hooks and General Tools: screws, hooks, screwdrivers, files, wrenches, pliers, general glues, general work tools etc. are all things that can be found in any city or town. Buying them locally gives you three advantages: you can see them before you buy them, you can buy them the same day you need them, and probably some Chinese store near you sells them at much lower prices than those you find on the internet.

• Timber and bulky materials (e.g. for insulation): it is difficult to find someone on the internet who can quickly send you bulky and heavy materials. Also, shipping costs are usually expensive and making a return is almost impossible. In the case of planks, wood panels, or insulation materials, I recommend looking around you for a lumber mill and/or material/construction companies. They will certainly be able to help you find the materials you need, and maybe even give you some professional advice on how to use them or how to modify them to meet your needs.

• Specific Fittings: If you need a specific part (a pipe fitting, a gasket, a lug of a specific size, hooks, joint pieces, etc.) rely on your local stores! You can bring them your problems ( 😉 ) and get them to tell you for sure what part you need. The cost is usually low, and you have the advantage of being sure that what you bought is right (without having to wait to return it in case it doesn’t work).

• Electrical Cables: Electrical cables are generic materials, the same everywhere. Normally you pay per meter, and the more you grow in section, the more the price increases. For that, I recommend buying them locally from some electrical store. Doing so will allow you to buy cables as you need them, and possibly get advice on the section if you’re unsure of any steps.

• Flooring: personally, I think the floor is something to be seen and touched. Although even online sites can send you samples, I’d recommend (once you’ve decided on the material) visiting a few local stores to get a wider range of choices.

• Decorations: decorations are very personal and go by taste. From my experience, I can tell you that it’s much more fun to decorate slowly as you find items in your path. Also, since space in a camper van is very tight, you need to carefully measure each item each time to make sure its dimensions fit your project.

The physical stores I frequented most during my experience of convertion have been Chinese stores (those that have everything, but really everything), DIY stores, carpentry and craft stores (curtains, plumbing, electrical etc) … and I must say that I rediscovered corners of my country that I did not even know existed! 😉

That being said, in the next chapter I want to show you all the products I’ve ordered online (so many!) to help you get an idea of what you might need.

3. Products I Used to Convert My Van

Now that I’ve told you about the stores both online and physical where I found the materials, accessories, tools and various components to convert my van; below, I offer a list of all the products I ordered online.

Personally, I think I have Iordered about 80% of all the products I used from the internet, so don’t be too surprised by how long the list is 😉 Except for the things I’ve already mentioned in the previous chapter, I found the internet to be much cheaper and more convenient.

I’ve divided the list into categories to help you find the right products you might need at different stages of the conversion. During my conversion experience, it took me forever to find the products I needed and I browsed site after site. I hope the list below will help you put in a lot less time than it took me!

For your convenience, clicking the image of any product will take you directly to the Amazon page (or the site where I purchased it) should you also be interested in buying it or simply interested in understanding the qualities of the products you need.

For the sake of transparency, I would like to point out that I participate in the Amazon Associate program and that for any purchase made through the links on this site, I receive a small commission that I use to support the costs of this blog, obviously at no extra-cost to you ? )

Let’s cut to the chase, and here’s the list!

3.1 BATHROOM, SHOWER AND WATER SYSTEM: DO-IT-YOURSELF MOTORHOME PRODUCTS

4. Do-it-Yourself Camper Products – Conclusion

In this article, I’ve left you with tips on where to look for useful products for your RV project online, and advice on when it’s best to choose physical stores around you over web stores.

If you have any questions about any particular products and could use a specific review, let me know in the comments below and I’ll do what I can to help (these are all products I’ve personally ordered and used for my project!).

Similarly, if you have any doubts, find any inaccuracies or want to report some other site that might be useful to others to camper their van, let me know in the comments and I will edit the article to make it more complete 🙂

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next guide!