Got the itch to spin a few spanners? Here’s what you can do to revolutionise your camper without breaking the bank!

There’s nothing better than the satisfaction of getting a little hands-on with your camper trailer. Sure, camper trailers come pretty well equipped from factory these days, but when it comes to really making a set-up your own, it’s all in the detail. With that in mind, we thought we’d let you in on a few little DIY projects that you can knock-over this weekend.  

HOME-MADE DROP SLIDE

Sure, you can just buy a drop slide unit off the shelf, but they’re usually fairly heavy and expensive. If you don’t need something quite so robust, why not knock one up yourself? This particular design is as simple as they come, with a couple of generic ball bearing slides and four metal straps that allow the unit to rotate and swing down. A basic bracket at the back stops the BBQ from swinging right around and gives it somewhere to rest on top of when stored. Pretty simple, eh? 

BUDGET AIR CONDITIONING SOLUTION 

An air conditioner is one of those things you think you don’t need, until you do. Now a purpose-built recreational vehicle A/C unit will set you back thousands of dollars, and they often require a fair bit of fabrication work when it comes to mounting them properly. A portable home A/C unit may just be the answer. They’re cheap to purchase, easy to set-up and install, and will usually run directly off a portable generator 2kva and above.   

AFTER MARKET FRIDGE LID SUPPORT 

Yep, this bloke had the cohunes to drill straight into the side of his brand-new Engle fridge! In his defence, we all how annoying it is when there isn’t enough room to open the lid enough for it to hold itself open.  So, the idea was simple, Bryan ordered himself a “stainless steel hatch support spring”, which you can get from most online boating type stores. In a nutshell, as you open the lid the spring extends and straightens up until it’s in the straight position before locking in place. To close the lid, you simply bend the spring to the side and that’s it.

PRESSURE SWITCH INSTALL

When it’s dark, we all know that fumbling around for the light switch to see inside your storage compartments is just a pain in the you-know-what. But alas, there is another way. Replacing the generic on/off switch with a pressure switch means the light will automatically switch on and off as you open and close the compartment door. They’re cheap and easy to upgrade and could quite possibly be the most convenient upgrade you’ll ever make to your camper.    

ANDERSON PLUG ACCESSORIES

A camper trailers battery bank is an invaluable source of power. These days there’s usually plenty of battery capacity for most uses, and its typically backed up by solar power too. One way to take advantage of this is to install an auxiliary power outlet with an Anderson plug. Then, you can adapt any nifty tools you have to plug straight into it. Need your 12V drill to last longer than ten minutes? No worries. Just get rid of the old battery and rig it up to connect straight into your camper’s power supply. Heck, if you use cables large enough you could even adapt your jumper cables to start your car.