35 Campervan Gifts (2024 Gift Guide) that Every Van Owner Would Love to Get
Looking for some great campervan gifts to get your friend or family member who just got their new van and is living the dream #vanlife? I can see why it might be difficult to decide what to get them. There’s not much extra room in a van, so you definitely don’t want to get them something that will take up too much space.
Michael and I lived in our van full time for several years, and we came to appreciate practical and essential items in the van. Many of these gifts are based on our personal experience of what we loved having around and think would make great gifts for any van owner.
Even though we’re not currently living in the van full-time, we still uses it for road trips. You can check our Wayfarer Van set up here.
I put together a list of campervan gift ideas that either we love already (because we own them ourselves) and I think they would make excellent gifts for any of your friends or family members who own a van, OR they are campervan gifts we would LOVE to get (hint-hint, family).
These gifts could also work well as RV gift ideas, and be sure to check out my best road trip gift ideas here!
35 OF THE BEST CAMPERVAN GIFTS
I split up my gifts for camper owners recommendations into four core sections:
Warm and Cozy Camper Van Gifts
Practical Van Life Gifts
Kitchen Campervan Gifts
Just for Fun Campervan Presents
But in the end, don’t stress out too much. If your campervan friend is anything like me, we are easily pleased. We enjoy the simple things in life.
Sometimes a good gift for a campervan owner (especially those living out of their van full time) can be as simple as a gift card with money for coffee or restaurants. Give them a gift basket of delicious foods or their favorite bars. Since van lifers often do without little luxuries, it truly doesn’t take much to please us. :)
Please note: The below post contains affiliate links.
Warm and Cozy Campervan Gifts
Part of “van life” is learning how to deal with cold weather in the winter. Michael and I often would chase the cool temps, and we prefer a cold van for sleeping over a really warm and humid van. This is why I think warm and cozy gifts make great campervan gifts.
1. RUMPL PUFFY DOWN BLANKET
I love these adorable Rumpl down puffy blankets! You can easily pack them up and shove them into your extra space and bring them out when you need extra coziness in your life.
They come in a bunch of fun colors, and another benefit is the blankets pack away really easily if the weather is warm enough and you don’t need them. They also add a nice extra layer of insulation if you are looking to add some layers to your bedding.
2. DOWN BOOTIES
For those extra cold nights when your friends are hanging around in their van, they might just be dreaming of some nice down booties. Give the gift of warm feet, and they might just love you for life.
I’ve personally been wanting a pair of these for mountaineering (so I don’t have to slide my feet into cold frozen boots at night when nature calls), but I still haven’t invested yet. These are high on my wish list though, and I might just buy them for myself!
3. MR. BUDDY HEATER
People who have owned a van for a while might already have one of these (so be sure to check first), but if not, this indoor heater would make a great campervan gift!
This heater is made for small spaces and has an auto shut off if it is accidentally tipped over, if the pilot light goes out, or if it detects low oxygen levels.
We also recommend having a carbon monoxide detector installed in the van, just to be safe, so if you’re buying this as a gift, you could also include one of those!
4. FLEECE PANTS
I first bought a nice pair of fleece pants as a mid-layer for colder mountaineering trips. I then found I loved wearing them anytime we were out in colder temps, particularly at night around camp. For the longest time Michael would make fun of my fleece pants, but then he got a pair and he was converted.
This is a cozy van-life essential in my opinion.
5. STANLEY CLASSIC VACUUM BOTTLE
Help your van friends stay warm by giving them the gift of 24-hour long heat. Whenever they whip up their favorite pot of coffee or some hot water for tea, they can put the drink in this thermos and enjoy for hours and hours.
During the winter whenever we go bouldering we fill ours up with hot tea , hot chocolate, or coffee to enjoy the whole day of climbing. I even wrote a post with some of my favorite boozy warm winter drinks that work great with this thermos!
6. PENDLETON WOOL BLANKET
I marked this one as my favorite because we LOVE our Pendleton blanket in the van. They are really beautiful wool blankets and they do a great job adding a heavy layer of warmth to your bedding.
We like to layer our bedding system with a sheet, down blanket, and the Pendleton wool blanket on top to trap in the warmth. The twin size actually fits well on our van bed, but you could get away with full or queen size as well.
(Also, if you have a dog, they make Pendleton blankets just for your furry friend, which you can find in our gift guide of camping gear for dogs!)
7. MPOWERD LUCI STRING LIGHTS
Add a bit of cozy ambiance to the indoor or outdoor space of a van with the glow of string lights! The MPOWERD Luci String Lights are cool because they are actually solar-powered, so you can simply recharge them outside when you’re on the road. They are also easy to store since the lights fit inside the charger unit.
PRACTICAL VAN GIFTS
This is probably the section most of you were thinking of when you started looking for campervan gifts. This is the stuff that is practical and awesome to have in your campervan arsenal!
This, of course, is not an exhaustive list by any means, but it highlights a few of my favorite campervan gift ideas.
8. LIFE STRAW
This one might not be intuitive, but I think could make for a great surprise gift for any van-goer.
It’s more of an “in-case-of-emergencies” item that they could keep in their van if for some reason (let’s just say for example) they get stranded in the middle of nowhere and have to abandon their van to walk on foot. At least they’d have a quick and easy way to filter water if they are going into survival mode. This thing is also pretty lightweight and can fit into small spaces.
Plus, if they like to hike of backpack, this can be a double-duty gift!
9. SCRUBBA PORTABLE CLOTHES WASHING BAG
When you are spending weeks at a time off the grid (or away from the amenities of normal life), sometimes it’s nice to have the ability to wash a few things.
This portable clothes washing bag gives you that option for when you are on the go, and it doesn’t take up too much space. It would make a great campervan gift!
10. REI SHOWER ROLL
Another amenity that vanlifers miss is regular showers. When we do get a shower, it’s usually at a gym or a rest stop, and we have to drag all our toiletries around. The REI Shower Roll is a convenient way to keep all your bathroom and shower necessities in one place, so you can just grab & go.
It hangs up to make everything easily accessible, then rolls up to take up less space in the van. But the best feature is the removable pocket at the bottom, so you can grab just the most important things (like a toothbrush and toothpaste) for a quick bathroom trip.
11. CAR BATTERY SELF-JUMP STARTER
This is another one of those nice-to-have emergency items. Many van-goers may have jumper cables already, but this set up allows you to self-jump your own vehicle if no one else is around.
I’ve gotten myself into a few pickles when I’ve gone off hiking in less popular areas and had the unfortunate event of my car battery dying with no one to give me a jump. Ever since then, I’ve always carried one of these in my car. Now we have a bit more peace of mind when we head off the beaten path a bit.
12. PORTABLE 12V AIR COMPRESSOR KIT
Getting stranded with a flat tire in a remote area is the stuff of van-lifer nightmares, and you can prevent this from becoming a reality with the gift of a portable air compressor. A 12-volt air compressor can use the vehicle’s electrical system for power, and then quickly refill the air pressure in the tires. Just be aware that larger vehicles like RVs require a more powerful compressor than an SUV or smaller van.
13. CELL PHONE SIGNAL BOOSTER
I can’t personally vouch for this item (yet) because I haven’t tested it out, BUT I can say we have it added to our Christmas wishlist. We do a lot of blog work while on the road and I end up doing quite a bit of tethering on my phone.
A cell phone signal booster is a big wish list item for me, particularly since we drive through some low cell signal areas. I think this would make a great van gift, particularly if your van friends or family members are also digital nomads.
14. BATTERY OPERATED CLIP ON FAN
When we started living in our van full time, we figured we would travel to places that were mostly “cool” in temperatures in the evenings. However, one summer when we were spending a lot of time exploring Colorado, we found that sometimes it was still very warm in the evenings in the van.
We bought this fan based on a recommendation from another van-life friend of ours and we absolutely love it. It clips perfectly to our shelves in the van and we can point it in our direction whenever we need more air-flow. It also holds a charge really well and lasts throughout the whole night.
15. PACKING CUBES
Staying organized in a campervan can be incredibly difficult—trust me. Even though you have fewer possessions, you also have very limited storage.
Packing cubes can make it easier for your friendly van-dwellers to keep their tiny space nice and tidy. These cubes can also be used to keep things in order in your suitcase when you travel for work or play. We used ours daily in the van and still love them now!
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16. GOAL ZERO YETI PORTABLE POWER STATION
Since we first bought our van back in 2018, we've used the Goal Zero Yeti 400 for a lot of different purposes. When we initially had no solar in our van and were only weekend warrioring, it was nice to have the Goal Zero to help us keep our electronics powered for the weekend.
When we lived in our van full time, we had our Goal Zero hooked up to some solar panels and used it (plus some extra batteries) to stay powered up on the road. These things make for great gifts because they are really well made and highly, highly practical for van owners, particularly those just getting started building out their van.
If you’re curious about which size battery to buy, I recommend reading this article I wrote for Wayfarer vans. We own the Yeti 400 model, but if we could start over I would probably buy the Yeti 1400 model.
17. COMPACT MICROFIBER TOWEL
Towels take up a lot of space, so these compact microfiber towels make for a great, practical and space-saving campervan gift idea. Big fluffy towels are nice, but at the end of the day, I don’t mind sacrificing that so I can have a bit more room for clothes and other essentials.
KITCHEN CAMPERVAN GIFTS
18. COLLAPSIBLE MEASURING CUPS
Space-saving kitchenware is key in van life! These collapsible measuring cups are awesome, and you can find more collapsible items online such as bowls, colanders, funnels, and more.
19. SEA TO SUMMIT X-SEAL & GO CONTAINER
Another awesome space saver is this Sea to Summit sealable container. It’s the perfect little to-go container for taking a snack on the road or on a hike or storing some leftovers in the van. It has an airtight, leakproof seal and collapses flat to store away easily.
20. REI CAMP ROLL TABLE
If you camp or backpack, you know that setting up your stove on the ground can get old rather quickly. While some campervans have the space for a countertop or table inside of the vehicle, not all have that luxury.
The REI Camp Roll Table is the perfect alternative to cooking inside (or outside) the van. This table is easy to set up, reliable, and takes up little storage in the van. Even if your friends or family have a place to cook inside of their vehicle, they will appreciate cooking outside on those warm summer nights.
21. STAINLESS STEEL WINE TUMBLER WITH LID
Michael and I own a set of these stainless steel wine tumblers, and what we love about them is that they have lids! Small spaces mean we are often bumping into each other, so it’s nice to have a little extra protection for your wine. These are great for the van, and a great gift for anyone who is either living full time in their van or just weekend warrioring in their rig.
22. MIIR CAMP MUG
While you can find a million different coffee mugs, the Miir Camp Cup is special. These look like old school enamel camp mugs, but they feature new technology to insulate both hot and cold beverages. The lid prevents spills, and the stainless steel stands up to the bumpiest van ride. These cups also come in a bunch of cool colors and designs, so you can pick the perfect gift.
23. MSR PIKA TEAPOT
A cup of tea is a cozy luxury in a campervan, and the MSR Pika Teapot is the perfect way to make one. This teapot is designed for camping, so it’s lightweight and durable and can be used on a camp stove if your version of van life doesn’t include an actual stove.
24. COLEMAN FOLD-N-GO STOVE
Figuring out how to cook in a campervan can be a bit of a puzzle, but this awesome stove solves it. The Coleman Fold n Go stove saves space (since it folds in half for storage) while offering a full-size two burner cooking surface. It’s propane powered and ignites with the push of a button. Give the gift of gourmet meals with this stove!
25. DOMETIC GO HYDRATION WATER JUG & FAUCET
Sorting out the water situation is key for a van life kitchen, and the Dometic Go Hydration Water Jug and Faucet is an excellent combination. The jug holds 11 liters of water, and the addition of the faucet provides actual running water for washing dishes or filling water bottles.
Trust me, this would be a seriously awesome campervan gift!
MISCELLANEOUS VAN LIFE GIFT IDEAS
These final van gift ideas may not have been the first things you had in mind when getting your campervan friend a present, but I think they would make AWESOME gifts. Here’s why…
26. KINDLE PAPERWHITE
The Kindle Paperwhite – now waterproof with 2x the storage space – is another GREAT gift for campervan owners who love to read. There is not a lot of space in a van, so this is the perfect solution for keeping a stocked library with minimal storage space. I used my Kindle nearly every night in the van, and I still use it constantly now.
27. THE ADVENTURE CHALLENGE COUPLES EDITION
If you’re doing the van life thing with your partner, The Adventure Challenge Couples Edition is a super fun way to add some variety when you’re feeling restless on the road. It includes 50 different challenges that you scratch off like a lotto ticket for a surprise. Michael & I have had a blast with this book, and I highly recommend it.
They also have versions for solo travelers, friends, and family. And you can get 10% off with my discount code: ALPINE10
28. BRITA PREMIUM FILTERING WATER BOTTLE
This is a must-have for any van owner, in my opinion! When you’re on the road, you’re constantly filling up on drinking water from places that are sometimes less-than-optimal. You’ve got to take what you can get.
One way we like to ensure we’re drinking cleaner water on the go is by using these Brita water bottles.
29. NATIONAL PARKS PASS
A US National Parks Pass would be a REALLY AWESOME gift. The passes cost about $80, but they give you access to all sites managed by the National Park Service, Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Reclamation for a whole year.
It’s worth the price if the vanlifer you’re shopping for does a lot of outdoor hiking and exploring in these areas. Without a pass, entrance fees run about $20-30 per visit. So after 3-4 visits, the pass has paid for itself. We buy one every year, and I think every van-goer would love getting this gift!
30. THE FALCON GUIDE TO VAN LIFE
If you have a friend who dreams of making long-term van life a reality, this book is the perfect gift. The Falcon Guide to Van Life covers everything from building out a van to road trip itineraries. It'd be a great campervan gift for aspiring weekend warriors and full-time nomads alike.
31. LIVING THE VANLIFE
Another awesome book for a vanlifer or aspiring vanlifer is Living the Vanlife: On the Road Toward Sustainability, Community, and Joy by Noami Grevemberg, who founded the Diversify Vanlife movement. She shares her perspective as a BIPOC living on the road, delves into the mental challenges and uncertainty of vanlife, and offers practical advice on budgeting, safety, and building community while celebrating this nomadic lifestyle.
32. JOBY GORILLAPOD MOBILE MINI TRIPOD
I use a little iPhone tripod all the time, and this is a great compact phone camera tripod. It has moldable legs so it can adapt to a variety of surfaces or even wrap around things.
I could see us using this even to watch movies from our phone in the van or do video phone calls with family. It’s been really handy for me, so I’m guessing your van-going friends will love it, too!
33. HAMMOCK
A hammock would also make a fun unique gift idea for someone who owns a campervan. They can easily throw this into the back of their van, and when they get that epic campsite, they can set up a cozy reading or napping nook on some nearby trees.
34. A WOMAN’S PLACE IS IN THE WILD PLAYING CARDS
A deck of playing cards is nice to keep in the van just in case you need some entertainment when the weather is bad or you end up bored in a Walmart parking lot for a night. This card deck is especially cool since it features illustrations of badass outdoor women!
35. REI GIFT CARD
If you really can’t determine what campervan presents might best, it’s always safe to get your friend an REI Gift Card. You can choose the amount and can even go as low as $10.
It’s a great option if you really don’t know what to get them, or they are the kind of person that seems like they “already own everything.” Trust me, I’ve never heard of anyone being sad about getting a gift card to REI. You can’t go wrong with this!
I hope this gift guide has sparked some ideas for your campervan friends and family members (or maybe yourself)! If you have any questions or want any other suggestions, reach out to me in the comments below, and be sure to check out some of our other gear resources!
If you’re interested to learn more about our transition into living in our van full time, check out this post we wrote for Wayfarer Vans on our transition.
Other Related Resources & Gift Guides:
Cheers,
Allison- She Dreams of Alpine
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