Dan, I've watched you from day dot and can honestly say these "back to basic / simple" videos are great! Not just for beginners but us experienced caravanners too. Like you say, it's a community and sharing information might just give someone an idea or tip they haven't done before. Love watching you guys, hope you're all well 👍

We do impromptu weekends. It's not unusual for my wife to phone me on a friday at work and I meet her at the storage place on my way home. Caravan is always packed ready to go. We even keep a few tinned meals in it. We keep full washing stuff in it, even caravan shoes (crocs). We grab a few clothes and any food and go. We have a caravan bag. Anything that we take out goes in the bag, that might be a duvet cover, towels, a cordless battery that needs a charge, some DVD's to change whatever it is, it goes inthe bag. When we get home we swap out / charge / clean anything and put it back in the bag so that goes with us. We do also have a list of anything we need to replenish i.e. washing up liquid or loo roll etc. so when we get home we buy that and put it in the bag. I'm not an organised person but this is easy and works really well. I'll often order stuff for the caravan while we are away so its ready to add to the bag when we get back, Blue Loo for exmaple. Everything lives in the caravan we have a caravan duvet, TV, crockery, towels etc. etc. none of it is used at home or even in our camping stuff (I still like to camp occasinally).

Nothing like a Trudgian video on a Friday night! Spot on!

Thanks for making your videos easy to watch, there are so many people posting content that should be interesting but they are so monotone in the way they speak that I switch off within mins. Me and my wife are very new to caravanning and so I am constantly looking for information and advice which you and your family provide in an easy and interesting manner.

After caravanning for 32 years we bought a motorhome several years ago and we find it 100% easier to go away for an impromptu weekend or longer break. It is only a matter of adding clothes and food. We also use it for days away, especially during the pandemic, good to have you own loo and somewhere sit and watch the world go by! Good useful video though as always.

Brilliant Dan, We keep the same ‘NOTE’ system as yourself & find it works perfectly. We also have a note system when we are putting everything away before moving off site, ie.. Take all legs up, switch gas bottles off, Switch caravan power system from caravan over to car, disengage motor mover from the wheels. This system has never failed us in over 20 years. Keep up the good video’s, they are excellent to watch…

I keep my van at fighter jet operational readiness, the only thing I need to do is pack a bag with weather appropriate clothes (though I keep my walking gear in the van) and grab some eats from ASDA on the way to the storage yard. Everything else I need is in the van. On my return from a trip I pack the bedding (including duvet and pillows) and towels into a big bedding bag to bring home and launder. The freshly laundered duvet cover is fitted onto the duvet at home, as are pillow cases and the whole lot re-packed ready to take to the van. I'll either do that on the next trip or if I'm going to the storage yard to do some maintenance. Once in the van it takes less than a minute to fit the sheet throw the duvet and pillows on the bed and stow the towels.

Fantastic Dan 👏 Have a great weekend all of you.😀 👍 We are presently on a 5 day impromptu break. We decided on Wednesday we had time till the following Monday. So a search of CL's an hour away from home and a phone call 📲... its booked. Like you the caravan is ready but we do have ours on the drive so I guess a little easier as we can make our list, do the shopping and it's straight into the caravan fridge and cupboards. Just being the 2 of us we can always manage if we do forget anything. Best breaks are the last minute ones. 👌 Weather so far is fantastic. Both caught a bit of sun 🌞 Thursday lunchtime we were hooked up and away. It's now Friday evening. Wine poured and 3 days to go.

Look forward to your very informative and down-to-earth common sense videos.

Impromptu trips are what caravaning should be all about. We are kicking ourselves for not being ready this last week as the weather has been glorious. My tips for making things easy are always having a couple of meals stashed in the freezer and to make life even easier we often just go and find a chippy and treat ourselves one night. As the female of the outfit I've made my life easier by doubling up so I always have hairdryer, toiletries and makeup in the van, as well as showerproof foldable jackets, plastic flip-flops and wellies. My last tip is lists, lists and more lists!

It's also great to have a cleaned and scrubbed van to go away in. So when we are packing up I always make sure everything is cleaned, polished up and carpets etc all vacuumed. So there's nothing to do when we are ready to go next time.

Hi Dan congratulations on reaching 49,200 subscribers and you will soon be at 50,000 subscribers and well done for all your continued hard work as always

My best advice is to work out what you will need first upon arrival and leave that nearest the door. So as you open my van door you find the motor mover remote and the socket set for same. Then the drill attachment for legs and ramps for wheel and the spirit level. Next inside is the electric cable and water supply. Being organised like can save huge amount of time

Dan. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. When I first started caravanning last May, my wife and I didn't have a clue. We watched all your videos prior to purchasing our van, and your advice and guidance had been invaluable. I was a pro on our first trip (sort of😁). Thank you so much for your input. Tom was right. There are thousands of people out there who need such help and advice. It's all very daunting at first. Cheers mate.

Hi Dan & family hope you are well. Great advice and tips as always and very similar to our plans, I always make a chilli the day/evening before we go so we have an easy meal when we arrive, just pop it in the microwave or on the hob after setting up.

Great video -- Planning & prep is everything. We do impromptu weeks away or more to around 120 nights a year. Clothes are laundered & in 15 ltr 'go' bags. Caravan permanently packed. Can hitch & remove security (JSB HubLocks) in about 40 mins being ready to drive away. Very few of our trips are planned far in advance Our only real 'decision', apart from where we're going to, is food & whether we take the boat as well 'We' is solo human & dog

Just had a lovely weekend in York. Took a vegetable curry with us for Friday night. Wished I had booked Sunday night so we could have stayed on site till late afternoon. Seemed a bit of a rush to be off by noon. Glorious sunshine.

It's brilliant though isn't it mate. Only been caravanning for 12 months but the great thing is, you can just book, hook and go. So easy. No worrying about availability of cottages etc like we used to. Sal is retired now so it's only my leave dates we have to worry about. Best thing we ever did!

We quite often have impromptu weeks/months away. The joys of retirement. 😁

You have thought me everything I know about caravanning, and I will now be doing this before my first towing trip at Easter. Thanks for all the great work you do 😀

Thanks for that. I found often short trips are meant as a beginner start but it‘s more a pro thing if you have already lot of experience how your mobile setup works out! Most important we found to keep things very simple and basic what ever that mean to each. And make a short trip has nothing todo doing things in a hurry because this will produces fails.

We always kept some clothes in the caravan, changed them as the seasons changed & also had basic foods like pasta, rice, rice, tinned stuff & things like jars of pasta sauces etc that we kept & restocked as needed so we only needed to buy fresh items like meat, veg, eggs, bread & milk if we were going away. We only had to pack extra clothing like favourite items & things for if we were going to a special event. We caravaned from when my son was 8 weeks old & kept stocks of baby milk, nappies & wipes in the caravan. We were on a seasonal pitch so we didn't have to worry about weight.

There is just me and my good lady so we only need food for two people, so when I cook at home there are certain meals I cook where if the recipe is for 4 people I will prepare it and put half in the Pyrex dish and half in a foil container for freezing. This way we have a home cooked ready meal to take with us. I usually make a few so there are always some in freezer when we go away. You just need the veg etc: to go with it. We also use CL’s and go off grid because they are easy to book at short notice.

Good advice Dan. Only one further thing to check and it can be a nightmare. Check for road closures / diversions at weekends due to road works. That 1 hour trip could take 2 or 3 😱

Love the lists, love that you said it stops you forgetting things therefore love that the Zebra Pot was on multiple lists, don’t want to forget the Zebra pot 😉

Great vlog, Dan! Luckily our van is always on the drive so a few days before we set off or even the day before I put the fridge on which is so handy. It’s always packed with pasta or tinned delights of M&S curry and packets of rice as they are the quickest and simplest meals when you’ve come back from a day out. We’re not so lucky to have as many caravan sites near where we are but make the best of what we have. Great to see you’re looking well! 👍

We are just about to buy our very first caravan and I can honestly say that watching your videos not only fills me with excitement at the prospect but also confidence! Can’t wait to get out there!

Looking well - caravan season here we come!

It's getting harder and harder to book a weekend away nowadays because campervans have booked one night!

We don't tend to do weekends away because my husband doesn't get home till 5.30 and so we can't be away till 6pm. Our van is permanently outside and I am at home but we feel its alot of work for what is effectively one day as you have to be away by 12 on a Sunday. We are in Scotland but there are not a lot of CL's near us. I know we should do more weekends and get the most out of our van. I think maybe we take to much stuff. Great video though

Thanks Dan, we always struggle getting ready for the off, you make it seem so easy.

Since the first lockdown we have had supermarket home deliveries, I now use these on a Friday morning to get all the things delivered fresh to the door for the weekend. Saves you the time.

Great video and Friday treat. For us, it was part of the decision to get a Ford Ranger. In the summer months the back is filled with all the activity stuff we need for a weekend away and it stops in there so no packing needed. We also keep the caravan in a constant state of readyness. We have a list of weekend essentials in the form of a click and collect order. Our local Mozzers has great access so we can rock up with the caravan and collect. I also agree, Max of 90 mins drive away. I’m a petrol head and love to drive but, I went for an automatic tow car, makes the drive as relaxing as possible and extends those short weekends away.

What a fab vlog as we always take far too much stuff with us - this really does help we are getting our caravan ready to go this weekend 👍

Another brilliant video again as always and looking forward to watching your next video

Brilliant Dan so helpful 👏

Hi. As ever, an interesting, enjoyable and helpful vlog that virtually all of us can gain something from, no matter how long or short our caravanning experience. Thanks for the advice and information. Take care and have a great season. Cheers. George and Trish.

Yup. We have separate everything for the van so it’s always ready. All we need are clothes, food and electrical gadgets such as phone etc. As my van is on my drive, I’ll plug it in the day before so I can load the fridge and freezer before our journey and then there is very little to do when we get on site as well. It makes the most of short weekend breaks

Brilliant advice from everyone many thanks from a novice who is looking forward to many trips away as a couple and with grandkids

Another brilliant informative vlog Dan..👍

Thanks Dan - excellent video

Good advice for a quick getaway weekend 👍

That is pretty much exactly what we do. We have everything packed in the caravan, the mirrors are on the sofa just inside the door with the towing cover. We take enough food for the weekend or if longer 24 hours supply and do a shop when we there. It really is a hitch up and go. I even go a few days earlier and my wife joins me later as I’m a shift worker and have extra days off. We also use more CL/CS as we like the peace and quiet. Cracking video Dan

Thanks Dan excellent video

Great video as usual Dan hope yiu and the family are well, we have a checklist also,keep them coming,great content, cheers

Hi Dan just a note I have a tyrepal tps system it may be worth a mention for people to check there tyre pressure's when both tyres are at the same temperature I was away last week and the day before coming home I checked the tyre pressure one tyre was in the sun the other was covered by the awning so I waited till the evening to check the pressures as you know the one in the sun was at a much higher pressure when hot just thought you may want to add that to your tyrepal vlog glad to see your getting away and enjoying the caravan take care regards phil

I load all the clothes into ours and non perishables the night before and make sure everythings set to tow then its turn up on the friday hook up and bugger off

Have a great weekend

You are far more organised than me. Good tips though!

Good "reminder" type video for a swift exit. Hardest thing now seems to be booking the location. Thanks & take care x

We start “the pile” a few days before we go, and have a collapsible basket that has essentials, tea coffee can of corned beef etc. and like you also do iPhone notes lists

When we go away I have a check list on my computer which I print off and then tick off everything as we pack the van.We are lucky in that we are able to keep our caravan on our driveway so this might not work for everyone. But it makes sure we don't forget anything!

I like to pack the basics for survival, tea, milk, pack of M&S digestives, chilled beer, crisps, ready meal, breakfast porridge, bread for toast, butter and marmalade. Not forgetting the painkillers for the odd hangover! (Quite likely if I forget to heat up the ready meal.) After that we go shopping for supplies and more beer 😊

Your videos are very good Dan. Hope you had a brilliant weekend away with awesome weather. Pleased you remembered the chili. My notebook is called Gail, (just had a look and found notes app on the iphone). Thanks for the tip. 👍Take care, Rob & Gail

We always set the caravan for weekends so we can just hitch and go. Our longer time away we plan as we know when this is going to happen. For us it’s perfect won’t work for everyone but for us it’s perfect especially if you have a last minute weekend off work.

New to the channel new to caravans never done it before lots to learn but some really great tips here to give us ideas 💡 all I need now is a site that will allow 4 dogs so if anyone knows of any I am all ears 👂 😀 😊

I hope you've had a fab time. I always have a couple of packet foods I.E. Old Elpasso chilli chicken rice. Its great for us. Xx stay safe xx

Have a great weekend. Thank you for the vlog. I wish it could be that simple for us. We have to start with booking ferries 🙄.

We’re always ready to go. Beds made, clean towels, tea coffee and powdered milk topped up, plenty of tins of stuff for tea on the first night…….. out of the 15 ish year’s we been caravanning we’ve done two at the most 🤦‍♂️. Still it makes it so much easier for when we do go on longer trip.

have a great week end away ...... I'm just a bit confused as to where you packed the wine & booze 🙄 😉

We have a box of toys and general caravan gear that just stays ready and can just drop into car when needed. That plus keeping the van always ready to go helps us. Also night before we'll put all food we need in a bag in the fridge and it's just a case of picking that up and leaving. Also be happy to fail the first few times and learn from it. One final thing we do the opposite of you. We make sure there is always facilities so all we set up is electric no need for aqua roll etc as just used bottled water for kettle and wash up on site. Means all you need at a push is your electric cable

Great content as usual Dan we find the biggest issue now with impromptu weekends away are getting a site booked before covid not really a problem. Now some forward planning essential.

Currently on a seasonal site but we’ve decided we need to get around a bit more and use the caravan a bit more, so advise is helpful cheers

I have clothes in the caravan over the summer and some dry goods. My caravan is also parked outside the house. Makes things easier :) stay safe

Our weekends away are usually planned a week or two in advance, but we keep our caravan ready to go too. Main thing is we plug into power on Thursday evening so the fridge is cold to load fridge items into when we get home from work Friday afternoon. This works for us because we have room at the end of our driveway to park the caravan at home. All going well we can be wheels rolling by 5pm.

Used to do the same as you when we had a caravan

I'm usually quite good at remembering what to pack for my trips away(normally 4 nights). Unfortunately the last trip I forgot my medication, it wasn't a big deal, but the next trip will be an extended trip so I will definitely need to write and print off a list of everything I need. Cheers again.👍🖖🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

We have the advantage of having the caravan at home so the day before we put the fridge on to get it cold

We need to get back to impromptu weekends, having lost the enthusiasm for them after 29 years of caravanning. Always seem like a lot of trouble for just 2 nights.

Enjoy Dan wish it was us but have to work 😩

Used to go to bath race course now and again

We always take a frozen dinners, chillies, curries. Weekends ..

Hi Dan, thank you for another helpful vlog. Have you tried any tranquil park sites yet we love them and I highly recommend them when you get to go away with no children.

Sadly, we can't do Impromptu at the mo. Caravan has just been serviced and is empty, Also it needs to go back for a new awning light and I was informed yesterday that the Tracker unit is faulty and needs replacing... This must be my run of bad luck. lol. Hope you have a great time though.. will look forward to the Video of this weekend.

Hi Dan, good advice,have been caravaning a number of years but never done off grid, always done the fully serviced thing, we do want to have a go but a couple of questions l have, firstly what do you do about water supply? Take your own? Secondly, chemical disposal, how do you dispose of this ? Rob Enty

Great video as usual Dan. We’ve been long time watchers from Australia and live on the road in our van. May be doing a trip to the UK sometime next year and would be interested in the app you use for finding campsites. Can you please share the name?

Dan the first correct video ever on subject. But when do you put your fridge on? Could you have not popped down day before and put it on gas? I was away for week same time and went to Burnham on sea site o how nice site is.

Hi Dan I’ve been caravaning for a few yrs now but only go to big sites however I came back 3 wks ago and I’ve just bought a brand new swift sprite major 6 and been watching your vids and want to ask is is worth it joining the caravan club as we got the new one well pic it up nx wk and we would like to use it more on either wk/ends away or a wk or so

Ignore that last comment......Am looking at another site near Charlbury.

Just a stones throw from where I live........are you there now?

Hi quick question, which mirrors do you use? Which brand? Are stable?

For note sharing on Android, Google offers Sheets or Docs. It's platform independent. There may be a notes tool, not something I've looked for.

Only one complaint with this little video! Old mills lane CL site was within the search criteria and I actually saw it on the screen but you never clicked on it!!!!

Hello Dan, do you have any Info on the new van storage being built near you?

Hi Dan, What is this app called that you are using? (01:30) Thanks.

Hi excuse my ignorance, but what are CL’s?

i asked how to remove caopy rubbers from the caravan

Great videoqqqq₩×