The Complete Buyers Guide To Caravan Outdoor Essentials

You’ll spend more time outside your caravan than inside it. Under the awning, around the campfire, at the camp kitchen, watching the sunset with a drink. The outdoor setup is where the Big Lap actually happens: it’s your living room, dining room, and social space. Getting this right is just as important as getting the inside of the van sorted.

The essentials are straightforward: something to sit on, something underfoot, somewhere to prepare food if you cook outside, and the bits and pieces that make your awning area comfortable and functional. None of it needs to be expensive, but buying quality where it counts (chairs especially) saves you replacing things partway through the trip.

Why Outdoor Setup Matters

A good outdoor setup extends your living space dramatically. Under the awning with a mat, chairs, a table, and perhaps an outdoor kitchen, you effectively double the usable area of your camp. In warm weather (which is most of Australia, most of the year), this is where you’ll eat, relax, socialise, and often work. Investing a few hundred dollars in quality outdoor gear pays back every single day of the trip.

Ground Mats

An outdoor mat defines your living space, keeps dirt and dust out of the van, and gives you a clean, comfortable surface underfoot. On red dirt, sand, gravel, or muddy grass, a mat is the barrier between the outside and your caravan’s interior. It also marks your site boundary, which helps with caravan park etiquette and gives kids a visible “home base.”

The two formats worth considering are breathable mesh mats and solid woven mats. The CGear MultiMat is the gold standard in breathable mats: sand and dust fall straight through the weave rather than sitting on top, which makes it genuinely low maintenance in dusty conditions. The Tiegear Terra Mat is a solid woven option with a tighter surface underfoot, better suited to grassy or gravel sites where you want a firmer feel. If you’re running an annex and want matting specifically for that space, the Companion Annex Matting (2.5 x 6m, $169) is cut to annex dimensions and saves you trimming a larger mat to fit.

Camping Chairs

You’ll sit in your camp chair every single day. Probably multiple times a day. A cheap chair that’s uncomfortable, wobbly, or collapses after three months is a false economy. Spend a bit more on chairs that support your back, pack compactly, and last the distance.

The options broadly split into three categories. Upright camp chairs are the most versatile: the Spinifex Comfort Line Moon Chair is a well-regarded mid-range pick with solid lumbar support and a wide seat, available at Anaconda for around $80–$100. Lounge-style chairs are better for pure relaxation: the Wildtrak Hamelin Camp Lounger sits low and reclines, and the OZtrail Jumbo Sun Lounge is a flat sun lounge for those who want to stretch out properly. For cold-climate travellers heading through the Snowy Mountains or Tasmania in shoulder season, the KickAss Ultimate Adventure Electric Camping Chair with Heating Function runs off 12V power and keeps you warm on chilly evenings without needing to go inside.

The best chair depends on your back, your preferred sitting position, and how much space you have to store it. The child guide below has ranked picks across all these categories.

Outdoor Pantries & Tables

If your caravan doesn’t have a slide-out kitchen, a standalone outdoor pantry or camp kitchen gives you a dedicated food prep and storage area outside the van. Even if you do have a slide-out, an outdoor pantry keeps condiments, spices, and snacks accessible without going inside.

The options range from budget to serious. The OZtrail 5 Shelf Cupboard ($89.99) is a lightweight folding unit that’s fine for short trips but can feel flimsy over months of use. The OZtrail Double Pantry ($169) steps up with more bench space and a sturdier frame. The Navigator Kitchen Buddy ($99.95) is a compact option that straps to your tow vehicle or caravan body, keeping your camp kitchen off the ground. For those who want a proper pull-out system, the Kings Pantry Slide ($369) mounts inside a rear tunnel boot or storage bay and pulls out to reveal a full camp kitchen with built-in table. The Adventure Kings Hanging Pantry ($19.99) is worth throwing in regardless of what else you have: it hangs from your awning rail and keeps dry goods, spices, and tea off the bench.

At the premium end, the Tiegear Cantina Grande ($400) is a fully enclosed, weather-resistant camp kitchen organiser with drawers and a fold-out prep surface. It’s expensive, but caravanners who cook seriously outside rate it highly.

BBQs & Outdoor Cooking

Most Big Lappers cook outside at least half the time. A good portable BBQ or griddle is one of the most-used pieces of gear in the whole setup. The question is what style suits how you cook.

For a traditional gas BBQ, the Weber Baby Q (Q1200) is the most popular choice on the road for good reason: it’s compact, reliable, cooks evenly, and the parts and accessories are widely available. The Weber Traveler Compact adds a stand and a larger cooking surface if you’re feeding more than two. The Ziegler & Brown Portable Grill is the Australian-made alternative with a strong following, and the Gasmate Voyager is the budget pick if you want a gas BBQ without the Weber price tag.

For griddle-style cooking, the Blackstone 22 Inch Omnivore 2 Burner Portable Griddle has built a cult following among caravan cooks who want a flat top for smash burgers, stir fries, and big breakfasts. The Dometic CADAC 2-Cook 3 Pro Deluxe is a hybrid system that works as both a wok-style burner and a flat grill, with interchangeable cooking surfaces.

For electric options, the KickAss 50cm Portable Electric BBQ (1400W) is a solid choice for powered sites or those running a large solar and battery setup. The Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ, Grill, Air Fryer and Smoker does everything: grill, air fry, smoke, and dehydrate. It draws more power than a basic electric BBQ, so it’s best suited to powered sites or a robust off-grid system.

Awning Accessories

Your awning creates the outdoor living area, but it needs a couple of accessories to work well. Anti flap kits stop the awning fabric from rattling in the wind. Annexes and privacy screens extend the awning into an enclosed room for extra sleeping, storage, or privacy.

Happy Hour Essentials

Happy hour is a Big Lap institution. Around 4pm, camp chairs come out, drinks are poured, and neighbours become friends. Having the right glasses, a decent esky or wine chiller, and a few creature comforts makes this daily ritual even better.

For drinkware, skip anything breakable. The YETI Rambler 20oz Tumbler keeps cold drinks cold for hours and survives being knocked off a camp table. The KickAss Tumbler is a solid budget alternative. For wine drinkers, the Polysafe Polycarbonate Sparkling Flute (180ml) is a proper flute shape made from shatterproof polycarbonate, and the Navigator Collapsible Wine Glass packs flat for easy storage. The Alcoholder Squish Stemless Silicone Tumbler is virtually indestructible and takes up almost no space. To keep your glass off the ground, the WineRest Wine Glass Holder stakes into the ground and holds your drink while you relax.

For keeping things cold, the Coleman 47L Extreme Wheeled Cooler is a reliable hardside esky that keeps ice for several days and rolls easily between the van and the campsite. If you’d rather skip buying ice altogether, the Devanti 2L Portable Ice Maker produces ice in around 10 minutes on powered sites. For frozen cocktails and slushies, the Ninja SLUSHi Professional Frozen Drink Maker has become a surprisingly popular campsite luxury. If you don’t want a full ice maker, the Ezee Freeze Mini Reusable Ice Cubes (1.8kg) freeze overnight and keep drinks cold without the watery mess of regular ice.