Everything in Our Van That Came From Amazon (the master list)

Okay y'all, I get asked about this constantly, so I'm finally putting every single road trip essential in one place.

We're a family of eight living out of a Ford Transit van for weeks at a time, roadschooling across 47 states so far, and pretty much everything that makes that work showed up on our porch in a brown box. This is the real list. Stuff we own and have hauled across the country and replaced when the kids broke it. I went back through two years of Amazon orders to build this, which was honestly a little embarrassing. Chris doesn't need to know the number.

Quick note so we're all clear: these are affiliate links, so if you buy through them I make a small commission at no cost to you. It helps keep the lights on over here (I wrote about that here: bellebucket.com/why-belle-bucket) and I only link things we use.

Let's go!

The stuff that keeps us alive out there

Jackery Explorer 2000 v2. This is the big one and it gets its own post (read it here). It runs our fridge, charges every device in the van, blow dries my hair, and powers the Yoto at bedtime. If you only buy one thing on this list and you're serious about van trips or family camping, it's this. (I know it's a lot. There's a cheaper one right below.)

Jackery Explorer 1000 v2. If you don't have a fridge to run, this is plenty. It's the one I'd tell my sister to buy.

Jackery Solar Generator 300 with the panel. Weekend trips and tent camping. Little, and it charges off the sun.

The Jackery car charging cable. You NEED this. It charges while you drive so you never pull into camp empty.

weBoost Drive Reach signal booster. This is how I run a business from a dirt road in Montana. Not kidding.

LifeStraw Peak. Every kid has one in their backpack and honestly it's for my peace of mind.

AquaQuest tarp. Shade, rain cover, a place to eat when the picnic table is wet. We use this more than the tent.

Car organization for kids (or, keeping eight people's stuff from taking over)

Lusso Gear backseat organizer. One per row, and it holds the snacks and books and chargers and all the little junk that ends up on the floor otherwise.

Gorilla Grip 24 pocket hanging organizer. Hangs on the back of the front seats. Each kid gets pockets. It changed my life and I'm so serious.

IRIS weathertight bins. These live under the bed platform and hold the shoes and jackets and all the school stuff, and rain doesn't get in.

HOTOR car trash can. Best rated one on Amazon for a reason. It hangs, it has a lid, and it doesn't tip over on mountain roads.

Cozy Essential vacuum bags with the pump. Bedding and off-season clothes. We shrink it all down and shove it up in the top cubbies.

Drawstring cinch backpacks, 50 pack. This is my whole packing system for six kids and it costs like twenty dollars. Every kid gets a color. Clothes go in, dirty clothes come out into the same bag, done. No packing cubes, no suitcases. I've tried it all and this wins.

Roadschool in the backseat

(Full post on how we roadschool here: bellebucket.com/roadschooling)

Yoto Mini. A screen free audiobook player that comes out on every long drive and at every bedtime, and the kids run it themselves.

The Yoto cards we own. Narnia, all the Harry Potters, Horrible Histories, Earth Explorers, Wings of Fire, The Boxcar Children, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Captain Underpants. If you want ONE to start with, do Horrible Histories. My kids know more about the Tudors than I do.

Osmo Genius Kit. Turns the iPad into school. Math and spelling and drawing, and they think it's a game.

LeapFrog LeapReader. My boys tap the words with the pen and it reads to them. Two of my kids learned to read in the backseat with this thing.

Magformers. Magnetic tiles that live in the van year round. The little boys will build for an hour.

Hours six through ten (the road trip games)

Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza. It's loud and fast and everybody from 5 to 45 can play, and it's our most played game ever.

Taco vs Burrito. Same family, a little more strategy. The older kids like it more.

Monopoly Deal. The whole game in a deck of cards, fifteen minutes start to finish, and no board to lose pieces off of.

Rubberneckers. A road trip scavenger game. Spot the thing out the window, get the points. Works for the littles.

Boogie Board Jot. Doodles and tic tac toe and spelling practice, then erase and do it all again, and zero paper ends up on the floor.

Foldology and Kanoodle. One kid and one puzzle and one very quiet hour, and both of them fit in a cupholder.

And for the moms at the campsite table, mahjong. You knew I was going to. This American mahjong travel set comes in a soft case and it's the one I'd start with, and grab the 2026 card and some sleeves while you're there.

What I film all this with

People ask, so here it is. DJI Osmo Pocket 3 for pretty much every reel, the Osmo Mobile 8 gimbal for phone stuff, a set of wireless lav mics so you can hear me over the van, a Kodak PIXPRO FZ55 that the kids get to use as THEIR camera, and a 512GB microSD with a reader because I fill cards embarrassingly fast.

That's the list! I'll keep adding to it as we go. If there's something you swear by in your car or camper that I don't have on here, tell me in the comments, because I am always looking for the next thing.

Want to see it all in action? The van tour is here: bellebucket.com/the-oneal-mobile.