Mini-Camper Maintenance Basics

Unleash the mechanic within: A guide to basic car maintenance

  1. Save Big with DIY Car Maintenance!

Regular maintenance is needed to ensure the longevity of your camper and there’s one area you can get the hang of pretty quickly, and that's the changing of the engine oil, oil filter, and glow plugs. This can lead to significant savings, which is great news for your camping trip funds.

Given that this maintenance is needed somewhat regularly – after every 15,000-30,000km or possibly once a year (particularly if you're doing a lot of short-distance driving or pulling heavy trailers) – it's clear that over the next years, the costs could really add up.

Fortunately, with a few basic tools, you can learn to perform these changes yourself quite easily.

My Recommendation:

To make things as easy as possible, I’ve put together a video guide (click) on changing the oil, oil-filter, and glow plugs, which you can access with a quick click of the digital button at the top of this page. If your mini-camper is a VW Caddy, then this guide is definitely for you.

2. Learn from Your Mechanic

Besides the video I've created, the next time your vehicle needs maintenance, why not ask your mechanic if you can watch or help out? Bring a pen and paper, maybe a camera too. By writing down notes and making pictures at each step, you'll have a maintenance guide for yourself. Then simply repeat the steps for the next oil change. With a bit of practice, you’ll grow in confidence and soon you'll be comfortable doing these tasks on your own.

My Recommendation:

Mastering the basics of vehicle maintenance could save you a large sum over the years. It can also give you skills that are transferable to a variety of machinery – think of your chainsaw, your lawn mower, or even your kid's scooter (the principles are similar across the board). The sense of achievement and the fun you get from taking care of your own vehicle is quite rewarding. Give it a try and leave more in your pocket for the upcoming mini-camper travels. More help on how to build your own mini-camper in my conversion book (click).