Product Review: Folding Shovel – A Motorhome Essential

Disclosure: I received a free sample for this review. I did not receive any payment and was not required to write a positive review.

Winter is here and drivers all over the country are suffering in the snow and ice. Some of them, (by no means all), are suffering simply because they have not taken even the most basic precautions against winter weather.

One such precaution is keeping a folding shovel in your boot in order to be able to clear snow and ice from under your wheels, if necessary. Another possible use for a folding shovel is digging out wheels that have sunk into muddy fields – a problem that will be close to the hearts of many year-round motorhomers, especially those with big front-wheel drive ‘vans.

I was recently sent an Emergency Snow Shovel (£14.99) by The AA and can report that it is an excellent piece of equipment. It is 59cm long when opened up and just 24cm long when folded up – so it will not take up much space in even the smallest of motorhomes. It also comes in a tough canvas pouch that will ensure that any dirt on the shovel is not transferred to the inside of your motorhome.

It seems fairly well made and is much more practical to carry around than a full-size shovel unless you are going to be doing an awful lot of digging. The head can be fixed at a variety of angles up to 90 degrees – so it can be used as a pick, too.

Of course, there is one other use to which a folding shovel can be put if you are caught short in a rural area – the creation of an emergency toilet facility, as used by soldiers and boy scouts the world over…