5 RV Accessories You Need Today!
You just got your first RV, you’re overflowing with excitement and anticipation of your first RV trip, but what are the RV must-haves to make it a success? There are so many products out there and it can be confusing! Walkthrough your local RV store and the shelves will overwhelm you. Some blogs and sites will show you the top 30 or top 40 RV Must-Haves. It’s so much to figure out and money doesn’t grow on trees. Here’s the deal, you don’t need 30-40 things to start out. You don’t need to fill two shopping carts at the store to make your first trip a success. You need these basic essentials for RV Newbies. We’re going to give you our Top 5 RV Accessories you need today and even a bonus essential.
KEEP IT SIMPLE
This list isn’t about the woobies, kitchenware, and homemaking doodads for inside the RV. These RV must-haves are the essentials for RV newbies that will be the building blocks to YOUR RV lifestyle. They’re the stepping stones to how you want to set up your RV. Get these items, go on your first trip or two, and then start building YOUR home on wheels for your tastes and needs. If you’re looking for more than the basics then check out our KITS for just about every other RV item you may want.
IT’S ELECTRIC
Our first RV accessory must-have is for safeguarding your investment with a surge protector. Many RV parks have electrical issues, including surges, which can fry your RV appliances or worse. That’s a bad way to start your new lifestyle. We recommend, and use, the Surge Guard product from Southwire (30 Amp-Surge Guard 44280) (50 Amp-Surge Guard 44290) The LED fault chart allows you to see any electrical issues before you actually hook up the power to your trailer and provides an easy way to see any problems while you’re set up. It will also shut off if power drops below 102V or goes above 132V. It’s weatherproof, rugged, and easy to use.
STINKY SLINKY
Another product you can’t, and DO NOT want to go wrong with is your sewer hose. What goes in must come out and you need a quality stinky slinky to ensure all of your waste makes it from your tanks to the dump station. This is one hose you don’t want leaking! The product we recommend is the RhinoFLEX Sewer Hose by Camco. This kit comes complete with two 10 foot sections so you will have plenty of hose for just about any site. It also comes with all of the adapters and caps you’ll need to hook up, download, and move on.
NEED…WATER
Your next RV must-have is a water hose. No, the garden hose you’ve used for the last 6 years isn’t a smart option here. The hose should be made for drinking water and not the same one you flush your black tank with. Yuck. Our recommendation here is Camco’s Premium Drinking Water Hose. At 25 feet, it will be long enough for nearly any site and the best part is, it’s made specifically for drinking water. The product is BPA and lead-free, is 20% thicker than other hoses to better prevent leaks, and yes, it’s even kink-free. Now while the hose is great for drinking water…it’s still only as good as the water running through it and that brings us to our next RV must-have.
CLEAN, FRESH, AND ODOR FREE
Folks, you need a water filter. A lot of RV parks run off of well water and it’s not always the cleanest (we’ve had a few). Whether it’s chemicals, bacteria, or even sediment, you need a filter to protect your RV and more importantly, you and your family. The Camco TastePURE RV/Marine Water Filter is the way to go.
It reduces bad tastes, funk, chlorine, sediment and protects against bacteria, fungus, and mold. All of this is accomplished through Kinetic Degradation Fluxion (KDF) and the use of a Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) filter. That’s fancy for two different means of keeping the water going in your trailer clean, smelling good, and tasty. I trust it to supply drinking water for my family and I highly recommend this product.
STAY PUT
Okay, so you’ve got juice running to the RV, your water is clean, and you can safely dump your number ones and twos through a high-quality stinky slinky. You’re all set, right? Not quite. There is one more RV must-have that every RV newbie needs. What could it be? Simple, you need wheel chocks.
Bottom line is that things with wheels tend to roll, don’t let it happen to your RV. There are a lot of options for chocks, but if you’re looking for a high-quality product at a great price then these MAXXHAUL Rubber Wheel Chocks are perfect. We have used these since we started out. They don’t slip, they’re durable, and they will definitely keep your RV in place. And they don’t break if you accidentally run over them. This kit is for a set of two so you’ll need to buy two sets (you want chocks on both sides).
BONUS RECOMMENDATION
Let’s not be shy folks, crap happens, rear ends need wiping, and one sure way to mess up your black tank and cause some serious issues is by using the wrong toilet paper. It sounds strange but one of the most important RV must-haves is TP. There are a lot of products on the market. Some are great at degrading…but will do so in your hand. Others are nice and soft but don’t break down in the black tank. And some are just plain terrible. I think we went through every type of TP on the market before finding Scott’s Rapid Dissolve Bath Tissue. It’s strong enough to hold up to the task at hand, soft enough to compare to a standard product, and breaks down easily in your black tank.
MEETING YOUR NEEDS
See, we kept it to just the essentials for RV newbies. There are so many products, lists, and recommendations out there and you could end up spending a ton of money on things you find you won’t need. These RV must-haves are your stepping stones to getting out and enjoying your new RV. If you are looking for more, we have just about everything you may want or need on our Gear page. Now go enjoy your RV!!
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Great advice Chris!!!
Thank you and thanks for checking our blog out! We appreciate the support.
You are so funny, or maybe it was me reading it to dad. All good to have so now you can get rid of all that stuff you didn’t need. Great job Chris!????????????
Thank you!