Some of the items that we’ve equipped the camper with have been excellent investments. Now that we have them, we don’t plan to leave home without them. Below you’ll find a brief summary explaining why we promote each one of these items. Check back from time-to-time; this list is ever evolving.
If you’re thinking about solar panels, check out this post!
Technical Must Haves
- Hopkins Endurance RV Leveling System Kit with Graduated Level
- MAXXHAUL 50230 Polypropylene Wheel Chock 2-Pack
- Camco Trailer Tongue Jack Stand
- X Chock Wheel Stabilizer
- RhinoFLEX 20-Foot RV Sewer Hose Kit
- Camco Sidewinder RV Sewer Hose Support
- Zero-G Teknor Apex 5/8-in x 50-ft Premium-Duty Kink Free Woven Gray Hose
- Camco TastePURE Water Filter
- Master Lock Trailer Tongue Lock
Hopkins Endurance RV Leveling System Kit with Graduated Level
There are all sorts of RV leveling systems out there. Some look like big legos, some are these crazy curved blocks that you rock onto until you’re level (we weren’t courageous enough to try these; they still make me shudder just thinking about them.). This kit allows you to customize your system to your camper. Other than this kit, you’ll need wood (2×8). I’ve included the link with the adhesive bubble levels; these things are great. They help us to level out quickly and easily. Pro Tip: the amazon picture shows two separate ramps for dual axles. We chose to make one long one that fits under both wheels at the same time. The boards are longer, but they fit comfortably in our pass-through. We definitely feel it’s more stable using one large ramp to distribute the weight. To date, we’ve camped in over 50 locations, and we’ve been able to level easily with this system every time.
MAXXHAUL 50230 Polypropylene Wheel Chock 2-Pack
A chock is a chock, right? Chocks are 100% necessary for safety. Here’s what we like about these. They’re light, but durable. Bright color ensures that we see them when we’re packing up. And they’re a decent price. Not much else to say; they’re a solid buy.
Camco Trailer Tongue Jack Stand
This is another one of those simple bits of gear that really make set-up easy. We see a lot of people using a cinder block, and that works just fine. But this tongue jack stand is much smaller and much lighter than a cinder block. It is worth noting that I replaced our first stand after 2 camping seasons. The base of the first one was looking a little warped, but I honestly think it was still sound. We’ve got a lot sitting on this stand (literally); I figured it was worth ~$16 more for peace of mind that my tongue jack is secure. FYI: weight capacity of this stand is 5,000 pounds.
X-Chock Wheel Stabilizer
If you have dual axles, you want these. We don’t use them as safety chocks, although they’re definitely helping out there. Yes, we use these in addition to regular chocks. We use them because the 4 tiny humans that travel with us have a tendency to stomp around like elephants! These X-Chocks seriously help to minimize sway when people are moving around inside. They are not the cheapest or lightest ”must have.” But they’ve definitely earned their spot on the list.
RhinoFLEX 20-Foot RV Sewer Hose Kit
We initially bought the 10-foot RhinoFLEX Sewer Hose Kit. It only took once misalignment with the dump station to realize that we needed extra hose length. The RhinoFLEX connects to our camper easily. The transparent elbow allows you to see when your tank is empty, and the adapter helps to ensure a good fit at any dump station.
Pro Tip: Disposable gloves and a package of baby wipes are great things to have on hand (literally!). Dump stations are not necessarily near bathhouses, and if you’re dumping, chances are that you’re trying to get a move on.
Camco Sidewinder RV Sewer Hose Support
The perfect companion to the RhinoFLEX sewer hose kit, you need this. S*#! won’t flow uphill! This support may seem like an unnecessary piece of gear, but it makes emptying your tanks 1000x easier. The design allows you to go around obstacles, and it won’t close up on you or fall over. The gradual downhill slope makes emptying the tanks a cinch.
Zero-G Teknor Apex 5/8-in x 50-ft Premium-Duty Kink Free Woven Gray Hose
We started out with the seemingly most popular white Camco hose for filling our fresh water tank. It didn’t take long for us to find flaws in that hose. It was heavy, kinked almost immediately, and was like trying to wrestle a 25-foot long snake when we tried to put it away. And for reference, we had a special storage container to help with all of these issues. We ended up ditching both of those for this hose. Lightweight, no issues with kinking, storage is simple in a small plastic container. (It’s worth noting that we only use this hose for fresh water. We prefer to keep anything pertaining to the gray/black tank system in a tote of its own. For that reason we have a second hose in that tote; that one is generic and not anything to write home about.)
Camco TastePURE Water Filter
Good drinking water is vital. We run all of our water through one of these filters before it enters our fresh water tank. (We are also very vigilant about maintaining our fresh water tank so we can use our tank to its fullest potential.) This filter removes bad tastes, chlorine, and any particles larger than 20 microns. We never worry about drinking water from our freshwater tank since we know the tank is clean and the water is filtered. Pro tip: put this filter at the end of your fresh water hose closest to the camper; this way you’ll filter out that hose taste too.
Master Lock Trailer Tongue Lock
Call me paranoid, but it’d be a really bad day to come back to camp and find your camper gone. This lock probably isn’t going to stop someone who has their heart set on stealing your camper, but it’s going to be a definite deterrent. Another one of those peace-of-mind things.
States Stickers and Province Stickers
First of all, if you’re new to campers, this is a fun way to show off where you’ve been. You’ll see these all over the campgrounds. I searched long and hard for the perfect US state stickers. I wanted there to be a coordinating Canadian Provinces sticker; Camping World delivered. I love the bold colors; black lines between the states help to make each state stand out. I haven’t had any issues getting these stickers to stick. I simply wipe the map with a damp paper towel, dry it, and the stick the state. Have fun showing off your travels!
The Ultimate RV Logbook
We wanted to be able to log our adventures in our camper. This logbook was the best option I found. There are several sections that I don’t fill out, but I don’t feel like it’s missing any of the info that I want to log. Our first logbook lasted us 3 camping seasons (52 locations); our next book is ready and waiting for season 4.
GSI Outdoors, Pinnacle Base Camper, 8-Piece Camp Cookset: Small and Large
Pots and pans are heavy. I did a lot of digging, trying to find the lightest option I could. These aren’t cheap, but they’re worth it. Lightweight, durable, nonstick, and they nest inside each other nicely so they take up minimal cupboard real estate. As a family of 6, I bought both sets, and I don’t regret it. There are different sized pots and pans in the 2 sets; it gives me a ton of variety.
Heads up: Any items discussed above are items we use and love. If you click and purchase from one of our affiliate links, you may add some change in our “Next Big Adventure” jar. And we promise to share that adventure! This comes at no cost to you.