More than likely, you’ve heard of the 10 essentials of hiking. These items are all the items necessary for you to have a safe and comfortable hiking experience. Likewise, the 10 essentials of RV camping are the items necessary for a safe and fun RV trip. You won’t want to leave home without them. So, you wonder, “What are the 10 essentials of RV Camping?”
Here are 10 items that you’ll need for a great RV camping experience:
- Drinking Water Hose
- Water Filter
- Electrical Adapter
- Sewer Hose
- Disposable Gloves
- Toilet Chemicals
- RV Toilet Paper
- Water Pressure Regulator
- Leveler
- Wheel Chocks
Outfitting Your New RV
When you purchase a new RV, it probably won’t come with most of the items on this list. Here, I’ll go over the 10 most essential items. You’ll find a full list of items for a new travel trailer here, which is a more comprehensive list for travel trailers and other RVs.
1. Drinking Water Hose
You’ll need a drinking water hose to fill your RV’s fresh water tank. I know you probably drank out of the garden hose as a kid – I did. Still, a garden hose is not meant for drinking. You can find an RV’s drinking water hose at any RV supplier. Camping World and Amazon both have them online.
It’s important to get the correct length. Hoses come in many sizes. The shortest one that I’ve seen is 4 feet and the longest is 50 feet. Then, there is everything in between 10 feet, 25 feet, and 35 feet.
If you have a longer RV, you’ll generally need a longer hose. I can’t imagine anyone needing a hose longer than 50 feet for a campground. If you are mooch-docking at a friend’s or relative’s house and need a longer hose, you can put two 50-foot hoses together.
There is nothing worse than getting to the campground and finding that you can’t reach the water spigot with your short hose.
If you have a smaller RV, as we do, you’ll probably want to save space and get a shorter hose. If you’re crunched for space, Aqua Joe makes a very compact hose. I’ve never used one, but I have a friend who swears by it.
2. Water Filter
Have you ever been to a campground that has water that tastes and smells bad? Even if you’re not drinking it, you don’t want to shower in water that smells like chlorine.
To combat this, we use an in-line water filter. It connects to the drinking water hose, with a short adapter, so it’s easy to use. The water filter makes the water smell and tastes better.
3. Electrical Adapter
Our travel trailer has a 30 amp electrical plug. Some RVs have a 50 amp plug. If you’re ever at a campground that has a different electrical socket, you won’t be able to plug it into power without an adapter.
If you have a 50 amp plug, have a 30 amp adapter handy. Just remember, you won’t be able to run everything in your RV on 30 amps. The air conditioner is a big power sucker. If you are on 30 amp power, you may only be able to run one air conditioner.
Need a 50 to 30 amp adapter? Try the Kohree 50 Amp to 30 Amp RV Adapter. When switching from 30 to 50 amp, try the RVGUARD 30 Amp to 50 Amp RV Adapter Cord.
If you have a 30 amp plug, buy a 15 amp adapter. We use the Camco (55165) Heavy Duty RV Dogbone Electrical Adapter.
You might also consider a surge protector. They are expensive but will save your electronic devices from damage. Portable RV Surge Protector 30 Amp – RV Circuit Analyzer with Integrated Surge Protection is good for 30 amp systems. The RV Power Defender works for 50 amp systems.
4. Sewer Hose
If you have a flush toilet, you’ll need a sewer hose to empty your black water tank. You can use the same hose to empty your grey water (sink and shower) tank.
When we were on the east coast, we stayed in a trailer that was made into an Air BnB. The toilet water flush valve got stuck in the “on” position and flooded the whole RV. I opened the valve so the water could go into the black water tank and not on the floor, but the tank quickly filled up. My husband, Doug, went outside to empty the black water tank. The sewer hose broke and Doug was covered with the contents of the toilet.
Good equipment makes the job easier.
We like the Camco Black 39551 Complete Rv Sewer Kit. If you have a larger RV, you may need a sewer hose extension. With a longer hose, you’ll want to direct the waste toward the sewer and not your RV. That way, when you pack up, you’ll have an empty sewer hose. We like the Camco Sidewinder RV Sewer Support.
Don’t want to empty the black tank? Read about other toilet options.
5. Disposable Gloves
Take my word for it, you’ll want gloves. I like the nitrile gloves, like these. But really, any type of impermeable gloves work.
6. Toilet Chemicals
Toilet chemicals will help reduce odors. We use Camco TST Ultra-Concentrated Orange Citrus Scent RV Toilet Treatment Drop-Ins for the toilet. They are small pods that are super easy to use.
Grey water can also get smelly. The Camco TST Lemon Scent RV Grey Water Odor Control will keep your grey water from getting stinky.
7. RV Toilet Paper
RV toilet paper breaks down better than household toilet paper. So it’s less likely to get stuck on the inside of your black tank. You can buy it online through Amazon or Camping World. Walmart sells it as well.
8. Water Pressure Regulator
If you don’t have a water pressure regulator, you can do a lot of damage to your RV plumbing. Water pressure at campgrounds varies. We like the Twinkle Star RV Water Pressure Regulator. It sounds silly but works well.
9. RV Leveler
Some campgrounds are very unlevel. I can’t remember one time that we didn’t have to use our levelers at a campground. An RV leveler helps to level your RV from side to side. Not only will you sleep better in a level RV, but your refrigerator may not work if the RV is not level.
If your RV doesn’t have a built-in automatic leveling system, you’ll need levelers. If you have two wheels on one side, you’ll need two levelers. We used to have the lego style levelers, but we found something that works so much better.
We bought the Andersen levelers and like them. There have been a couple of times that we couldn’t get the height that we needed and had to pull out the lego-style leveling blocks. That’s been a rare occurrence. Other brands are similar to the Andersen levelers, but I don’t have any experience with them. The Camco levelers are less expensive. Camco generally makes good products.
10. Wheel Chocks
Wheel chocks are an essential safety item if you have a travel trailer. My husband, Doug, lived in a house with a very steep driveway. He forgot to use the wheel chocks on his trailer.
The next thing he knew, the trailer was traveling down the steep driveway, down the road and headed for the highway. Fortunately, there were no collisions and the trailer was moved to its rightful place.
After that, he remember to chock the wheels every time.
There are three types of wheel chocks, metal, plastic, and rubber. The plastic chocks normally have an expiration date. They are also somewhat slippery.
I like the rubber chocks. They work well and are inexpensive. We use the Maxx Haul brand wheel chocks.
If you have a duel axle trailer, these X-Chocks are really slick.
Conclusion
These are some of the items you’ll need to have an enjoyable camping experience.