While we were planning and learning about the full-time RV lifestyle we bought a number of items that we thought would come in real handy once we were on the road.  A couple of them have either rarely been used or never been used.

We each got a padded bag for our lap top computers.  I think one of us has used one once.  When we travel, we put each computer on the bed on a piece of Rubbermail non-slip material. 

We also bought a small folding table.  It is heavy and now is sitting on the floor of the back seat in the Honda. 

I wonder if others have purchased items they really did not need.

We had a picnic table with bench in a box that we barely ever used so we got rid of it.

Problem is.....the only time you need some things is when you don't have them. It's kind of a version of Murphy's Law I guess. Every time I do my spring cleaning and take something out, I need it on the next trip.

WE bought a pressure sprayer for bug repellent and it's been sitting in the basement for almost 4 years now. I keep thinking of tossing it, but it's light and someday I MAY need it. BTW, we have never had a problem with critters coming in the rig.

Funny, I'm guess I'm getting senile. I wrote about a $10 sprayer and didn't mention the $5500 mistake. We bought a big built in generator with the rig and have hardly ever boondocked in all this time. We could we have saved a lot of money by going out bare and then maybe buying a portable Honda later.

You have no idea how important this is right now for us.  We are reading carefully since today we start loading the RV for full time.

By the way anyone know the best way to carry a router table on an RV? 

Just kidding...or not...if Nanette sees this I am in some REALLY big trouble...dont' tell her!

Ken

My husband is still trying to find a way to keep his Kabota Tractor with a front bucket...It is his pride and joy...lol..patti

I think the tractor is agreat idea as a toad. Open air, never gets stuck on the beach., etc...

Fred, thats great to know on the generator. We already have a generator for the house that is portable, maybe we should start off with that before we get an Onan. This thread is very helpful to those of us who haven't hit the road yet. Thanks for sharing. -Connie

Patti,

Heck, we've finally come to the sad realization that our pool table just won't fit in our 5er!   

We start traveling in January but moved into our fiver LAST January while still working. We find we need very little. The only thing I really needed that we did have have onboard was a zester to make lemon zest. Very small item, easily got. However, do just know we have too many clothes in here. Once we take off, I have no doubt we will be ditching some (lots) of them. When we bought the Montana we considered having an onboard generator installed at the dealer. We quickly changed our mind when told it would cost $9,000! That is just crazy. And I remember reading some time ago that Fred said they had one and it was a waste of money. We have a very small portable generator. That will suffice. Phyllis

While we don't use our generator very often, it is very nice to have when the power goes out. We recently stopped in Q-Town to visit some friends out in the LTVA area. They bought a portable generator to use with their FW. But I discovered they only had a converter, no inverter. If they needed 120V power or needed to charge their batteries they had to run the noisy genny. We use our inverter more than the genny, when traveling, to power the laptop. If you plan to do a lot of dry camping I would reconsider the genny, and I would recommend an inverter. My feeling is, I am a full-timer and I don't plan to rough it. I'm not camping, I live the life everyday. That's my 2 cents worth...

I started this topic for the exact reason that some of you have mentioned. I hope others will talk about more than their need for a generator. That cold become a separate topic. I also brought a couple of smaller items that I ended up leaving taped to a dumpster so that someone else might be able to use them. One was a soft plastic strap to use to coil up an extension cord. Did not liike and thus did not use it.

We have a leaf blower that we have used a couple of times, but really is not a necessary item, especially when you consider the space it takes up. We put it out in a CG yard sale once, but had no takers.

So does that mean the Jacuzzi has to stay too?

We bought many things that weren't needed. Most new RVer's do the same thing, they see thing others have and think we need that. The most expensive thing was on board Generators, and we also have a 50 amp Generator in a Toolbox. We only had about 150 hours on the onboard and Generator in a Toolbox hasn't been used but about 150 hours. Unless you do a lot of boondocking a Generator is a waste. The King pin stablizer is also really not needed, there is no way to stop all the movement, get use to it, you are setting on air and springs. We do now have a 5th wheel with all hydraulic jacks (6 ea) and it can raise the 5th off the ground, I don't raise the tires off the ground but do take a lot of weight off them. Hand tools can really add the weight also. Just the basic tool are needed. We do have a small leaf blower, we don't care for the slide toppers, they only make noise and hold water and are expensive to buy and maintain. Thats why I have a Leaf blower, just in case we have to be parked under trees, we try to avoid trees if at all posible, they only cause problems. We have plenty of space in our basement after we learned having full basements are a waste of money. One other point, never ever blackflush your Black tank with your fresh water hose. Always carry another hose just for flushing your Black Tank. GBY.....

Being new (after an 8+ year hiatus) RV'ers, we'll be watching this thread with interest. So far, I don't think we have purchase anything we won't / don't use. I would like to keep it that way.

 Now the generator is something we could not do without. I would say that 90% of our camping is dry camping. That will of course change once we ever get to go full time.
 I've told Diane that we might need a stacker trailer to haul the Jeep AND harley or the honda trike on our jouney's...... I only HOPE I was teasing

When we bought our fifthwheel we had a generator on the option list but took it off once I learned how much space it took up (let alone the extra weight). Instead, we purchased a Honda 2000 watt generator, that weights 46 pounds, knowing that if we needed more power we could buy another one and link them together. Over the past three years we've used the generator maybe a dozen times and have never needed any more power than it generates. Whether you should get a generator or not entirely depends on your lifestyle. If you are looking to live off the grid most of the time then a generator would be high on your list as would extra batteries and an inverter. But most of us stay connected to shore power and only need the generator when the power goes out or maybe a couple of nights while traveling and staying in various parking lots so a smaller unit will be more than enough. If I were buying today, I would look at the Yamaha 2500 which will run a 13,500 BTU air conditioner (the Honda 2000 will not). Now, what did we buy that we didn't really need - It would have to be the George Foreman Grill. Thought it would be quick and easy but found that a frying pan is quicker and easier.

Okay, here we go. I will attempt to list a few of the things that we had that we got rid of as time went by. First I was a clean car idiot. I took a couple of buffers with us to polish thing up, those went. Second, We had large lounge chairs to use when sitting outside, took up a lot of space and were heavy, those went and were replaced with smaller and lighter lawn chairs. Third, many of the tools I brought with us went. Now my main tools are a small tool set and a cell phone. Fourth, was most of our Christmas decorations. We still have a few things that we put out but that 12 foot Christmas tree went. Fifth, the photo albums eventually went as I got the pictures scanned and filed on CD's. Sixth, many of the heavy extension cords I brought went. We just never had a need for them. I still keep one but seldom use it. Seventh, we brought entirely too much clothing. We have a washing machine and use it. We have gone through those clothes several times and are still paring it down. Eight, Still in process. This is a never ending process. Our rule is, if we haven't used it in a year, we can not afford the space our weight to carry it with us. So, once every year we do an inventory and get rid of stuff that we haven't used. Too numerous to mention it all!

Like ahoweth we also ditched half our clothes we also downsized the amount of books we carry. We are taking our lounge chairs with us one more year but if we don't use them any more than we did last year they will be gone. I do carry a good assortment of tools but I use them on the church building jobs we volunteer with and weight is not a problem on our truck. We thought about buying a blueboy but I'm glad I did not. We have always worked around that when we dry camped. We just recently left 3 of our dinning room chairs at our daughters as they are not used. We moved the dining room table and use it as a desk.

Really enjoying this thread... hope many more of you will join in and let us Newbies know what to take and what to avoid!  I know many things are a personal choice, but hearing the reasoning behind your decisions really gets me thinking about what might be necessary and workable for US!

Please -- tell me more!!!

We opted for two honda 2000's instead of the built-in. Worked out great when IKE hit, but thats about all we used them for.
We have way too many drinking glasses and coffee cups. All you need is enough for at the most  4 people, the overflow can be handle by disposable cups.

We had our rig built to our standards.....yes we did have the generator installed.  We boondock here and there, but have been in Florida during their rainstorms when the electric goes out and stays out for hours.  It's nice to hit a button and the A/C comes back on ....especially when it is 95 degrees and 100% humidity. 
Anyway, we had waaaaaay too many pots and pans.  Cut them down within the first year of fulltiming.  DH and I both cook, we have realized over 5 years on the road, that the crockpot and pressure cooker are our "Go-To" kitchen comforts.  Easy to use and convenient. 
My DH had a truck full of tools that he has slowly gotten rid of.....pictures/picture albums have all been scanned and put on CD.  Pictures have all been passed along to our children.  We still carry quite a few books, but we like to do wth exchange thing as we travel to different RV parks.  DVD's are all gone....we use netflix.  And my thing that I gave up....PLANTS!!  I had a bunch of them, spent quite a few years hauling them around.  I have finally gotten myself down to 2 plants......and I buy plants and give them to the office personnel when we leave that area.  I also volunteer at the parks to tend to shrubs, flowers, etc.  My greenthumb just gets the best of me.
Hope this helps some....we LOVE our lifestyle and just go with the flow.

-- Edited by Postalpair on Tuesday 29th of December 2009 11:43:11 AM

I'm sorry I missed this post. Here ya go... Google "safety cones" or "collapsable safety cones" and find the cheapest price. I found them to sell for around $25 a piece and kept searching and found mine for $7.99 a piece WITH the blinking light on top. I ordered mine after we had to pull off the side of the road one time to check out a noise. It really wasn't safe without them. I hope we never use them but they're a handy thing to have just in case. These are the exact ones that I have except now they are $13.50 each: http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/safety/parking-lot/traffic-control/18-collapsible-safety-cone?utm_source=nextag&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Traffic-ConesDru-nextag&infoParam.campaignId=WI