Must haves - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Rickl · RV-Dreams Family Member

Must haves

Selah · RV-Dreams Family Member

You will want a collapsible ladder tall enough that you can reach the top of the RV. If you have a full set of both ASA and metric wrenches, bring them. Same if you have 3/8 socket set. You don't use hammers much in an RV but it is always nice to have one. Cordless drill with basic drill bits. You will need a set of star and square drive bits as these are used a lot in RVs. Of course straight and Phillips screw drivers and piers. I carry a strap wrench because I have had some problems getting the sewer cap off in a couple of parks. WD40 and duck tape, two of the world greatest inventions. Next to those two, rescue tape is also a must.
Make a list of fuses used on the RV and carry a spare of each. Carry distilled water for your batteries. A standard garden hose for flushing the black tank.
That will probably get you started. The rest you will accumulate along the way.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

I'd pass on the WD-40. Haven't owned a can of that in years because WD-40 tends to draw and hold dirt. I use 3-in-One oil on hinges and a few other small projects.

Combination wrenches in both SAE and metric. When looking at RV's, also look at the screws used in various places. Our Mobile Suites has a lot of screws with the square head instead of regular slot or Phillips heads. Couple of lengths of Crescent (adjustable) wrenches. Ours is seldom used, but I even kept a socket set that was 1/2 drive so that I could get the larger sizes of sockets. Otherwise, we sold a lot of my tools and I bought a Sears set that had both combination wrenches and sockets in both SAE and metric.

I have a couple of water-pump pliers, and I went to Sears and bought some soft rubber tips to put on the one pair. I use that to remove the covers off of the lug nuts on our Mobile Suites. Also, a rubber hammer to drive such nut covers back on.

I also have a torque wrench for the first time in my life, in spite of being on the farm and driving 18-wheelers. The lug nuts on our Mobile Suites have a torque requirement of 150 ft lbs, so I bought a Kobalt torque wrench at Lowes that goes up to 250 ft lbs. I was advised to get a wrench that had the needed torque setting that fell in the middle of the wrench's torque range. Also, sockets for lug nuts.

Small crowbar for removing wheel covers on both the RV and the truck. Also, I have a 2-foot crow bar and a hack saw.

Portable battery powered set with drill, 5" circular saw (seldom used as I tend to prefer a hand saw), and other tools in the set. We also bought a right-angle impact driver at Sears that has come in handy more than once because of limited room in which to work.

Water pressure regulator that is adjustable. Ours is a Watts 263-A. I recommend the ones with stainless steel, even though they are a bit more expensive.

Progressive Industries Power Protection System That may be something that the RV manufacturer may have as an option. Ours is the hard-wired system with the remote display.

Chairs and such are subjective, but we have a pair of recliner types and four others that are foldable and small in case we have company.

If I think of anything else I felt I needed, I'll come back and post some more.

Terry

Barbaraok · RV-Dreams Family Member

It doesn't matter what you bring, the specific tool, nut, bolt, wing nut, screw, etc. that you need you will not have and it will take at least 2 trips to Home Depot/Lowes to get the right one (first trip is a trial run, you will get use to the additions to the 'just in case' bag) and if the directions say it will take 15 minutes, make sure you alot at least 2 hours.

Agree on the surge protection at the pedestal and the water regulator. Don't forget to get extra water hoses in different lengths and at least basic sediment filter for incoming water. You will need a 'dog-bone' to go from either 50-to-30 amps or 30-to-50 amps depending upon how your rig is wired. And waste hoses in different lengths.

With a motorhome we also carry extra filters/fluids. Get a wire brush for cleaning around batteries. Pick up baking soda in a large bag at Costco/Sams. It is great for light cleaning around sinks/toilets and will help keep holding tanks working and P-traps sweet. Plus will neutralize any acid spills around batteries - and remember gloves and goggles when working around the batteries.

Also get vinegar to pour into toilet and let sit for an hour or so every month to help keep seal working. And of course will help keep coffee maker functioning like it should.

Long plastic Zip tool for cleaning hair out of sink drains.

Dry silicone lube.

Barb

NWescapee · RV-Dreams Family Member

A good sense of humor and the ability to ask for help when needed😀😀😀

Rickl · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks that gets me in the general direction. I presently have probably in the neighborhood of $25-30k in tools ( snap on and Mac tools - was a technician at one point) and didn't want to sell everything and then repurchase all though craftsman and or kobalt would probably suffice.

Does a 25' sewer hose cover most instances or do I need another 10' just in case? Or is 25' too long for normal applications?

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Rick,

What I'm going to suggest is totally different from the "stinky slinky" option. Our circumstances are different in that we stay in one place for extended periods of time. We lived in our RV in Oklahoma City for 3 years before retiring and have been in Colorado now for 18 months or so. Instead of the flexible hoses, we purchased a set of the EZE-Kleen Sewer System components. They are constructed of PVC, and we've been using this now for almost 5 years with very few problems.

EZE-Kleen Sewer System

I did a review of our EZE-Kleen on my blog, so if you would like to see better pictures of the parts of the system, check that out.

EZE-Kleen Sewer

We still keep a flexible sewer hose for any occasion where the rigid pipe won't work, such as trying to go around a tree or bush to get to the sewer inlet.

Terry

Barbaraok · RV-Dreams Family Member

You are much better off with shorter lengths of sewer hose that can be added together than one big long one. We have a 20', 10', and two 5' sections (they collapse to 1/2 length for storage) - and yes, we have been in spots where we had to put all of them together.

We also have a 50', 25', and 10' water hoses.

Barb

Judy L · RV-Dreams Family Member

Don't forget you'll need an air compressor to air up the tires. You may want to do some research to determine what type you think will be best suit your needs. If you do a search of the forum I'm pretty sure you'll find older threads devoted to this topic.

If you have a caulking gun that you like, bring it. I ended up replacing ours with a newer one that is a lot better than the older ones. Also, if you have a plexiglass ice scraper with a bevelled edge, it will make a nice scraper to remove old caulk. If you have the flexible tools for "tooling" caulk, they might come in handy.

We brought along a pruning saw and loppers that have come in handy a couple of times but always be sure to check with management before using. We
also wished that we had a shovel on a couple of occasions. A hatchet might be handy if you think you'll want to chop kindling from firewood.

Neil and Connie · RV-Dreams Family Member

Selah wrote:
You will want a collapsible ladder tall enough that you can reach the top of the RV...WD40

We started with a 6 foot standard aluminum step ladder and switched over to a 16 foot Xtend and Climb collapsable extension ladder from Amazon and a couple of 2 and 3 step short ones we got from Walmart…although if we were doing it again we would just get the 3 step one as it's useful in more situations. Don't carry the 6 foot step ladder anymore.

Terry's right…WD40 attracts dirt. Silicone spray and one other non sticky kind (green can…can't remember the name offhand and I'm too lazy to wander outside and look).

Water softener from Amazon…takes the minerals out of hard water when necessary…this makes for much less gunk in the bottom of the hot water heater and pipes…recharges every month or two with 2 boxes of standard table salt.

Different length water supply hoses and water filters…we put our filters outside after the regulator and before the softener…all the water stuff has Camco quick disconnects so it's easier/quicker to hookup.

Sewer hoses…stick with multiple ones…we have Rhino brand and have 3 10 foot lengths as well as 2 15 foot lengths of cheapo stuff. The latter is what we started with and after 2 years bought the Rhino…keep the cheapo stuff in the underbelly storage tube for emergency and the Rhino in a storage bin in the basement along with elbows, hose caps, heavy rubber gloves and a wrench to open those stuck sewer cap connections.

Gpndavid · RV-Dreams Family Member

x2 on the Rhino hose.
A good hose splitter (Y adaptor) to connect to the down stream side of your water pressure gauge (another must have) will allow you to attach the garden hose for tank rinse and Rhino rinse. You want to keep your white drinking water hoses separate from your rinse hose (get a distinctive color hose like pee yellow or poop black). Never shall the two meet! Keep a spray bottle of bleach in the wet bay area and spray the faucets at campgrounds before you hook up. Don't ask why.
For saws, I chose to carry a reciprocating saw and a Dremel tool. The recip can do most anything but not very pretty. The Dremel cleans up the havoc.
Good electrical test light and meter are a must.
A hammer is necessary. Sometimes things need a good wack. It might not fix it, but it makes you feel better.

Someday · RV-Dreams Family Member

Another Rhino hose supporter here (3 lengths), plus air compressor for tyres, axe, most of the above already mentioned, collapsible/extender space saving ladder, good quality extender handle plus attachments for dusting off solar panels, soft bristle brush attachment for cleaning outside RV/windows etc, sponge attachment and squeegy attachment, various types,sizes, styles of old throw away cloths, anti slip lining for all cupboards and drawers and various sizes of nesting/organisers for everything ie; plastics ,cooking, crockery cutlery, spices/herbs storing, lots of different size bungy cords. Couple spare gas cannisters, extra fluids and two or three different size flexi spout funnels, turkey baster for battery top ups, auto repeat notification app or check lists for maintenance, setting up and leaving camp at least initially until it becomes second nature.

Remember anything you forget there's plenty of Wally worlds and camping stores usually somewhere along the routes.

Happy and safe travels.

SD.