When we purchased our RV in July 2023, we thought you just buy it and are good to go to start traveling.
Well we were straight wrong. After a ton of research, we soon realized there were so many things we needed to purchase to even be able to take it drive it off the lot, and even more items to actually go camping in it.
Here are some of the items we did not realize we needed for our travel trailer
1. A hitch:
We obviously knew that we needed something to connect the truck to the RV, but we did not realize how many different options there were. We decided to spend a little more and buy a weight distribution hitch to make traveling across the country easier on the truck, and also minimizing our chances of fishtailing.
The reality is that all campers cost a lot of money and it is worth the extra expense to make sure the RV is as secure to the truck when driving as possible.
We purchased the Blue OX SwayPro weight distribution hitch. We feel incredibly secure with this hitch and are glad to have done our research for this item.
2. A truck that fits your needs.
We thought our 2009 F-150 with tow package would work - and on paper it did. However the ‘on paper’ numbers do not take into account hills and bad conditions that put even more work on the truck.
We had to scramble to find a decent 3/4 ton truck - and it was a struggle. We luckily found a 2006 f-250 diesel that was used for towing a camper, and it only had around 100k miles. We had to put a little bit of money into fixing some stuff up.
Hindsight we probably should have gone with a cheaper camper to afford a newer and more capable pickup (although we LOVE our airstream) or gone with a class C camper.
3. Surge protector
When hooked up to shore power, electrical issues could go wrong. Just like at home, it is important to be hooked up to a surge protector to protect your electric devices. Campers are the same way - expect even more important due to the cost if an incident occurs. An electrical issue can damage everything in your camper - TVs, microwave, pull outs, and electric water heater. All of that to be replaced is expensive and takes time to replace.
Having a surge protector will eliminate that risk. We purchased the Progressive Industries RV Surge Protector. It is MASSIVE but we have peace of mind when hooked up to power. This surge protector does take quite a few minutes to get the electricity flowing - but that just means its ensuring that everything is running correctly.
4. Power convertors
Campers are either 30 or 50 amp. If it is a 50 amp, you can use a converter to hook up to 30 amps safely. You can even get a converter to hook up to a regular house plug. Not all campgrounds have 50 amp sites available, so it is very important to have these with you when camping.
5. Batteries
Now a days, most newer campers come with some solar panels. To be able to harvest power from the sun, it needs to be banked into batteries. Surprisingly enough, batteries are often an added cost from the camper. Your dealer will likely recommend whichever batteries work
best for your camper. Our Airstream came with ______. If needed we will upgrade to lithium ion batteries - but the ones we have now work for us.
6. Inverter
To be able to use your outlets off the grid - the camper needs to have an inverter installed. This makes the outlets work when you are not hooked up to power.
Our RV came with the inverter - if you plan on boon docking this is a MUST when shopping around.
However be aware of what your inverter is capable of. Our convection oven and most small appliances will not be able to be ran on the inverter. We mainly charge up our laptops with the inverter running.
7. Tools
Owning an RV means a lot of manual labor for setting up camp. Having a battery operated electric drill is not essential, but it sure does make all of set up and tear down go by faster.
Having a toolbox kit of various screw drivers, hammer, tape measure, and level is a must. We use ours constantly.
Our hitch, wheel chocks, and stabilizers came with specific tools that we have stowed away and use often.
8. Insurance
Make sure you get insurance on your RV. Most big name insurance companies have RV insurance. If something happens to it you want to make sure you are protected.
Bundling with your car insurance will probably get you the best deal.
9. Outside accessories
The whole point of RVing is spending time outside! The basics to make sure you have a comfortable and usable outdoors area is: a table, chairs, rug, and outdoor stove or grill.
We purchased a Coleman propane stove that can be hooked up to our RV propane source. We have some miscellaneous outdoor chairs. We recently received a CLIQ chair and love that for the portability and sturdiness.
For cooking, we have a normal plastic folding table you can get from Walmart or Amazon.
10. Storage bins
To make the most out of the limiting storage in an RV is to purchase bins. Our Airstream came with inside bins that fir perfectly. If your RV doesn’t come with them, just go to Walmart and purchase a variety of sizes to figure out which work best in your space.
We also utilize storage bins in our truckbed as well to stow away tools and bulky items. We store our outdoor stuff, tools, and other large items.
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