Last Updated on 06/07/2024 by Glynn Willard
What Are The Best RV Accessories For The New Owner?
This list can be applied universally to any recreational vehicle whether the RV owners are part-time RVing or living the full-time RV life.
Let’s break it down and keep it simple so you’re prepared for your next RV trip in the great outdoors.
Here we go!
What’s The Most Important Gear For A New RV?
You just bought a new or “new to you” RV and you’re bombarded by lists and suggestions of all the gear and specific needs to equip your RV.
Do you need everything on the lists?
Absolutely not, but it’s a good idea to be prepared with the right RV supplies before your first road trip!
And I caution every RV owner to consider the weight of everything you purchase (regardless of the GVWR of your RV).
On our first go-around of the country with our first RV, we took a lot of camping accessories we thought we needed.
Upon returning to the home base, we shed many items and opened a lot of storage space.
And that was good news for the overall weight of our first travel trailer.
And, of course, we acquired a few things we didn’t realize we needed for boondocking full-time while we were on the road.
If the joys of the boondocking lifestyle are foreign to you, learn more about boondocking full-time here.
I’ll repeat an important point. If you forget something, there’s ample opportunity to acquire it on the road.
Even Walmart has a section specifically for recreational vehicles.
Looking To Get Right To The Full Lists Of Essential RV Gear?
The box below contains all of the essential gear we’ve narrowed down to save you time and effort before your next camping trip.
Not Sure What You Need For Your RV?
The Most Important Items For Your RV
Please start with just the necessities until you’ve spent some time on one or two outdoor adventures (RV shakedowns).
Knowing and understanding your RVing style will clarify what you do and don’t need from the other categories mentioned in the box above.
We use affiliate links for two reasons: A) It makes it easier to point directly to the gear and B) despite it not costing you anymore, we make a small amount of commission if you purchase. If you’ve followed us for any time, you know we don’t promote junk or anything you don’t need. Less is more!
The list Of Best RV Accessories:
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Leveling Blocks
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Anderson Leveler System
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The Right Sewer Hose
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Water Filters For Your RV
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Additional Water Storage
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Water Pressure Regulator
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A Good Potable Water Hose
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Water Heater Anode Rod
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Heavy Duty Wheel Chocks
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Lubricants To Maintain Your Slide And Seals
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Hooks, Hooks & More Hooks
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Power Adaptor Cords
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Gas And Or Diesel Can
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Speaking Of Generators…
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Trailer Coupler Pin
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Camco Camper/RV Vent Insulator and Skylight Cover
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LAPGEAR Home Office Pro Lap Desk
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Dirty Laundry Storage And Transport
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A Brush For Washing Your RV
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Easy Clean Up
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Baby Wipes, Not Just For Babies
- Specific spare RV parts for your rig.
- Small portable grill if you like to cook outside your camper.
- Tire pressure gauge. We use ours a lot even with a TPMS system.
- Duct tape. Need I explain?
- Surge protector for your electrical system if you stay in campgrounds. Make sure to purchase the appropriate amperage for your RV.
- First aid kit
- A long power cord (extension cord) in case you’re at a Boondockers Welcome and their shore power outlet is far away.
- Bungee cords. Again, no need to explain.
It doesn’t matter if you have a small travel trailer, motorhome, or campervan, you’ll need a set or two in the rig all the time.
And you will use them almost every time you camp. There is no need to buy expensive, fancy leveling blocks.
On a side note, we’ve encountered several Class A’s with an auto-leveling system that failed. They were not happy campers.
The ease of use and low cost make these leveling blocks a must-have, even if you’re car camping.
These have served us well and have been put through the wringer.
In fact, we use them under the tires of our towing vehicle whenever we get stuck. Yes, it happens on occasion.
Always having them on board gives us peace of mind.
If you have a travel trailer or fifth wheel, these are a must! But you have an automatic leveling system, you say?
It doesn’t matter. I encourage you to have these as a backup.
Again, on more than one occasion, we’ve crossed paths with RV’ers whose automatic leveling system has failed.
If they had had these as a backup, all would have been fine.
We use these almost every time we park the rig. And they’re so easy to use!
Dump after dump of our gray and black tank every week for years and this exact hose has held up great to an unbelievable amount of use!
Not all RV sewer hoses are created equal. And this is something you don’t want to fail.
Make sure you have the additional hose attachment. On several occasions at dump stations, I was a little too far from the sewer and it’s always easier to extend the hose than reposition the rig (especially travel trailers and fifth wheels).
Especially if others are waiting to dump their sewer water!
Clean water for your RV is crucial.
We use two types of water filters. The first is always attached to our potable water hose regardless of the water’s flavor.
It’s inexpensive and easy to replace and the best way to start the filtering process.
I sample the water source before filling our fresh water tanks and if it has an adverse flavor, I add this next filter to the other end of the hose.
It has yet to fail us in making the water we add to our tank palatable.
This was less than the competition but it is much better quality than I thought it would be.
Just drain it after each use (it’s not difficult).
Overkill??? Never!
Running out of water or figuring out your onboard water is contaminated is never a good thing!
We keep three of these full in the tow vehicle (which we cycle to keep them fresh). We’ve had to use them on more than one occasion.
Also, whenever we find great water (usually National Parks), we top off these containers.
If you connect to city water for your water use, always use this if the pressure is too high for your rig.
We keep one onboard within easy access but rarely use it since we live off our freshwater tank. Even when staying in RV parks.
This hose is only for your drinking water.
When we had plenty of storage space in our small travel trailer, we used this one.
The inline filter remained attached and was used exclusively for drinking water.
Once we acquired our campervan, we switched to this drinking water hose. So far, it works great!
It’s a good idea to have a 50 foot hose if you live full-time in your RV. We’ve needed almost all 50 feet on several occasions.
Again, it’s easier to have a longer hose than to move the whole rig.
If you have a Suburban water heater in your rig, you will eventually need one.
Do yourself a favor and change it annually if you use your water heater regularly. The old saying, an ounce of prevention…. You know the rest.
Make it a part of your regular maintenance & repair schedule.
If your RV is newer, you’ll likely have an instant hot water, which does not have an anode rod.
Please don’t skimp on something that will keep your rig from rolling. We’ve found these exact chocks to do exactly what they’re supposed to do and do it well.
There is no need to get caught up in all the variety of lubricants for these applications.
Maintaining the integrity of your seals and slides will save you in the long run. And everything will operate as it should for longer.
We show you how to use it in this video.
You can never have too many! They were the most used of all our travel trailer accessories.
Now they’re all over our campervan. Fun stuff!
I assure you, if you place one or fifty up, they will get used, especially in an RV bathroom.
Maybe your rig is 30 Amp or it’s 50 Amp. You’ll eventually show up somewhere with only a 15 Amp hookup or only the opposite of what you have for your power cords.
This is always a common issue in our travels.
Each dog bone adapter is light, inexpensive, and will make the difference between electricity and no electricity in some locations.
Make sure you purchase the correct one for your rig’s amperage.
Always, always have extra fuel for your vehicle and generator. The Scepter brand is rock solid!
We always love the signs in Nevada stating “200+ miles until the next service!”
There are a lot of locations in the United States where you’ll encounter similar circumstances.
As I said, always have additional fuel on board.
Not all RVs have an onboard generator. Even fewer have enough solar panels and battery power to run the appliances.
That portable solar panel that seemed like a good idea might be good for charging cell phones, but that’s it.
As we’ve well learned, proper maintenance of this portable generator will keep it running forever. Whether you prefer Yamaha or Honda, they both make amazing generators.
We can attribute that two of these put out 30 Amps and run our entire rig, including air conditioning all day on less than a gallon of gas. And they are super quiet!
They reside with our outdoor gear in the back of our truck.
If you have a bumper pull travel trailer, there’s a chance you will lose this by forgetting to put it back on the tow hitch when unhitching.
It’s almost happened to us on several occasions.
So, we keep a few extras in the “spare RV parts” bin.
When it came to temperature control for the interior of our RV, this was crucial for our skylights.
It helps a lot in the winter, keeping the cold out and minimizing the strain on our air conditioner during the summer.
Once we obtained our campervan, it also deadened the whistling from the skylight when driving over 60 mph.
I have this in its previous generation and have used it more than almost all other indoor RV accessories in both of our RVs. It’s even great if you just watch movies in bed with your laptop.
The key here is it’s lightweight, folds up, is durable, and holds a lot of laundry. The basket rides in the tub on moving days and anywhere it fits on stationary days.
But, it’s not so good to take laundry to the laundromat. So, we use two of these bags to transport dirty laundry.
They also get washed, so they’re clean when packing the clean laundry back into them.
Unless you plan on outsourcing your rig’s detailing, keep one of these on hand.
You don’t need anything fancy, just sturdy. It makes washing every part of the trailer, motorhome, or campervan a whole lot easier!
Also, there is no need to attach the hose. Just dip it in soapy water, scrub it, and spray it off.
We use these to clean the inside of the entire rig including floors, sink, toilet, walls, and surfaces before travel days.
They work well, we finish everything in under thirty minutes and they burn easily when we’re boondocking.
We boondock most of the time, which means fewer showers. We use wipes on the “hot spots,” neck, arms and legs.
When we’re in the desert, it’s amazing how much dust comes off us.
These also burn well when boondocking. Gavyn gives you his impression of wipes in this video.
Additional RV Accessories
It’s a great idea to review the list below and make sure you have the appropriate items for your RV.
You likely already have many of the items stashed somewhere in your home.
If not, I went through and found only the items we would order for our RV.
If there’s anything else we eventually find to be essential, we’ll add it to this list.
If you take anything from this article, only start with the necessities. Then acquire what you need/want after you figure out your RVing style.
Happy and safe travels!
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