We LOVE our RV. It’s seriously one of the best things we’ve ever bought.
After you purchase your home on wheels, you’ll have to buy some items to make things run smoothly and safely. For example, a fire extinguisher, sewer hoses, and a water filter.
Then, there are things that aren’t exactly necessary but, they sure do make life a lot easier. That is what this list is made up of. If you click on the blue words, they will take you to the Amazon link to find out prices, sizes, and details about each product. I’m not sponsored by any of these products, I just love them. The links are affiliate which means, I can make a very small kickback from you ordering a product from my link but, it doesn’t cost you a dime extra to use it. So, enjoy!
First and foremost- the BEST item I’ve bought for our RV is a memory foam mattress topper. RV beds are not comfortable. It’s hard sleeping in an unfamiliar place. I’m a country girl. So, if we are parked in an urban area, I need ear plugs, a sleep mask, and maybe a glass of wine to chill and drift off with all the background noise and lights of the city. Add an uncomfortable mattress to the mix? Forget it.
We bought this topper.
Actually, we bought two- one for the motorhome and one for our sticks and bricks house. And, it. is. heaven. Who knew a few inches of foam could make such a difference? I don’t wake up stiff and sore anymore. The best part is that it didn’t cost an arm and a leg either. We considered buying completely new mattresses. I’m so glad we tried a topper first. We saved significant cash and it genuinely makes a huge difference in our sleep quality.
The next item, my husband was skeptical about. But, it really has worked out. It’s such a good simple solution to a common problem. The dirty truth about RVs is that you must deal with human waste. The sewage pipe attaches and empties into a sewage tank. But, the hose doesn’t screw into the tank pipe or have a anything except gravity to hold it in place. If it gets kicked or bumped, there will be odor. And nobody wants that. Enter the Camco sewer weight. It’s super functional and it’s super cute! It looks like a tiny RV. It comes in blue or orange. It’s molded plastic with little reflective tape trim which makes it easy to see at night. It fits just right on the sewer pipe and holds that baby in place. Just fill it with water and place on top the coupler. It couldn’t be easier.
Next, storage space is somewhat limited in many RVs. So, finding clever ways to organize is so satisfying. Every time someone sees my “spice cabinet” in my RV, I get compliments. I’ve used this method in three different RVs now. It works so well and doesn’t use any precious cabinet space. Magnetic spice jars are the solution.
They come with labels. But, I used my own label maker to mark mine because I’m picky about that kind of thing. In my motorhome, I nestled them on the exhaust hood above the stove, out of sight. In my current rig, I attached them to my fridge. Bright green parsley, yellow turmeric, and deep red chilis peek out from the clear lids and the chrome canisters look so nice on my stainless steel fridge, they feel like a gallery wall. They inspire me to play around with seasonings while I cook. I just love the way they look and the strong magnets don’t budge when we travel.
I like to decorate my space. But, when your space is on wheels and is moved from place to place- it’s tricky to decorate. I don’t want to use candles, glass, ceramics, or other breakables. I like to opt for canvases, posters, and wooden décor instead. But, I don’t want to hang, take down before moving, and then rehang wall art at every new destination. I’m tired after a long trip and want to spend the evening next a campfire, not redecorating. So, I discovered Command (the company that makes damage-free hooks for everything) makes Velcro tape strips for hanging pictures. The strip can hold up to 16lbs. You don’t need any tools and they remove cleanly without damaging your walls. I love them.
Now, let’s talk about safety and security. We travel to all sorts of places. We’re spontaneous and often make last minute reservations. This is fun for us. We’ve found some really fabulous campgrounds over the years doing this. But, we’ve also ended up at some sketchy places too. Even scarier, did you know that many RV locks take a standard key that is universal. This means it’s compatible with dozens of makes and models. One key will open any number of RVs parked at the same campground. Ummmm……
No, that does not make me feel safe and secure at all. So, now that you know better- do better. We replaced our locks with RV LOCK. They have customizable keycodes and even key fobs that you can sync. We were able to switch out the locks ourselves. So, we didn’t have to pay for professional installation. They are definitely worth the price for the peace of mind they’ve given us.
Another camper conundrum is eating inside. When the weather cooperates, I like to eat outside at a picnic table. But, sometimes rain, insects, and wind keeps us indoors. I don’t really enjoy squeezing my family of four into a cramped booth to eat. We end up elbowing each other and spilling drinks. So I purchased a couple tv trays so that we could all spread out and enjoy our meals. I like these because they are only 3 inches thick when folded flat. But, they are plenty big enough for your meal when set up.
I slide mine between the couch and wall when we aren’t using them.
The last item is also food related. We had an issue with the smoke detector going off every time we tried to cook something in our motorhome, especially frying food. It was so frustrating. Charcoal takes forever to get hot enough to cook with and I don’t like the smell. I had a small 2 burner camping stove but, it was temperamental. My husband started doing a little research and decided he wanted to by a tabletop gas griddle. We love it. He originally planned to buy a Blackstone. But, for less money and still great reviews, we decided to purchase a Pitt Boss brand.
We are really happy with it. I recently took it on a girl scout campout. It’s ample surface held enough burgers for the whole troop. I like it because it’s very easy to clean. My husband likes it because it’s really versatile. We can make pancakes and bacon on it for breakfast and make a shrimp stir fry on it later for dinner. Smelly items like garlic, onions, or fish we make outside now so that the odors don’t linger in the rig. And, no more smoke detector issues! My mom bought my husband a home note accessory kit for Christmas. He really likes that everything zips into the carrying case neatly.
Hope you found something useful in this list. Each item really solved a problem we were having and made traveling an even more enjoyable experience.
Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.
