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Checklist of things you should have in your RV 1. Extra fresh water hoses, make sure you get the white hoses specifically
make for supplying drinking water. If you do not use the white hoses
specifically designed for supplying drinking water you will get a
rubber taste. Enough said, you have been warned, 3 separate hoses
25' each should be enough. The reason 3-lengths of 25' are needed
is because RV'Parks/Campgrounds can have all kinds of configurations
for their utility access. One never knows where the campground water
bib will be located. On other occasions you may be stopping at a relative
or friends home. In other words you need to be prepared to reach fresh
water in other than ideal circumstances. 2. A pressure regulator for the fresh water input. Some people get away without having one of these for a time. However, if you travel around the country you will pull into a campground that has 100 or more pounds of water pressure. Your RV will not like more than 45 pounds of pressure. The excess pressure will blow out lines in your RV causing EXPENSIVE problems. It won't be pretty, or cheap. Use your head with the water pressure regulator and connect it at the hose bib, thus protecting your white input hose. I have actually seen people put their regulator on their RV and have their input hose blow up. 3. Water hose to wash RV & automobile. You will need 50' to 75' to reach in many places. 4. Bucket, long handle scrub brush, and favorite cleaning rags/chamois. If you are out in your RV for months at a time you will have to wash the car and RV. 5. Extra length of sewer hose & fittings & elbows & rubber dough nut thingee required in many states. Each state has rules and regulations that apply to sanitary sewage connections. Be prepared to comply with each of these requirements. Some states require a "rubber donut" to seal the connection with the parks sewage system. Other states require a screw on connection, however, screw on connections can come in different sizes so you have to be prepared to connect to these different sizes. That is easy to accomplish if you just purchase one of those elbows that have multiple size threads. These things are available in Wal-Mart or any RV-store. I carry a small can of "liquid-tape" it is a liquid rubber substance that can be brushed on with the supplied brush to patch small pin holes in the slinky sewer hose. You can find "liquid-tape" in the electrical department of hardware stores and places like Lowe's and Home Depot.
6. Duct tape. You never know when you will need duct tape, but you will. 7. WD-40, spray silicon lubricant or light weight spray lubricant. You need to be spraying silicon on your Kwikee step joints and leveling jacks on a monthly basis. You should not be using WD-40 or other lubricant on these since they will leave a film that will attract dirt. You don't want to attract dirt. 8. Tube of clear silicone. You want to be able to seal water leaks around your windows and joints. 9. Zip ties-- Various sizes (Don't ask, you'll know when you need them) 10. Basic tools (crescent wrench, pliers, screwdrivers, dikes, etc.) Multi meter etc., Even if you aren't smart enough to fix things having these tools will enable others to help you. Think about it. 11. Windex & telescoping window washer ( You need to be able
to clean your windows & windshield) and don't think that gas stations
have equipment that will reach your big motorhome windshield! 12. Look into water filters. Some people do not leave home without them while others do just fine without them. Most RV'ers utilize a sediment filter that filters all water entering the RV. I think that is a good idea especially if you are traveling around the country. All campgrounds are not connected to city water systems. Also, you don't want to allow sediment to get into your fresh water tank, do you? We have a solid block carbon filter installed under our kitchen sink that feeds a goose neck faucet on the side of our kitchen sink and another goose neck faucet in the bathroom. The water out of a solid block carbon filter is safe to drink. A solid carbon block will filter virtually all "bad-stuff" out of the water. The downside is that the output is extremely limited (you can't take a shower with it). We use it for drinking water, coffee, tea, ice etc., in the kitchen and to brush our teeth in the rest room. One RV'er has put together some excellent information on water filters. If you are looking for more information on water filters for your RV check out Phred "Phrannie's" Tensith's Poop Sheets at: http://www.phrannie.org/phredex.html 13. You will want a Kill-a-Watt power tester or one of those electrical circuit testers with two yellow lights and one red light. Unfortunately, qualified electricians do not wire every campground and RV-Park. While most are wired correctly 5% or more are wired incorrectly. Plugging into incorrectly wired campground power sources can result is serious consequences. If the campground has wired the ground incorrectly you could touch metal on your RV while standing on the ground and receive a severe shock. Appliances can be damaged by an incorrectly wired power supply. By plugging in one of those circuit testers you can be assured that it is safe to plug your RV into the campgrounds electrical power outlet. The Kill-a-Watt power tester is useful to determine how many watts each appliance draws. This information is useful when you are trying to run more electrical appliances than the available power can supply without popping a circuit breaker. Electricity in an RV must be "managed", something that you do not think about in your stick-and-brick home. While you may have a 50-amp motorhome, that doesn't mean that you will always access to a 50-amp connection (not all campgrounds have 50-amp electricity available). While staying in one of these campgrounds you may be connected to a 30-amp supply. When that happens you will have to limit your total electrical consumption to 30-amps. In order to be able to control your consumption you need to know how many amps each appliance is using so that you don't pop the campgrounds circuit breaker. 14. Most people carry some type of product to seal roof leaks. For some that is a tube of self leveling rubber roof sealant and rubber roof patch stuff. I have an aluminum roof and carry a similar product that can patch a small imperfection in the roof. 15. I carry JB Weld, several tubes of crazy glue as well as some wood glue. If you are in the habit of repairing things around your home you will also need these items in your RV. If you do not make repairs then these items may not be necessary. 16. A pack of rubber gloves---for handling the sewer hoses & dumping. 17. I think you should carry a phone line. Some people insist on carrying a 100' phone line. The need for a phone line will be different for each RV'er. 18. Electrical adapters that enable connecting to 20, 30, or 50 amp power sources. One never knows what source of power is going to be available. If you are out in your motorhome and you have to spend a few days in a repair shop you may have to get by with only 15-amps of electricity. Trust me, the vast majority of the repair shops that are repairing your drive train will not have a 30-amp or 50-amp connection. You best be able to connect to the only electrical outlet that is available. 19. A 30-amp extension cable. For RV'ers traveling around the country you will need this 30-amp extension cable because eventually you will be in a campground that has the power post in the most inappropriate location. How these things happen I'll never know but they do. Additionally, you will eventually stop by a relatives house and need to connect to their house power. I even carry a heavy duty extension cord for those instances when we need to "reach-out" for power. 20. Campground guides (Trailer Life, Woodall's, Wheelers) There are a lot of other sources to locate campgrounds but these books need to be in your arsenals. 21. If traveling a lot, a $50 one-year membership in Passport America could be a good deal. 22. A brand new heavy duty sewer hose. A heavy duty sewer hose will resist holes so much longer. 23. Wrench for the wheel lugs, with proper socket, tire pressure gauge and air pump. If you have a BIG motorhome you may not want to try to change a tire. I don't. But if you have an RV where you could change a tire you should be prepared for the occasion. 24. Emergency signal kit, flares, flashlights, spare keys hidden for outside access 25. Change (especially quarters) for tolls, newspapers, vending machines, pay phones and laundry 26. Debit card with direct deposit, we use a debit card to get cash from Wal-Mart and grocery stores. 27. Prepaid phone card. We have an AT&T prepaid card from Sam's that we use on those rare occasions when I cannot download e-mail via my cell phone or wifi. 28. If you have dogs you will need lots of plastic bags to pick up dog poo. 29. Laundry detergent and bleach for laundromats.
30. 400w inverter with both cigarette lighter plug wires and battery clamp wires. The inverter will come in handy for powering a laptop computer, and battery chargers for things like video cameras and digital cameras, cell phones and other gadgets. We always have one of these portable 400w inverters in our automobile. 31. Spare 12v light bulbs, batteries for clock, fire alarm, spare 12v fuses various sizes 32. A big flashlight. We have two of those quality flashlights with 3-D cell batteries located near the motorhomes front door. 33. Fire extinguishers. Depending on how safety conscious you are you can have one near the exit door, the kitchen and bedroom. 34. Cell phone to call ERS. 35. Various wooden blocks to put under your hydraulic jacks to help you get level. You will need these. 36. Now for some thoughts on food: As far as menu planning goes, some brides go through a routine before leaving on a trip where they actually lay out a menu for however many weeks/months they are going to be on the road. Not that they ever followed it in any fashion but it helps them make sure that they don't forget to pack something that would later be hard to find on the road - like pepper sauce (vinegar & hot peppers) that southerners put on collard greens. Outside of the southeast that stuff is as hard to find as hens teeth. Canned Brunswick stew is another thing that we find we have to stock up on before we head out west. You will want to stock up on specialty items that you take for granted. We know Canadians who stock up on good Canadian tea which you simply can't buy in the US or Mexico. Once you hit the road you will discover your own set of those items that are only available in your neck of the woods. If you are still looking for more checklist items try: Checklist for arriving at or checking into a Campground/RV-Park Breaking Camp ----- or Leaving Campground/RV-Park Checklist Thoughts on
Essential Equipment to carry in your RV
Home ** Travel Adventures by Year ** Travel Adventures by State Plants ** Marine-Boats ** Geology ** Exciting Drives ** Cute Signs RV Subjects ** Miscellaneous Subjects
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