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35 Favorite Camping and RV Products

35 Favorite Camping and RV Products


avatar   Scott
Trip Date 05/01/2019
Posted On 05/06/2019 17:05:59

Camping | RV | Accessories | RV Set up | Best RV Accessories | Favorite RV Products | RV Must-Haves | RV Hacks | RV Household Products | RV Kitchen Accessories



After traveling in our RV for numerous weekend trips plus both shorter (1-2 weeks) and longer (6+ weeks) camping trips in a variety of weather conditions, we've compiled a list of 35 of our favorite RV products which we consider RV must-haves. Some of these items are now permanently installed and some might be considered RV hacks. Our list includes products and accessories that we use without fail for RV set-up any time we move from site to site. We've also listed some of our favorite RV household products that make living in our RV as comfortable as possible - including some of our favorite RV kitchen accessories. The one thing that is common among all items is that we never leave home without any of them - even those that are not permanently installed.

If you are a new RVer or are looking to make sure that you have all of the best RV accessories and products to make using your RV a great experience, this article is for you. You'll find that the most important products for towing as well as living life are all included. With products and accessories used both inside and outside of your RV, take a look to see if any of these items "click" with you.

5 Installed Accessories

Starting out our favorites list are 5 accessories which I personally installed and can easily be installed by any do-it-yourselfer:

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1. Blue Ox Weight-Distributing Hitch

When purchasing our trailer, I wanted a good weight-distributing hitch that would provide more safety for towing the trailer. I wanted a hitch that distributes the weight on the hitch to the trailer and the tow vehicle to keep them in a level alignment and avoid sagging. I also wanted a hitch with anti-sway capabilities (without having to connect two different control rods). During my extensive research of these issues, I found the Blue Ox Weight-Distributing Hitch which provides both weight-distribution and anti-sway behaviors and is also very easy to attach and unattach.


Blue Ox Hitch

Blue Ox Hitch

2. Rear-view Camera

When purchasing our trailer, we wanted a rear-view camera to provide a view behind the trailer for both driving and backing-up. The camera makes it so much easier and provides peace of mind when pulling a long trailer. There are a number of rear view cameras available for RVs, however many are wireless and quite pricey. We found an inexpensive wired rear-view camera intended as an add-on accessory for a car. I was able to adapt the camera and install it on our RV rear bumper where it works perfectly for towing our trailer.


Rear-View Camera Dash Display

Rear-View Camera Dash Display

Check-out Purchasing and Installing Trailer Rear View Wired Camera for more on our experience.

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3. Fan-Tastic Fan

The Fan-Tastic Ceiling Vent Fan is a great addition to any RV. We actually have two of them in our RV - one in the bathroom and one in the bedroom. Fan-Tastic Fans are efficient and have really good air-flow. The fan in our bathroom is great for removing humidity from the RV during and after a shower. In addition to helping with circulation when the bathroom fan is on, the fan in our bedroom keeps the room cool and ventilated when we don't have shore power or aren't using air conditioning.


Fan-Tastic Fan

Fan-Tastic Fan

4. 12-volt Accessory Plugs

When preparing for boondocking, I wanted more 12-volt accessory plugs in our RV so that I could plug in 12-volt fans and also easily charge phones when we have no A/C shore power. Since the 12-volt plugs that I added also have USB outlets, the added plugs are some of our most-used outlets in the entire RV!


12-volt Accessory Plug

12-volt Accessory Plug

For more on my experience with selecting, installing and uses for 12-volt plugs, take a look at RV 12-volt Accessory Plug Enhancements.

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5. Sewer Hose Storage Tube

Every RV owner must deal with the realities of the sewage system. If you are at all like us, you may not want the smells and bacteria that come along with a hose that is used to dump inside your storage cabin along with other things that you touch and use. We chose a Sewer Hose Storage Tube that mounts to the rear bumper of our RV. The tube allows us to keep our sewer hose safe and secure without keeping it inside our RV storage cabin.


Sewer Hose Storage Tube

Sewer Hose Storage Tube

You'll find more about finding and installing a sewer hose storage tube in Our Sewer Hose Storage Experience.

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7 Outdoor RV Set-up Accessories

Now for the 7 products that we use every time that we set-up our RV in a new campground or RV park:

6. Hitch Security Lock

When we park our RV at either a camping site, in front of our home or at our storage space, I always use a Hitch Security Lock to secure our RV. While there are ways to defeat the lock, it definitely makes it more difficult for someone to steal an RV by just towing it away. It's a great product to have to provide at least some security.


Hitch Lock

Hitch Lock

7. Drill Socket for Stabilizing Jacks

We rented several RVs before making our RV purchase and each only had manual cranks for the stabilizer jacks. When we bought our own RV, I realized that we could use a power drill to put up and down the stabilizing jacks making each of them them essentially a power jack. This turns the process of putting down all 4 jacks into about a 60 second procedure. Best of all - no cranking!


Jack Socket and Power Drill

Jack Socket and Power Drill

Check out Using Power for Stabilizer Jacks for even more on this time saving trick.

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8. Surge Protector

The electrical system in an RV is an important system and you don't want to risk having it overloaded or otherwise not treated properly by a random surge in the power at an RV campsite. We are so glad that we purchased a Surge Protector - thankfully, we've had no issues at all!


Surge Protector for the RV

Surge Protector for the RV

To read about how and why you should have a surge protector, take a look at RV Surge Protectors where we share our experiences.

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9. Easy-Grip Non-Kink Water Hose

Since we travel to quite a few camp sites as we cross through the country, we are setting up and tearing down camp quite frequently. Having a drinking water hose with both Never- Kink and an Easy-Grip handle makes screwing and unscrewing the hose so much easier. A non-kink hose also allows it to easily be coiled up for traveling without damage to the hose.


EZ-Grip no-Kink Hose

EZ-Grip no-Kink Hose

10. Pressure Regulator Water Hose Fitting

Many times the water pressure in an RV park or campground can be 70psi or even higher. Having this amount of water pressure can cause serious damage to the interior water connections in your RV. A Pressure Regulator is an important fitting to have and to use every time you are connected to water in order to limit (regulate) the pressure of water entering your RV.


Pressure Regulator

Pressure Regulator

11. Rope Lighting

We keep our rope lighting in our RV storage box right next to the power cord and water hose. Every time we plug-in the power and water while setting up our RV, we also plug in the rope light. We run the lighting along the edge of the RV past the picnic table (if it is within range) and toward the car parking area. This gives us a small amount of light in the evening and at night helping us to easily locate our RV from a distance. The rope lighting also provides just enough light to get around the campsite area without having to to turn on the bigger and brighter exterior lights.


Light Rope

Light Rope

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12. Welcome Mat and RV Step Rugs

We always place a rubber welcome mat that can be rinsed off easily just outside of the entrance steps leading into our RV. The mat has some raised surfaces which help to grab the gravel, sand, dirt, mud and dust that are on our shoes before we step into the RV. We also have step rugs affixed to the fold-out steps on the RV. The combination of the two are very helpful in keeping our feet clean as we step into our RV, and therefore keeping the RV interior much cleaner.


Welcome Mat

Welcome Mat

RV Step Rugs

RV Step Rugs

15 Indoor RV Living "Comfort" Products

Next up are the 15 products that we use inside our RV (some more regularly than others) to ensure that living in our home away from home RV is as comfortable as life is inside our permanent residence:

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13. Rugs

While our RV has a wood-like vinyl floor, there are several places where we need and enjoy having rugs:
  • First is at our RV entrance doorway. A 5-foot runner-type rug works well to catch any remaining dust on our shoes not caught by the welcome mat or step rugs.
  • Second, we like having something soft and warm to step on to after taking a shower. With our RV layout, this rug is also conveniently located under our feet when sitting on "the throne".
  • Finally, I often use a folding TV table in front of my favorite chair where my computer is convenient to reach. I like having a small rug under my feet when I'm sitting there to keep my feet warm and also keep the TV table legs from scratching the floor.


Entrance Rug

Entrance Rug

14. Indoor-Outdoor Weather Station

If you are anything like us, you my be inside your RV and wondering what the outside temperature is? Or, at times it may feel either cool or hot inside but you aren't sure what the real inside temperature is? A weather station with an outdoor sensor is the perfect choice to answer both of your questions - plus help you decide how to dress for the day. The display monitor can be placed wherever you please in your RV.


Indoor-Outdoor Weather Station

Indoor-Outdoor Weather Station

A little Velcro is perfect for attaching the sensor right outside of the RV door making it an easy reminder to not forget about it when breaking camp. (We quickly attach and remove the sensor just by opening the door a slight bit.)

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15. Endless Breeze 12-volt Window Fan

An Endless Breeze 12-volt Window Fan is a great addition to an RV as it can help to ventilate the living area. The 12-volt accessory plugs mentioned above are perfect for operating the fan without shore power (boondocking, etc.). The Endless Breeze is great when you need some cool air from outside or when you want to suck out some of the hot air from inside. It also works well when the fire alarm sounds after something has burnt in the oven and you want to clear out the smokey air quickly - or so I've heard as my wife has never burnt anything in the RV oven!


Endless Breeze 12v Fan

Endless Breeze 12v Fan

16. Blizzard AC Fan

Holmes makes some great small blizzard fans for table tops that run on A/C. We use one of these fans nearly all of the time. We even sometimes use the fan in combination with our air conditioner to keep air moving inside the RV (plus, it really helps to keep RV cool). A great feature of these fans is that they are much quieter than a loud RV air conditioner which can be annoying when you're trying to listen to the radio or TV.


Blizzard AC Fan

Blizzard AC Fan

17. Plush Throw or Blanket

When camping during the winter (or anytime when it is cold outside), it is nice to have a plush throw to put over your legs so that you can sit comfortably while watching TV or working on the computer at the end of a long day of hiking. We use the furnace to warm our RV up to a reasonable temperature and use the electric fireplace to maintain a comfortable RV. It is nice, however, to also cover our legs, feet or whatever is cool with a soft blanket.


Sofa Blanket

Sofa Blanket

18. Memory Foam Mattress Topper

After adding a memory foam mattress topper to our standard RV mattress, we have noticed a great improvement to our comfort and sleep quality. Additionally, at times when the RV isn't perfectly level, with the soft mattress topper we are able to comfortably sink in and don't even notice any slight tilt in the RV level.


Memory Foam Mattress Topper

Memory Foam Mattress Topper

19. Phone Display TV Broadcaster - AnyCast M2 Plus

I frequently watch content from my cell phone - either cable shows from various network apps, live news or movies. To do this, I use the AnyCast M2 Plus along with my cell phone's screen projection capabilities to display the phone's screen onto the big TV screen in our RV. It's great ... and so much better than watching the tiny cell phone display.


AnyCast M2 Plus Screen Projector

AnyCast M2 Plus Screen Projector

For more information on what you need and how this works, refer to our article about the AnyCast M2 Plus Experience.

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20. Coasters

We love our rubber coasters with a lip as we can put cold drinks down on our table, counter or end table in our RV without fear of messing up the finishes when our drinks sweat.


Coasters

Coasters

21. Toilet Paper Holder

When purchased, our RV didn't have a toilet paper holder and unfortunately there was no convenient place to mount one. We never found a standing toilet paper holder that we liked, but we did find a stylish standing paper towel holder that substitutes just as well. The now toilet paper holder easily sits beside the RV toilet, doesn't slide around and is perfectly sized for 2 rolls of toilet paper.


Toilet Paper Holder

Toilet Paper Holder

22. Towel Rack

Our RV also didn't come with a factory installed towel rack. Again, without a convenient place to install one, we searched for an alternative. An over-the-door towel rack was the answer that solved our need! We literally use the towel rack every single day.


Towel Rack over the Door

Towel Rack over the Door

23. A/C Portable Vacuum

We've been using an A/C Portable Vacuum for several years now to keep the floors clean in our RV while we're on the road. Similar to a handi-vac but with a long handle, the vacuum is small enough to fit under the bed for storage. Since it is powered by A/C, it has plenty of power.


AC Powered Wand Vacuum

AC Powered Wand Vacuum

When plugged centrally in our RV, I can vacuum our entire 33 foot RV without relocating the plug midway during cleaning. Vacuuming can be done in a jiffy and you can get all of the dust and sand out.

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24. Organizer Bins

Space is in short supply in the pantry, bathroom closet and bedroom clothes closets in an RV. To keep things organized and easy to put in and take out, we have purchased multiple plastic organizer bins. We have all colors, shapes and sizes - each fitting into their unique space. Best of all, most of the organizers can be purchased for $1.00 each at dollar stores.


Storage Bins

Storage Bins

25. Headlamp

I am frequently needing (or wanting) to do something in the RV (inspecting the water pump, finding something that was dropped, etc.). It doesn't matter if it is daytime or night, but there always seems to be a dark shadow where I am trying to look, so I need a light. A headlamp works great and also allows my hands to be free. The new LED technology provides a very white light which I love as it makes it so much easier to see small details.


Headlamp

Headlamp

26. Small LED Flashlight

Before buying the headlamp, and even since, I often use my small LED flashlight.


Mini LED Flashlights

Mini LED Flashlights

I made a strap long enough to put over my head, but not so long that it swings all over. I "made" my strap by using a rubber hair tie. When attached to the flashlight, it is big enough to stretch over my head yet just the right length for the flashlight to hang like a pendent. The length allows me to keep a light easily at hand when walking or working outside after dark.

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27. Tactical Flashlight

My latest flashlight discovery is the tactical flashlight. It is so bright and I just love how well I can see when I use it. If you really need to see something in the dark, far or near, these lights are great.


Tac Light

Tac Light

8 Cooking / Kitchen Products

Rounding out our lists are 8 essential (in our opinion) products for cooking and for the kitchen:

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28. George Foreman Grill

Last year we bought a George Foreman Grill so that we could quickly and easily grill something outside, without taking the time to get a charcoal or wood fire going. We considered a gas grill as an option, but I couldn't find one that attached to the bumper of our RV that I liked. There are lots of models with different sizes and features. The one that we selected has worked out great for us. It is fast to heat up and cook and it's easy to clean so we can prepare dinner and clean-up really fast. I prefer cooking meat outside and the grill conveniently plugs into an RV outdoor A/C socket.


George Forman Grill

George Forman Grill

29. Panini Sandwich Grill

Another kitchen appliance that we get lots of use from in our RV is a Panini Sandwich Grill. Remember how great a grilled cheese or reuben sandwich is? A hot grilled sandwich makes a great meal, and the grill is easy to clean and store under the counter when not in use.


Panini Maker

Panini Maker

30. Electric Griddle

We purchased our electric griddle many years before becoming RV owners and we still make use of it today. It is quick to set-up and we've used it to make pancakes at home or when we were tent camping. We now use it in (and even outside) of our RV.


Electric Griddle

Electric Griddle

Being from Texas, we love our breakfast tacos. We often scramble eggs, bacon, potatoes and any other fixins that we happen to have on this griddle. When the taco filling is almost ready, we can even warm our tortillas. It makes a great (and fast) breakfast and cleanup is also a breeze since it has a flat Teflon surface.

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31. Slow Cooker

One of the best methods of cooking a meal in the RV when you're busy sightseeing for much of the day is with the use of a slow cooker. Slow cooker recipes tend to be easy and you can typically just dump the ingredients into the pot and let it cook for hours. When you return to your RV in the evening, dinner is ready!


Crock-Pot Slow Cooker

Crock-Pot Slow Cooker

32. Slow Cooker Liners

Nowadays when we cook something in our slow cooker, we try to always remember to use a slow cooker liner. These liners are heat-safe cooking bags that make your slow cooker clean-up so easy. (In fact, sometimes the slow cooker itself has nothing that needs to be cleaned!)


Slow-Cooker Liner Bags

Slow-Cooker Liner Bags

33. Thermal Cups and Thermal Hiking Bottles

Several years ago we bought some of the high-tech thermal cups capable of keeping drinks cold for many hours even in a hot car. We did a lot of research on efficiency comparisons between several brands and decided that the inexpensive Ozark Thermal Cups would be a good purchase. We've used them for several years now in both our RV and our tow vehicle. These cups truly keep our ice fresh and cold all day long.

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We more recently purchased some insulated thermal hiking bottles as well as a bottle sling and waist bottle belt. These work great when we're going for a hike in warm weather. We don't usually hike super long distances, but we frequently put in 3 to 5 miles when we're out and about all day. These thermal cups and bottles have both worked great and have ensured that we always have cold drinks available.


Thermal Cups

Thermal Cups

34. Paper Tower Holder

Since we don't have a washer and dryer in our RV, we use a lot of paper towels. Paper towels are my preferred way of cleaning almost anything any way! We use our vertical paper tower holder all of the time. It sits on our kitchen island in the RV so that it is always within easy reach.


Paper Towel Holder

Paper Towel Holder

I wish we had another paper towel holder in the bathroom so that we can easily clean the sink. Since RV sink materials are light-weight, they attract water spots very easily and I like things to look clean. I often have to go to the kitchen (at least 10 steps away!) to get a paper towel. Once we can find one that is both functional (for me) and decorative (for my wife), a second paper towel holder will be an additional enhancement coming to our RV!

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35. Dish Drying Mat

Since we don't have a dishwasher to wash and dry dishes in our RV, we bought a dish drying mat. The mat absorbs moisture and also provides a soft non-slip surface where wet, freshly washed utensils and cookware can sit to dry. It has been a great addition to our kitchen clean-up process.


Dish Drying Pad

Dish Drying Pad

Favorite RV Products

I hope that some of our favorite accessories and products trigger a desire for you to find at least one more item that will improve your camping experience. We'd love for you to let us know what your favorite RV hacks, products and accessories are? Just leave a comment below - it will help our readers as well as the two of us to continue enhancing our RV life!
35 Favorite Camping and RV Products





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