You’re preparing to hit the road full time, and you’ve read all about these gadgets that other RVers make sound absolutely essential – 12v fans, better sewer hoses, power surge protectors, leveling blocks, flying drones, LED projectors, fancy kitchen gadgets and more.
And of course, those are all important.
But what about that stuff you might forget to bring with you, but might come in handy down the road? Here’s some things that we are either glad we opted to bring along, or added back into our arsenal after hitting the road:
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My trusty measuring tape. A measuring tape – A small measuring tape is something I always kept in my junk drawer, and frequently pulled out. And it’s been no different in an RV. In fact, I’ve had the same one for over 20 years now (I hope they don’t expire?). We use it for determining if a new ‘thing’ we’re contemplating will fit as well as keeping on track of our own body measurements for plugging into our FitBit tracker. It’s a silly little thing, but one we’re always happy we brought along.
- Printer – We have to print a document often enough that we’ve always traveled with a small printer. Things like our vehicle insurance cards now arrive electronically, and we have to print them out. Our current choice an Canon iP100 which is super compact, but pretty nice quality – even for photos.
- Checks – You’d think going mostly paperless and digital, that you’d need less of those old fashion checks. But we actually write more of them than ever before. Where? Self check-in campgrounds. We love staying in public parks, and many have an ‘Iron Ranger’ where you have to leave behind either cash or check. There are other uses on the road too, such as if you encounter problems with your credit card and need a back-up way to pay.
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Our office supply kit. General Office Supplies – Even if you’re not running a small business from your mobile home, having some basic office supplies on hand can come in super handy. From scissors, tape (both the gift wrap style and packing style), sharpie markers, mailing envelopes, paper clips, paper filing organizer, notebooks and rubber bands. Binder clips in particular are extra useful and serve multiple purposes – organizing paper, bag clips and for temporarily attaching things. And we’re always thankful we have a few essentials on board.
- Basic Tool Kit – Even if you’re not super handy, having some basic tools on board can be a lifesaver. You just never know where you’ll be when something breaks or you need to tighten a screw.. and you’ll have to improvise. Make sure you have screwdrivers for the fasteners used in your RV, a hammer, pliers, duct tape, WD-40 and a good flashlight for peering into dark crevices.
- Basic First Aid & Medical Supplies – It’s always a good idea to have antiseptics, bandages and such around.. you can pick up a well stocked first aid kit at any pharmacy. You can self treat a lot of stuff in the field. But also think about the common ailments you might be prone to. Catching a cold, having an upset tummy or getting an allergy attack when you’re dozens of miles from the nearest pharmacy is no fun. We always make sure we have our go-to elixirs on board, and replace them before their expiration dates. And as my joints frequently give me problems, I keep braces for my knees, ankles and wrists around.
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We love having fresh flowers around… and why yes, those ARE GM vintage bus salt & pepper shakers, and a hand painted gord gifted by a friend. Flower vase – I just love fresh flowers. Whether we’ve (legally) picked wildflowers at a location, or purchased a bouquet at the store – we keep something around to hold flowers. In our Oliver Travel Trailer, we found a suction cup attachable vase to affix to our fiberglass walls. In the bus, we keep a good old fashioned glass vase, and a collapsable plastic one. Of course, a large drinking glass could also serve double duty if space is at a premium.
- Decorations – Nothing makes a place feel like home better than adding your own little touch. We keep a string of solar charged holiday lights for decorating outside, and we have some seasonal items to decorate inside the bus. We have some smaller items around the bus too that aren’t too much of a pain to take down on transition days. All small things that pack away easily, of course.
- Cooler – Even though we travel with a fridge and freezer these days (our first RV didn’t have one… we had to depend on a cooler), we still use a cooler regularly. Mainly to de-frost our fridge. We move all the contents to the cooler while we warm things up inside the ice box. It also gives us an option if we ever host a party and need to keep ice or lots of chilled beverages on hand. We also keep a small lunch sized insulated bag around for picnic adventures.
I’m sure there’s more we have on board that we didn’t originally think we’d need on the road.
The more important point is that in the rush of preparing to hit the road and assembling a bunch of new RVing specific gadgets, you remember the every day life stuff too that will help you turn an RV into a home.
Live Video Chat Announcement
Join us for our next Live Video Chat this Thursday evening…
When: Thursday, February 26 at 7pm MST / 9pm EST
Topic: Finding your RVing Peers on the Road
Where: Our Livestream Channel (you’ll need to setup a free account to join in)
One of the trepidations of hitting the road is leaving behind a local community – friends you’ve made over the years. In this video chat, we’ll talk about the thriving community of nomads on the road today, and how to find your like minded people. We’ll touch on social media (using RVillage, blogging, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram), caravanning and directing your travel towards places ‘your people’ might be more likely to be.
As usual, we’ll host a Q&A at the end – so bring your questions!
We’re on the final leg of our 3 year plan to begin full-time in our motorhome beginning in October. I’ve been reading your posts religiously all during the process, and found it to be invaluable. I just pulled out my trusty Cannon BJC-85 travel printer that I used for business on the road until 11 years ago. A few drops of cleaner into the black cartridge, some 45 drops of universal ink into the same cartridge (I use a medical syringe), and she fired up good as new. That model comes with a scanner head to function as a scanner. If a cartridge, or print-head, ever clogs….I simply inject a few drops of universal print cleaner….and it’s good as new.
We also keep a small sewing kit with us and thread.
My wife and I are taking delivery of our first RV next week–a 45 ft 1998 Newell motorhome. We plan to full time it in a year. We are nervous and excited. Up to this point we have been tent camping.
Your list is almost exactly like ours…we also carry a box cutter. stapler, safety pins, and straight pins…to mention a few…
I think you mentioned bag clips you can get from amazon? But these from IKEA i think would work well too..
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/111597352351?lpid=82&chn=ps
These are from ebay but I found them at an IKEA store much cheaper.
An excellent list, Cherie! I might also add some stickable Velcro® hooks-n-loops. F’rinstance: You can put some on a small flashlight and keep it by the door; ready when needed.
Inkjet print heads clog if you don’t use them. If you aren’t going to print something at least once a month, don’t bother carrying one around, it’s not going to work when you need it.
We’ve actually not had a problem with it. We’ll sometimes go many months in between print jobs, and it’s been a-ok for us for years.
As Cherie said – no problems with our Cannon. But our old Kodak that we initially hit the road with did regularly suffer clogs that required replacing the heads. Fortunately Kodak always sent us new heads for free when I called, but it was a royal hassle. Good idea for anyone planning on an only occasional use printer to keep reliability in mind!
I knew I was holding onto my check for a reason!
We think it’s a good idea 🙂
Interesting, we never would have thought about needing a printer on the road but that makes total sense. Thanks for the heads up!
Some folks can probably get away with out. However, we usually end up printing documents for them when we’re their neighbor. 🙂
One of my favorite bring-alongs is the rubber gripper I use to open bottles when my hands are misbehaving. I also made a games pack which is a quart zip top bag holding two decks of cards, six dice, paper, pencil, and a tiny cribbage board. We can play a wide variety of games with these few pieces.
Ahhh.. yes, the grippers. Thanks for the reminder. They come in handy for more than just bottles too – we use them anything we need to grip that might be tight or a bit slippery.
We keep some card games on board too.. need to remember to play them more often.
Check check and check and so glad I’m not the only one that likes those measuring tapes (mind travels in my purse). I would add that my tool kit also has zip ties – has saved me a number of times (get the good quality long ones) once when the awning arms and lock failed going down the road in E Oregon!
Ahh.. yes.. excellent addition to the list.. zip ties. We use them all the time too. Thanks!
Yup my family laughs that I’m a zip tie, duct tape, bungee cord and PVC queen! LOL
I have that exact same measuring tape that has been with me since college – it is definitely going with us 🙂 You reminded me to order checks with our new “address”. We’re taking as few papers as possible with us, but for those things I absolutely want along I made a binder of plastic sleeves (the ones designed to hold multiple papers each) that fits in my bedroom drawer. Easy to access and no more need for a file box/drawer. Binder clips are like the new duct tape and baling wire!!
Too funny that you have the same measuring tape… silly thing to keep for so long, but I’m amazed at how often we pull it out.
Binder clips are indeed an excellent multitasking essential!
Very practical tips. We have been traveling without a printer managing to drop by Staples when needed. The need seems to be increasing and we are considering a printer and will give the Canon a look. Reminds me of a report from the 80’s which stated there will be paperless offices once we have paperless bathrooms :-). We will be at the Rally starting the 26th yet hope to join the webinar. Look forward to connecting f2f at Escapees.
Cheers, Jeff and Deb
For big print jobs, we use office stores too. But having our little printer on board has been very worthwhile on enough occasions to merit its place.
See you guys at Escapade!