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There are many lists out there about RV Gear essentials helping newbie owners get started with needed RV gear. And there is a lot of stuff to get: sewer hoses, tank treatments, electric adapters, etc. While we did get some of this same gear, we wanted to put together a different sort of list. We call it the “Fulltime Family Essential RV Gear” list. This list is the list of stuff after you get all the other RV Gear essentials are purchased. This list is to help survive living as a family every day in an RV. Are they “essential”? We think some of these items on the gear list are crucial to making life just a little easier and turning the RV into a cozy home.
Laundry Helpers
- Washer/Dryer – We were on the fence; do we need a washer and dryer or use campground laundry facilities? Dear hubby was leaning towards using campground laundry facilities as he thought it was a good way for one parent to get a little alone time and do all the laundry quickly. He was right. I love my laundry room dates! I have nearly 2 hours to myself and get all the laundry done while catching up on Netflix. But it usually costs me $12-$20 to do all the laundry. We also do not have a little wagon, so I trudge all the stuff back and forth to the laundry room. And we have toddlers – they still have potty accidents or can get clothes filthy or go through the girly stage and wear multiple dress-up outfits. So, my #1 favorite thing in my whole RV is my Splendide WD2100XC Vented Combo Washer/Dryer. I must do 2-3 loads almost every day. I don’t let laundry stack up, which keeps down the clutter in our RV. And I love the combo unit! I researched and looked at all the reviews and decided on the vented combo, so I had more space and less weight in the RV. Again, I love this appliance! It works! It auto dries when washing is complete, so if I start a load and then go off for an adventure, I come back home to clean laundry instead of a wet gear to move to a dryer. There is a learning curve, and you can’t use this unit as a regular washer, but once you get the hang of it, you may never go back to having two appliances when one does a fantastic job!
- Pop-up hamper – Yes, please! This hamper is enormous and collapses to be stored out of sight. This thing is big enough for me to lug all my laundry to a laundry room if I needed too (as sometimes I do big blankets or bedspreads in the laundry room)
- Dryer Balls – I didn’t have these before the RV as I have enjoyed using the poisonous Bounce Sheets for years. The Splendide combo washer/dryer doesn’t recommend dry sheets, and reading up on the harmful chemicals in dryer sheets; I made the switch to the balls. The dry wool balls have the added benefit of cutting down dryer time, which in the combo unit is like a secret weapon!
- Zout Spray – even before moving into an RV, I am a huge believer in this stain remover! It is magic and hard to find in stores, so you must order it on Amazon. Living in an RV means you are outside a lot. That means more messes like dirt, mud, grass stains on top of the horrors from finger painting, ketchup, ice cream, and the thousands of other yucky messes.
- Tide Pods – I’m a Costco girl, so I am perfectly happy with my jug of Kirkland soap that lasts forever. But laundry pods do come in handy if you need to make a run to a laundry room as you can take just what you need and not lug so much around. Please use caution and keep out of reach of the kiddos!
- Space Saving Hangers – these velvet hangers serve two purposes. They save space in the closet and keep clothes from falling off the hangers. Having traveled nearly 4,000 miles, I have only had one hanger fall off during a travel day.
- Tripod – if you have the washer and dryer, you will need this to help keep down the vibration from not only the washer but also stomping kiddos. We were amazed at how much this tripod made a difference in stabilizing the RV. Careful reading the reviews, though, some people use this to keep down the vibration of a different kind!
- X-Chocks – again, these cross chocks helps keep down movement in the unit. When you have kids bouncing around (“stop running in the tiny house!”), anything that helps make the RV more stable is your friend!
Bathroom List
- Shower Dispenser – why didn’t I have one of these in the sticks and bricks? We basically are bottle free thanks to this dispenser (mama needs a few extra potions). It is fantastic and keeps down the clutter. In fact, I might buy a second one to mount lower so the girls can reach their own shampoo and soap.
- Shower Pan Stopper – Our shower has a 6” deep shower pan. One thing the girls missed living in an RV is having baths to play with toys. Thanks to this rubber stopper, they don’t have to miss out on bathtime fun. Just keep an eye on the water level, so you don’t overflow the shower pan.
- Happy Camper – the absolute ickiest part of RVing – smelly tanks. But Happy Camper is a little miracle in a jar. We are using Happy Camper to treat black and grey tanks keeping smells at bay and tanks super healthy, preventing back-ups or other super gross issues. This tank treatment is an RVer favorite and makes almost every RV Gear list…and for a good reason! Don’t waste money on those other pods, besides who wants orange smelling poo-poo!
- First Aid Kit – Every RV and mama need an excellent first aid kit on hand. I would recommend stocking with lots of extra Band-aids like princesses, Paw Patrol, or Peppa Pig as we blow thru the Band-Aids quickly around here.
- Motion Sensor Moving Lights – for so many dark spaces. The RV has lots of cabinets, but they can be deep or odd-shaped. Adding a few of these lights everywhere helps to find stuff or maximizing dark spaces. It also allows littles from not saying, “mama, can you turn on the light.”
Kitchen/Living Room List
- Ninja Foodi – I did not jump on the bandwagon for insta-pots or air fryers, as I didn’t see the point, but I was a big crockpot girl. So when I had to downsize my entire kitchen, I wanted to check out the Ninja Foodi as it wasn’t much bigger than my crockpot, but it is so many devices in one: an air fryer, slow cooker, pressure cooker, sauté, broiler and yogurt maker. Having cooked in the RV for six months, I can honestly say this thing is worth all the hype. Sometimes it is too hot and sticky outside to grill. And RV ovens take some getting used to in order not to get raw or burnt food. The other day, I popped in some rice, chicken thighs, a can of beans, corn, and a tub of salsa, and in less than 20 minutes, I had a Mexican feast cooked!
- Spice Rack – knowing we would eat almost every meal from home, I wasn’t willing to compromise on taste and needed my spices. This spice rack fits entirely behind on our pantry door, yet didn’t take any shelves. And I can accommodate bottles of oil or vinegar on the top row and still have lots of room for things like saffron and curry.
- Collapsible anything for the kitchen – the kitchen is where we needed the most stuff but have space limitations. I own several collapsible items: salad spinner, colanders, storage containers, dish drying racks, and cutting board/dish rinse pan. Not only do I use these items daily, but they all store on one shelf!
- Décor – for a fulltime family, this isn’t just an RV, but it is our home. And while I love those IG pages of all kinds of RV remodels and fancy décor, we decided not to take on a complete remodel of a brand-new unit. We want to settle into this lifestyle before we make any drastic changes and we worry about what a modified rig would do to the trade-in value. But we have added our touches with peel and stick backsplash, faucets, new bathroom sink, and lots of pictures and décor. Walking into our unit, it may not be an IG RV model, but it sure does feel cozy and feels like home to us!
- Command Strips – love anything with command strips. We have used Command Strips to hang all our pictures to securing our desktop to the dresser to adding space in the closet with hooks to cute caddies in the bathroom medicine cabinet. They even make little shelves to help decorate. Command Strips truly helps in hundreds of practical ways and can also help transform the blah interior into a homey place. No RV Gear List is complete without help from Command Strips.
- Loctite – I lived in California for ten years and four earthquakes and never once heard about this stuff! Since every travel day is like putting your RV through an earthquake, I found Loctite. Not only does it hold things in place, but it is also a real time-saver by not having to pack and unpack all the breakable décor on every travel day. Locktite hasn’t failed me yet!
- Wi-Fi Unit – UGH! Wi-Fi is such a struggle. At first, we thought we could use the campground Wi-Fi. And you can…sometimes. The Wi-Fi at campgrounds vary greatly from non-existent or slow to excellent but with an added service fee. Then we tried a jet pack from Verizon since we had an unlimited plan. The jet pack was glitchy, Verizon store reps didn’t know how to use it, and we blew through our 15G of data in a day. (Verizon is unlimited, but after 15G, they throttle service). So, for months we have used a combo of campground Wi-Fi and cellphone hotspots. But we found we use way more data than expected from kids kindles to streaming music and TV (Netflix and Hulu), not to mention trying to blog and work. We did our research and finally decided to go with the MobileMustHave.com system. We got the ULTIMATE ROAD WARRIOR RV & BOAT INTERNET ACCESS BUNDLE WITH dual router to have multiple service provider options and the booster antenna. We were very hesitant as we thought it would be over our heads with the technical mumbo jumbo, but the customer service and training tutorials made is a cinch to install. And the best part, we now have our own dedicated Wi-Fi, and it has made a world of difference. You don’t have to get the same system we did, but know you will probably need something, and it is going to cost you more than you probably want to spend! Do your research and limp along with slow service until you find the right solution for your family.
Kid Specific
- Cube Storage and boxes – we have a bunkhouse model and took out the convertible sleeper couch to create more room for play. But we also needed more space for the storage of toys, art supplies, and books. This lightweight storage and containers are the perfect solution. I added a few labels with pictures of what is to go inside the boxes, and now the kids can clean up their room and put things back where they belong.
- Blow-Up Pool – John wasn’t convinced we needed a blow-up kiddie pool, but with COVID, many parks closed their pool or playground. Or some parks we stayed at didn’t have any kid-friendly amenities. Since we have an air compressor, this thing is quick to blow up and provides hours of outdoor fun – which is what every Fulltime family needs!
Outdoor List
- Thermacell – If you follow us on IG, you know I can’t stand mosquitos and battle them often!! They love me extra special, and I swell up immediately at any time I get a bite. I have a large arsenal to keep bugs at bay, but I like the Thermacell as it protects 15 feet around the unit, protecting dinner and fellow blood donors.
- Picnic Table Cover – we love this picnic table cover as it includes covers for the bench seats and has elastic, so nothing blows away. I would recommend getting a couple so you can rotate if dirty, or we have had small tears after a lot of use from Playdoh and finger paint sessions.
- Patio Rug – keeps dirt down around the campsite. John thought this wasn’t something we needed as we stayed at many concrete pad sites in the beginning. But then we found the more rustic camping sites, and having a nice big patio rug helps keep down the dirt at the campsite from coming into the tiny house.
- Foot Wiper Map – You will want a mat that traps dirt and yuck before coming into the RV, not just a rug. This sweeper rug knocks off a lot of dirt before paws or feet come inside.
- RV Lock – This was on my list to get on day #1! I’m not too fond of keys and having to always have them with you. The RV lock allows you to program a 4-digit code to go keyless for your RV door. They even have remotes that I keep one in the car, and if I can’t remember if I locked the door, I can always hit the remote before I pull away from the campsite. RV Lock does have multiple products so that you could get locks for all the bay doors too, but we simply did our main entrance.
- Dog Tie-Off – This tie off attaches to the trailer or picnic table and gives your best friend room to roam the campsite while you are outside.
- Dog Tag – You probably already have one for the puppy, but don’t forget to update for fulltime travel. We got Presley this one, so it shows we are a fulltime family and what rig we are in with our phone number in case he gets lost in the campground.
Cleaning List
- Vacuum – this is somewhere you can save some money. Don’t fall for that Dyson $400 hype. It may “suck” better, but you must find somewhere to plug it in and store it. We decided to do a combo of a broom, a small handheld vacuum, and this tremendous mini shop vac. With these three tools, we can tackle small or big messes and keep our rig squeaky clean, and they tuck away in an open cabinet out of sight.
- Mop – I like this mop as you can make your own cleaning solution and don’t have to buy refills, and the microfiber cloth can be washed in the washer. Quick command strips hanger stores it away and out of sight.
- Dawn Power Wash – Hello, Dawn! What took so long to invent this stuff! I saw the commercial but didn’t believe the marketing until I got to my mother-in-law’s house, and she had the Dawn Power Wash. This power wash soap took a pan of caked-on cheesy potato pan and got rid of all the junk with a wipe and rinse. This soap saves on the water when you wash dishes, especially helpful while boondocking. John has found this soap works on the rig getting all the bugs and road grease off too. I finally get a “dishwasher” back!
Other RV Gear List
These are great upgrades to have on hand, but buy them as you need them or save up as an upgrade.
- Pressure Regulator – helps regulate water pressure coming into the rig. Some parks have high water pressure and could damage your internal plumbing. Before you get one, if you get to a park with high pressure, fill the fresh tank instead.
- Sewer Hoses – any sewer hose can do the job, but we have found the Rhino hoses to be the best. We were at a campsite during a hail storm. While our RV was mostly free from damage, the hail had popped holes in neighbors’ generic plastic sewer hoses versus those who had Rhino hoses (Rhino has thicker mm of plastic at 24mm vs. generic brands at 15mm).
- Air Compressor – We initially got the VIAIR 450P-RV Portable Compressor Kit just for tire maintenance health. Since then, we use the compressor to blow up the kiddie pool, bike tires and blow off dirty patio mats.
- Hitch – After buying an RV, the last thing you want is more expensive add-ons. But one trip down a 45-mile-long suspension bridge in Louisiana, which left us car sick and our rig a jumbled mess, convinced us to upgrade to this Lippert Flex-Air hitch. This hitch has an airbag and rubber plate to help absorb shocks and bumps, alleviating fewer things falling in the RV and comfort to passengers in the truck. My stomach and head are much better on travel days!
- Zero-G Hose – As I am writing this blog, I witnessed two different couples struggle with rolling up their water hoses. Forget the old fashioned typical white RV hose. Get these Zero-G and rolling up the hoses is a snap and never a struggle and always kink-free.
- Surge Protector – file this under the expensive accessory list again! Power surges are typical at campgrounds. The park we are at now, they are working on the park’s power grid. In one hour, we had five massive surges where our surge protector cut off all power to our unit and resumed power again. If we didn’t have a surge protector, these surges could have damaged our electronics like the TV or harmed my beloved washer!! We like the internal install kind, so our surge protector never walks off.
A quick note about the RV gear list we recommend: None of the equipment we recommended is sponsored or endorsed. We recommend these products above by using our hard-earned dollars and shelled out the dinero just like an average consumer. We do have affiliate links above, which means if you purchase anything listed above through our link, we receive a small commission to help support our life on the road, but it is at no cost to you! Thank you for taking the time to check out our list, and hope the products on our list make your life just a little more enjoyable!
While we love these RV gear list items which have made our life easier to live in an RV Fulltime, we realize most of the items are not truly essential gear. Buy things you need only when you have use for them. Hopefully, a few of these items will help your family live easier and continue those Bright Dais Ahead!
We want to hear from you!
Comment below and let us know things you deem essential Fulltime Family RV Gear list or make full-time travel a little easier. We look forward to answering your questions or comments!
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