Travel trailers are only as good as the sum of their parts and to an extent their RV accessories! But with so many options available, it can be difficult to determine the type of add-ons that your camper really needs and frankly, where to start.
With that in mind, we created a checklist featuring some of the most useful accessories for any travel trailer. This list includes RV accessories for your plumbing and electrical systems as well as some additional components that can help you set up camp faster!
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Read here to learn tips for purchasing a travel trailer.
Best RV Accessories for Your Connections: Sewer, Water & Electric
First off, let’s focus on the must-have accessories for your RV’s water and electrical systems.
Here, we recommend buying new accessories because you’ll likely use them a lot on the road for months. We encourage you to consider investing in some of these accessories because of their long-term viability and immediate benefits. On that note, let’s start!
RV Sewer Hose: An Absolute Must-Have RV Accessory
An RV sewer hose is a crucial accessory for waste management and a strict requirement by virtually every RV park and campground. The sewer hose is what you will connect to your plumbing system in order to properly dispose waste in designated dump stations.
The kit comes in various builds to accommodate different setups employed by recreational vehicles and dumping stations. But you can also choose something flexible like the Camco RhinoFLEX sewer hose kit which rocks a 4-in-1 adapter that can connect to a 3″ slip or a 3″, 3 ½″, or 4″ threaded dump station pipe.
RV Sewer Tank Rinser
Aside from the sewer hose, there are other smaller travel trailer accessories that you need in your kit in order to keep hygiene up to standard across your recreational vehicle.
One of them is the RV sewer tank rinser. It’s a device that can be attached to the sewer outlet when rinsing your travel trailer’s holding tank and plumbing system. An ergonomic rinser like the Camco Rhino Blaster is a great example since it’s also break resistant and easy to install.
RV Sewer Hose Support
Also called the sewer hose ramp/holder, a sewer hose support is a simple contraption that elevates the sewer hose off the ground while it’s connected to a dumping station or sewer system.
It’s great practice and highly recommended to have the hose lifted during disposal to improve drainage and avoid leakage. The ramp also helps in extending the life of your water hose by providing a more solid and even surface that significantly limits wear and tear.
Disposable Sanitation Gloves
Disposable sanitation gloves have a more well-rounded use than the previous items on this list. But in general, you will need this added protection whenever you need to do dirty jobs, especially in extremely wet or dry conditions. It’s one of the RV must-haves in any decontamination or cleaning jobs.
RV Toilet Chemicals
One of the practical ways to prevent clogging in your RV’s plumbing system is to use RV-grade waste disposal chemicals. Just remember that you’ll likely need different solutions for different components in your travel trailer. For example, the Thetford Aqua-Kem is a powerful waste tank deodorant for waste holding tanks in RVs and boats. Meanwhile, you can use a more common treatment for kitchen sinks and toilet bowls.
Holding Tank Treatment
An RV holding tank treatment is a chemical solution that breaks down waste and control odors. Aside from chemical-based solutions, you’ll also come across treatments that are enzymatic or biodegradable. Regardless, it’s important to follow the manufacturer’s application instructions for safe and effective use.
Drinking Water Hose
Drinking water hose is one the RV kitchen accessories whose value is is often understated. There are typically two things you need to look out for when choosing the right water hose: durability as well as safety and consumption rating.
You can check out Camco’s 25 ft. premium drinking water hose as an example. In terms of build, this hose is made of PVC. It notably has no BPA, lead or phthalate which makes it compliant and certified for RV-use.
Separate Tank Rinsing Hose
Flushing your RV’s black tank is not easy and it can be messy. Therefore, you should always a have separate tank rinsing hose for your black holding tank to keep things in order and hygienic. Ideally, you want a hose that is durable, kink-resistant and can deliver sufficient burst for a thorough cleaning job.
Hose Splitter
One must-have travel trailer accessory for fresh water hose is a splitter. It’s especially useful when multitasking, like doing dishes or refilling drinking stations simultaneously. You use a splitter so that you can attach another hose that will be used for other activities. This will make it easier for you to keep the drinking hose clean and sanitized.
Brass Water Connector Elbow
If you don’t have one fitted for your vehicle, then it’s time to consider getting a brass water connector elbow like the Camco 90 Degree Hose Elbow. The adapter gives the water hose an added protection and stability by maintaining the water’s natural flow as it passes through the water system of your travel trailer.
Water Pressure Regulator
An RV water pressure regulator is an essential device that can make your RV life and camping trip more seamless. The regulator is a valve that you would connect to your water source to manage the pressure of water entering your vehicle’s plumbing system.
Ideally, you would want a regulator with gauge like the Camco Brass Water Pressure Regulator with Gauge to make monitoring and adjustments accessible and easier to observe.
Heated Drinking Hose
A heated drinking hose is one of the RV camping accessories essential to RV owners and outdoor enthusiasts who camp all year round. A heated drinking hose is a specialized variant that has electrical heat strips that are activated when plugged into an electrical system.
The main purpose of the a heated drinking hose like the Camco 25 ft. Cold Water Heated Drinking Hose is to keep water warm amid freezing temperatures. This prevents the liquid from freezing and expanding which can cause your plumbing system to burst.
Some heated hoses are self-regulating which means they will automatically turn their heating element on and off as needed based from external temperature readings.
Power Cord or Extension Cord
When choosing a power or extension cord for your camper, you should consider the appropriate wire gauge that is compatible with your appliances and gadgets. For example, a 14-gauge extension cable is ideal for a camper that requires 15 amps of electricity. Meanwhile, you will need a 12-gauge extension cable for 20 amps and a 10-gauge extension cord for 30 amps respectively.
RV Bubble Level
Chances are you’ve seen and used a bubble level at some point. If not, then you’ll still likely recognize it easily in the workshop. For RVs, it’s a basic, tried-and-tested leveling device.
If you’re out camping, it can be challenging to find even ground. Therefore, you use the bubble to check if you are resting on a surface that the optimal for your RV. Of course, sometimes it’s simply impossible to get an ideal space, in which case, you can use leveling blocks to solidify your RV’s footing.
Electrical Connection
Travel trailers inevitably become prone to electrical issues over time. You can check for faults during maintenance to prevent common incidents, but even then you’re never truly sure how a combination of elements and rough conditions can affect your electrical system on the road and out in the wild. Still, it’s best to take a cautious approach by boosting your electrical system with the following devices:
RV Surge Protector and Circuit Analyzer
A surge protector is as important to your travel trailer as it is to your home’s electrical system. It also works the same way which is to protect against voltage spikes that can harm your electronics.
After spending a fortune on your mobile home and appliances, it’s definitely a worthy investment to get a surge protector like Camco 55301 30 Amp RV Power Defender to protect your equipment from outages and sudden power surges.
50 Amp Male to 30 Amp Female Adapter
Adapters make it possible to hook your 30-amp cord to a 50-amp outlet (or vice versa). Thus, it’s essential to pack one like the Camco Heavy Duty RV Dogbone Electrical Adapter for your camping trip, especially if you are expecting to use a generator or external power source. You can also get another 30 amp to 15 amp adapter depending on what you need or in service of staying flexible during your travels.
RV Gadgets for Setting Up Your Campsite
Having your travel trailer loaded with essential RV accessories is a significant boost to your RV experience, but that’s still only part of the RV life. The next part is setting up camp!
RV Leveling Kit
We briefly touched on the importance of leveling your travel trailer and this is more or less an extension of that. Assuming you already have your bubble level secured, then the next on the travel RV accessories list would be leveling blocks like the portable and durable Andersen Hitches.
While you can use the environment around you or wooden planks to balance the positioning of your RV, the task would be a lot simpler and more precise if you can use a dedicated leveling block for your travel trailer.
Bluetooth Level
Even better, you can use Bluetooth-powered level like the patented LevelMatePro when setting up camp.
While it’s a not a necessary accessory for your RV since you can do the task manually with bubble leveling blocks, it’s a time-saving investment for anyone who are looking to spend less time in setting up their RV!
In essence, you can use LevelMatePro via your smartphone or tablet to evaluate and quickly level your travel trailer.
30 Amp Surge Protector/EMS
If you’re camping and plan to use electrical hookups, then it’s only appropriate to use a surge protector with EMS (electrical management system). Aside from surge protection that we’ve introduced prior, the EMS will protect from low or high frequencies and voltages, open or neutral grounds, and reverse polarity.
Leveling Scissor Jack Socket Drill Adapter
You can use a leveling scissor jack socket drill adapter for ease of use when configuring a scissor jack to stabilize your travel trailer. The adapter reduces manual labor by effectively converting the rotary motion of the drill into the necessary turning motion required to make adjustments to the scissor jack.
Cordless Drill
It can be quite handy to have a cordless drill in your inventory for general use. Cordless equipment are valuable in camping because they can afford you with extra mobility aside from being more convenient to pack. You’ll also get more value from the drill if you’re already using an aforementioned RV jack when stabilizing your travel trailer.
Tire Pressure Monitoring System and Tire Covers
If you’re frequent to your local RV maintenance shop, then you might not necessarily need your own tire pressuring monitoring system (TPMS). However, it’s still generally great to have!
It never hurts to have the ability to ensure that you have proper inflation across your tires as often as possible, and the device itself is easy to store and only accounts for a one-time investment. Meanwhile, tire covers can do wonders in protecting your wheels against rough conditions, like mitigating sun damage over extended exposure.
Optimize Your Camping Trip with Essential RV Camping Accessories for Travel Trailers
The list of useful travel trailer accessories will vary depending on your lifestyle and travel preferences, but the accessories we’ve listed above should be great in most settings.
In general, planning a trip is never easy. Every camping trip, after all, is unique in its own way. Thus, the charm! Nevertheless, it always helps during preparations when you can narrow down your options and be more intentional with your choices. If you share that goal with us, then tune in for more tips and tricks on how you can ultimately make your travels and RV life richer and more convenient.
Read here to learn about solar panels for travel trailers.
