At CAMPERiD.com, we understand how getting on the road means bringing a lot of favorite personal items - along with lots of other things you need to bring such as gear for towing, propane tanks, tools for connecting to various sewer and water lines, and more.
In this article, we're not going to focus on those "other things". Instead, we'll look at a dozen simple, low-cost, low-weight items that are extremely useful in a trailer or RV without taking up much space. These are things that experienced RV'ers may not always tell you about. However, we're confident you may want a few after reading further.
Interior Must-Haves
We'll start with a few clever products that make life inside the cabin more enjoyable and more organized.
Chair Anchors
Designed to mount on table center posts, the MORryde Chair Buddy features a spring-loaded arm that applies firm downward pressure on seat cushions to keep chairs in place. When it's time to pull them out for sitting, the arm simply folds out of the way against the post. This definitely beats chairs falling over or ricocheting around the cabin - and it's a lot less hassle than tying them in place!
Overhead Can Holders
Because countertop and drawer space is always tight, the Top Line Can-Up Can Holder keeps canned goods secured in a convenient overhead location where they cannot roll around, fall, or get dented.
Compact Stow-Away Wastebaskets
If you want to keep a clean, well-organized trailer/RV, it must be convenient and easy for everyone on board to stow trash and recyclable waste. Otherwise it piles up, awaiting the chance to spill and roll. To this end, we've got the Camco Wall-Mount Trash Can - a compact, plastic wastebasket that mounts conveniently inside a cabinet or on any vertical surface of your choice. Use one for trash, and additional ones for recyclables.
Good Quality Portable Lighting - Flashlights and Stationary Lights
When night falls, there will probably be at least 100 reasons you'll want to have good-quality, bright hand-held flashlights, spotlights, or other lights at the ready. Stash them in multiple spots around your RV, or attach them permanently to a vertical or horizontal surface with specially designed flashlight mounts and brackets. And if you're interested in more powerful work lights, give our article Portable Shop Lighting Is Bright And Affordable a quick read.
Easy Bulb Upgrades for Small Interior Lights
Compared to traditional incandescent bulbs, LEDs use a fraction of the electrical power while offering brighter light and a much longer life span. Because these two factors generally improve the quality of RV/trailer life, we offer replacement LED bulbs in a variety of small sizes in our RV Light Bulbs section.
This means you'll be able to replace interior bulbs used for reading lights, glovebox lights, vanity lights, closet lights, shower lights, and lights that are tucked into all kinds of cubbyholes. Got fluorescent bulbs you're tired of dealing with? Replace them with LED tubes we have that are shaped and sized to fit in their place. If you know the bulb socket type number, use our checkbox list to narrow your search. Helpful hint: mousing over the "i" after each socket type will bring up a diagram of what the appropriate bulb base looks like.
Wall Holders For Remotes & Miscellaneous Items
We highly recommend purchasing a few Camco Oak Organizer Holders to mount in various spots around the RV where quick and easy storage is needed. Naturally, this includes the area surrounding a television or video games. The next place is in the bathroom, because you'll need a spot to tuck those hair brushes, curlers, tooth brushes, and other often-used items that other passengers tend to leave laying around when they shouldn't.
Perhaps another useful spot would be within easy reach of the driver's seat to tuck a note pad, cellphone, tablet, GPS navigator, or other essential items when not in use. These are available in multiple widths and mount to any vertical surface with strong double-sided tape.
Small Folding Step Stool
When you think of all the times it's necessary to reach something up high inside or outside of an RV, a compact folding step stool is a must-have item to keep tucked away. Choose the right shape of stool, and it can even double as an additional step for getting in and out of the trailer. We also offer RV ladders for roof climbing as well as full-size RV stair assemblies that serve as a complete set of front steps.
Level Indicators
Level indicators are a must-have for the outside and inside of your RV. In fact, these are so inexpensive and so important that you should simply plaster them everywhere. In simplest form, level indicators feature a transparent tube or tub filled with liquid. Because liquid always rests at an even level, a gas bubble inside that liquid will move to the center when the assembly is positioned perfectly along the axis being measured.
Using this principle, a leveling device with its tube positioned horizontally along the left or right side of your trailer will tell you if it's sitting perfectly level from front to rear. Similarly, if the tube is positioned horizontally across the width of your trailer, it will tell you if it's leaning to one side. Put a ball on the floor of a trailer that's perfectly level on both axis', and it won't roll away. That's a very good thing when it comes to stability.
A "graduated" level such as the Hopkins Graduated Level features a curved tube with numbers that indicate exactly how much (in degrees) a given surface is tilting. Because it only gives you info along one plane, it's also known as a "1-way" level device.
"2-way" levels give you the ability to measure tilt across two separate axis planes. Positioned horizontally or vertically, you'd be able to tell if a trailer was level from front-to-back as well as from side-to-side. 2-way levels can take different forms. For example, a single assembly may contain 2 tubes such as the Camco T-Level, Prime Products Screw-On 2-Way Level, and RV Designer Screw-On 2-Way Levels. Others provide a pair of separate pieces with 1 tube each so the user can customize their locations.
"Bulls-eye" 3-way levelers for horizontal surfaces feature a single display housing with one bubble capable of floating in a variety of directions. Only when a trailer is level across multiple plains will the bubble reach the center bulls-eye mark. Bulls-eye levelers we offer include the Hopkins 3-Way Level, Camco Bulls-Eye Level, BAL Bullseye Level, and Prime Products Bullseye Level.
Electronic level sensors we offer calculate and clue the user if a trailer is tilted unevenly at any of its corners. First, the Camco Electronic EZlevel offers solid value with 4 corner lights on the unit that flash red, then green as the trailer becomes level. If you prefer remote access, the Cipa Wireless Leveler displays 4-corner info on a wireless remote piece.
Wheel Chocks & Stabilizers
Wheel Chocks
Wheel chocks are placed behind and in front of RV/trailer wheels to serve as a necessary barrier against any unwanted movement. Check boxes along the left side of our screen allow you to choose wheel chocks made of rubber, polyurethane, aluminum, steel, plastic, and more.
Wheel Stabilizers
Wheel stabilizers are designed to sit between two tandem wheels. Once the stabilizer assembly has been positioned in place, the user tightens it down to ensure fitted pieces exert maximum pressure against both tires to keep them frozen in place. Because many stabilizers are essentially lift jacks adapted for this type of use, curved pieces press outward as the user turns a knob, wrench, or other handle.
Wheel Locks
Wheel locks are effective way of preventing your trailer/RV from rolling away or being stolen. Made of heavy gauge steel, these feature arms that clamp around both sides of a trailer wheel along with a base that serves as an impediment against motion. Wheel locks we offer come with keys to ensure no one can remove them except the keyholder.
Leveling Blocks
Trailer/RV leveling blocks are essentially large Lego pieces that can be stacked on top of one another as needed for a customized leveling platform. Stack them underneath a support leg or jack, or create a ramp to drive up on. Leveling blocks are often available in multiple sizes such as square pieces or longer rectangles.
Leveler pieces do not require any kind of jack because they're designed to allow trailer wheels to be driven up onto them and parked.
Replacement Fuses
In all likelihood, your trailer or RV is built with a battery-powered 12-volt electrical system to handle interior lights, water heater, carbon monoxide detector, water pump, sewage pump, refrigerator, and more. Additionally, it has a 120-volt system that gets its power from a generator or plug-in electrical hookup. This is for larger-draw items such as televisions, miscellaneous kitchen appliances, washing machines, and more.
For all of these things, you'll find having extra replacement fuses on hand can be a lifesaver. Any electrical line or circuit on a trailer/RV is equipped with a dedicated fuse to block excessively high levels of current flow which can fry circuits or even cause a fire.
To account for normal electrical spikes and surges, fuses typically specified by vehicle manufacturers have amp ratings that are twice the amount of current normally needed. However, old ones still blow and need replacement sometimes. We've got you well covered with fuse kits, circuit breakers, fuse panels, fuse blocks, relays, and lots of other related components.
For more details on fuses and how to test/replace them, we invite you to read a related article on our sister site CARiD.com.
Basic Hand Tools
If you’ve got an RV or trailer, having proper hand tools will make your life easier time and time again. We recommend starting with a tool set such as the value-priced Performance Tool 265-Piece Tri-Fold Set with Cable Ties. This is a good example, as it includes both metric and U.S. wrenches and sockets along with pliers, wire cutter, stainless steel scissors, wire crimper with 44 assorted terminals, tape measure, screwdriver with 20-piece magnetic bit set, and more.
We'd also recommend keeping a good set of screwdrivers such as the ATD 13-Piece Professional Screwdriver Set in the vehicle along with an awl. If these examples aren't what you prefer, we've got a wide variety of tools on our sister website toolsid.com.
Wi-Fi Booster
The Winegard ConnecT Black WiFi Antenna and WiFi Booster is designed to connect to any nearby Wifi signals, cell phone hotspots or jetpacks and boost the signal so your devices using it will work seamlessly without freezing up. Even if you don't have a Wifi source with you while traveling, it will prove itself very useful when connecting to free Wifi typically supplied by many truck stops, campgrounds, motels, and other travel spots.
This wraps up our look at simple must-have trailer & RV accessories. Note that we also carry a variety of other interior items tailored for the mobile life such as large appliances, small appliances, furniture, electronics, lighting, bathroom components, GPS systems, propane tanks, air conditioners and heaters, and much more.
We also encourage you to browse through other sections of CAMPERiD where you'll find some great RV/trailer exterior equipment, plumbing-related supplies, electrical, maintenance-related products, towing/hitch hardware, and much more. Should you have questions about anything on our website, we'll be happy to help seven days a week!