The Essentials
These are the must have items your dealer should not have let you leave without. We’ve made our recommendation with the price conscious shopper in mind. You likely have stretched yourself thin purchasing the RV, this will get you on the road for the least amount of money. Upgrade later and over time!
Use a drinking water safe hose to fill your fresh water tank or for city water connection. The standard 25′ water hose will work well in most cases and is easier to manage than a 50′.
This 90 degree water hose fitting connects directly to your city water port on the side of your RV. It decreases the stress applied to the fitting that can cause it to crack over time.
There are many different sewer hoses options out there. We’ve used this brand and it has worked well for us. You will need an adapter from your hose to the connection, this one works well and will screw into PVC connections that many parks are moving toward.
I would consider a surge protector to be essential although your RV electrical system will function with out one. Lightning strikes or sudden changes in power can damage your appliances. Things like TV’s, microwaves, converter/chargers are susceptible to these spikes in voltage and can cost you thousands of dollars and ruin a vacation.
It likely won’t be common but should you find yourself in a position where you only have the standard 15a service available you will need this 30a to 15a adapter. I call it essential because it will effect your camping experience if you are expecting to have power and do not.
RV water pipes and fittings are only rated to about 50 psi. Use this pressure regulator that will provide you piece of mind your pluming is protected from leaks caused by over pressure.
While these filters are not more than a screen they will remove sediment from your drinking water. Many campgrounds have less than desirable water quality so a drinking water filter may be an upgrade at some point for you.
This may be considered an upgrade because it’s not technically required to make your sewer connection function. This adapter serves two purposes. First it offers a downward bend to lessen the angle your hose will take from your RV. Shorter RV’s may be fine with a straight adapter. Secondly, it’s clear so you can visually see that your black tank is clean.
In the “Know your RV” section we address the difference between a 30a and 50a electrical system. You can tell by the plug, just match up the number and configuration of the prongs. Most parks are 30a service while some offer 50. “Premium” sites are usually 50a service. If your rig is 50a you will need an adapter to use a 30a service.
Upgrades
While the essential products will work well there are a few items that we have upgraded over time that provide better insight or reduce setup/tear down time.
The non-kink drinking water safe hose is a game changer. This hose drastically reduce your setup/tear down time by self draining. Simply disconnect, let it drain, wad it up and through it in a box. No more coiling a dirty hose.
The standard 50 psi water pressure regulator is fine in most cases but if you really want to be in tune with your RV this pressure regulator with gauge will offer you peace of mind.
After much research this box fit our needs as a generator storage solution for our 2000w inverter generator. This mounts directly to the bumper with a custom bracket and but there is a universal mount bracket available. I use this to store all my hoses and fittings freeing up valuable storage in the passthrough area.