Your RV Starter Kit

I remember calling my dad up after we got our first camper and saying, “Hey Dad, do you have a list of camping supplies you’d recommend I grab before we go on our first trip?” 

I grew up camping, but this was my first RV purchase, so I was pretty clueless about what I actually needed to pack. I figured he would send a list of 10-20 items over. He then proceeded to send me what felt like a novel’s worth of recommendations and I was overwhelmed. 

Over the last four years, as we’ve become more seasoned campers, we’ve whittled the list down to fit our specific needs. So, if you just made your first RV purchase and are curious about what items you’ll actually need on your first trip, here’s our (abbreviated) RV Starter Kit!    

Can’t Camp Without’s  

It goes without saying that the items you’ll want to bring will have a lot to do with the type of camping you plan on doing. We camp in a travel trailer that allows us to bring along a lot of the comforts of home like bedding and kitchen supplies, but I still like to pack trusty camping staples like my hatchet, lantern, and fire starter (just in case we ever find ourselves in the wilderness and had to rough it). 

This umbrella of items also includes our towing and camp setup essentials. These are items I need to get my hands on as soon as we pull into a campsite, so I keep them in our pass-through storage bay where they are readily accessible. 

The first few things I’ll grab when we set up are tire chocks, our drinking water hose, surge protector (which is amazing for protecting your RV from dirty power), and leveling blocks. Our MPG has a ton of room for storage, and we love how huge the underside bay is. This is also where we keep our camping chairs, outdoor rugs, straps, and tools.  

Safety First  

It’s important to consider that when you’re towing a 10,000-pound camper long distances and staying in remote areas, things can go wrong. Since we travel with two young children, we try to be prepared for any situation and have a running list of safety gear that we never leave home without, including first aid kits, fire extinguishers, sunblock, winter clothing for cold weather camping, flashlights, and the list goes on. 

We’ve seen our share of flat tires and always make sure we check the tire pressure and wheel bearings before leaving out. And never leave without a spare! It’s so important to make sure your RV and tow vehicle are serviced and ready to go before heading out for a long trip. 

Our Cruiser RV and Ford truck never let us down, but one piece of advice my dad gave me was to always travel with a toolbox. I remember he said, “You never know what kind of repairs you might have to make on the fly, so it is better to pack something you might not need than to need something you did not pack.” 

These words of wisdom have bailed us out a few times! It can also be challenging to find clean, reliable drinking water when you’re camping in remote areas, so we always take our Epic Water Filtration systems for extra insurance.  

Sleep Savers  

Maybe it’s the long days of adventure or all the fresh air, but in my opinion, it’s hard to beat a good night's sleep camping! When we’re on these adventures, we’re not only looking to make memories, we're also aiming to recharge. 

That’s why we like to travel with some sleep essentials like sleep masks, noise machines, humidifiers, and blackout shades. From time to time, you can end up at a stopover campground in a densely populated area and wake up in the middle of the night to a car alarm, noisy neighbors, bright lights, or a laundry list of sleep disruptors. If you find yourself in that situation, these items can come in handy. 

We also made sure to invest in quality RV mattresses that sleep just as well as our beds at home. Just because you’re traveling doesn’t mean you should have to sacrifice quality sleep.  

Copycat Kitchen   

We never eat out... ever haha! We love to cook when we’re camping so this is an area we make sure to take a lot of extra care when packing. We've tried to create a duplicate version of our home kitchen, with two of everything so we never leave essentials behind. 

We always leave utensils, plates, cups, cutlery, pots, and pans stored and ready in our camper. We also love our cooking gadgets and leave a small coffee maker, tea kettle, and our favorite Vitaclay slow cooker in our camper at all times. The multicooker is one of our favorite ways to cook because it's so easy to throw a healthy dinner together and let it cook all day while we go out for adventures. I also love to grill, so I always make sure to have my small Traeger pellet smoker loaded in the back of the truck and ready to go. Oh, and don’t forget storage containers for the leftovers!  

Fun Stuff  

These are my favorite things to pack up. A lot of these items depend on what season we’re camping in, the location, setting, etc. In the summer, we love to pack our fishing rods, bikes, or even a kayak. If we’re camping near water, we make sure to bring the girls sand toys and swimming gear. 

We’ve honestly found throughout the years for our kids that the more toys we pack, the less they play with them. They are always happiest digging in the dirt, collecting rocks, or climbing trees. These days we’ve adopted a minimalistic approach to packing toys and rely on our surroundings and nature to provide the fun. 

Since I often use our RV as a home base when we’re on tour and a creative hub for writing new songs, I have a storage area underneath the master bedroom for my guitar and studio gear. I always get my best song ideas when we’re out in nature!  

At the end of the day, everybody’s gear list will look a little bit different, but these are some of our favorite essentials. If you don’t have a camping pro to lean on (thanks, Dad!), there is a wealth of knowledge online, including here on the THOR website. Make sure you check it out to learn all kinds of amazing tips and tricks for pulling off the perfect camping trip!