Over the last five years of full-time RV travel, we’ve tried our share of gadgets and accessories to make life easier. In this article, we list the top 5 that we absolutely can’t do without including both comfort and safety items.
Watch the video below as we discuss our top 5 RV accessories or read below for a more in-depth explanation of each one.
Electrical Management System
The Surge Guard is much more than a surge protector. It provides total electrical protection for your RV. The Surge Guard is also the only device on the market to protect line and load side electrical, and we learned the hard way how valuable it is. We had a surge take out our power transfer switch, and it cost more than this to fix it. We have the external one, but they also make one that can be hard-wired. They also make a 30-amp system.
Click here for a free Electrical Information Guide to help you decide which protection system is best for you or watch this terrific video below where Eric explains what the Surge Guard will do for you.
TST Tire Pressure Monitoring Solution
This TST Tire Pressure Monitoring System saved us twice within a year of purchase. It doesn’t stop flat tires, but it can save you from a lot of damage to your RV in the event of a blowout by early warning. It monitors both tire pressure and heat, which are the leading indicators of tire failure.
Watch our install and review video below or read our full in-depth tire pressure monitoring system assessment.
We purchased both of the items above through Techno RV, which is owned by Full-Time RVers who test all the products themselves.
Battle Born Lithium Batteries
This is an investment in your RV that you will be grateful for again and again. Before we upgraded from lead acid to lithium batteries we were constantly worried about keeping our residential refrigerator powered overnight without damaging the batteries or
We choose Battle Born Batteries after we met the founders and some of their team at a rally last year. They are terrific folks and really care about their product and their customers.
Want to learn more about us & how well Battle Born Batteries work for us? Check out this cool video they made!
Sean completely overhauled our power system with lithium batteries and solar panels. His article on that even includes a parts list and all the costs.
When we downsized our toy hauler to a 30′ fifth wheel earlier this year, we took our lithium batteries with us and upgraded the existing solar. Learn more about that DIY solar project here.
RV SnapPad® Permanent RV Jackpad Solution
We love our RV SnapPads so much that we took them with us when we purchased a new RV. They are easily installed directly onto your RV’s jacks to provide increased stability and protect your jackpads.
Watch the video review below or read our full review here.
DIY Water Filtration System
We’ve used several single-canister water filters on our RV in the past, but our water lines still managed to gather particles that would slow or stop the water flow to our faucets. The problem was especially noticeable in the kitchen sink and the shower. Restoring full water flow required finding where the particles were lodged in the lines, and then cleaning them out.
In addition, we found that most of the single-canister filters are made with carbon filters. These filters are really only good for the taste and smell of the water but do nothing to keep the water lines clear of sand, silt, scale, or rust particles. We choose to create our own DIY water filtration system with a series of 3 high-flow canisters.
Click here to read the instructions and watch a video on the construction of this DIY Water System.
If you prefer a ready-made solution, check out the RV Water Filter Store. Managed by full-time RVers they have several plug-and-play options. The one most similar to ours is called the South of the Border.
Internet Connectivity
We’ve struggled with having reliable internet for our needs as Full-Time remote employees. Many freelancers are able to manage with a bit of connectivity here and there, but we need to video conference every weekday. We tried several different options on our first year on the road, and now have it dialed in. We’ve been using a Pepwave router, which also serves as a cellular signal and wifi booster, for three years now and we love it!
Need More?
It was really hard to pick our top 5. Click here to see our long list of the 19 Essential Items Every RV Needs.
What are your top RV gadgets?
What are your favorite RV gadgets or must-have items? We’re always looking for ways to simplify our lives. Leave us a comment if you have any additions to this list!
We opted for a memory foam mattress right from the beginning because we’d heard how terrible regular RV mattresses were. That was definitely a good choice (it was available as an included option from our manufacturer, so it was easy). And yeah, the Instant Pot gets used all. the. time. in our household. Kevin makes yogurt which is really nice – saves a lot of money and cuts down on waste, and we use it for every other kind of food you can imagine – from carnitas to chili to soups to rice. That thing is really fantastic!
I think our other most valuable, game changing, RV item has been our blue tote – which we use to transfer gray water from our tanks to the dump without having to move the RV. That has truly made our life so much easier and made it easier for us to stay in the types of campgrounds we really like….
We just bought one of those blue tote things in anticipation of trying some partial hook up campgrounds. I’ll keep my fingers crossed!
Roku for the TV. As long as we get at least two bars, we can watch our shows at night.
Nice! We used to have a Roku…not sure what happened to it.