The essential items you need to purchase before your first camping trip
I think it goes without saying that when you purchase your first RV, you will need to purchase a few things that are are absolutely essential items that every RVer should buy immediately. In the post below, we will cover some of the most important things. Some of these items you will already know, while others you may not have considered! The list below will be short and sweet. We have a much more in depth list of 20 items we don’t travel without here. But the items below are some of the most basic things you will absolutely need to hit the road for your first outing! 
All the sewer hoses and accessories
I think it goes without saying that everyone considering purchasing a new RV knows they will need to buy sewer hoses and accessories. What you may not know is what kind, how many, and what accessories you will need. We are here to help. After 5 years of fulltime living in an RV we have this thing figured out. Let’s get right down to business shall we?
I highly recommend that you have at least 20 feet of sewer hoses for each wet bay. We have 2 full bathrooms, so we have 20 feet of hoses for each one, PLUS an additional 10 foot hose. I can’t tell you have many parks have had sewer hookups that I had to basically hike to. There have definitely been parks where I have used literally every single sewer hose we had just to make it all the way to the park’s sewer!
When it comes to what kind of sewer hoses, I like to use the expandable hoses that have the steel wire inside that lets me bend and shape the hoses or decrease/increase length. So far, I hav e found that my go to sewer hoses are the Camco Rhino Flex hoses. They have been the most dependable ones we have found so far. I also really like the fact that the wire inside let’s me shrink the hoses down to a smaller size for storage.
Along with sewer hoses, you will need a sewer elbow and if you have more than one bathroom you will want to get a Y connector. AND, it will be a great help to have the slinky stands to put your hoses on. This will help keep them draining downhill. We have 2 full baths and our set up is as follows: We hook up our sewer elbow to the park’s sewer system. Then I run a 10 foot hose from there to a Y connector. From the Y, we split off to each of our wet bays. I try to set it up in a way that there is 10 feet for each wet bay sewer line, and then 10 feet of hose from the Y to the park’s sewer. It doesn’t always work out that way, but that is the ideal way for me.
You’re going to need good water hoses
Now, you may be thinking that you will just go get regular garden hoses for your water. I mean heck, we grew up drinking out of them when I was a kid! But, there are actual drinking water hoses that are made specifically for potable water for you RV. Usually you will find these in either white or blue. We have tried several different types of these hoses and by far, my favorite so far is the rubber ones that do not kink. The ones I have found that work the best for us are these ones by Kohree.
Go ahead and get yourself some leveling blocks
It never ceases to amaze me how unlevel some RV parks can be. I mean, you’r kind of expecting it when boondocking out in the middle of nowhere. But, you would expect a well maintained park would have level sites. It seems that an RV park with level sites is almost always too much to ask. So, do yourself a favor and just go ahead and grab some leveling blocks before your first trip out. It could end up saving you from a big hassle trying to get level. We find ourselves using our Camco blocks all the time under our tires so they are still on the ground even if our jacks have had to extend way out to get us level. In fact, as of writing this, we have used our blocks a LOT this summer, and I noticed that we will need to replace them soon as several have broken with lots of use.
Better go ahead and get a basic tool se
I am sure you have heard all the stories of things breaking in RVs. Well…it’s true. They break all the time. I tell people that these things are held together with brad nails, tape, and prayer. If you’re not a handyman type of person, you will be in short order. You will definitely want to have at the very least a basic tool set. This tool set should include screwdrivers, ratchets, wrenches, a mallet and hammer, volt meter, duct tape, electrical tape, and a handful of extra fuses. Now, don’t get me wrong, there is a whole lot more that you may find that you need. But a basic tool set with all of the above is a great start. After a while you will find yourself using the same tools over and over and you may be able to downsize your tools to only the ones you use in your rig regularly.
Protect your rig with a surge protector
Our first Class A motorhome had a built in electrical management system. That one had a built in surge protector. Our NEW rig did not have that. We had a surge protector that ended up failing after a couple of years and I will be honest here, I waited for too long to replace it. Every severe thunderstorm we had I was worried about our electronics. We finally. did replace the surge protector and I do enjoy having that peace of mind now when lightning storms roll through. Now there are all sorts of surge protectors and the prices ranges tremendously. But just to get started, you can go with something simple like THIS ONE.