It’s camping season…that means its time to talk about essential RV gear! The RV life is full of amazing adventures, but those adventures are best enjoyed when you’re prepared for anything.

This list focuses on RVers new to the RV lifestyle.

After our 4 years of life on the road, we learned (sometimes the hard way) about what gear is essential for RV life.

Watch the Essential RV Gear video:

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#1 Wheel Chocks

Making sure your RV doesn’t roll away is top priority. If you have a travel trailer, buying a proper set of wheel chocks is the first step for essential RV gear.

We use basic, run of the mill chocks. They cost about $11 on Amazon. Our friends use fancy, self-leveling chocks – we hear they work great. However, those wheel chocks will set you back about $80.

#2 Outdoor RV Mat

Trust us on this one! We began our RV journey without a mat and didn’t realize what we were missing. It took us a year to finally buy one.

Even the largest RVs are small compared to most homes. The outdoor RV mat creates the best room – your patio! And, the bigger the better.

The RV mats fold up very tightly – even the large mats can be stored with easy.

The biggest down-side to these mats is that the styles aren’t always great.

#3 Non-Kink Water Hose

If you plan on filling up your RV water tank – you’re gonna need a hose. You might as well get a non-kink hose to save you time & trouble. We use an Apex Never Kink hose graded for drinking water.

Here’s a review video if you need more proof!

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#4 A Quality Black Water Hose

When you’re dealing with poop, you shouldn’t skimp! Get a long, heavy duty black water hose and learn from every poop-covered RVer who came before you.

This is a no brainer, and I have faith that even you, newbie, know this one. But, it bears repeating.

#5 Portable Water Jug

Water is key to survival in RV Life. You may have a huge water tank…but it is always good to have a little extra. These jugs come in handy if you’re camping without hookups (like in a National Park).

We always travel with an extra water jug! You should consider it too on your list of essential RV gear.

#6 Cell Booster

If your only reason for RVing is to be disconnected from everything, this is not for you! However, a cell booster is great if you want to surf the web or make an emergency phone call from that remote campsite.

An RV specific cell booster will cost around $500. But, you can buy one for your car at the $200 price point and it will work very well.

A cell booster can’t create a cell signal if there is no service to begin with, but it can turn one bar into five bars. We’ve gone from an unusable cell signal to streaming Netflix with the assistance of our booster.

This is a picture of the WeBoost Trucker Antenna mounted on the top of our 1985 Fiber Stream. We also use a WeBoost Drive Sleek in our truck. We’ve tested the SureCall line of boosters and have had good success as well – and those models are slightly more affordable.

#7 Essential RV Gear Safety Bundle

A major part of RV life is driving. Having the right safety gear is essential to monitor conditions of the road and to make yourself visible in case a breakdown occurs.

We like using a tire pressure monitoring system to keep an eye on our precious tires. In case a blow-out happens, carrying road cones and road flares can help you get assistance and be more visible at night.

#8 Propane Fire Pit

A natural wood campfire may sound charming, but smelling like smoke for days is far from fun. Summertime RVing also means you’ll likely be camping in burn-ban areas.

If you want an easy solution, with all the ambiance, get an Outland Living Propane Fire Pit.

We love traveling with ours. It turns on & off with one click. We’ve been able to use it during burn bans. And, best of all, there’s no smoke! It even earned the top spot in our Top 10 Gifts for RVers list.

#9 Auxiliary Power

Once you get out in that new RV and set up camp without hookups, you’ll quickly learn that you need a way to create power. This can happen many ways. You can set up a deployable solar panel…easy, but slow. You can mount solar panels on your roof…hard, but faster. Or, you can use a quiet inverter generator…easy and quick!

We love traveling with our Honda 2200 genny. But, there are many more affordable options to get you started.