What is one essential item to pack for an RV road trip?
To help pack all of the essentials for your summer RV road trip, we asked RV experts and business leaders this question for their best road trip essentials. From beginning essentials to protect your RV to packing light, there are several essential items that may help you prepare for your next RV road trip.
Here are eight essential items to pack for an RV road trip:
- Make Safe Fires
- Protect Your RV
- Keep Yourself Healthy
- Prepare a First-Aid Kit
- Bring a Solar Charger
- Tote Along Some Insurance
- Pack Light for the Night
- Stay Entertained for Hours
Make Safe Fires
One essential item to pack for an RV road trip is a Solo Stove! These portable fire pits are the perfect solution for campers who want to safely make fires to stay warm at night – and, of course, make smores! The best thing about these is that they protect your fire from the elements and ensure your surroundings are not damaged from your fire. As guests in the great outdoors, it is our responsibility to keep it protected and in the same condition we found it.
Randall Smalley, Cruise America
Protect Your RV
One of the most essential items you can bring with you on your camping trip, as in DO NOT go without it, is an EMS (Emergency management system), sometimes called a surge protector. When you plug into a power pedestal at a campground, a power surge or a brownout can, and often do, happen. Either can fry everything in your RV, requiring all electronics to be replaced. And it won’t be cheap. A good EMS is simply insurance for your RV investment. An EMS is not something you should go cheap on to save a few dollars.
Kelly Beasley, Camp Addict
Keep Yourself Healthy
Invest in a portable blender might be one of the best things you can do. Instead of fast-food chains, you can visit supermarkets and make healthy, delicious smoothies instead. Plus it can save you a lot of money you can then spend on a special restaurant experience here and there. The problem with road trips is often the lack of healthy food available.
Henrik Jeppeson, Every Country in the World
Prepare a First-Aid Kit
Driving long distances and often to the middle of nowhere means that you need to be prepared for anything. To keep your family safe, make sure you bring a well-supplied first aid kit. Include plenty of bandages, a topical ointment to prevent infection from cuts, pain reliever, wet wipes, and bug spray. If you’re planning on a longer trip, consider bringing more supplies.
Meryl Schulte, Markitors
Bring a Solar Charger
One essential item I’ve recently been packing with me for my road trips is a portable solar panel charger. Having a portable solar panel gives me the freedom to travel without needing to divert to find a power source to recharge everything, whether it’s my stove, lights, or electronics. I make sure that my solar panels are foldable and waterproof, so they’re fit for any journey. I can take them hiking, camping, hunting, fishing, or backpacking. Be aware that not all portable chargers are created equal in quality, price, or build. Furthermore, there is no one-size-fits-all solar charger, so make sure to research your options.
Tom Winter, DevSkiller
Tote Along Some Insurance
Our Garmin inReach Explorer + GPS and Satellite Communicator is the go-to device that we have on all of our RV road trips. We simply sync this device with our iPhones (or Android), and we can keep in touch with loved ones from anywhere in the world via text, just like you would at home. The device is great because it is just a little bit larger than a cell phone, so when we get to our RV destination, we bring the inReach on our hikes too, so we know that we virtually can not get lost since we know where we are at all times. Packed with features, the Garmin inReach can give you up-to-date weather, track your route with breadcrumbs, upload to social media, and has an incredible SOS feature that has supported rescues in over 140 countries and is available 24/7/365. We have even used this a thousand nautical miles out at sea with one hundred percent accuracy. Definitely our essential item for every trip.
Michael Harlow, The Adventure Travelers
Pack Light for the Night
Your road trip is all fun and games until it goes dark and you realize you did not keep your flashlights and headlamps. Flashlights are the only way you survive through nights on your RV trips. Sure we have flashlights and the lights of your RV itself, but you cannot risk using them and run out of battery. You can carry extra batteries for your flashlights and replace them when needed. This gives you light to use all night long.
Fred Hoffman, IBC7 Outdoors
Stay Entertained for Hours
Keeping your family busy during the drive often includes phones or tablets. One essential item to pack for an RV trip is ample device chargers! It is amazing how they “disappear”! Other items to keep you and your passengers entertained when your devices don’t have Wifi access, especially for the kids, are creative activities. Bring along tear sheets from magazines, digital photos, or books that inspire you, then write, draw, build with what’s available when you stop. It’s amazing what comes from taking time to tap into being “on the road” and letting your creativity take a front seat.
Nancy Meck, Meck Organizing
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