Its that time of year again, folks! Happy Holidays to all! Tis the season when we share our love with friends and family by exchanging gifts. I’m hoping this little post will help some of you decide which gift to choose for your RV’ing friends and family. 

Bill worked really hard on our first holiday gift giving post, and while some of those items may be repeated here, you should really check this out: 

12 Days of RV Christmas Gift Giving

There may be a misconception that gifts for RVers has to be expensive. While a lot of things full-time (or even part-time) RVers need can get pricey, there are a lot of things that are more budget friendly, yet very helpful!

First up is an item a lot of people purchased last year, so its worth repeating for newcomers.  It’s a hose bandit. This ingenious item fits over damaged hose threads and over campground hydrants (that often have no threads or stripped threads.) You can use this to fill your fresh water tank when it would be almost impossible when hydrant threads are damaged. Its a handy little item you will be glad you have someday – ask us how we know!

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Next up is another very handy, yet inexpensive item. We’ve ran into a lot of people who wished they’ve had one of these. It’s a clear sewer cap with with a garden hose fitting. Almost every RVer has been surprised by what’s lurking behind the sewer cap when one of your valves is not 100% closed. Now you can be prepared and see if you need to get a small bucket to catch the stinky water. Genius!

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I have earned a nickname among friends, “safety patrol,” so along those lines, I have a suggested item. Its really something none of us should be without – a first aid kit. This kit is under $20 and has 4.9 star rating. It includes a nice case, and everything you need to handle minor injuries. It even includes a compass and insulating emergency blanket. It’s great for the rig, your car, and also small enough to take with you on a hike in your backpack.

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For our grill loving friends, the following item is something we use all the time!  It’s a nonstick Grill Mat. There are 5 in a package for less the $10! 4.8 star rating. You simply cut them to size and place them directly on the grill. Great for cooking delicate items like seafood, items that would otherwise fall through or stick to the grates. We even used ours to cook sunny side eggs and pancakes. It’s also great for cooking bacon with NO flare ups. Simply blot the rendered grease off the bacon with tongs and a paper towel. your can cook cookies on it instead of parchment paper and even use it on the bottom of your oven to make cleanup a breeze.

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This next one, a water filter, I believe, is a must. Whether you are on city water (with too much chlorine) or well water that has who knows what in it, we use it all the time. We also have a filter in our refrigerator, and we have a countertop pitcher type filter. Not everyone is as particular about their water; Bill, after working 30+ years in beverage manufacturing is, so here is what we use. (I’m not adding the one for our refrigerator since they are not universal)

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Our next item is one we feel is a must, especially for those of you, like us, that drive separate on drive days. We also consider it necessary for parking, to avoid screaming at one another! Families with kids will also find these very helpful when allowing kids to head to the playground alone. 
It is a 2-way radio set. We own this set and love them. They are not the cheapest but are full of useful features. They have a 5 watt transmitter (strongest allowed by law) and are water resistant. We also like the fact they use rechargeable AA batteries and last all day. We have found they have up to a 1.25 mile range on the highway. They contain an automatic emergency alert when bad weather is in your area. They have a substantial feel to them and are not lightweight like some units. We know they are pretty darn tough, having dropped ours many times with no issues. 3.8 star review. I found that most negative reviews were concerning advertised range (up to 35 miles in perfect conditions! (yeah right!)). We have found they work well on the road and at larger campgrounds, so we feel comfortable recommending them. (please note: our exact model was no longer available on Amazon, so instead we are linking to the updated version, which sounds substantially the same)

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This next item, while a bit pricey, we believe to be a must.  We use it all the time. We have had it since we hit the road full-time over 4 years ago. It’s a GPS made specifically for RVers. When you enter your height, weight and length, it automatically generates your route without having to worry about overhead clearances or weight restricted roads. It has an RV mode that’s uses the inputted restrictions or car mode for regular navigation. It also comes with lifetime map updates, and traffic alerts. We really like the real time traffic display. Like most newer GPS it includes gas stations, ATMs, etc. We do not blindly trust any GPS, as they all use similar databases and can sometimes send you off course, so our next item is a companion to this. You can also add a wireless rear view camera but the reviews are problematic when used with longer rigs. Probably the best feature (besides the RV features), is that is has a huge screen making it very easy to see.

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As promised, this next item is used in conjunction with the GPS above, or and I (Kelly) use it all the time. Its a Rand McNally Motor Carriers Atlas. There is so much useful information in here, I cannot begin to list it all, but very importantly, it has laminated pages and is very easy to read. It is designed for heavy use.  Don’t get caught driving without it!

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When we first started on this journey, we did not own our next pick, and we regret it. I, especially, wish we had it on our trip to AK. Our dashcam has turned out to be one of our fav’s, for a couple of reasons. First, from a safety perspective. As I’m sure all experienced RVers will agree, safely navigating through traffic can be a challenge, with no one wanting to be behind the big RV. That fact can lead to lots of getting cut-off by much more nimble cars, creating plenty of near-misses. 

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 We captured a car cutting us off while towing our 17K pound 5th wheel. (see our video in our post here: Why You Need a Dashcam) While I was able to brake hard enough to avoid hitting him I may not be as lucky next time. I purchased a larger SD card and can record over 10 hours of 1080 HD video with sound. It writes over the oldest video first when it runs out of space so you don’t have to remember to change cards. It also can capture your trip through the beautiful mountains, vistas, and sunsets we see while driving. We take the good stuff off the card to save. It’s also super small! It has a 4.0 star rating and it has been issue free for us so we recommend it.

While Magma Pots, the next item on our list, isn’t something we own, we have several friends that have them and LOVE them. There are two types, one can be used on a propane stove top and electric stove top, the other can be used also on induction cook tops, which are increasing in popularity in RV’s. They nest into themselves, taking up a very small amount of space. If we hadn’t decided to just keep the pots from our house, we would totally get these!

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An Oxygenics Shower Head is another item we don’t currently own, since our shower is actually pretty good. We do know several people who do have one, having replaced their “not so good” shower heads, and they all rave about them. The use little water and deliver a strong spray, so great for boondocking, as well as every day. 

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Since becoming business partners with RV Solar Solutions, we found we needed a few office equipment type things, a printer and a scanner.  About two weeks after purchasing our printer, we learned there was a combo available – which while frustrating has worked out ok. I’m giving you links to just the printer, the replacement toner cartridge, the combo and just the scanner, so you can choose which items work best for your situation. All these items are small and are packed away easily when not needed.

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The next item we have owned for 2 1/2 years. It’s a Shark Rocket Vacuum. Our rig came with a very nice cordless Dyson stick vacuum. It worked well (or so we thought). The summer of 2016 we were campground hosts in Seward AK. Part of our duties were to turnover cabins for the next guest. The retreat used a Shark Rocket. It was light and powerful! It ran for hours every day and never missed a beat. We decided to try it inside our rig after using the Dyson. We were absolutely amazed by how much dirt (especially cat hair), the Dyson didn’t pick up. It simply wasn’t powerful enough. We had our own a week later! 4.5 Star rating and great customer service. Our vacuum arrived with one of the two headlights not working. I called The company directly and had a new head assembly in days. They didn’t even want the old one back so now I have a spare! It’s only slightly larger than the Dyson so it was not difficult to store in the RV.

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This item is the most popular RV grill out there. The Weber BabyQ is an awesome little grill. We use ours all the time and have had it over 4 years with no issues. It’s a good size for a family of four. We have even cooked baby baby ribs on ours. It runs for 2 1/2 hours on a single one pound propane tank, or you can simply use a hose to a larger portable tank. It has 4.7 stars (Q1000) and 4.8 stars (Q1200). What I love about the Weber grills is that they regulate temperature very good and are built extremely well. Another thing I really like about Weber is there parts available for a very long time. I was easily able to buy a small part for my 12 year old Weber SilverC about 5 years ago.

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Another popular item for RVers is a countertop ice maker. We have a residential refrigerator with an icemaker so we do not own or need one. But is you have regular propane RV refrigerator you will appreciate this little guy. We have quite a few of our RV friends who own one and they all report that they love them! They all have pretty much the same features and are all around $100. Ratings varied quite a bit, but there was one stand out with a 4.7 star rating on over 350 reviews. At $110 I believe it represents a great value for the money.

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We have had one these items for a long time. It’s great for the RV and saves a ton of space. It’s a digital picture frame. The benefits of a digital picture frame in an RV are obvious. It comes down to size. We have an 8″ frame and that seems to be the right size for us. I found a great value on an 8″ screen frame that has sound and an auto rotate function (wish mine had that). It also comes with a handy remote. It’s top rated at 4.7 stars, and supports HD and can be expanded beyond the internal 8GB memory by adding a memory card or stick.

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Something every RVer should have is a TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system). Our Landmark came from the factory outfitted with a Valor system that utilizes internal sensors. While we like our unit it can be somewhat impractical (and expensive) to dismount your tires to change sensors every 4 or 5 years. Internal sensors are also expensive to replace costing more than a quality external system. Good TPMS units with external sensors can be expensive but think of how much damage a blow out can do to your rig. If I needed to replace my system today I would get this unit. I really like its smartphone based (it’s where technology is going), and has an excellent 4.7 star rating. Lots of bells and whistles on this one!

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This last item is the most expensive but my (Bill’s) favorite. I bought this for my truck 3 1/2 years ago. It’s a 5th wheel tool box. It is constructed out of diamond plate aluminum and is made is the USA! I love this tool box because I can access my tools by simply lowering the tailgate. No climbing over the side to reach the tools! I also love the fact that it is completely hidden by my cover. It’s also easy to remove when you need you truck bed back. Since the toolbox is locked to the bed, the box is completely secure when the tail gate is locked. The doors and drawer also have their own locks. The tail gate of my truck acts as a bench and my tools are right in front of me. One of the best items I have ever purchased!

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