7 RV Essentials YouTubers Don’t Mention

Most of us learn a LOT watching YouTube videos about RV’ing, and when it comes to essential items you need for your RV, most of them tell of very similar products. However, as an RV Inspector and maintenance/repair Technician, I know of several items they never mention (all are surprisingly inexpensive and common items).

Here are 7 items in no particular order you probably have never heard of as being essential to RV’ing, but after reading this will agree they are a must-have to help your RV’ing continue to be fun, not frustrating. Most of these are Amazon Affiliate Links where you don’t pay any more for the item, but I make a few cents from each sale:

1) Baking Soda

These flo-thru boxes keep odors at bay in the fridge, pantry, and pet areas, but that’s not all…another RV use for baking soda is cleaning! You probably know (should know) you cannot use chlorine-based or other harsh cleaners in your RV (they harm the plastic and rubber parts of the plumbing) you need something safe but with cleaning power. Use baking soda and water and a brush or the Magic Eraser to clean scum off of the shower walls and glass or glass tracks, and the sinks and toilet. Mix the baking soda with white vinegar to get foaming action as well as an even stronger gleaner!

Shower drain starting to drain slowly? Pop off the drain screen and pull out any hair or debris caught under there, and pour one little box of baking soda down that drain. Get as much as you can down there, even if you have to poke it down with a butter knife. Then, pour 1 or 2 cups of white vinegar down that drain too. It will foam up and eat away any soap scum and other icky stuff and open up your shower drain again. (We rotate (or re-task) the box from the fridge to cleaner after about 2 months in the fridge)

By the way, never use a hair removal wand with the sharp “teeth” to clean hair out of an RV drain, most use a “duck bill” contraption, instead of a “P trap” and those tools will harm the “duck bill”.

2) White Distilled Vinegar

Use this with the baking soda above to create the foaming action needed to clean drains or other areas.

Also, vinegar dissolves mineral buildup on faucet or shower heads, and in your water heater tank.

3) Magic Eraser

These cleaning sponges are fantastic. Trust me, my Wife gave me a hug after she used the one I purchased for her!

4) Vegetable Oil

Rubber seals in an RV plumbing system can get dry and crack or deteriorate. Troublesome and costly are an understatement when your black or gray tank blade valve does not open, or close, due to a worn out or broken seal, or toilet seal that lets air or water pass when it’s not supposed to. Cheap vegetable oil is the answer.

For the black/gray tank blade valves, when the tanks are empty, pour about 1/2 cup of vegetable oil with a cup of water down the toilet, and down the sink/shower drain. Having this oil/water mixture go down and sit at the valve will keep the seals there supple and lubricated.

For the toilet seals, especially foot-flush style with a blade or ball valve in the bottom of the bowl, pour about 1/4 cup of vegetable oil there to sit on that rubber seal to keep it moist and supple. Do this when your RV is in storage or sitting idle for a while. It’s OK to flush this down when you come back to use it.

5) White Lithium Grease Spray

Greasing your trailer ball or pin is a must. This what I use instead of regular grease, which always seemed to get on my hands and clothes like it’s alive and jumps on you or something. This has many other uses around the RV too!

6) Bungee Straps

It’s amazing how much I use bungee straps in RVing. Frustration is reduced when I either wrap or strap or hang up extension chords, water hoses, solar cables, pet food bag, smoker pellet bag, roll up and strap the guest bed foam topper, etc. all need strapped and/or hung up. Strapping down dinette chairs and other loose items on travel day.

A package of various sizes as shown above is perfect. However, you need a bungee strap to strap the bungee straps.

7) Small Brush & Dustpan

Hang this just inside your RV door so you can brush off steps (especially those that fold up into the coach). Believe me, this will become one of your most used RV accessories!