130+ Must Have RV Accessories & Gadgets for 2023

When we bought our first RV we really had no idea what we needed. At the time we owned a big 5th wheel with a ton of storage and just the two of us (plus the kitties!), so it always felt like we had enough space but didn’t always know what we’d needed to make our travel, setup, and day-to-day easier. I scoured the internet to figure out what we needed and to be honest, while there were a TON of lists out there it was hard to grasp what we really needed and what we did not. We bought a ton of accessories and took off on our adventures. Once we became full-timers we quickly learned what we really needed and what we did not! It was much easier to understand what gadgets we never used and which we relied on in our day-to-day life. When we downsized from our 5th Wheel to the Airstream we knew we were onto something with the things we prioritized because they transferred from one RV type to another easily.

Below is our comprehensive guide to everything we actually use in and around our RV ALL THE TIME! We have grouped these into categories to help you understand not just the products we love and rely on but how we use them in real life. Whether you’re buying your first RV for weekend adventures or going full-time as we did we think you will find everything you will need from our lists below.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

RV Setup & Travel Accessories

Travel days can be stressful. Considering we are packing up our house and moving it every week, we knew early on we needed to find ways to make it easier, safer, and faster. These are our must haves for setting up, breaking down, or towing our home.

Levelmate Pro - I will never level an RV without this tool ever again. When we arrive to a site we pull up the app and use it while we are getting into the site. Often we can get perfectly level before we even leave the truck. Once we know how far off we are from level, we use our levels, roll onto them and boom were are level and I never left the driver’s seat! I have heard people say that the battery dies easily on this device. We have changed our battery once in 16 months so I think that’s pretty reasonable for a small battery running full-time.
Andersen Levelers - This is the second piece in my leveling arsenal. Once we are nearly level Josh will hope out, get these positioned under the tires of the side that needs to be raised, I put the truck in drive, pulling forward until we are perfectly level. I am shocked that people don’t know these exist, but other RVers ask me all the time what they are and how they work!
TPMS System - Three times since we left to live full-time on the road our TPMS has likely saved us from a serious problem! Once, one of our tires on the RV was so overinflated I’m shocked it didn’t blow out as we drove down the highway and I was forced to pull off the highway and into a weird and tight parking lot to deflate the tire. Two other times we'd rolled over nails and our tow vehicle was quickly losing air. When it comes to safety I’m not willing to compromise or drive my home blind. I consider a TPMS essential.
Blue Ox tow hitch with sway bars - When we had our 5th Wheel I loved our B&W Patriot Hitch for its ease of use and safety record, so when we went to our Airstream I wanted to have something as secure and reliable. After a lot of research, I knew we wanted the Blue Ox tow hitch with sway bars. I once drove the Airstream without these sway bars on to get new tires installed, it was only 8 miles down the road, and I thought I was going to die. I now understand just how impactful these are and I love them even more!
Camco blocks and tops - Many parks require you to use some kind of blocks under your stabilizers. We also need blocks under our tongue jack. I like these blocks because they are light weight and adjustable. we care about 12 of them with us and there have been times when we’ve had to use all 12 to make it all work. We opened for the tops when we had our 5th Wheel and it helped with our stabilizers, now we mostly use one with our jack.
X-Chock stabilizer - These are a real game changer when it comes to reducing the shaking that comes with an RV. With our 5th Wheel any movement we made you felt the RV move, while the Airstream is not nearly as bad, these make a noticeable difference and worth it every time.
Rubber chocks - do you want your RV rolling away? No? Didn’t think so. You need some chocks. Don’t waste your money on plastic options, the rubber are far more robust and while a little heavier, will last you so much longer.
Tire Covers - This item seems to be up for debate if they are needed. We have an acquaintance that works in insurance, resolving claims for RVs, boats, ATVs etc. We had a very informative conversation once with him about RV time claims and the major cause of damage being the elements impact on the rubber of the tires, leading to blowouts. We take our tires very seriously. If we can reduce potential issues to our tires by putting these on, it was worth the money.
Sewer Solutions Hose + extension hose - Dealing with waste water is just once of those things you have to do when you own and use and RV. There are a lot of hose options out there but when we got the Airstream we were blessed with a macerating toilet which allows us to use this hose/system. The sewer solutions system uses water to push the waste water away, breaking up parts as it moves. This means the hose is very small. This makes storage of these hose much easier. We really like this hose option. I would highly recommend you opt to add the extension hose as well. I am always dumbfounded when the sewer drain is 15+ feet away from where you are meant to park your RV in a site but it happens all too often.
Camco Sewer Hose with 45 degree angle adaptor - If you are not fortunate enough to have a macerating toilet then a traditional hose is a better option for you. We thought this was a good hose and angle adaptors with our 5th wheel. With the Airstream we carry a 10 ft section of this type of hose, and still have the 90 and 45 degree angle adaptors for when we need to use dump station and don’t really have access to the water to power the Sewer Solution Hose. We are also lucky that Airstreams come with a hose storage tube already attached. If your RV doesn’t have one, you may want to consider installing one. It keeps your hose away from everything else!
Camco Sewer Support system - RV sewer systems work by gravity. If you go with a traditional sewer hose, then having this support system helps create a nice step down slope so everything flows nicely and is supported. While we don’t need this because we use the Sewer Solution System and are less than 2 feet off the ground, we did use this with our 5th Wheel, and it made a world of difference.
Sanitation Station glove holder and paper towel holder - You are going to have to deal with human waste. There is no way around it. In both of our RVs I have set up a Sanitation Station with paper towels, latex gloves, and hand sanitizer in one of our outdoor compartments. Put it all together and make it easy on yourself to clean up after dumping.
Happy Camper Tank Treatment - At the end of the day no one wants to deal with a smell tank, but the reality is that tanks can get smell and that smell inevitably ends up inside the RV. We have tried many different treatments and this is by far our favorite and does the best job!
Coupler Security Lock - I spent a lot of time researching coupler locks for the Airstream. If you didn’t know Airstreams are EXTREMELY popular to steal. I’d like to make it as hard as possible in hopes that someone looking to steal an RV will move on. After a lot of research, I feel that this is the best option. This link is for an Airstream specifically, but they make coupler locks for many coupler sizes and styles. If you are unsure, call their customer service. They were so, so helpful and we got this lock in about 3 days in the mail.
Hitch Receiver Lock - We’re in a handful of RV groups and we have heard horror stories of people f%cking with peoples hitches on their trucks. I’m not interested in anyone doing that so we got this lock. My goal is always to make it harder on anyone looking to do something stupid and move on.
Coupler Tongue Lock - I want to start off by saying I, under no illusion, believe that this lock serves any actually safety from theft. We actually bought this to lock the tongue lock when we are towing. In some states it is actually legally required to lock your tongue lock when towing certain weights. It makes us feel better that the tongue couldn’t pop up if we hit a huge bump.
Surge Protector - You cannot own an RV and not own a surge protector. We have learned that not all RV electrical posts are created equal and have in fact had to ask to move sites when we pulled up, plugged in our surge protector and discovered that there was an electrical issue with the site. Imagine the damage that could have been done to the Airstream electrical system if we had just plugged into that poll.
G Zero Hose - 25 Ft - I love this hose because its light, small, and doesn’t kink up or leak. It’s really that simple.
G Zero Hose - 50 Ft - You would be shocked at how far away the water spout has been at some of our sites. We only needed not to be able to reach the water once with no water in our fresh tank to learn to carry more hose than 25Ft. This means we carry 25ft and 50ft, resulting in 75ft because we can attach the 25 and 50 together. Yes, we have needed it. No, I don’t understand why an RV park would put the water sooo far away.
Clips for hoses - I like organization. When you live in 200 sq feet organization is key to survival and happiness. We have these clips in all sizes and use them inside to manage cables and cords, and outside to mange hoses. They are great :)
Water splitter - For the first 3 months we were on the road we didn’t have a splitter and I would on many occasions have to undo our drinking water hose to access the water at our site. Then one day I thought why don’t we get a splitter. Sometimes it’s just the simplest things in life that make it easier.
Water regulator - In the never-ending game of wheel of fortune with water at RV parks you never know what pressure will be. Most RVs couldn’t handle the pressure that comes out of some of these spouts. Having a regulator ensures you don’t blast your RV water pipes.
90 degree hose elbow - We learned this from many other full-timers. When we attach your water hose directly to the rv it pulls on the hose connection on the wall inside the rv. This can lead to leaks in your wall. The 90 degree elbow takes the pressure off the connection so it doesn’t pull.
Fresh water fill hose - At some point you are going to want water in your fresh water tank. I cannot figure out who designed the inlet of RV fresh water tanks. You cannot attache a hose directly to it. WHY?!? City water - direct connection. Black water tank flush - direct connection. Fresh water - nope. Some fancy 5th Wheels and Class As have options, the rest of us are left to figure it out on our own. Get this little hose adapter so you can get water into your fresh tank.
Any fit water connector - Remember the saga happening above with water at RV Parks. Let’s add to that saga. What do you do when you arrive and the rungs on the water spout are stripped. You pull out your handy any fit connector and move on.
Clear Source Water Filter - We move every week and water quality varies from place to place. Not only are we consuming the water but so are or 3 cats. We did a lot of research about inline, UV, external, etc. We finally settled on something that was external so no water comes into the RV that hadn’t been filtered (you consume water in the bathroom and shower) and it needed to be compact, and filter everything out. This was the solution we went with because it met all of our criteria.
Berkey Water Filter - We have been Berkey people for years. Even before we owned our first RV we owned our Berkey which sat on our kitchen counter. If you are not familiar with a Berkey, it uses charcoal filters and gravity to filter the water. Everything we and and the cats drink is additionally filtered thru the Berkey. We drink about 2 full Berkey a day - so with that we won’t need to change the filters for 8 years! We will always own a Berkey!
Amp adaptors (50 to 30) - Many RV parks do not let you decide your site, don’t offer 50 amp, or don’t have any left when you arrive. Having an adapter is wise to always carry with you.
Electrical Cord handle - RV electrical cords are really heavy and we carry ours in the bed of our truck on travel days. This inexpensive tool helps make moving it around so much easier.
Trailer plug holder - This is for our TT friends out there. I didn’t like that our 7 pin plug was always dragging in dirt, getting wet, etc so I did some research and found this plug holder. I love it!!
Cell Phone Cup Holder - There are a lot of options to have you phone with you when driving. We have a small dashboard and I don’t like a lot on it while I’m driving. This was a very easy solution to have the phone with the navigation going and keep the dash clear.

Around The RV Accessories (Inside, Outside, Bathroom, Kitchen, Etc)

We all prioritize different things that take up the space in our living space. This list is what we love and use regularly in our own space. We hope you find solutions that solve your own problems within your RV.

Fellow Kettle - I love coffee. I drink a lot of it everyday. In our house we had a lot of options to make coffee and to be totally honest most of those came with us in the RV. Most days I make a pot of pour over coffee so a great gooseneck kettle was important. Originally when we set off we had the electric version of this kettle but I wanted something that would not pull power when we we’re boondocking so this was my choice and I love it. All my coffee snobs will agree to the quality of this kettle.
Hario Coffee pour over and carafe - I’ve tried a lot of different pour over options and by far this is my favorite. It’s also easy to clean and I have zero concern that it will get damaged. The carafe is nice because most morning I want two (BIG) cups of coffee and this carafe holds just that!
Airtight coffee canister - Keeping things airtight in the RV is important. I grind all my own beans so once I open the bag I worry about freshness. This canister eliminates that worry.
Handheld milk frother - While you may think this is a funny thing to prioritize in a small space, I think it’s a great solution for cafe style coffee. It works great, it’s super small, and we use rechargeable batteries with it! What better than a frothy topped coffee each morning!
Fridge/Freezer Thermostats - We had so many issues with our fridge in our 5th wheel and this little thermometer really helped us keep a close eye on it. Since moving into our Airstream this has saved us a full fridge and freezer of food when we had a propane issue we didn’t realize we were having. Well worth the few dollars spent to have one in the fridge and one in the freezer.
Humidity/Temperature Gauge - Humidity is the death of the RV. We use this to keep our eye on what’s going on inside the rv so we can adjust the temp as needed.
250 Sqft Electric dehumidifier and 150 Sqft Electric dehumidifier - Once you know you have humidity now you have to work to get rid of it. We come at it in a layered approach. We have 1 of the 250 sq ft and 2 of the 150 sq ft in our 30 foot Airstream. We place the larger in the center of the RV, one small in the bedroom and one small in the bathroom. When we are somewhere with high humidity we can pull a full tank our more out a day.
Non-electric dehumidifier We have 3 of these that we use in the closets which can hold a lot of humidity. The best part of these is that when the are “full” you just plug them in and the heat from plugging them in absorbs the moisture and you can keep using them.
Cast Iron Pan - You have very little room for pots and pans so you need to select wisely what you choose to use. I love the cast iron pan for its versatility of not just what you can cook in it but what you can cook it on. It’s worth the weight! I think the 10ish inch size is an optimal choice for your RV.
Dutch oven - I use this about 4 times a week. We choose to bring the 3.5 quart size with us and put the rest in storage at my parents. We make a lot of soups, chili, and my favorite, no-knead dutch oven bread!
Cookware Dividing Protectors - I like to keep these between our pans so as not to scratch them since we need to stack our pans on top of each other in our limited space.
Joseph Joseph Cutting Board set - This may not seem like an obvious choice but there is an odd space behind the stove that would not fit much, but perfectly fits the holder for these cutting boards. The boards actually snap into the base of the stand and never move when we travel. It’s shocking but true. We used double-sided tape to hold the base stand to the counter.
Joseph Joseph Nesting Mixing Bowls with measuring cups - Nesting, durable, and multi-use become critical to small space living. These bowls are amazing and we use them nearly everyday.
Joseph Joseph Nesting Food Storage containers - I have owned these storage containers for years. They are the perfect variety of sizes, sturdy and NEST! My only recommendation is don’t put them in the dishwasher as it impacts the lids and makes it much harder to get a tight seal.
Joseph Joseph 3-in-1 peeler - 3-in-1 should have got you. Why have just a plain peeler when you can have three styles!
Joseph Joseph Compact Can opener - Can openers are sometime bulky but this thing is small and works great.
Joseph Joseph Compact knife sharpener - I cook nearly all of our meals. I love to cook and since we live full-time in our RV this is our house kitchen. If your RV kitchen is also your full time kitchen then you need to sharpen your knives and this is compact and does the trick.
Joseph Joseph Drawer organizer - We have a very narrow, weird sized drawer for our utensils and this is the only holder I’ve found that fits in the drawer! I have also seen other people use this in their larger drawers for the space saving properties!
OXO Collapsible colander - Collapsible is key. Enough said.
OXO Grate & Slice Kit - If you don’t love to cook, you may not care about this, but because we do, finding compact, multi-use options are important. This checked all the boxes and I can make all sorts of things that would take forever with a knife by hand.
OXO Squeeze Bottles - Once you’ve arrived at a site to find broken bottles of olive oil and balsamic vinegar in your cabinet you will find a solution. We have a bunch of these and move all of our liquids from their glass bottles to these.
OXO Silicone Measuring cups - These nest and are silicone so you can squeeze them to make pouring easier. We use these for a ton of things each week including Sunday pancakes!
OXO Sink Strainer - RV plumbing is not something you want to mess with sending things down the drain. This catches everything and is super easy to clean because it inverts.
OXO Shower Drain protector - Like most people with long hair, I shed a lot of hair in the shower. When we were having work done on our Airstream we were chatting with our tech at the RV dealership about how complicated it can be to unclog shower pipes in an RV. That day we ordered one of these to catch hair versus is going down the drain.
OXO Pet Hair remover - We live in 200 square feet with three cats, so you know LOTS of hair. I don’t love the sticky paper option because it’s single-use.
Collapsible Dish drain - We don’t have the luxury of having a dishwasher, unless you count Josh as one, so a dish drain is a requirement. Having one that is collapsible is super helpful for storing.
Square Collapsible Sink tub or Rectangle Collapsible Sink Tub - This is more something we pull out when we are boondocking to prevent water from going into our grey tank, but I also find it easier to rinse dishes in this on the counter and then finishing up cleaning in our small sink.
Collapsible Salad Spinner - A salad spinner that collapses…did you even know this existed?!?!? I did not until I saw it in TJMaxx. I love this thing and would want one as a space save even if we didn’t live in 200 square feet.
Silicone Cake Pans - These pans are lightweight and nest inside one another. While I don’t use them often they take up very little space and I’m happy to have them when I do need them.
Silicone Muffin cups - I have a single drawer in our kitchen for anything cooking related, and having another pan just took up too much space. I love these silicone cups because I have 24 of them and they take up the equivalent space as a can of beans. I make some form of muffin every week and can simply put these little guys on the backing sheet we have and boom, I have a muffin tin ;)
Silicone Steamer - I like this specific one because it fits perfectly into the InstantPot.
Silicone backing mat - I use this all the time when cooking but as a bonus, it also works great to keep things from moving around in our kitchen drawer.
Airtight food storage containers - Overall my top priority is all food that comes in a paper box or we buy from bulk bins be moved into an airtight food storage container. I do not want bugs or mice in the RV so this is my solution.
Hydroflasks - I’m semi-embarrassed at how many of these we own, like honestly 8. You may ask why 2 people need 8. The short answer is they don’t. But I love them and we use them every day. 24oz Version | 40oz Version | wine tumbler | coffee mug
Kirkkerland ice cubes - You will hear a lot of tiny home dwellers tell you that one thing they really miss is ice. Now, our freezer could not make ice because we don’t have enough space for the tray to sit. Then I found REUSABLE ice cubes. Yep, you heard me right! Buy them!!!
InstantPot - Well this just seems self-explanatory. It shocks me that there are still people in the world who do not own one of these, but I know from my past work life that there are still so many people out there buying these. I like the variety and speed of this tool, as well as once it reaches full pressure it pulls very little electricity so also a great option for boondocking.
Toilet paper holder - This may seem like a strange item to include on this list, but we have very limited storage in the RV and this holds between 9-12 rolls in a very tiny space! Anyone living tiny needs one of these. Bonus is it’s actually very ascetically pleasing.
SimpleHuman Soap Dispenser - I love not having bottles in the shower to deal with on a moving day. I will say that this will not hold up with the 3M strips on the back (TRUST ME!!) and so if you go this route you must be willing to drill into the wall. That being said, some silicone and you’re good to go.
Oxygenics Showerhead - This is one of my favorite upgrades we did in both our 5th Wheel and our Airstream. This gives you amazing water pressure and uses less water. It also allows you to turn the water to a trickle when boondocking to conserve water.
Over the door hanger - Most people go with command strips but our towels fell every travel day. This was the solution. It works great and looks good too!
Over the door storage hanger - We use this in our kitchen to hold all of our cleaning supplies in the cabinet and to hold a towel on the outside.
Retractable clothes line with steel rope - We were lucky to have this already installed in our Airstream in the bathroom. We replaced it with the steel rope version because it is must stronger! We hang bathing suites and things that cannot go in the dryer.
Simple human small trash can or over -the-door trash can - Trash cans are hard for RVs. Airstreams have a spot under the sink for a small trashcan but it didn’t work for us. We had the over-the-door option in our 5th Wheel and loved it, now we use the small floor one and it fits perfectly infant of our fridge.
Reusable sandwich/snack bags - Good for the environment and I don’t have to keep buying bags.
Rechargeable Batteries - We have a surprising number of things in the RV that require batteries. To be honest, batteries are very destructive to the environment when they are disposed. We don’t have to keep buying batteries, we are doing our part to help the environment, and we can always be sure to have fully charged batteries when we need them.
Double-sided tap - This is one of my favorite thing we discovered since going full-time. We move once a week and if we had to move everything before we drove off we’d spend hours on moving day putting everything away. This stuff holds everything down in our life, haha.
Quakehold Wax - For some things we use this wax to hold things down instead. It’s moldable around weird bottoms (i.e. our toothbrush holder) we have just found this works better than the double sided tape.
Casper Sleep Pillows - RV bedding is shit. There I said it. Sorry, not sorry. We replaced our mattress immediately with an IKEA foam mattress that we cut down too size and we LOVE these pillows. I have suffered with insomnia my whole life and I find this pillow helps me get settled and fall asleep easier.
Dyson Stick Vacuum - Lightweight, super strong, and compact. It feels like this vacuum was designed for tiny living.
Lagun Table leg - We hated the pedestal leg of our dinette. you could barely sit at the table without hitting your knees so we replaced it with this leg.
Ikea felt baskets - Generally speaking, RV cabinets are weirdly shaped. Add in that an Airstream has rounded walls and trying to find a basket that fits in the overhead cabinets is very, very challenging. When I spotted these baskets at IKEA I was elated. You can smush this a little and make them fit perfectly.
Telescoping ladder - Many RVs have a ladder installed on them. Airstreams don’t have that so we needed something that was compact but could get us up on the roof. This ladder actually fits into our front “outside” storage compartment, which if you have ever seen storage on an Airstream you’d be impressed.
Propane Powered fire pit - We spotted someone at a site next to us with one of these and loved it. Most places we went in our first 8 months on the road did not allow wood fire pits due to concern for wild fire. This is so light and the lid locks in and the rocks stay right inside the pit. It’s awesome.
Solar-powered sting lights - I really love these lights. They add really nice light outside at night, the domes are plastic so no worry that they will break, the light bulbs are LED and replaceable, and they are rechargeable via solar. AMAZING!
Folding Camp chairs - This is one of those things that everyone has a preference on style. We like this style and this brand is very sturdy.
Blackstone Grill and Cover - 22inch - I see a lot of debate about this grill. I LOVE this grill. When it’s really hot outside I don’t like to cook inside. This grill is the perfect solution when I build my outdoor kitchen.
Coleman Folding Table - We use this as our everyday table. It’s light, compact and the perfect size for two people to eat or work at.
Lifetime Table - When I make my outdoor kitchen or there is more than 2 of us, this table is our go-to. It also folds in half and fits in our front “outside” storage.
Propane Hoses with Gauge - How do you know how much propane you have in your tank? We have two solutions. One, we only ever keep one of our tanks open at a time. When it runs out, we flip over to our second and refill our first. However, when we had to replace our propane hoses due to rot of the rubber, we choose these which also have a gauge that works pretty darn well. I like knowing when the tank is running low, especially if we think it would be hard to get a refill in the near future.