What do you keep in RV?

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taigarazz

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Oct 22, 2012
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We are purchasing our first RV. We are enamored with being as prepared as possible to take off for spontaneous weekends away. What kinds of things do you keep packed in your RV for a quick getaway? Extra clothes? Food staples?
 
We keep some canned goods in there, and rotate them out to the house every 6 months or so. Sheets get stale, so I try and do up a fresh set if possible. Same with towels. I leave a spare set of each out there for that quick getaway, though.
As for clothes, I can toss together a ditty bag in about 5 minutes, so we keep the clothes in the house.
All the pots pans, plates, soap, toiletries are in place.
 
All the kitchen stuff - pans, dishes, utensils, towels, soap

Bathroom stuff like towels, soap, shampoo

Books, games, pens pencils paper, DVDs, music

Dog toys, biscuits, treats

I don't leave clothes in the RV mostly because once I bring in the dirty stuff and wash it, it gets put away in the house. I do leave sheets in the coach.

You'll figure out what you want to leave there as you go along and pretty soon that RV will be fully stocked.



 
We do leave some clothes in our mh. Socks, underwear, jackets, sweatshirts, etc. We wash them when we get home and put them back in the mh. It makes it a little less to pack next time. We also leave sodas, condiments, (we leave the fridge plugged in) canned or boxed food, pots pans, plates, utensils, etc. and games, movies, books etc. About the only thing we usually have to pack when we go are pants, shirts, and whatever perishible food we take. We normally even fill up with fuel and propane (if needed) before returning home.
 
During the time of the year when we might be able to get away, we leave it absolutely ready to leave on a moment's notice.  There is food in it and the fridge is on and operating.  We have dual sets of most everything so we have clothes and anything we might need. Just throw the laptop in and take off.
 
Yep, we leave it fully stocked and ready to go. Only perishible food gets taken out. We leave a full supply of clothes, linens and all the rest. They all get washed on board the last day of any given trip and put right back in the drawers/closets. The misc items that we use that night go into a laundry bag get washed at home and returned in the bag to the MH. This way we always know what's on board including coats, hats and I don't know why, but gloves and tire chains. Other snowbirds might do this too but I don't know why since I make great efforts to never be where it's cold and could snow.

For food we have a small amount of canned food, and other staples we like on board. Most everywhere we go has grocery stores within a reasonable drive or they are on the way. As we use what we want we just replace it, putting the new cans behind the old. Pots, pans, silver, dishes, etc. are always aboard.

Outside chairs, tools, BBQ, etc were all specifically planned and put in the MH and are always there when needed.

We also have a medium sized boat that has the same stocking arrangement. Everything is there and it only needs people on board to be ready to go. Up to and including sattelite TV receivers on both. We wouldn't do it any other way.

Ken
 
Thanks
We are leaning on keeping it as fully stocked as possible so we are always ready to go!

We live in southern Delaware and plan to camp at least 1x/ month throughout the winter, so I think I'm gona get a lot of practice winterizing!

 
regulated compressed air is the best for multiple winterizations.
Blow out all the lines and faucets. Drain the hot water and tanks, and just a little bit of antifreeze in the traps. I tend to watch the weather and only winterize when needed when we are doing winter use.

EDIT: Thank you for adding that, Jerry
 
>>Blow out all the lines and faucets.

Don't forget to flush the toilet while blowing out the lines.

When I bought my used '98 Bounder, they said the toilet was leaking. They had forgot to blow it out. Cost me about $25 for a new valve and about an hour to replace it.

 
We're in a 2-3 week period between trips and the temps have been in the 20s. Rather than winterized, we just drained the water tank & hot water heater and have a small electric heater running keeping it about 50 degrees inside. That's about the same temp it would be if we were sleeping out there.

Wendy
Colorado
 
Hmmm... The only thing I don't store in the RV is food canned or other wise because of pest and extreme temp changes.

But all beding, blankets, bathroom stuff, cooking, etc. All the other stuff is out there. Some of our older beat up clothes etc. So basically all we do is back the RV near the front door load up our clothes and personal stuff and roll. Hit a grocery store somewhere near our camp and load up with all the goodies we normally don't buy.

During the winter time I turn it into my Man Cave and go out and hang out in the RV.  :p
 
We're in the minority here.....

When we plan a trip, we start packing it ( a little at a time ) about a week ahead of time.  Food is the last thing to go in, night before we leave. We leave in pots and pans, dishes and utensils, but that's about it.  Bed is stripped after every trip, and we don't remake it until we're ready to leave.  We've gotten very good at loading it and seldom forget anything.  Wifey is a good list maker. 
 
We have everything we need for at least two weeks of travel on board, except for meds, perishable food, and our laptops, tablets, and cell phones. The fuel tanks are filled as we reach our home base cottage, so we're always ready to roll. The fresh water tank is normally kept full as well, but in freezing weather the plumbing is drained and treated as needed. If we're at the cottage for the winter, as we likely will be this year, then the foods that can't freeze are stowed in plastic bins in the cottage store room and used as needed, with replacements added to our shopping list. We also keep about 20 gallons of bottled water on hand so we can travel for a few days to a warmer area if the opportunity occurs. In better weather, we can typically go from deciding to take off to heading down the road in about an hour. In colder weather, two hours or so. We once went from "Go" to rolling in about 20 minutes, just to see how fast we could do it...  :eek:
 
all the above items  but also a good idea is a first aid kit also a tool kit with at least all the basic tools for minor repairs. i personally keep a full socket set as well as impact sockets and an impact gun. i have everything required to change a tire or do basic repairs. we went down to nova scotia last year with my friend and his wife. we blew the transmition in his dp on the return trip. he had everything on board including an air compressor and air tools to change the transmition in a truck stop parking lot. now that's prepared. he happens to be a diesel mechanic though.
 
When we lived in California, we  kept the MH full of everything including water.  It was our earthquake proof emergency supply.  Now we live in cold land, we remove anything that can freeze and keep almost everything else in the MH, clothing, minimal tools, extra antifreeze and vehicle fluids, etc.

Dress clothes, food, cleaning materials, etc. removed from the MH are stored in boxes in the garage ready for replacing in the MH.  One hose is kept available to flush and fill the water system.  In an emergency we can go in about 8 hours during cold seasons.  In the summer, about 2 hours as everything is there already except the bathroom stuff, razor, electric toothbrush, etc. and we are gone.  Oh yes, it may take longer IF the cat is out wandering!! :)
 
skyking1 said:
regulated compressed air is the best for multiple winterizations.
Blow out all the lines and faucets. Drain the hot water and tanks, and just a little bit of antifreeze in the traps. I tend to watch the weather and only winterize when needed when we are doing winter use.

EDIT: Thank you for adding that, Jerry

On this note...  What pressure does the compressed air need to be regulated down to?

I plan to winterize with compressed air but not sure what pressure I need to dial it down to.
In our old smaller trailer I would use the RV antifreeze, but this bigger one I plan to blow them out.

To the OP,  We just keep all "hard parts" in the camper.  We normally know a few days before and I start the fridge.  Night before we normally pack food, drinks,etc.  Then throw some clothes in and go.  We do have some cool weather wear we leave in there.  We also leave extra bed linens and leave it clean and ready to go.
TIA
Don
 
BigDfromTN said:
On this note...  What pressure does the compressed air need to be regulated down to?

I plan to winterize with compressed air but not sure what pressure I need to dial it down to.
In our old smaller trailer I would use the RV antifreeze, but this bigger one I plan to blow them out.

To the OP,  We just keep all "hard parts" in the camper.  We normally know a few days before and I start the fridge.  Night before we normally pack food, drinks,etc.  Then throw some clothes in and go.  We do have some cool weather wear we leave in there.  We also leave extra bed linens and leave it clean and ready to go.
TIA
Don
Don, I prefer not testing my plumbing above 60 PSI. There is no point and a good chance of damaging a valve or some other component. My compressor is 125 PSI and that is a little extreme.
There is a simple solution if you do not have an inline regulator. Turn off the compressor when the tank pressure reaches 60~70 PSI. That tank of air should do the job fine, no need to have it run.
 
BigDfromTN said:
On this note...  What pressure does the compressed air need to be regulated down to?

I plan to winterize with compressed air but not sure what pressure I need to dial it down to.
In our old smaller trailer I would use the RV antifreeze, but this bigger one I plan to blow them out.

...
Don

While Kelly suggests 60 lbs, and perhaps it's OK, the manual on my Beaver says to not exceed 40 psi. I don't know if they're being conservative, or if perhaps different systems have different sensitivities.
 
I chose 60 as it is not uncommon to hook your trailer to a yard hydrant that will put out 60. 
 

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