Where to Shop for RV Stuff?

[elm_tx]

Hey Y'all

I was wondering, I would not go down to the local Chevy dealership to buy an oil filter, light bulb or sun shade for my Truck/Car. Thus it stands to reason (at least for me), that going to Camping World, which appears to be a RV Dealership, is not really the most cost effective place to purchase items needed to for our 5er. It may be that they are the only folks that carry what we need, but are they?

Where do y'all shop for stuff like awning clips/tie downs? Chemicals for the black tank? Cleaners for the roof / exterior? Locks for the king pin? And anything else somewhat specialized to maintaining/using a 5er?

I'm not looking for cheap substitutes, just wondering if there are other places to get what is needed at a reasonable price. Pep Boys/ O'Reilly's has most of the maint. stuff I need for my car as opposed to paying Dealership prices. So wondering if the same network applies to RV'ing. If it does not, that's fine. I don't want to sound like I'm being cheap, but also don't want to throw money away for no good reason. If I save 50 - 60 bucks, that's more money towards a new Rod and Reel!!! ;D


Thanks for any and all feedback folks.
Eddie

 

[Carl L]

Where do y'all shop for stuff like awning clips/tie downs?

Don't but would do Camping World or a RV supply store

Chemicals for the black tank?

Would not.  Do not use them, like a lot of folks here.

Cleaners for the roof / exterior?

Hardware store, I like Simple Green.

Locks for the king pin?

CW

And anything else somewhat specialized to maintaining/using a 5er?

CW or a RV store.

An amazing amount of stuff is readily available thru ordinary hardware channels.  Boat/marine supply stores have a lot of stuff adaptable for RVs.  Not cheaper, tho.

 

[John From Detroit]

Kind of all over, some things you are not going to find outside of an RV store or other "manafacturer's store" (Onan oil filters for example, hard to find, not impossible, just not popular outside of onan dealers)

And my chevy dealer charges about the same for an oil filter as I wold expect to pay at Pep Boys, though they do charge a bit more for instalation

But you do need to shop around, some dealers are less expensive, some more expensive, and as others have noted, some stuff you can get elsewhere,  Sears (and now K-Mart) has quite a few goodies,  So do many of the other stores.  An amazing amount of "RV" stuff is nothing more than high priced "House" stuff (think lowes or Home Depot)

 

[woodartist]

I find Camping World Expensive, but they usually have a decent stock. There are small RV repair places that are cheaper...usually smaller towns.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Camping World prices aren't bad, so I do not avoid them. If you buy very much stuff there, it may be worthwhile to join the President's Club and get a 10% discount.  I buy enough over the course of a year that I usually break even on the President's Club fee and on the occasional year when I buy a big ticket item I come out ahead.

But when I buy expensive items for the RV, I shop online for prices and order where I get the best deal. Ditto for things fuel & oil filters for my Generac genset, which are expensive in most RV  stores.

As for cleaning stuff, I use very little Rv-specific stuff. Detergents like Simple Green work for all the general cleaning chores, including the roof, wheher rubber, Britek, fiberglass or metal. A bit of bleach helps where mildew or mold has grown. For cleaning & polishing the exterior finish I use automotive or marine type washes and polishes. My favorites are Turtlewax Car Wash and Protect-All  (a synthetic "wax"), but anything that is good for fiberlass finishes should work well. Choose the product that you like th ebest,being mindful that an RV is BIG and ease of application therefore a very important factor.

We use very little in the way of tank chemicals, so cost is not a concern there. I usually get a bottle or package when I am buying some other item and that's a year [or more] supply for us.  The black tank products aren't needed if you are filling and dumping on a regular basis. Gray tank products likewise aren't needed when in daily use.  If you store the rig for awhile with stuff in the gray tank, a bit of bleach will keep the decaying food odors down - that's all the commercial products are anyway (sodium hyplchlorite). Better, though, to simply dump the tank before heading home.