Stuff You Need

Stuff you need

1.     1. Surge protector. Voltage regulation at campgrounds can be a bit iffy. Surges or dips can be detrimental to your electronics, air conditioning, etc. A surge protector is a wise investment. It will run you $100 or more, though.

2.      2.  Water pressure regulator. Water pressure at campgrounds should be 65 psi or lower, but there’s no way of assuring that. The best insurance against high water pressure which can damage valves and supply lines is an inexpensive pressure regulator. You can pick one up for $15 or less.

3.       3. Water filter. The state parks where I often camp draw water from nearby wells or cisterns, and they tend not to spend a lot of time on filtration. I have literally found a handful of gravel in my water hose when I’ve disconnected it from my camper. I can’t imagine what all that stuff would do to valves or the hot water tank. Pick up a water filter that connects between your water supply and your outside connection. I found one at WalMart for around $15.

4.       4. Sewer hose. This is a no-brainer, of course, but if you have an R-Pod, you’re limited in the length of hose you can store in the tongue-mounted tube. If you decide to use that tube, as versus following the modification suggestion elsewhere on the forum of installing a longer one, you’ll be restricted to a hose that compresses to 26 inches or so. Just saying.

5.      5.  Latex* gloves. You’re going to be handling that sewer hose, so for heaven’s sake, wear gloves. You can get these about anywhere, but people tend to forget about them. *Disclaimer: If you or your camping partner has an allergy to latex, substitute the word “vinyl” or “synthetic rubber” for “latex” wherever it appears in this post. Yours truly cannot be held responsible if you break out in hives, your eyes swell shut, or you vapor lock as the result of an allergic reaction.

6.      6.  Leveling blocks. The campgrounds I frequent rarely have sites even close to level. Level is important for a lot of reasons: you’ll sleep better, your refrigerator will work right and stuff won’t roll of the table. You might use blocks of wood, as I used to do, but there are much more convenient solutions. The interlocking plastic blocks made specifically for this purpose are very handy and light weight. They run something like $25 and come in a carrying bag. There is also a wheel jack leveling device that was discussed elsewhere on the forum that looks promising, though I’ve not tried it.

7.      7.  Stabilizing jacks. Your Pod probably came with these, but if not, you need them. Takes most of the bounce out and makes camping much more pleasurable.

8.       8. Battery drill/scissor jack socket. Now that you have those handy stabilizing jacks, you’re going to want to crank them up and down. You can certainly use the long crank handle provided, but a much better solution is a battery drill with a ¾ inch socket. I’m old, my back hurts and I don’t want to spend any more time bent over cranking than I have to. You can find 18 volt battery drills these days for around $20 that will do the job. I suggest a made-for-the-task leveling scissor jack socket at around $5 or slightly more. You’ll thank me for this one.

9.      9.  A bottle jack. I hope you don’t, but you may eventually have a blow out on the R-Pod, or just get up one morning and find one of the tires flat. You’ll need to lift one side of the trailer to put the spare on. Certainly you can dig out the TV jack, but a better solution may be a compact bottle jack on board the R-Pod. You can pick up a small one with the capacity to raise the trailer for around $20 or less.

10. 10.  Tools & miscellaneous repair supplies (I started to call this one a possibles kit, but only the muzzleloaders would understand what I meant). You’re eventually going to need an adjustable wrench, pliers, maybe a socket wrench, screw driver (square drive bit for R-Pod screws), hammer (think pounding in R-Dome pegs), and a flashlight (LED for long life). It would be a good idea to have a couple spare rubber garden hose washers, maybe some plastic repair tape. You get the idea. Think about all the minor things that could go awry, yet cause you major headaches if you’re unable to take care of them in the field.

11.  11.  A First Aid kit. While you’re camping, away from the comfort, convenience and familiarity of home, you’re going to be doing things you don’t routinely do, and using tools you don’t often use. Don’t tell your Mother, but you may even be playing with matches. You’re apt to get cut, scratched, burned, stung, and God only knows what else. Put a kit together to patch yourself up till you can get back to civilization. Think band aids, burn ointment, benadryl, aspirin or ibuprofen. I’m just thinking of your best interests here. And your Mother would agree with me.

12.  12. A folding step stool. OK, whether or not you need this depends on whether your Pod has a slide out, where you camp, how tall you are, and if you’ve installed a slide out awning. I have a RP-177 with the slide out and no installed awning. Invariably, when I prepare to break camp, I have a considerable accumulation of leaves, nuts and twigs on the top surface of the slide out. Not being quite 7 foot 6 in height, I keep a light weight folding step stool in the Pod exterior storage compartment so that I can inspect for debris and remove it (along with standing water) before retracting the slide out. It just makes sense. What I really need is an awning, I know…

13.  13. A cover. If you’re like many of us, you live and store your R-Pod off season in states that tend to have heavy snowfall and prolonged periods of freezing temperatures. It’s not a good idea to allow accumulations of snow and ice to cover the air conditioning unit and all those other plastic appendages protruding from the roof of the camper. Whether you buy the fitted Forest River offering, a Northern Tool tear drop cover, or just stretch a tarp over the top, you would be well advised to cover it during the harshest winter months.