RV Accessories: The Ultimate Guide

Congratulations, you bought a new Travel Trailer!   Now what? You may be wondering which accessories and tools are essential to have on board as you start your adventures. Questions about this show up at least once a week on various forums.  For that reason, Major Airhead and I decided to create what we consider to be the ultimate list of accessories to help newbies outfit their rigs. This list represents extensive research we’ve conducted, the advice we have received from veteran owners, and suggestions based on our experience as past owners of two Airstreams, and now a Brinkley I275 travel trailer.

First and foremost, our advice is to be selective. It can get expensive and you have limited space to work with! This list is divided into what we refer to as “must-have” accessories and “nice-to-have” accessories, so you can quickly read through and prioritize. Tip: Bookmark this blog post right now so you can refer to it often.  When available, affiliate links are provided to products on Amazon and other merchants so that you can review them in greater detail and purchase them, if desired.

When you purchase your new RV, you may be able to negotiate with the dealership and get them to throw some accessories into the sale. When we bought Shining Hope – our first RV and Airstream, we were successful in doing that. My advice is to ask…it’s worth a try.

Must-Have Accessories

Anytime you camp, you want to make sure your travel trailer is as level as possible. A good leveling system is worth its weight in gold! Being level not only makes you feel more comfortable while camping, but it also helps your appliances operate better and helps to ensure that your unit’s components such as doors and slides operate correctly. Being out-of-level puts undue stress on your unit components and may cause damage. If you are manually leveling your travel trailer, we recommend the Andersen leveling system. It’s easy to use and works like a charm. Read our full review and blog post on how the Andersen Leveling System helped to save our marriage. *Wink wink*

Although most of the time you are able to pull into an RV spot close to the sewer drain, it may not be ideally where you want to park. So, we keep two sewer hoses in tow at all times and also have an additional clear elbow that allows us to visually monitor the draining of the tanks. Sounds a bit gross, I know, but being able to witness solids move out of the black tank and watch the flow of liquid eventually turn to clear when using the unit’s black water flushing system confirms that we’ve emptied and rinsed our tank well.

Most campgrounds offer sites with either 30 or 50 AMP electric posts. So what if the best site in the park has a 50 AMP post, but your RV has a 30 AMP system? You don’t need to forgo that dream site! Purchase an adapter that can step you down from 50 AMPs to 30, or vice versa. There are various adapters for different situations that are available. So, do check them out. We keep an assortment of adapters with us at all times. You never know when you’ll need it and you certainly don’t want to be limited by an obstacle that is so easy to overcome!

We recently went through the process of researching generators. We ended up purchasing two dual-fuel Champion inverter generators.  Read this blog post to learn about our research and decision.

Volt Meter for Batteries and Battery Tender

Before we had a unit with solar and lithium batteries, we learned some valuable lessons about maintaining wet cell batteries. Check out Major Airhead’s blog post about our experience with the Interstate 24 Batteries.

Fire Extinguisher

New travel trailers typically come equipped with a fire extinguisher, but if you have an older unit that you bought second-hand, it may be missing. Make sure your unit has one and that it is charged at all times.

Mr. Wipple probably never traveled in an RV, because Charmin is not for RVs! It’s important to purchase septic-safe toilet paper for your RV. Septic safe and RV toilet paper breaks down more easily and helps to minimize clogs and issues in your black water tank. The Winns did a great video on this subject for their blog Gone with the Winns. Take a moment to watch and discover that you may not have to spend a fortune on special RV paper! 

Tank Deodorizer

A good tank deodorizer is a must to help solids break down in your black water tank and to help minimize odors. We use Thetford Aqua-Kem deodorizer because it comes in convenient toss-in packets which eliminate the need to measure and deal with messy powders and liquids. Mind you, this is not the most cost-effective product but it works great for us and we have not had any issues or odors in our unit.  Tank deodorizer should be added each time you begin to fill an empty black tank.  Flush about one gallon of fresh water in the tank before adding the deodorizer.

Shroom

Depending on your unit, you may not have a screen over your shower drain. Our Airstreams did not and we found this little invention works wonders! It sits right in your shower drain.  The Shroom traps hair and keeps it from clogging your tank and drain lines.  It’s the best little investment ever!

Water Filter

Some newer travel trailers come equipped with an inline water filter. It didn’t take us long to figure out that having a filter at the hose bib was a much better idea. When winterizing for the first time, we learned that the filter under the sink had to be removed as part of the process, which was a pain. So we decided that we’d replace that with a whole unit filter that is installed at the water hookup site. We purchased the Camco 40043 TastePURE Water Filter with Flexible Hose Protector. It does the job and filters up to 100 microns. The manufacturer recommends replacement every 90 days.

Basic Tools

You’ll want to ensure you keep a supply of basic tools on board at all times. You never know when you’ll need to do some quick maintenance or will want to hang a picture to jazz up the place! Major Airhead recommends keeping the following basic tools in a carry-along toolbox:  hammer, pliers, wrenches, screwdrivers, duct tape, electrical tape, socket set, hatchet, crowbar, grease, and flashlights.  Make sure you also have extra fuses, including a few for the tongue jack. I also keep a supply of 3M Command Strips that I use to hang pictures and place hooks strategically around the unit.

We found the Voyager backup camera that came with both of our Airstreams invaluable. Not only does it provide visual assistance when backing into a site, but because it displays when the tow vehicle is in both forward and reverse, it also allows us to view what’s behind us as we travel down the road.  We can see approaching trucks as well as those pesky tailgaters!  In my humble opinion, it’s an important safety upgrade. Our Brinkley I275 has a Furion back up camera. We may do a review in the near future that compares the two units.

Monitoring your travel trailer’s tire pressure as you travel down the highway can help avoid blowouts and other catastrophes. We’ve seen way too many stories online recently of tire blow-outs and the damage caused by them.  Major Airhead and I selected the TST 507 System.  We liked the fact that the sensors attach to the valve stem versus those that are installed inside the tire, for ease of changing batteries ourselves.  This system is quite popular and effective and could literally save your life!

Ladder

Nice to Have Accessories

Now if this isn’t shameless self-promotion, I don’t know what is. *Wink*  But if you have children or grandchildren, you will want to check out The Adventures of Shining Hope children’s book Shining Hope Visit Niagara Falls, which I authored.  It is the first book in a planned series that teaches children about RV exploration, adventure, responsibility, and being good stewards of the Earth.  Get your autographed copy here!  A second book, The Great Carolina Caper, was released in July 2022. Books make a GREAT gift for children and grandchildren! 

One of the things I loved about our Airstream and our new unit, the Brinkley I275, is that they come with a porcelain toilet, however, they were accompanied by a cheap plastic toilet seat that is hard to clean. We found this Dometic upgraded toilet seat from Camping World which is an enamel-coated wooden seat. What an improvement this seat is! It is easier to clean, more comfortable, and has a residential look. Although it didn’t make the “must-have” list, we highly recommend you make it one of your first upgrades!

For the interior of your travel trailer, you’ll want to add a couple of indoor rugs or floor mats to make the unit cozier and to help keep the dirt at bay. We purchased our rugs at Wayfair.com – they have a great selection and they are of good quality.  Walmart, Target, and Bed, Bath and Beyond also offer many good options.

We spend most of our outside of our travel trailer. Whether we are sitting by the campfire, engaging in a game of Rummy, or just relaxing and taking in all that nature has to offer, a comfy chair is a must for Major Airhead and me. We usually travel with four of them, as we realized early on that it is super awkward when people drop by to chat and you don’t have a place to offer them to sit.

Having an outdoor rug helps you to create an outdoor living space under your awning. The outdoor rug also serves another important purpose – it helps to keep dirt and gravel from being tracked in your travel trailer. You’ll want a rug that is waterproof and that will quickly dry after getting wet – and believe me, it will get wet.  There’s nothing worse than having to break camp and stow a wet rug. We purchased our rug from Bed, Bath and Beyond. It’s actually made of recycled bottles, which is cool.  Ours is small at only 6 x 9 feet.  I recommend larger if you have the space to store it.

Small tables

Having a couple of small end tables to sit next to your chairs under your awning is a plus. We purchased these great little folding tables and they are perfect for our needs. They are lightweight, yet sturdy and they come in a variety of great colors to match any décor!

Table Cloth and Clips

Campground picnic tables vary in their condition. While some campgrounds have brand new tables, others may be warped and dirty. It’s a good idea to purchase a reusable vinyl felt-backed cover for the table. These handy clips will also ensure that your tablecloth doesn’t blow away while you are out on a hike!

V-Aire Portable Air Compressor

We have this handy little portable air compressor that we tote with us on our travels. This pump can fill your tow vehicle and travel trailer tires, as well as bicycle tires! Major Airhead says that we may even be able to use it this Fall to blow out our lines when winterizing instead of using our large air compressor. Read our full review on the V-Aire 88P here.

Wheel Covers 

We finally had the need to buy wheel covers when we started to winter in Florida.  They protect our travel trailers tires from sun damage.  According to RV Life.com, UV light can cause fine cracks in the sidewall that can cause slow leaks or tire failure.  Covers also protect your wheels from dust and debris from collecting in your tire rims when parked for extended time periods.  

This took some measuring to make sure we ordered the correct size. It was one of those things where you do the best you can, go out and measure, do some research, place the order, and hope for the best! After careful measuring, and reading the comments and descriptions, we ordered the 27 to 29-inch size double wheel covers from Leader Accessories for our International 30.  We’ll need to order new one’s for our Brinkley before headed to Florida this coming winter.

I’m 5’ 2” short. I keep this handy step tool inside the unit so that I can see inside the upper cabinets. It also makes a great footrest if needed! This stool folds up and stores easily. It comes in lots of great colors to match your décor.

Deciding which items to purchase for your RV’s kitchen was worthy of its own blog article.  Please check out my post, the Top Seven Must-Haves for the RV Kitchen.  

T-shirts have become my main wardrobe staple since retiring in 2021.  Life is Good produces high-quality, fun shirts for casual wear and camping.  Many of them include RVing and Camping themes. And, did you know that Life is Good donates 10% of its profits to the Life is Good Foundation which supports childcare professionals like – teachers, social workers, and nurses – to create programs that “fuel optimism” and support vulnerable children?  So not only do you get a cool shirt, you are doing good! 

Summary

And there you have it folks, our comprehensive list of items to consider purchasing for your new RV.   What would you add to this list?  We welcome your feedback and would love to hear from you in the comments area below.

Safe travels to one and all from the Streaming Airheads!

Libby

This post was updated June, 2025