15 Camper Must Haves

Before we even signed the papers to officially own our Jayco Travel Trailer we were already filling the amazon cart with things that we wanted/needed. Here are our 15 Camper Must-Haves!

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Sway bar for towing.  We went with the CURT Manufacturing 17501 TruTrack Trunnion Bar Weight Distribution System, after much debate. Galye Kline was nice enough to install the bars and hitch for us when we picked up the camper. Towing a camper with sway bars in a completely different experience than just a ball hitch.  With the pop up I was always worrying and could feel the camper moving. With the sway bars, you barely know the camper is there and I find myself falling asleep.

Brake Controller for Truck.  I will have to admit this is something that we are still trying to figure out what works best for us.  

Towing Mirrors These were not something Jamie thought he would need but after bringing the camper home he decided that it would be nice to have towing mirrors that allowed him to see the camper more. 

Camper Must Haves

Auto Jack. The camper came with a crank jack for the front, which would have been fine if Jamie hadn’t of seen our Uncles power jack.  My dad had also been looking through the Harbour Freight catalog and just happened to find one that was $99.99 with a coupon.  So the auto jack was added to the list. I do have to say that with the auto jack I am able to easily help hitch the camper to the truck, Jamie doesn’t have to get out to help crank the camper up or down.

Wheel stabilizers. With the pop up we just used blocks in front and behind the tires to keep it from moving.  Again Jamie saw my uncle’s wheel stabilizers on our last trip and they went into the Amazon cart as well. They are very handy and easy to use. 

Cover and tire covers. Jamie and my dad carved out a spot in the woods where we could park the camper when we aren’t using it.  Because we are parking the camper in the woods we decided that we would need a cover. My parents really like the cover that they bought for the MC so we wanted to buy one from the same brand but they don’t make travel trailer covers so after so searching we went with ADCO 52247 Designer Series SFS Aqua Shed Travel Trailer RV Cover. We also got the tire covers.

Camper Must Haves

Entry door handle. When we got the camper it had a small handle close to the door.  Being that we have 3 littles they couldn’t reach the handle to help them up the stairs, so we found this handicap handle that is just low enough for Henleigh to hold on to while she walks up the stairs.

Bumper covers so we can store the sewer hoses in the bumper.  Where I was very excited about having our own bathroom I wasn’t too excited about storing the smelly sewer hoses inside the camper.  When we did our final walkthrough of how everything works the service guy mentioned vented caps that can go on the bumpers so that you can store your hoses in the bumper.  Just a note: the pre-drilled holes for the caps are on the sides which makes it difficult to put the hoses into the bumper so we drilled new holes in the corners to give maximum space for putting the hoses in and out.

Leveling blocks. Our camper doesn’t sit the highest off the ground but it is not close to the ground either.  Instead of cutting a bunch of boards and carrying them around. We ordered leveling blocks in a handy bag.  I would suggest ordering 3 or more. You don’t realize how many you actually need when getting the camper level.

Storage bins. The back storage compartment isn’t very tall, but there is actually a lot of vertical room inside the cabinet.  These stackable bins from Walmart work perfectly. You can slide one in at a time stack them on top of each other and slide them to the back so the next one fits.  

Camper Must Haves

Outside mat. We didn’t buy a new outside mat for the camper, we used the one we bought for the pop-up. I love these mats because they keep some of the dirt out of the camper. When we have to purchase a new one I would love to buy this one, love the fun pattern.

Drill. Hand cranking your jacks every time you camp gets old real quick.  I suggest investing in a good drill and the drill attachment for your jacks.  It will save you time and your back. We are a Dewalt family. They are durable and last forever!!

Water filter & Regulator We had bought water filters for the Cur-Hocki before we went to the Outer Banks that we never ended up using so those went into the new camper.  Because we bought the camper from Gayle Kline we had a small credit to there store, we decided to use the credit to buy the regulator.

Camper Must Haves

Sewer hoses, Elbows, and Support. The camper did come with a small sewer hose but we knew that wasn’t going to be long enough.  We decided on Camco RhinoFLEX 20ft RV Sewer Hose Kit of a hose and one support system to start with. We figured we could always get more if we felt like it was necessary.

Mini Tool Bag. With our luck, there is always something to be fixed. To help with this we put together a small tool crate to go travel with us. Jamie had extras of many of his tools so we didn’t have to buy much.  I did buy him a new drill for Christmas that goes into the crate before we leave. To help with the organization we picked up this organizer from Lowes, it makes finding things in the dark easier.

Camper Must Haves

When you add all of these things up it is a hefty bill, but something you should consider is adding these costs into your loan. We picked out the most expensive things and add that into our loan cost and added the rest to our Christmas list. That way we weren’t putting out as much money in the beginning.  All of these are used every time we camp and will be replaced if anything does break.

If you like our 15 Camper Must-Haves visit our Tips& Tricks page for more camping ideas. If you want to learn more about our Jayco Travel Trailer, click here.

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