Maybe you’re starting to look for a trailer or just bought one…When purchasing a trailer for the first time, you may not know where to start when it comes to the top products you’ll need to have to make the process as seamless as possible.
when living in a trailer full time, you want to make sure the trailer feels like a home. That means the basics too! needing to have running water, ability to dump the tanks, and that your bed is comfortable. Those are must haves before hitting the road full time.
After purchasing a RV, the stressful and exciting part is done. Now you need to make it functional and a home!
Some of the items were after thoughts for us. There were several things that were “no brainers” and then there were things learned through trial and error.
These are our top products and are must haves when starting out after purchasing your first RV.
we’ll assume if you already have a trailer or just bought one, you have a hitch. But if you don’t or need a new one, view how to choose the right hitch here.
Starting with the outside have tos
When looking for what is needed to travel and use the trailer comfortably, you have to start with the outside.
water Hoses | Insulated vS non-insulated
The first thing that we bought for the trailer was a hose. This seems like it an easy choice…wrong. when you live in both warm and cold climates choosing a hose matters.
There are two main kinds of hoses. Those that are insulated and those that aren’t. During the winter, you’ll use a heated hose like this one. if You ever turn the water on in the trailer and nothing comes out, it’s froze solid? yeah, us too. This heated hose has a built in thermostat that regulates the temperature of the hose keeping the water from freezing.
the heated hoses are pricier, but if you only use it when the weather is freezing you’ll maximize it’s longevity.
During the warmer months, you’re fine to use a hose that is not heated and does not have any insulation on it. after using several different kinds of “regular” hoses, we haven’t found one that stands out as being the best. they are all very comparable, just keep the length in mind when making a purchase. at RV parks you may be close or far from the water hookup.
Everyone's favorite part | The black tank
You better start thinking about how you’re going to dump all the water you just put into your trailer. cheap set ups work for a while, but because after living in trailer parks, have neighbors close by, and our own clumsiness they don’t last. sewer tubes get stepped on, smashed, and the cheaper ones break apart creating a messy situation.
This is where you need to step it up and purchase a better tube. We recommend the extreme sewer hose found here or on our products page. This tube is smash resistant and made to withstand what life throws at it. ours is a couple years old now and still going strong.
Along with the sewer tube, you need a sewer tube support. the support keeps the hose off the ground in attempts to keep it in better condition. The support also keeps the grey and black water flowing towards the sewer drain.
Now for the top inside product
if you’ve slept on an original camper mattress, you know you wanted to exchange it for a new one immediately. Try this one!
some trailers come with a king size bed. note: a king size bed in a trailer is not the same size as a standard king. Because of the size difference, you might look getting a standard queen.
This should give you a little extra room on either side of the bed, which is nice since built in trailer nightstands are small…putting a fitted sheet on your mattress when it doesn’t have an inch to spare from the wall, you’ll do it once and only once.
mattresses that are shipped in boxes have been becoming more and more popular and they’re quite comfortable too! don’t take the mattress outside in the dirt or bend it around corners then into the trailer or up the stairs. just remove the original trailer mattress, carry the new mattress in box to where its going to be placed (upstairs in our case) and let the mattress unfold itself.
top products we overlooked
leveling blocks
leveling blocks or wood to place under the leveling legs of the trailer is a necessity in our opinion.
after having traveled to a new RV park in the winter while the ground was frozen and staying through spring, the ground began to thaw. the legs and tires of the trailer began sinking into the mud.
something that would help distribute the weight of the trailer under the leveling legs to be able to get the trailer level again? leveling blocks like these help mitigate those problems and it won’t be happening again.
aluminum wheel chocks
Most RV parks do their best to create a level pad to set up a trailer. They are not perfect and most of the time they do have a slant one way or another. Public camp grounds are often times unlevel and usually bumpy with holes right where you want to set up the trailer. we’ve all seen videos of someone unhooking the trailer and when it releases the trailer decides to roll away… don’t be that guy.
plastic wheel chocks try to keep the trailer from taking an unwanted stroll. but after parking the trailer, using plastic chocks, and hooking back up to the trailer the slight pressure of the truck rocking onto the chock caused it to grenade into tiny bits. plastic chocks are not very strong and if there is a hill or trailer did roll onto it like our truck, it would probably break and the trailer would still roll away.
We upgraded to aluminum wheel chocks. The aluminum wheel chocks are heavy duty and don’t break under the pressure of the trailer.
don’t overlook any products like we did! click the button to view more.
you can also view trailer repairs and projects to fill all the extra down time you have.
