Nomad Nate’s Essential RV Gear
Most of this is stuff I actually use — and the rest is gear I’ve borrowed, broken, or heard about from folks I trust in the wild. I’m not here to blow smoke or sell fluff. After years of testing in deserts, swamps, and Walmart parking lots, this is what’s made the cut (or at least survived the fall from the cargo bay). If it’s on this page, it’s earned its spot — one campsite at a time.
Power & Electrical
If you’re gonna blow something up, let it be your ego — not your inverter. This section covers the unsung heroes that keep the juice flowing: surge protectors, extension cords, adapters, battery monitors, and solar panels. Without this gear, you’re either fried or frozen.
Water & Sewer
Whether you’re filling the tank, flushing it, or fixing the mess in between, water gear matters. Cheap hoses kink. Weak regulators leak. Bad filters turn your coffee brown. These are the tools that keep your water clean, your tanks flowing, and your hands (mostly) dry.
Internet & Connectivity
Let’s be real — staying connected on the road is part art, part science, and part ritual sacrifice. I’ve tried a lot of setups over the years, but these days I use Connecten — they send you a router, and when you land somewhere, they route your Wi-Fi through whichever major cell network has the strongest signal in that area.
There’s a $99 one-time router fee, then $120/month for unlimited high-speed data (cheaper plans exist, but I stream weird documentaries and forget to close my tabs). No SIM cards to mess with. No antennas to aim. Just plug it in, call them, and you’re online.
That said, it does rely on existing cell towers — so if you’re way out in the boonies where no carrier reaches, you’re still gonna be staring at a blinking light and reconsidering your life choices.
Read my full review of Connecten here
Want to check out Connecten?
Check it out hereBut if you want something else — or need a more rugged rig — other full-timers swear by:
- Starlink (if you’re willing to chase clear skies and don’t mind the price)
- Peplink routers (if you want to get nerdy with load balancing and bonded data)
- Cellular boosters (for squeezing out every last bar)
- Travel routers & external antennas (to bridge sketchy campground Wi-Fi)
I’ll be testing some of these soon — and I’ll report back when I either love them or yeet them off a picnic table.
Kitchen Must Haves
RV kitchens are basically culinary escape rooms: small, awkward, and full of mystery tools you forgot you packed. I’m not here to tell you how to cook — I’ve eaten stovetop nachos three nights in a row — but I will tell you the gear that makes it all suck less.
From induction-friendly nesting cookware (yes, it was expensive — no, I don’t regret it) to a coffee maker that doesn’t blink during a power dip, this is the stuff that actually earns its cabinet space.
RV Tools & Repairs
If you RV long enough, something will fall off, leak, rattle, or mysteriously stop working at 2AM. Ask me about the water heater incidents sometime — plural. Whether you’re fixing a slide, chasing a phantom squeak, or just taping something “temporarily” for the next six months, this section has the tools that’ve saved my bacon — and my awning — more times than I can count.
Bonus tool I won’t shut up about: my Dewalt 20V drill. I actually own two — one for the RV, one for backup — and I wouldn’t know how to live without them.
Interior Comfort & Organization
This is the stuff that keeps your space livable — and your sanity intact. Whether it’s keeping things cool, storing gear without avalanches, or just sticking something to the wall without screws, these little items make a big difference. Honestly, I’d rather give up my bath towel than my command hooks.
Outside Gear & Setup
This is the stuff that makes a campsite feel like home — or at least less like a gravel parking lot with ants. Leveling blocks, chocks, chairs, shade, and anything that keeps you from falling off your stairs or cursing your awning. I don’t carry much, but what I do carry gets used every single stop.
Cleaning & Maintenance
Nobody wants to talk about black tanks, hose rinsing, or tank treatments — but that’s probably why so many people do it wrong. This is the stuff that keeps the stink down, the hoses flowing, and the weird smells from making your RV feel like a rolling outhouse.
Heads up: At least some of the links on this page are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you buy through them—at no extra cost to you. Think of it as Amazon tossing a tip in the jar for you so I can keep creating helpful stuff (and maybe put some fuel in The Beast).