First time snowbirders heading to Arizona this winter for 6 months. Since this will be different from week long vacations or weekend camping, what are items you wished you had brought and items you could've left behind.

May depend on where you plan to Winter? We took way to many clothes. If you forget something they do have stores in the south too.

You need to bring either a lot of money for RV parks or solar panels so you can camp in the desert. It only took us a couple years to learn that RV parks are not our for us.

1st rule; always pack for all 4 seasons but not much for the unlikely but possible weather. You just have to experiment and learn. We take socks and underwear for 9-10 days so we won't have to do the laundromat too often. We wear outer clothes for many days and don't shower every day unless it's super hot and humid. 3 or 4 shirts and 3 pants will do fine for the 9 days. And as a southern neighbor once said, "you know they got stores where you can buy stuff".

pawatt wrote:May depend on where you plan to Winter? We took way to many clothes. If you forget something they do have stores in the south too.X2

Our first winter on the road we had to buy;- A fan. I know this sounds dumb to head for Florida and leave a fan at home, but we did. Try to find a window fan in Florida around Christmas.- An electric heater. I had 3 at home. Now I have 4.- A basin wrench. Needed to change a lav faucet- A Little Green Machine carpet cleaner. Carpet's gone now but we surely needed this. I didn't want to bring the big rug shampooer due to weight.Things I'm really glad we brought that I didn't think we'd need- A large Styrofoam cooler. Waste of space, I grumbled. Stored liquor and bottled water in it. First time we needed to defrost the fridge I was glad I had it.Stuff that I brought that never got used; I brought a lot of spares. Spare bulbs, fuses, wiper blades, a windshield chip repair kit etc. Still in a flat storage box in the basement. The stuff that broke I didn't have spares for, like the toilet (replaced every part except the bowl). I needed Eternabond roof tape and Dicor for a leak, I had to go buy that. I also brought an old tire unmounted for a spare. Never used that.I was pretty sure we would be overweight when I started packing the coach for the trip, so I started scrutinizing things that were heavy and probably not necessary. Turns out we were 2000 lbs under max gross so I didn't need to worry.

1st time Snowbirders - leave home or pack? | Good Sam Community

28 Replies

John_Joey
Explorer
Aug 01, 2017
Yes we took way too many clothes and shoes that first year.

Also you'll need a small containers for those quarters. We like a small plastic peanut butter jar.

A cheap voltmeter to fix RV stuff

A cheap angle grinder. I seem to use mine a lot for the most unlikely things.

If you're a coffee drinker in the mornings a coffee pot for the stove when you're forced into overnighting in a parking lot.

A small cloth cooler comes in handy.

A tube of Dicor and a tube of silicone for those rare emergencies.

Seems like 99% of US snowbirds are packing. Also seems like 99.999% never need it.
BarbaraOK
Explorer
Aug 01, 2017
2gypsies wrote:
When we began years ago we were in Texas and had lots of humidity in the RV. We moved on to Arizona for our first time and went into a Home Depot looking for a dehumidifier. Arizona sells humidifiers but not DEhumidifiers.

yes, when the humidity is less than 10%, you need to ADD moisture in some way. It is like having the A/C running and never seeing any water dripping down.
stickdog
Explorer
Aug 01, 2017
Instead of heavy winter coats I have a XXL hoodie to wear over my XL. Layering is easier and a heavy coat may sit in the closet all winter. Also a good raincost can work as a windbreaker over a hoodie when you don't need a double layer but the wind is a blowing.
2gypsies1
Explorer III
Jul 31, 2017
When we began years ago we were in Texas and had lots of humidity in the RV. We moved on to Arizona for our first time and went into a Home Depot looking for a dehumidifier. Arizona sells humidifiers but not DEhumidifiers.
tomman58
Explorer
Jul 31, 2017
Our TT is always packed for any type of trip. snowbirding is just another trip. The best thing is always stay in a place for a week to save cash. The only thing I remember buying out west was a Thera Prue unit from Costco to clean the air in our unit as dust is everywhere. I also bought a small air compressor as I check my tires always before moving to the next location.
jplante4
Explorer II
Jul 31, 2017
rockhillmanor wrote:
QUARTERS! Lots of quarters for the CG laundry machines. Cause no stores including most CG's are going to want to give you change in quarters. :W
Us_out_West
Explorer
Jul 31, 2017
almcc wrote:
Buy or pack a water softener! First winter down there the water ate our water heater sacrificial anode and the RV place in Yuma had the largest supply of replacement taps, shower heads etc, to replace the ones that clogged up.

Also bring quarters for the water kiosks, you don't want to drink that softened water Either!

Good post and couldn't agree more.
almcc
Explorer
Jul 31, 2017
Buy or pack a water softener! First winter down there the water ate our water heater sacrificial anode and the RV place in Yuma had the largest supply of replacement taps, shower heads etc, to replace the ones that clogged up.

Also bring quarters for the water kiosks, you don't want to drink that softened water Either!
2oldman
Explorer II
Jul 31, 2017
rockhillmanor wrote:
QUARTERS! Lots of quarters for the CG laundry machines. Cause no stores including most CG's are going to want to give you change in quarters.
and the laundry room change machines are always out of service as are half the washers.
rockhillmanor
Explorer II
Jul 31, 2017
First time SnowBirders heading to Arizona this winter for 6 months. Since this will be different from week long vacations or weekend camping, what are items you wished you had brought
and items you could've left behind.

QUARTERS! Lots of quarters for the CG laundry machines. Cause no stores including most CG's are going to want to give you change in quarters. :W

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1st time Snowbirders - leave home or pack?

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