Maiden Voyage

Highly recommend your first camping trip be inmyour driveway. Also, the most important thing to have on the first few trips is a pen and paper. Heck, even after 30 years of RVing we still make notes of stuff we need.
If you have a tablet, download rvchecklist app. Great app for checking off stuff as you load up.

An extra 30 amp cord in case your electrical post is too far away. I've used mine a couple times.

Congrats on the new trailer:

My advice: Camp near services...lots of them like grocery stores, Walmart, Home Depot. In other words, don't make your first camping trip out in the boonies or on Mars.

There is no way you can figure it all out and know exactly what you will need the first time. You can always drive a few miles and get this and that.

Go camping, get some experience and most of all, enjoy the adventure.

Hello,
I am in the process of buying my first travel trailer as well. Mine will take about 8 weeks to arrive, so I've been scouring the internet for all things related to being ready to use it for the first time. For things you should have in the trailer, I found this list very helpful:
http://www.thisoldcampsite.com/This_old_campsite5/Outfitting_Your_RV.html

I then started building my own list based on this one, some others I found on the internet, and just based on my own habits and what I picture my family will be doing on most of our outings. I've been going to wal-mart, costco, home depot, and building a long shopping list on amazon while I wait for the trailer to arrive. As I shop for some items I get them in my hand and realize that they may not be that necessary for the amount of space and weight they will take up, so I move on and figure I can always buy it later if I change my mind.


Good luck with your new trailer!
Don

It is great to hear you are getting a new trailer. I pray you have a lot of safe fun trips. I like the idea of staying a night in the driveway to learn what you forgot. Also the idea of a pen and paper to record what you forgot is a good one. You find a lot of items are needed such as flashlight, dishes, toilet paper, soap etc. Don't forget, you can overload a trailer with things you will never use.

we forgot our clothes first trip we took. luckily it was just a weekend trip.

Thanks everybody for your replies. Don, I printed out that list you posted a link for and there are a lot of things I would have never thought of. Especially the spray bottle to disinfect the hose connection. Downtheroad, I laughed hard over the not going to Mars on the first trip. Good one.

Corkscrew. We still got the wine out but it wouda been easier if we had a corkscrew. Now 13 years later, we carry 2 so we have a backup.

To get an idea, here's my trailer inventory list, does not include what I keep on the tow vehicle, or load on the truck and trailer before each trip. Plus I have another list of thing still to get...: 1) 120v power line monitor 2) 120v, 15a 4-outlet box w/8’ cord 3) 12v to 120v inverter 400watt 4) 240v, 50a power cord, OEM-30’ 5) A/C vinyl cover (@home) 6) audio/video cabling, coaxial, toslink, HDMI 7) audio/video media server, KD-Links w/remote 8) awning battery pwr.LED lanterns -4 9) awning drop shade – 6’ x 15’ 10) awning electric cord clips (4) 11) awning light rollumups 12) awning lights photo/timer 13) awning rug - 4’ x 6’ 14) awning rug -9’ x 18’ 15) bake pan-9x9 16) bar stool seat (for cooker stand) 17) basting brush-15”x2” 18) basting pot SS 19) bath tub wash rag hanger 20) beach towels-2 21) bee traps-2 22) bike backpack 23) bike tire inner tube 24) bike tire pump 25) bike tire repair kit 26) biscuit sticks-2-4’ 27) blanket, bed 28) blender-2 speed 29) blue ray player, Sony BX18, w/remote 30) boat seat pad 31) bottle opener-2 (in/out) 32) bowls, lg. -2 33) bowls, sm. clear plastic-4 34) bread box, SS 35) buck knife 36) bucket Gamma Seal lid 37) bucket light rope/weight/hook 38) bucket light, 115 volt, w/Gamma Seal lid 39) bucket-2 gal. plastic 40) bucket-5gal. plastic-2 41) bug zapper racket
42) Bushnell Binoculars 43) butane lighter-2 44) cabinet hanging baskets, diy-2 45) cabinet wire drawers, diy-2 46) can Huggies 47) can opener, manual 48) carving knife-13” 49) CD carrying case-16 cds 50) chair, folding lg. w/bag 51) chairs, folding Ford, w/bag -2 52) change ashtray 53) cheese grader, metal 54) chip clip 55) circulation fan, 8” 56) circulation fan, oscillating clamp on style 57) clock, digital alarm-2 58) clock, wall 59) cloth baskets -2 60) clothes hangers, plastic 61) clothes pins 62) clothes, dirty hamper 63) clothesline, bumper mounted 64) coaxial cable-25’ 65) coaxial cable-6’ 66) coffee cup, insulated 67) coffee cups, metal -2 68) coffee mugs- insulated 69) colander 70) cook timer, outside cook station 71) cooking timer, wind up 72) corn ear set-10pc. 73) couch throw blanket 74) couch throw pillow 75) crab crackers 76) crock pot w/lid, electric 77) cup, insulated Huggie 78) cups, plastic-10 oz.-4 79) cutting board, small oak 80) Dell Latitude laptop computer. 81) digital audio converter, Monarchy DIP 82) digital in/out thermometer w/ wireless sensor 83) dish pan-2 84) dish scrub brush 85) dog blanket
86) dog carrier bed rug 87) dog carrier/bed 88) dog food/water bowls -3 89) dog leash for awning rug-2-5’ 90) dog rug, outside 91) door handles, diy –2 92) door mat, outside 93) door shade, vinyl 94) drop cloth, white 95) DVD player/receiver, Sony, w/remote 96) earbud headphones 97) earplugs 98) egg holder 99) electric deep fryer pot (small) 100) electric induction cooktop 101) electrical dimmer cord 102) electrical extension cord-100’ 103) electrical extension cord-15’(2) 104) electrical extension cord-8’ 105) emergency manual toolbars, OEM 106) external hard drive rack 107) eyeglass repair kit 108) filter back grilles w/12 x 12 x 1 filters - 2 109) fingernail care kit 110) fire starter bricks 111) first aid kit 112) first aid/ snake and bee combo kit 113) fitted + top bed sheets 114) flameless candles 115) flashlight, LED headlamp 116) flashlight, Maglite 2d 117) flashlight, portable florescent 8d 118) flashlight-10” 2d 119) flashlight-9” 2d-2 120) fly swatter 121) food chopper, hand 122) Gerber fillet knife 123) glass coasters 124) gloves, leather welding/cooking -1pr. 125) griddle (for Coleman stove)- 19x10 126) grill brush-10” 127) grill cedar planks-2pk. 128) grill roaster rack 129) grill smoker box, cast iron
130) grill veggie topper, SS 131) ground mat, foam –3’x4’ 132) hammock, mini 133) hand broom and dust pan combo 134) hand palm dish scrubber 135) hand soap dispensers –2 136) handle, for door/wall-2 137) hatch lift cylinder for basement door -2 138) HDMI 1 to 2 signal splitter 139) heating pads (disposable) 140) hide-a-key box 141) hot dog cook prongs-4-4’ 142) hot spoon holder, plastic 143) ice bin Tupperware box 144) ice bucket, SS w/scoop 145) ice cream scoop 146) ice trays 10x4-4 147) insect repellant 148) instant read thermometer 149) inverter auto transfer switch 150) jar opener 151) key rack, sm. 152) kitty hawk kite 153) laundry hamper 154) LCD-TV, Sansui 19”, w/remote, 155) LED-TV, Samsung 40”,w/remote 156) level, pin box, giant 157) level, pocket 5” 158) level, sm. Hoppy 159) level-16” 160) lip balm 161) LP camp stove, Coleman 162) LP gas burner, King Kooker w/o stand 163) LP gas hose w/QC plug, 23’ 164) LP gas hose w/QCC1, 12’ 165) LP gas hose w/QCC1, 6’ 166) LP grille, Weber Q220 167) LP misc. gas fittings 168) LP Y-connector 169) Lynx flat toppers-4 170) Lynx levelers-10 pk x 2 171) marshmallow skewers-4pc.-20” 172) mat, outside welcome 173) match extender tool
174) mattress pad 175) mattress, pillow top 176) measure cup set-4 pc. 177) measuring spoon set-3pc. 178) milk crate, 19 x 13 x 11 179) mirror, 2 sided wall mount 180) mirror, hand held 181) misc. drain fittings, donut, el, strainer, caps 182) misc. RV/nature books 183) mitts/potholders 184) mug, Igloo -1 qt. 185) nightlight, bathrm. 186) oven mitts-2 187) Oxygenics shower head 188) oyster knife-7” 189) pan cookie sheet-12 x 14 190) pan set w/lids-3pc. 191) pan, round pizza 192) pan, utensil storage, SS 13 x 21 193) paper towel holder box w/clamps, outside 194) paper towel holder inside 195) paring knife 196) paring knife-7” 197) peeler 198) photo switch/timer outlet (for awning lights) 199) pillow cases 200) pillow, deco bed 201) pillows, outside chairs -2 202) place mats-4 203) plastic cereal container 204) plates, plastic-6 –10” 205) playing cards-2 sets 206) pop-up (Gators) recycle trash can w/storage bag 207) pot holders-4 misc. 208) power strip surge protector, Triplite 8 outlet 209) power strip w/ master/slave outlets 210) rain boots-1 pr. 211) rain suits-2 212) receiver hitch, Lippert 1-1/4” 213) refillable spice jars 214) refrigerator thermometers-2 215) remote control, TV 216) remote control, universal, URC-RF20 217) roasting bags (disposable)
218) Rubbermaid box, water/drain/lynx-3 219) Rubbermaid Large tool box (cook station) 220) rug, bathroom 221) rug, toilet 222) salt and pepper shaker 223) scissors-1pr. 224) scissors-8” SS 225) scrub pad, large 226) scrub pads-2 SS 227) serving fork-12” 228) serving spoon (draining) 15” SS 229) serving spoon (solid) 14” SS 230) serving trays, orange-?pc. 231) serving utensil set-5pc. 232) sew kit 233) sewer drain exterior valves (3) 234) sewer drain hose -10’ 235) sewer drain hose -20’ 236) sewer drain hose -4’ 237) shelf matting 238) shish kabobs skewers-8pc.-15” 239) shoes, spare pairs 240) shot glass 241) silverware plastic drawer holder 242) silverware set-38 pc. 243) sink dish rack 244) skillet lid, 10” 245) skillet pan, cast iron -12” 246) skillet, square -10x10 247) slideout cable repair kit-2 248) slippers, indoors/outdoors 249) Snuggie 250) spatula, metal-14” 251) spatula, rubber 252) spatulas-2 253) splatter screen, 12” 254) sponge, large 255) steak knife-8” 256) steamer pot w/lid-10 qt. 257) step stool, folding 258) storage baggies 259) storage tote box, plastic,various sizes -12 260) stove top oak wood cover 261) strainer pot, SS, induction usable
262) subwoofer amplifier, HSU 263) subwoofer, Sony 264) sun lotion 265) swiffer mop 266) swim shoes-2 pr. 267) table cover pins bag 268) table cover pins-30 269) table cover, vinyl picnic 270) table, folding sm plastic end-2 271) taco holders (4) 272) tarp, drop-2 273) ThermaCell laterns-2 274) ThermaCell replacmt. Pk. 275) ThermaCell storage box 276) tie down straps, 6’-2 (for IM tote) 277) tire vinyl covers for winterization -2 (@home) 278) toaster-2 slot 279) toilet chemical bottle holder 280) toilet cleaner wand 281) toilet potpourri spray 282) toilet seat covers, paper 283) toilette bag, containing toilet paper, wipes, towel, soap 284) tongs 285) tongs-9” SS 286) tools storage box, hand -sep list 287) tools storage box, lg. -sep list 288) tools storage box, soft -sep list 289) toothbrush holder 290) towels, kitchen 291) towels, washcloth, bath 292) trash can , SS, foot op. 293) trash can w/lid, outside 294) trash can, bath 295) travel hair drier, electric 296) travel mugs-2-16oz. 297) Tupperware box, spare battery -5x4x8 298) umbrellas, beach 299) umbrellas, handheld-2 300) utensil box w/cover, plastic-14x8 301) utensil drawer tray 302) vacuum w/attachments, Dyson 303) wash brush, telescopic pole 304) water “y” connector 305) water filer cartridge replacement
306) water filter 307) water hose quick connects-2pk. 308) water hose sprayer, garden-2 309) water hose, potable –35’ 310) water hose, potable -4’ 311) water hose, potable -50’ 312) water hose, siphon, 1/2 x 60” 313) water jug w/ spigot, 5 gal. 314) water regulator valve 315) water thief fitting 316) weather alert radio 317) wheel chocks, plastic-4 318) whisk mixer 319) whistle 320) WiFi adapter w/ USB multi port extender 321) wind sock 322) window squeegee 323) wire baskets –2 (installed in bathroom) 324) wire drawer racks –2 (installed in cabinet) 325) wood back massager 326) wood blocks, 2x8x8”-4 327) wooden matches-2 boxes 328) woven strap shelf totes – 2 329) wrench, drain hose fitting 330) wrench, x-chock-2 331) X-chock wheel brace -2 And here's the truck inventory: 1. 12 volt cell phone car charger 2. 120v15a to 30a plug adapter 3. 120v30a electrical RV cord-25’ 4. 120v30a electrical extension cord-25’ 5. 120v30a to 15a plug adapter-2 6. 120v50a to 15a plug adapter 7. 30a RV to 30a Generator electrical adapter 8. 30a(f) to 50a(m) electrical adapter 9. 3-way electrical adapter 10. 4-way lug wrench 11. air blower, 120volt 12. awning stake kit -2 13. awning support poles -2 14. axe 15. ball valve, fittings to go w/ 1” drain hoses
16. ball/square hitch 17. bike locking cable, chain 18. buckets, 4 gal. –3 19. bungee cords in bag 20. bungee cords in truck 21. Bull Ring rail tie downs -6 22. chain-5’ 23. chains, tow -20” 24. claw hammer 25. clothes pins-24 26. coaxial cable-75” RG6 27. crowbar-24” 28. diver knife w/sheath 29. electrical extension cord -16’ 30. electrical extension cord w/3-way.- 25’ 31. electrical extension cords, LD-25’-2 32. emergency road triangle reflectors 33. fire tongs -28” 34. flashlight/radio combo, no batt. 35. Fluid Film Lubricant/Corrosion Inhibitor 36. fold-up handcart 37. Garmin RV760 LMT gps unit w/ misc chargers, cables, carry cases 38. GFI box w/6” cord 39. gloves, leather work-1 pr. 40. hand held walkie talkies-2 41. hanging scale-50# 42. hatchet-16” 43. hitch lock, class V 44. jack, bottle, 12 ton-2 45. nail stakes w/case-24 46. Next Exit- book 47. pad locks-6 48. plate weights-4 - 25# each 49. pliers, channel lock -10” 50. pliers, diagonal -6” 51. pliers, vise grip -8” –2 52. portable work light, quartz 53. push broom 54. Quickgrip clamps-4 55. rags, in bag 56. rake, folding 57. rope knot spike 58. rope ratchets large-6 59. rope ratchets small-2
60. rope, 5/8 x 50’ 61. saw, pull-13” 62. saw, sierra 63. shovel, folding 64. shovel, small potting 65. spring D clips, assort. – 12 66. strap ratchets-2 67. tire pressure gauge, analog 68. tire pressure gauge, digital 69. TL Campground Directory- book 70. trash can 71. truck storage box, Husky aluminum 72. twine-50’ 73. TXV wrench 74. utility gray water transfer pump, 115 volt 75. water hose, 1” drain-5’ –2 76. water hose, garden –12’ 77. water hose, garden –7’ 78. water hose, garden-25’ 79. water hose, pump inlet-6’ 80. wire rope cable w/loops HD -3 81. wire rope cable w/loops LD 82. wire ties, 11” 83. wire ties, 36” 84. wrench, combo, ¾” LP RV Tool List : 1. air compressor 12vdc 2. allen wrench set, folding 3. brass fitting, water/LP etc. bag 4. cable swaging tool 5. center punch 4” 6. center punch 6” 7. chisel, cold 8. Dremel tool #4000 9. Dremel tool attachments assort. 10. drill, chuckless electric 11. driver bits, assort. Box 12. driver extension, 3” 13. eyeglass repair kit 14. file, 4-way 8” 15. file, sm. Flat 16. file, sm. round
17. file, sm. Triangle 18. grommet kit 19. hacksaw blade, 24 tpi 20. hacksaw, mini 21. hammer, ball peen 9” 22. hammer, mini ball peen 23. hemostats 24. inspection mirror 25. knife, leatherman 26. knife, razor 27. knife, sm. Pocket 28. level, pocket 3” 29. Maglite, 5” 30. magnifier w/ clamp on stand 31. manometer gas gauge 32. multimeter 33. o-ring pick 34. pliers, coaxial crimping 35. pliers, crimping 8” 36. pliers, diagonal 6” 37. pliers, lineman 8” 38. pliers, mini channel lock 5” 39. pliers, channel lock 12” 40. pliers, needlenose 7” 41. pliers, robogrips, 10”-2 42. pliers, robogrips, 7” 43. pliers, vicegrip needlenose 7” 44. pliers, vicegrip std. 7” 45. pliers, vicegrip, std. 5” 46. rubber mallet 47. safety pin 48. scissor sharpener 49. scissors 50. screw extractor kit, sm. 51. screwdriver, #2 square 52. screwdriver, 2 in 1 stubby 53. screwdriver, 6 in 1 54. screwdriver, flat blade 15” 55. screwdriver, mini set 56. screwdriver, multibit + nutdrivers 57. screwdriver, offset 2 in 1 58. screwdriver, offset ratchet w/bits 59. screwdriver, pocket 60. socket adapter, 1/2 to 3/8 drv.
61. socket adapter, 3/8 to ½ drv. 62. socket extension, ½ drv. 3” 63. socket wrench set, std & metric-35 pc. 64. socket wrench, adj. Head 65. socket, deep ½ drv.x ¾ 66. socket, std. 3/8 drv. x 15/16 67. solder iron 68. solder, tube 69. swaging tool (for slideout cable repair kit) 70. tape measure-12’ 71. telescopic magnetic pickup 72. tool (utensil) tray for tool box 73. tweezers 74. water filter extra cartridges 75. wet stone 76. wire brush, lg. 77. wire brush, sm. 78. wrench, adj. 4” 79. wrench, adj. 6” 80. wrench, adj. 8” 81. wrench, adj. 10” 82. wrench, box rach. ¼&5/16 83. wrench, box rach. ½&9/16 84. wrench, box rach. ¾&7/8 85. wrench, box rach. 3/8&7/16 86. wrench, box rach. 5/8&11/16 87. wrench, open ¼&5/16 88. wrench, open ½&9/16 89. wrench, open ¾&7/8 90. wrench, open 11/16&13/16 91. wrench, open 3/8&7/16 92. wrench, open 9/16&5/8 93. wrench, open, 5/8&3/4 94. wrench, torque 18” Soft Tool List: 1. bailing wire 2. bike tube repair kit 3. blue painters tape 4. caulking gun 5. clamps, sm. pinch –4 * 6. coaxial conn. assort.* 7. contact cleaner spray
8. cotter pins asst.* 9. deck screws, assort.* 10. Dicor lap caulking 11. dielectric grease 12. duct tape 13. electrical tape 14. Eternbond RoofSeal; White 3” x 24” 15. felt pads 16. foil tape 17. fuses, assort.* 18. hand cleaner 19. hose clamps, assort.* 20. JB weld epoxy 21. JB wet seal 22. leak detector soap 23. light bulbs, assort.* 24. liquid tape 25. LP pipe sealant tape 26. mounting tape 27. o-rings assort.* 28. packing tape 29. pipe thread sealant 30. rope caulk, bag 31. rubber splicing tape 32. RV fuses, assort sizes 33. RV light bulbs, assort sizes 34. sandpaper, assort. 35. screws, washers, nuts, assort.* 36. scrub pad 37. silicon caulking tubes-2 38. silicon spray 39. super glue gel 40. teflon pipe sealant tape 41. test jumper leads* 42. tooth brush 43. two part epoxy 44. tyvex tape 45. utility pump rebuild kit * 46. velcro tape 47. vinyl/cloth glue 48. WD40 spray 49. white lithium grease 50. wire crimp conn., assort.* 51. wire nuts, assort.*
52. wire roll 12 AWG* 53. wire roll 16 AWG* 54. wire ties 11”* 55. wire ties 18” 56. wire ties 5” 57. wire ties, 4”* 58. wood filler sealant 59. wood stain marker, “Early American” Last minute list (not everything here goes on every trip: 1. bike rack 2. bikes, 1 or 2 3. bike helmet (road or trail?) 4. blue porta-tank * 5. cell phones, chargers 6. charcoal Go-Anywhere grill / storage box * 7. check charcoal bucket (refill-takes 15.7# bag when empty), also fire starter cubes and log starters 8. clothes, shoes, belt, hats, headbands, etc. (optional: jackets, coats, bathing suits) 9. cooler, Igloo Iceless, for beer in RV 10. cooler, Igloo Playmate (for travel drinks.) * 11. diesel, fill up truck, also check DEF level (carry spare DEF on long trips) * 12. digital camera w/case (optional: camcorder) 13. drinks: Coke, Gatorade, beer, liquor 14. extra glasses, sunglasses 15. folding “Zero Gravity” chairs, in carry bags * 16. folding aluminum 7’ step ladder* 17.folding aluminum table * 18. folding plastic table-5’ * 19. food: see separate list 20. Garmin GPS w/access. bag (w/route programmed) * 21. ice in 2-3 baggies, for RV (pre-chilled) freezer. 22. ice or cool packs for Igloo Playmate travel cooler* 23. iPod w/headphones 24. Keurig coffee machine, K-cups 25. Kindle book reader 26. King Kooker/bar seat stand * 27. LP tanks topped off 28. magazines, books, maps 29. medications, prilosec, advil, etc. 30. money, change, credit cards, membership cards 31. movie hard drive 32. movie list printout (updated) 33. movies (Netflix rentals)
34. pillows (his & hers) 35. portable ice maker ( Emerson) 36. spare truck/RV key for Robin* 37. Thermapen grille thermometer 38. toilet supplies, check paper, gray/black tank chems, seat covers 39. toiletries, his/hers from home bathroom 40. travel drinks, munchies, pillows 41. water bottles: 4 -16oz. size for bathroom 42. water bottles: est. 6 liters PER NIGHT (18+ liters in milk crate, 9+ in RH bed cab, extra in shower) 43. beach chairs-2 * 44. bike basket * 45. coolers (w/ ice?), extra for fishing, etc. * 46. cordless recap saw w/charger, batteries, and pruning blades * 47. Dell Latitude laptop computer* 48. dog food, bones, groom basket, toys, leashes, extra towels, sweater or jacket 49. fire ring -24” diameter * 50. fishing/crabbing equipment, licenses * 51. infrared propane heater w/ extra LP tank in milk crate * 52. portable garage fan (Lasko) 53. Quik Shade pop up canopy w/ bag * Have fun!

Yes, I remember VERY well. Our maiden voyage in our first camper, it was our pop-up! I think it was 1999? We forgot a can opener and a potato peeler.

Don't overlook the simple things while focusing on the big things!