What to take

pnichols wrote:
What you carry along perhaps should not be based on only the next trip you'll be taking. A more general approach would be to carry along certain items all the time, on every trip, so that you can pack most of your gear once and not have to rethink/repack for every trip.

Of course this might not be practical with a towable and a tow vehicle that you want to use for a variety of other purposes when not pulling your Hybrid. We have a relatively small Class C motorhome that we store at home and like to keep pretty much fully loaded all the time (except for food and certain clothes) ... so as to keep the planning and loading as simple as possible for every trip. Our Class C has all kinds of regular storage plus nook-and-cranny places in it to permanently carry these kinds of items.


Wow! thanks for the answer. pnichols, you obviously missed the part where I said I had a half-ton and a Hybrid.
Unfortunatly I tend to be a belt and suspenders kind of guy.
I sometimes get carried away.
Our goal is to hustle to the Missisipi,and slow down there, avoiding the interstate as much as possible. When we hit Arizona we are going to Vegas for a few days to see my sister and then North to Ely,and we'll see from there.

We're hit and run type campers who don't stay at any one campsite for more than a few days. We also like to sometimes camp out in the wild when exploring for rocks and other activities and ... believe it or not ... we've discovered that the good old Western U.S.A. still has plenty of places where cell phones can't connect and/or where the right kind of help may not be around for awhile, or at all.

Here's some of the things we always have along with us on RV trips:

1. A full size shovel.
2. Several homemade wooden step blocks and flat boards.
3. A tree trimming handsaw capable of sawing tree trunks up to at least 12-14 inches in diameter.
4. An axe.
5. A fully mounted and inflated spare tire for the motorhome.
6. A double-lift 12 ton hydraulic jack.
7. Two truck tire size automatic inflation canisters.
8. A commercial truckers tire puncture repair kit.
9. A full pressure 120V tankless air compressor (that can be powered by our built-in generator).
10. In addition to our built-in generator, a portable generator with spare gas for it (this spare gas can also be used as emergency fuel for the motorhome's engine).
11. A long commercial rated hardened steel tow chain (because we once broke a 30,000 lb. tow strap trying to pull out another RV using our RV).
12.. A roll of 4 inch Eternabond sealing tape.
13. A roll of heavy duty waterproof Gorilla tape.
14. A portable battery charger.
15. A large tarp for use as a ground cover for emergency work under the motorhome.
16. A remote inspection scope for looking in behind and around things to see stuff that might be broken, failing, or otherwise giving us a prolem.
17. A roll of special tape for temporary repair of broken water or fuel lines.
18. Two long-reach tire pressures gauges.
19. Extra fluids for the chassis engine and the two generators.
20. A spare serpentine belt for the chassis engine.
21. A long battery jumper cable set.
22. Extra long fresh water hoses and sewer hoses for hookup campsites that aren't "laid out normal", or in which we want to park facing the other way.
23. A long extension for our built-in shore power cord to use in hookup campsites that aren't "laid out normal", or in which we want to park facing the other way.
24. Extra tubes of sealants and a chaulking gun for resealing leaks in the roof or walls of the RV.
25. A spare water pump.
26. A spare toilet flush valve.
27. Spare fresh water system hoses and fittings for use on the RV's inside pluming.
28. Spare propane spark igniters for the water heater and refrigerator.
29. Spare spark plugs for both generators.
30. Spare LED bulbs for the RV's interior lighting.
31. A large selection of tools, of course including a full size tire lug wrench.
32. A navigator unit that doesn't need Internet access and that has over 400,000 custom points of interest we've loaded into it's memory.
33. Several Benchmark atlases for the Western U.S. (each atlas covers only one state - for extensive highway and off-highway detail).
34. A battery powered inReach satellite device for emergency communication, tracking, and air rescue.
35. A lot of first aid and related items (including such things as a set of crutches for unexpected sprained ankles, etc.).

We bring along a lot of other items for just camping pleasure and convenience, but the above list is to help reduce extreme headache, trip-ending ... or worse experiences.

jplante4 wrote:
So I looked at Phil's list and said "Holy Moly" then realized that for extended trips I carry pretty much the same. I've never found the need for a backup generator and I carried a spare tire for a while and finally dumped that. Stuff like spare water pumps and toilet valves etc. can be left behind if you have a toad to go fetch parts.

I got Benchmark maps for my trip out west and never got to the states I bought them for. A waste of $125 for sure. They are pretty though and made for some great arm chair dreaming in the off season.