Essential accessories for a newbie
We will be bringing home our new to us 2013 Salem 26tbud in a few days. Lots of things to buy. Excluding the obvious household items needed, i plan on starting off with the following purchases to get ...
Forum Discussion
Since you asked about some specific items:
* I would get a good pressure regulator. The top of the line would be a Watts 263A. They have excellent flow rate and are re-buildable. Other regulators have low flow rates and aren't re-buildable.
* I would get a clear backflush sewer elbow like the Valterra one. You can connect a hose and flush water back into the tank for cleaning. You'll need a dedicated grey hose for this.
* X-chocks are a good choice to minimize fore/aft movement.
* get a good air compressor and make sure it can pump 50 psi okay. Also get a good pressure gauge (digital).
* get a toolbox and make up your own toolkit with some basic tools. A torque wrench would be good for tightening lug nuts.
* get two bottle jacks and some pieces of 2x4 and/or 2x6 and use them ahead of the axles to reduce bounce.
* leveling blocks can also be used to level picnic tables and BBQ. I'd get 3 packs total.
* I'd get a more powerful elec. tongue jack. Some are slow and some are noisy. Don't know which are better but I like our Ultra-Fab.
If you're also looking for other ideas, there's good ones above. Also search the internet and other RV forums for lists of everything and anything you could ever want.
I agree on extra sewer hose. Sometimes the inlets on the ground are ridiculously far away. We have 4 lengths. You can connect the ends of a length of hose together and store it in your pass-through. Also agree on the quality of the hose. Get a good brand. Hoses can also be a tough fit into a bumper and I think there is one out there that is slightly smaller diameter and fits in easier. You could get a sewer hose support. I don't bother with ours anymore and just lift the hose up off the ground starting at one end to move the waste along and into the sewer drain.
Other things that may not have been mentioned that come to mind:
* TPMS
* EMS power protection like Progressive Industries (not a basic "surge protector")
* If use internet a lot, look at something like Verizon 4G. CG wifi can be terrible sometimes.
* A portable 12 volt cooler may come in handy. Won't work well when it's warmer outside though.
* Outside area rug and picnic table cover c/w hold-downs.
* Selection of good DVDs for when OTA or cable TV reception is poor or not available.
* Get some extra potable water hose. You should have at least 50'. If you have space for more, I'd get 100' total. You may need it in a CG sometimes if you end up in a dry camping site and need to fill your holding tank.
* Pair of walkie-talkies for backing up, especially in to CG sites.
* A couple of decent recliners in addition to at least 2 folding chairs. If you want the ultimate in a comfy recliner, there's this one that I have: La Jolla recliner This is my favorite accessory, bar none! (Nobody else gets to use it either, lol.) I even found a large tote bag for it at an RV parts shop that is a perfect fit.
* I would get a good pressure regulator. The top of the line would be a Watts 263A. They have excellent flow rate and are re-buildable. Other regulators have low flow rates and aren't re-buildable.
* I would get a clear backflush sewer elbow like the Valterra one. You can connect a hose and flush water back into the tank for cleaning. You'll need a dedicated grey hose for this.
* X-chocks are a good choice to minimize fore/aft movement.
* get a good air compressor and make sure it can pump 50 psi okay. Also get a good pressure gauge (digital).
* get a toolbox and make up your own toolkit with some basic tools. A torque wrench would be good for tightening lug nuts.
* get two bottle jacks and some pieces of 2x4 and/or 2x6 and use them ahead of the axles to reduce bounce.
* leveling blocks can also be used to level picnic tables and BBQ. I'd get 3 packs total.
* I'd get a more powerful elec. tongue jack. Some are slow and some are noisy. Don't know which are better but I like our Ultra-Fab.
If you're also looking for other ideas, there's good ones above. Also search the internet and other RV forums for lists of everything and anything you could ever want.
I agree on extra sewer hose. Sometimes the inlets on the ground are ridiculously far away. We have 4 lengths. You can connect the ends of a length of hose together and store it in your pass-through. Also agree on the quality of the hose. Get a good brand. Hoses can also be a tough fit into a bumper and I think there is one out there that is slightly smaller diameter and fits in easier. You could get a sewer hose support. I don't bother with ours anymore and just lift the hose up off the ground starting at one end to move the waste along and into the sewer drain.
Other things that may not have been mentioned that come to mind:
* TPMS
* EMS power protection like Progressive Industries (not a basic "surge protector")
* If use internet a lot, look at something like Verizon 4G. CG wifi can be terrible sometimes.
* A portable 12 volt cooler may come in handy. Won't work well when it's warmer outside though.
* Outside area rug and picnic table cover c/w hold-downs.
* Selection of good DVDs for when OTA or cable TV reception is poor or not available.
* Get some extra potable water hose. You should have at least 50'. If you have space for more, I'd get 100' total. You may need it in a CG sometimes if you end up in a dry camping site and need to fill your holding tank.
* Pair of walkie-talkies for backing up, especially in to CG sites.
* A couple of decent recliners in addition to at least 2 folding chairs. If you want the ultimate in a comfy recliner, there's this one that I have: La Jolla recliner This is my favorite accessory, bar none! (Nobody else gets to use it either, lol.) I even found a large tote bag for it at an RV parts shop that is a perfect fit.
