20 Should Have Instruments For Your RV Instrument Equipment – Are You Carrying These Instruments?

1. Multi-Bit Screwdriver

If I might solely decide one instrument to hold in our RV, it might be the Picquic Stubby multi-bit screwdriver. It’s six screwdrivers in a single small package deal – 2 flat heads, 2 Phillips heads and a couple of sq. drive bits. Apart from the instruments I carry in my pockets (#4. flashlight & 5. knife) I discover myself reaching for the multi-bit screwdriver greater than every other instruments in my RV instrument package. For occasions if you want one thing longer, add the Picquic Sixpac Plus. These additionally make nice items and I prefer to have a number of – one within the glove field, one in my backpack that goes wherever I do and on in a drawer contained in the RV.

2. Pocket Knife

I’ve carried a pocket knife on a regular basis for the previous twenty years. I take advantage of it to open packages, reduce absolutely anything, slice a chunk of cheese or apple throughout a picnic or pop open a cussed pistachio throughout film evening. Identical to the flashlight, when you carry it, you’ll surprise the way you ever survived with out this useful instrument. When looking for a knife, I at all times search for one thing with prime quality metal, a pocket clip and the power to be open and shut the knife one-handed.

For the previous few years I’ve carried the Spyderco Para 2 and Kait carries the Spyderco Chaparral. Spyderco and Benchmade are my two favourite manufacturers of knives and whereas they’re costly, each firms use prime quality steels that maintain an edge and can stand the take a look at of time.

For those who’re on the lookout for an excellent high quality funds folding knife that has a clip in your pocket. I at the moment have a Buck 110 Slim which is my beat up knife and will get clipped onto my instrument bag. I take advantage of these when engaged on the truck, scraping issues, and so forth. With all of the abuse I’ve put it by means of, a fast cleansing and sharpening is all it takes to look new once more. I additionally use the Buck 040 Onset for varied work initiatives because it has stout building and a S45VN metal blade. I just like the pocket clip it has and blade flipper makes it simple to open with one hand.

Notice: Concentrate on native legal guidelines concerning carrying knives as you journey. I’ve discovered {that a} knife with a blade below three inches is authorized in most locations. For those who just like the Spyderco Para 2 however need one thing with a blade below three inches, take a look at the Para 3 which is a smaller model than the Para 2.

3. Flashlight

I maintain the Pelican LED flashlight in my pocket always. After carrying it for over three years, I can truthfully say I don’t understand how I managed with out this should have instrument. Earlier than getting this flashlight, I used the one on my cellphone. Now I discover carrying an precise flashlight is way more helpful. I additionally maintain a headlamp useful for strolling at evening and people occasions I have to maintain my palms free. If you could mild a room or your campsite, an LED lantern is an efficient instrument to have.

4. Tire Stress Gauge

Checking tire pressures earlier than a visit is certainly one of our RV guidelines gadgets. Not all tire stress gauges are equal. In case you have giant RV tires, your tire stress may very well be properly over 100 psi. I’ve the Accutire digital tire stress gauge. It’s cheap, simple to learn and has a max stress studying of 150 psi. I’ve checked the accuracy in opposition to a gauge on the tire store and the studying was inside lower than 2 psi.

In case you have the room, I might additionally extremely advocate shopping for an air compressor. These could be invaluable when you have tires with excessive PSI scores that the majority gasoline station pumps received’t work on and for many who prefer to take their campers off-the-beaten path, the power to air down after which air your tires backup generally is a recreation changer.

5. Adjustable Wrench

When house and weight are at a premium in an RV, just a few adjustable wrenches can change a complete set of SAE and metric wrenches. A set of small, medium and huge adjustable wrenches ought to cowl most of your wants.

Notice: adjustable wrenches can slip on cussed nuts/bolts or be unable to get to a bolt/nut you could unscrew or tighten. That’s why the subsequent instrument is a should have in your RV instrument package.

6. Socket and Ratchet Set

Sockets are important to succeed in issues that you’d by no means have the ability to get to with a wrench. An affordable socket set with reversible ratchet that has SAE and metric sockets is an efficient start line. After all, there are accent units that can improve the usability of your sockets.

7. Hammer

A claw hammer is at all times good instrument to have within the RV. Along with utilizing it as a hammer, you should use it to bend issues again into form, knock one thing unfastened or use the claw as a crow bar to pry one thing aside.

8. Duct Tape

I’ve seen Duct tape used to repair nearly every part. Within the final month, I used it to patch up holes in my fitness center bag and to seal a leaking hose. Maintain a roll available to make use of in a pinch and if you end up with some further time in your palms, attempt making a Duct tape pockets. For those who want tape that may be peeled off safely, add a roll of painter’s tape to your RV instrument package.

9. Pliers

A pair of needle nostril pliers are a particularly versatile instrument. Nice when you could get into these tight spots in an RV. Add a small and huge pair of adjustable Channellocks for these occasions you want one thing bigger with a flat nostril.

Lastly, contemplate a pair of Vise-Grips in your RV instrument package. These are a pleasant to have that are available very useful when you could grip and maintain one thing in place. Because the identify implies, you should use them as a mini-vise.

10. Allen Wrenches

A easy set of metric and SAE Allen wrenches is a kind of instruments that you may be glad to have in your RV instrument package if you want it.

11. Wire Cutters

Not solely are wire cutters useful for chopping wires, however they work properly for chopping off zip ties.

12. Zip Ties

I’ve totally different dimension zip ties to handle wires or maintain issues collectively in an emergency repair. This pack of various zip ties has 6, 8 and 12 inch sizes that ought to work for many functions. I as soon as used zip ties to carry a license plate on after a screw fell out. The zip ties labored so properly, I by no means changed the screw.

14. Utility Knife

A primary utility knife is a should have instrument that you should use to chop by means of dense materials or when breaking down containers. Maintain spare razor blades available for when the blade turns into boring and must be changed. Whereas you should use your pocket knife, I choose to make use of the utility knife for large initiatives to avoid wasting the wear and tear and tear on the blade of the pocket knife.

15. Tape Measure

You by no means know when you’ll need to measure one thing within the RV. A 25′ tape measure ought to be greater than lengthy sufficient for many RVs. Understanding if an merchandise will match earlier than shopping for it might probably prevent many {dollars} and complications. I used the tape measure to verify the peak of a barn as soon as once we have been backing our RV inside.

16. Multimeter

Batteries, photo voltaic panels, mills, converters, inverters, 12 and 110 volt. RVs have advanced electrical techniques and a multimeter could make quick work of monitoring down {an electrical} downside.

17. Thread Seal Tape

I don’t know what number of occasions we’ve hooked as much as water at a campground and there was a leak. Including a strip of tread seal tape across the tread of the spigot mounted the problem more often than not.

18. Leather-based Work Gloves

A superb pair of leather-based work gloves can save your palms. These are important when selecting up hearth wooden, eradicating thorny brush or poison oak/ivy from a campsite or altering a tire.

19. Bottle Jack

Assuming you could have a spare tire (and it’s best to), ensure you have a solution to increase your automobile and take away the lug nuts in your wheels.

Most autos include the instruments to take away a spare tire. Nevertheless, in case your automobile has a raise and aftermarket wheels like our 2000 Ford 7.3 diesel, the inventory instruments could not work. I’ve a bottle jack to boost the automobile and an affect wrench (see subsequent merchandise on the listing) to take away the lugs from the wheels. Be sure to dimension the bottle jack for the burden of your automobile.

Whereas our first RV didn’t include a spare tire, we added a hitch mounted RV tire service as a way to carry a full dimension spare tire.

20. Energy Instruments

I made this part the final one as a result of energy instruments aren’t essentially a “should have” instrument for many RV vacationers. That mentioned, they do make sure initiatives simpler and assist you to do extra. Whereas I’ve had some corded energy instruments that I can run off the inverter in our truck camper, I’ve since upgraded to numerous Craftsman V20 cordless energy instruments and people are what I carry now.

Energy Drill

For those who have been to solely carry one energy instrument, the cordless drill could be my suggestion. We’ve wanted to make use of one many occasions whereas on the highway and it’s are available surprisingly hand.

Influence Wrench

An affect wrench is comparable in look to a drill however it’s made to take away caught bolts. If you could change a tire on the facet of the highway, it’ll make fast work of eradicating and putting in the lug nuts on the wheel, assuming you could have the precise dimension socket.

Angle Grinder

An angle grinder is a really specialised instrument used to not solely grind steel but additionally to chop by means of it. I’ve wanted to make use of one on varied events when making the storage system for our again seat storage construct or chopping by means of the metal bumper on our truck to put in lights.

Test Your Instrument Equipment

It’s essential to verify your RV instrument package repeatedly, particularly in case you change RVs and/or your tow behind automobile. The important instruments I carry now have modified from once we first began RV residing. As of scripting this, my most in depth RV instrument package was designed for our 4×4 pop-up truck camper. Because the truck is now over 20 years previous and has 260k miles and counting, I have to be higher ready once we have been touring in it. I made positive to hold a extra full set of instruments to work on truck within the area together with varied spare elements. Now that we now have our new Class B van, I’ve forgone many of those instruments/elements.

Watch the video beneath to see which important instruments I carried whereas we have been residing out of various Class B RVs.