What Makes the Good Fishing RV?

Must Read


RV CAMPING HAS TRANSFORMED the way in which my household experiences fishing. Gone are the times of reserving mediocre lodge rooms in order that we might be close to our fishing spot once we get up. And when accommodations weren’t an choice, I actually haven’t missed the physique aches from sleeping on a tough floor whereas tent tenting.

Now, we will park our camper simply steps from our fishing gap for days or perhaps weeks at a time. We fish the early morning chew, have lunch, take a catnap, and head again out for the night chew. We will clear our catch within the kitchen and retailer contemporary walleye fillets within the fridge or freezer – or higher but, cook dinner them on the spot. RVing is an effective way to fish as a household, particularly as a result of our youngsters now have a spot to nap and play comfortably.

Key Takeaways

  • RV tenting enhances household fishing journeys by providing consolation, comfort, and proximity to fishing spots. Advantages embrace on-site fish cleansing, meals storage, and cozy relaxation between outings.
  • The perfect fishing RV contains off-grid capabilities, increased clearance for distant areas, a kitchen sink for cleansing fish, cross via storage for rods, and house for watercraft or ice fishing gear – all options that enhance performance and entry year-round.
  • Specialised RVs, reminiscent of toy haulers and ice homes, present added versatility for anglers who want to move gear or fish in excessive winter circumstances. Additionally they make it simpler to match your camper to your most popular fishing fashion.

Our Fishing RVs

Jenny Anderson canoe fishing on a lake in Superior National Forest
Picture by Jenny Anderson

Our household fishes year-round, and we’ve a couple of completely different pull-behind campers to make that potential. One is a vintage RV primarily used for ice fishing, and the second is a more moderen camper for normal tenting. I’m researching how you can convert our latest camper into an ice fish home, too. What can I say? We love fishing. Whereas neither camper has every thing I like, they’ve allowed me to determine what options make the right fishing RV. I’ll break down these options under.

Options of a Good Fishing RV

Off-Grid Dwelling

Vintage camper next to lake
Picture by Jenny Anderson

These days, most RVs include battery and propane hookups. However in case you purchased an outdated transformed camper like us, you’ll wish to know the fundamental energy sources for tenting off the grid.

If you may boondock or disperse camp close to your fishing spot, be sure you have a giant deep-cycle battery with an inverter. When you energy something aside from LED lights, you’ll need no less than a 100-amp-hour battery and a 1800-watt inverter. We often run the lights and the water to the pump/bathroom when obligatory.

When it begins to chill off within the night, you could wish to run the furnace, so be sure you have a full 20-pound propane container and a backup. If propane isn’t an choice, a generator may energy an electrical heater.

Want new methods to Maintain Your Camper Heat?

Increased Clearance

Some RV manufacturers, like A-Liner, will offer greater off-road capability through an off-road package option.
Picture by Aliner

In case your secret fishing spot is off the crushed monitor, you’ll most likely be dodging potholes, winding via dust and gravel roads, and even rolling over snow and ice-covered paths. Search for an RV with raised suspensions, offset wheels, off-road tires, and a roof rack for storing watercraft like canoes and kayaks. There are tenting trailers particularly for off-roading, just like the Forest River No Boundaries 10.6 – a sturdy off-road trailer for rougher terrain that may face up to all 4 seasons.

Truck campers additionally supply increased clearance since they’re RVs that sit within the mattress of pickup vans, so the clearance is determined by what truck you drive. Truck campers can have all of the options of a typical journey trailer or fifth wheel, however are sometimes designed for one to 2 individuals. They’re compact, self-contained, and may have pop-tops or exhausting sides.

Wish to study extra? Click on to search out out What Makes an RV Constructed for Off-Street.

The Kitchen Sink

Pictures by Jenny Anderson

A kitchen sink makes all of the distinction in figuring out whether or not we eat freshly caught fish for dinner. Most campgrounds and boat launches don’t supply fish cleansing stations, so I often clear our catch within the RV sink. Cleansing fish can get messy, so having an space the place you may fillet and rinse fish with clear water is handy. Most trendy campers have a sink connected to an electrical pump with a pressurized water tank, however a sink might be as primary as a handbook foot pump that pumps water out of a five-gallon contemporary water jug via a spigot, draining right into a five-gallon grey water jug.

As our pals Chase and Lindsay of We’re Out N’ About inform us, an outside sink for an RV is even higher for cleansing fish.

Go By way of Storage

Passthrough storage that's great for RV fishing
Picture by Tenting World

Surprisingly, many RVing anglers retailer their fishing rods within the bathe or on high of their beds. However that may be dangerous on bumpy roads, particularly in case you wish to journey with hooks already tied to your rods. Go via storage is the most secure and most handy place for rods. You’ll be able to mount PVC pipes or a fishing rod storage system to the ceiling of the cross via storage to safe rods in tough street circumstances. It’s additionally a spot that’s simply accessible once you’re headed out the door to your subsequent fishing spot.

Are There Totally different Kinds of Fish Home RVs?

Let’s discover the 2 principal sorts of fishing RVs: toy haulers and ice homes.

Toy Hauler Fish Home

Toy Hauler Garage Open with Anderson Family
Picture by Jenny Anderson

I solely just lately found the comfort of getting a toy hauler. It’s a implausible camper and the very best RV for carrying giant objects. If getting on the water is significant to you, contemplate a toy hauler for transporting kayaks, canoes, small boats, and different water sports activities gear. A toy hauler storage is an enclosed space, sectioned off from sleeper quarters, that retains watercraft from getting broken or soiled whereas on the street.

Ice Home RVs for Fishing

Ice house setup on Chequamegon Bay
Picture by Jenny Anderson

When you wish to fish year-round like our household, an ice home or a fish home is designed for that actual function. It’s an RV that additionally serves as an ice fishing home, full with holes within the ground with detachable covers, winter-rated insulation, a hydraulic or winch cranks to carry the body all the way down to the ice, a extra highly effective heater for these bitter chilly days, and all the facilities you’d discover in a typical RV. It’s luxurious on ice however may function a camper for spring, summer season, and fall.

Different add-on elements to transform a fishing RV to an ice home embrace rattle reels – fishing reels that connect to the partitions in order that the fishing line goes straight into an ice gap. Our fish home may have a fish digicam and monitor this yr – a enjoyable addition for the children (and adults) to look at what’s occurring under the ice in real-time. We additionally retailer our ice fishing fish finders in one of many cupboards to seize them as quickly as our first gap is augered and see if there are fish in that individual location.

An icehouse is typically known as a fish home, ice shack, ice fishing shack, wheelhouse, darkhouse, or everlasting home.

Pictures by Jenny Anderson

On the finish of the day, the right fishing RV matches your life-style. The one non-negotiables for profitable fishing whereas tenting are your rod and reel, line, sort out, bait, and, at instances, a little bit of luck.


What would you wish to see in a fishing RV? Inform us within the feedback under.


  • Jenny Anderson is an outside content material creator, greatest often called the Woman of 10,000 Lakes. As somebody who did not develop up “outdoorsy,” she believes it is by no means too late to fall in love with the nice open air. Previous to changing into an outside content material creator, Anderson was a information anchor and reporter in western Wisconsin. She now makes use of her ardour for storytelling to encourage households of all expertise ranges to get open air. Anderson is a printed kids’s e-book creator and shares her love for nature, fishing, and the outside life together with her husband, two kids, and their yorkie named Kiwi.



    View all posts




LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest News

Episode 154 Winter Journey in London and the UK

In episode 154 of the UK Journey Planning Podcast, Tracy welcomes New Zealander (and fellow podcaster at Aotearoa...

More Articles Like This