RV Camping Supplies Checklist: Consumables & Maintenance Items

A blown water pump seal at mile 180 from the nearest town costs you a day and about $400. A fouled black tank costs you your dignity. A failed propane regulator at 9,000 feet in October costs you heat. Every one of those situations is preventable with a $15 part you should’ve had in the bay.

I’ve been running a 24-foot Airstream Bambi through the Southwest and Pacific Northwest for six years. These are the items I restock before every trip and the ones I’ve learned — sometimes the hard way — to never leave without.

Propane Supplies

Propane runs your cooktop, your furnace, and your water heater. Skip the pre-trip check and you’re eating cold beans at 38 degrees wondering why the regulator that “seemed fine last fall” isn’t fine anymore.

What to Carry

• Propane leak detector spray — Check every connection at the start of each trip. A $6 bottle of Camco leak detector spray has flagged two slow leaks on my rig before they became anything worse. Non-negotiable.
• Spare propane regulator — Regulators fail without warning. Carry a backup two-stage regulator rated for your BTU load. The Camco 59005 is the standard replacement for most Class B and C rigs.
• Teflon tape (yellow, gas-rated) — Standard white plumber’s tape is not rated for gas fittings. Yellow only. Keep two rolls.
• Propane gauge — Inline magnetic gauges like the Dozyant run $12 and give you a real tank level instead of a guess. Worth it at mile 200 from the nearest propane fill.

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On longer trips I run a dual-tank setup with an automatic changeover regulator. When one tank empties, it switches without interrupting your appliances. The indicator window turns red when it’s time to swap — no guessing, no mid-dinner shutoff.

Water Treatment & Filtration

I’ve pulled water from campground hookups that smelled like a municipal pool and others that tasted like iron pipe. A two-stage filtration setup handles both and protects your water lines from sediment damage over time.

The Setup That Works

• Inline sediment pre-filter — Mount this at the hookup before water enters your rig. The Camco TastePURE 40043 pulls out sediment, chlorine taste, and odor. Replace the filter every 3 months or 3,000 gallons, whichever comes first.
• Water pressure regulator — Campground water pressure spikes to 100+ PSI. Your RV’s plumbing is rated for 45–60 PSI. A brass regulator like the Valterra A01-1117VP costs $15 and prevents blown fittings. This is the single most skipped item on most RV checklists.
• Drinking water hose — White or blue only. Never run potable water through a standard garden hose. The Camco 22783 is lead-free and kink-resistant.
• Water hose washers — Keep 20 on hand. They cost pennies and stop the slow drip that wastes water and floods your hookup bay.
• Fresh tank sanitizer — Sanitize at the start of every season and after any storage longer than two weeks. Camco TastePURE tank treatment: one ounce per 15 gallons, 12-hour soak, flush.

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Waste Management Supplies

A neglected black tank builds pyramid plugs — solid waste mounds that form when you don’t use enough water per flush. Clearing one in the field is a bad afternoon. Preventing one costs about $8 in treatment pods.

Black & Gray Tank Essentials

• Tank treatment tablets or liquid — I use Walex Porta-Pak drop-ins for the black tank. Each pod handles a 40-gallon tank, breaks down waste, and controls odor without formaldehyde. One goes in after every dump.
• Sewer hose kit — The Camco 39741 RhinoFLEX 15-foot kit: 23-mil thickness, swivel fittings, doesn’t collapse under flow. Carry a 10-foot extension too.
• Sewer hose support — Keeps your hose pitched correctly for full drainage. The Camco Sidewinder eliminates the low spots where waste pools and sits.
• Rubber gloves (heavy duty) — Not the thin disposable kind. Chemical-resistant, past the wrist.
• Tank flush wand — If your rig doesn’t have a built-in tank flush, a Camco Swivel Stik lets you manually rinse through the toilet. Run it after every third dump.
• Enzyme-based gray tank treatment — Gray tanks go slimy faster than most people expect. Happy Campers Organic RV Holding Tank Treatment works on both tanks and doesn’t degrade seals.

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One hard rule: never dump your black tank until it’s at least two-thirds full. The volume creates the flow pressure to clear solids. Dumping a quarter-full tank is exactly how pyramid plugs start.

Cleaning Supplies

Standard household cleaners degrade rubber seals, damage acrylic surfaces, and void warranties on certain components. Wrong product, wrong surface, and you’re replacing a $200 flush valve seal that should’ve lasted a decade.

Interior

• Microfiber cloths (bulk pack) — 24-count from Amazon Basics. Use them for everything, wash them at laundromats.
• Thetford Aqua-Clean toilet bowl cleaner — Standard toilet bowl cleaners eat through the rubber seal on your foot pedal flush valve. Thetford’s formula is built specifically to avoid that.
• Multi-surface spray — Simple Green Concentrated All-Purpose Cleaner at 1:10 dilution handles counters, sinks, and most interior surfaces without damaging laminate or vinyl.

Exterior

• RV wash and wax — Gel-Gloss RV Wash and Wax in the 64-oz concentrate is what I use on the Bambi. One bottle runs two full seasons.
• Rubber roof treatment — EPDM rubber roofs need Dicor Rubber Roof Cleaner and Conditioner every 3 months. UV degradation on an untreated rubber roof leads to cracking and leaks. That repair starts at $2,000.
• Slide-out lubricant — Thetford Premium Rubber Seal Conditioner on the slide-out seals, twice a year, 10 minutes. Dry seals crack and leak. This is not optional maintenance.

Maintenance Supplies

These live in the rig permanently. Not restocked every trip — checked every trip.

The Permanent Kit

• Eternabond tape (2-inch roll) — One 50-foot roll of EternaBond RoofSeal handles cracked roof vent seals, delaminating sidewall seams, and anything else that opens up on the road. Bonds in 24 hours, holds for years.
• Dicor self-leveling lap sealant — Inspect every roof penetration before every trip: vents, antennas, AC unit. Reseal anything cracked or separated. A $12 tube of Dicor is the cheapest $3,000 repair you’ll ever prevent.
• WD-40 Specialist White Lithium Grease — Hitch receiver, leveling jack threads, slide-out rails. Not standard WD-40, which evaporates. White lithium stays put.
• Digital tire pressure gauge — Check cold pressure every morning on travel days. RV tires run chronically under-inflated and it’s the leading cause of blowouts. Get one accurate to 0.5 PSI.
• Fuse kit (automotive blade fuses) — Mixed assortment, 5A through 30A. Electrical gremlins happen. Right fuse on hand means a 10-minute fix instead of a campground tow.
• Leveling blocks — Camco Tri-Leveler stackable blocks, 10-pack. Get within 1 degree of level and your propane fridge runs efficiently. Most RV absorption fridges won’t cool properly beyond 3 degrees off-level.

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Quick Restock Checklist Before Every Trip

Run through this the day before you leave, not the morning of.

• Propane tanks filled or swapped; leak spray check on all fittings
• Water filter replaced if past 3-month mark
• Sewer hose inspected for cracks; fittings tight
• Black tank treatment pods stocked (minimum 5 per week of travel)
• Roof sealant inspection; Dicor on hand
• Tire pressure checked cold
• Slide-out seals wiped and conditioned
• Fresh water tank sanitized if stored more than 2 weeks
• Fuse kit present and complete
• Rubber gloves and sewer kit in the bay

Budget $50–100 per trip to restock this list. That’s the math that keeps you out of the shop.

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