Stuff I Think I Need

One of the things I find fascinating about RV bloggers is their seemingly limitless imagination and ingenuity in repairing, customizing or just tinkering with their RVs.  Some folks are remarkably gifted in performing their own mechanical repairs, like Clarke of Our Newell Adventure.  Others, like Mui of  2 To Travel’s Phaeton Journeys, do careful research and seem always to acquire just the right thing to fill every need or whim and then perform an expert installation as well.  Sadly, I am nothing like these talented people.  It is my lot in life, I guess, to expend my hard-earned treasure to hire professionals to do what they seem to do easily.


However, since I do have a few very basic mechanical skills, I carry along a fairly rudimentary set of tools, and I have attempted to assemble a small collection of parts, hardware, lubricants and fasteners that might come in handy if something breaks on Phannie which, of course, it will. That is not to say that it would necessarily be me using this stuff, but it might; who knows?


Besides things like spare bulbs, fuses, clamps and fasteners, I also carry spare parts that might not be readily available outside of large cities, like fuel and oil filters and an extra fan belt for the Caterpillar engine.  I also carry a good quality folding ladder and some of those triangular emergency reflector thingies that you set out to warn drivers of a disabled vehicle ahead.

I also carry a few specialized tools like filter wrenches, a voltage tester and even a socket that will fit the large lug nuts on Phannie’s wheels.  I learned that from a blogger who wrote that he had waited for hours in the middle of nowhere waiting for a service truck to change a tire only to be thwarted in the effort when the road service tech discovered he didn’t have a socket of the correct size.

Once frustrated by not having the correct adapter for Phannie’s electrical power cord, I now carry adapters for every conceivable power configuration that I might encounter.

Again, because I learned the hard way, I also carry an extra 50-amp extension cord.


Same is true for a regular extension cord and water hoses; I carry three hoses, again, learning the hard way.  (Yes, I know this doesn’t meet the neatness standards of some folks, but hey, I don’t have ulcers from worrying about it.)

And what could be handier than a good worklight?

I also carry a little label machine, something I’ve found that has a myriad of uses.  It’s amazing how much more organized I feel when boxes and bins are labeled with their contents and when obscure switches, handles, controls and gauges are clearly labeled.  (I defy anyone to tell me immediately which direction is hot on a single-lever faucet.)  They also come in handy to attach placards showing brands and specifications for fluids that might need to be added.  As I get older, I’m aware of needing more of these helpful little reminders; If you find a label on my forehead with “If Lost, Return to Sandy,” you’ll know it’s time for me to hang it up!

So, that’s a peek at just some of the stuff I think I need to take along in Phannie; I would be interested to know what you carry with you that the rest of us may not have considered…