‘Top 10 Favorite RVing Gadgets:’

Contents

Top 10 Favorite RVing Gadgets:

  • A Wi-Fi range extender.
  • The Allstays Camp & RV app.
  • The Gas Buddy App.
  •  Garmin RV 770 LMT-S GPS UGC-102-BL Dual.
  • Fantastic Fans.
  • Fantastic Fans.
  • On and off valves.
  • Valterra gate valve.
  • Hoss Pads.
  • Progressive Industries EMS.

Today we are going to talk about our top 10 favorite RVing gadgets. Sometimes when we wake up and we have no idea what we are going to do. We will drink a cup of coffee then we talk about we are going to do today. Today we are going to talk about our favorite gadgets.

Wifi Range Extender:

A Wi-Fi range extender for us is a must-have. When we get into RV parks we have found that some of the best spots are along the perimeter of the park.

But that also means you’re probably pretty far away from their Wi-Fi tower. A lot of times you may not get a signal or if you do, it’s going to be very faint.

So the solution is the Alpha Network Wifi  Camp pro kit 2. The one we have has a suction cup range extender for your motorhome, RV or your boat. That’s what we put up on our window. All we have to do when we arrive is try to figure out where that Wi-Fi tower is.

Then we put this up on the window and then connect it to the Wi-Fi repeater. It takes the signal from the Camp Pro and it broadcasts it throughout our RV. So that means we can connect our laptops our phones, tablets. All the devices we have that are on a Wi-Fi signal connect to this.

Then this picks up the signal from the park. The one that we have is by Alpha Network. We got it from TechnoRV, who has some excellent customer service. The instructions on these are awesome. They send you their own instructions and it’s really easy to follow and set up.

Must-Have Apps:

These next two items might not be considered gadgets in the traditional sense. But they are must-haves for us. The first thing is the Allstays Camp & RV app. We love this app because we pull up the app, it will show your exact location. All the campgrounds, gas stations, RV services around your area. It even includes low hanging bridges and other information that’s really helpful to RVers and campers as well. It’s something that we reference almost every time we move. And it’s come in so handy, and not only that it has saved us a lot of money. The reason is that you can not only find free places to camp but also free places to dump.

The next app that we absolutely love is Gas Buddy. Gas Buddy helps us save money on gas. When you pull it up you can tap to find the nearest gas stations in the area. And it will show you almost real-time gas prices reported by users. Now we’re currently in Door County, but we’re headed to Green Bay next. We can decide if we want to get gas now or get gas we get the Green Bay depending on the gas price. They have all gas stations listed from Costco to Sam’s Club to your traditional Shell and Chevron stations.

Based on the app I can tell the gas at Costco in Green Bay is $which is so much cheaper than the $at the Marathon down the street. So if you don’t have the Gas Buddy app, which is free, you’ve got to download it.

Garmin RV 770 NA LMT-S:

This is the Garmin RV 770 NA LMT-S. It is an RV specific GPS and we found it invaluable when trying to drive our RV through places we just don’t know The cool thing about this is, it allows us to input all the parameters of our RV.

The height, the width, the weight, the length. What this does is it helps rerouted us around obstacles or things that are going to be difficult or impossible for us to drive through an RV. Such as a low bridge. There are a lot of weight restrictions that we have to be worried about. If we’re driving through the mountains, this will alert us as to a steep grade ahead.

It’ll tell us what that grade is. It’ll also warn us about any severe winding roads and different obstacles that we’re coming up against. In a car that usually isn’t a big concern but in an RV it is some great information to have.

Moisture and Odor:

With the amount of rain that we’ve been getting, we are glad that we have a cover for our vent. We have two Fantastic vents in the RV. We purchased a Fantastic vent cover to specifically cover the one in the kitchen. On days when it’s raining outside, we can leave the vent open and run the fan.

We can do this without worrying about the rain getting in or triggering our rain sensor. We also installed a fantastic fan in the bathroom to help remove the moisture as well as the odor. Another benefit we realized is you don’t hear the rain as much. Also, you get a little extra protection from the sun with the vent covers.

Shower Valve:

Now some of you might not consider this a gadget it is an absolute cannot live without in the RV. In the shower, one of our favorite gadgets is this on and off valve for the shower. This allows us to turn the water on, get it to the temperature that we want.

Then put the valve to the on position get wet then switch it to the off position. Lather up then turn it back on so we can rinse off. Not only that, we get to adjust how much water comes out of the shower head. This is great for us because we do quite a bit of boondocking. And one-minute showers are not unheard of and having this valve lets us save a tremendous amount of water.

Gate Valve:

Another gadget outside that I really love is the Valterra gate valve. What this does is it’s an additional valve at the end of your sewer and grey tank pipes. And what I found in the past was before we got this. If we were driving for any length of time, you might get some water that leaks into the pipe.

When you take the cover off that will all end up on your hands, your arms, or in the bay. Then this all has to be washed out and cleaned up. This gate valve allows you to hook up your sewer hose, open the valve, and any drippings that are left in there just go straight into the hose. It makes for a very clean situation and I love it.

Block Pads:

One of my favorite outdoor gadgets are these  Hoss Pads that we have. They come in all different sizes and they’re made from recycled rubber. They’re not just great for putting under your jacks but also for leveling. Instead of putting your jacks directly on the dirt or gravel you can just put one of these down.

If we happen to be parked on a very uneven spot. Before I put our plastic leveling blocks down I’ll put one of these underneath to protect the block from breaking. We’ve had two sets of leveling blocks go bad on us because we put them directly on gravel. Just the weight of the trailer would split it and break it. Now that we have the Hoss Pads it protects those leveling blocks from breaking.

Right now we happen to be in a pretty muddy site because of the rain. Since we have these under our jacks, our jacks aren’t sinking into the mud. Because they’re sitting on top of the Hoss Pads.

Electric Protection:

The first thing we do when we get to a campsite or anyplace where there’s electrical hook-up. We plug in our Progressive Industries EMS. This is rated for 30 amps which is what our trailer is they also have 50 amp unit. What this does is it protects us from power surges. But more importantly, power drops.

So we’ve been a few places where everyone goes and turns on their electricity at the same time. Let’s say it’s hot and everyone gets home and turns on their Air Conditioning at the same time. A lot of times the voltage in the park will drop to unsafe levels. What ends up happening is that this will cut you from that power.

Now, low voltage will damage a lot of sensitive electronics and other things in your rig especially the AC unit. This will also help to protect you from that and numerous other things. But for us it is a must-have, we never plug into electricity without putting this between us and the electrical source. We’d love to hear what some of your favorite gadgets are for RVing. Leave us a comment below.