Going out on the wide-open road to explore the far corners and reaches of the country is one of the greatest freedoms life permits. You can be as adventurous or as conservative as you want with the convenient reach of your motorhome or RV, as it allows you to take some of the comforts of life with you into the wilds. You can take a road trip and hop between cities, stick to the well-established campsites that offer power and other amenities, or get really adventurous and venture into some more remote areas.
The time it gives you to spend with friends, family, and other loved ones is irreplaceable, and the fact that you can take so many of the comforts of home with you is a real boon as well. It’s time to slow down and appreciate the little things that are often overlooked by keeping sight of the big picture.
These are incontrovertible truths, but at the same time, a lot goes into making RV living as comfortable as it has the potential to be. Because although it does have great potential, that can easily be missed due to want of some basic RV parts and other necessary accessories.
The time to plan is before you hit the road, not after, and not along the way. True enough, there will be things that pop up occasionally and need a little attention and human ingenuity to fix, and sometimes those little obstacles are what makes camping fun. What isn’t fun is losing water pressure or experiencing a blackout, and more often than not, you can circumvent those issues. All it takes is a little foresight - stand on the shoulders of giants, so to speak, and you can prevent some of the issues associated with the lack of the parts and accessories in this article. Without further ado, make sure to keep a spare of these RV parts and accessories.
Thermocouple
At its most basic form, a thermocouple is really just a small device that regulates temperature. They have plenty of applications, but in specific regard to RVs, they are usually used to regulate the pilot light for water heaters. The thermocouple senses if the light is lit, and if it is the thermocouple instructs the valve to stay open so that the light stays lit.
If your thermocouple is faulty, it can make the use of your hot water heater practically impossible, or worse, can allow the accumulation of dangerous gases. It’s no fun going without warm water if you’re winter camping, and most thermocouples are dirt cheap. Pick yourself up a spare from our site that’s compatible with your equipment and be prepared.
Water Pressure Regulator
What does a water pressure regulator do? It’s all in the name - it regulates water pressure. The importance of such a device goes pretty far, though, and without one (or with a dysfunctional one), you can risk serious damage to your RV.
Most often this doesn’t occur with low pressure. Low-pressure water is just an inconvenience, for the most part. However, it’s not altogether uncommon to hook up to water at a campsite and experience water pressures that are far too high to be safely used within your RV’s systems. A water pressure regulator helps keep water pressure within a safe range.
If you are hooked up to a water source and the pressure is too high, you risk damaging or bursting some of your RV’s pipes. That would be enough of a pain to deal with on its own, even if you don’t have to deal with a flood in the aftermath. Water pressure regulators, like thermocouples, are for the most part very cheap. Get yourself several spares - if one fails on you when you’re out on the road, you’ll be prepared.
Water Pumps (and parts)
While we don’t necessarily advocate bringing along an entire spare water pump on the road with you for any given trip, you should definitely take along some mission-critical parts. If your water pump fails, you’ll be without a lot of conveniences if you don’t have easy access to another hookup.
If your pump fails for any given reason, you can always drain water from your tanks to use for whatever reason you need, but that has the potential to put a damper on the enjoyment of the trip.
Here are RV Upgrades, you can find entire water pump units, but almost as importantly you can find lots of little parts that may occasionally need replacement. We offer strainers, filters, tubing, and fittings that you can keep on hand in case any of your parts fail. Best of all, like the other parts that we have explored so far on this list, by and large, the little parts and accessories are very economical - keep spares and be prepared.
Hoses
Hoses are as much a critical part of the systems within your RV that deliver water as the pump or pressure regulator, and if a hose bursts you’ll have trouble getting water.
You don’t just need spare hoses in the event of a burst hose - you need spare hoses because hoses need to be kept separated depending on their use. Wastewater, gray water, and potable water need to be kept separated at all times, and if you use hoses to manage them, you should keep at least one spare hose for each on board your RV, just in case.
Gas Regulator
As a thermocouple failure can cause your pilot light to go out, making it difficult or impossible to use your hot water heater, a gas regulator can make or break your ability to use gas as well. A gas regulator is critical to converting gas pressure to a manageable level so that it is safe to use with your appliances.
Excess water pressure can damage your RV’s plumbing and cause floods. Excess gas pressure is something that can be even more dangerous. Basically, if your regulator fails, there’s a chance that you’ll have to forgo any appliances that rely on gas, which probably means no cooking, no hot water for showers, and who knows what else.
You could take these risks, or you could spend a couple of dollars and be prepared with a spare gas regulator. They’re affordable and you can’t use gas without them.
Lightbulbs
Imagine you are enjoying a card game indoors with your family during an RV trip and you’re at a campsite hooked up to power. It’s raining out and pretty dark - all of a sudden the light overhead goes black. There are other lights in the RV, but you’ve just lost the best common lighting you had and you have not a spare lightbulb around. Your common area is in the dark until you can get more.
Of course, you’ve probably never heard of a home where there weren’t spare light bulbs kept somewhere. Light bulbs are like milk and eggs - everyone home has them because when a light bulb dies you need them right away.
Your RV is your home away from home, which means if you don’t have spare light bulbs when they go out you’ll be in the dark - even if you have power. You don’t just need them for lighting fixtures, either. Appliances take them too. This one goes without saying. Stock up on extra light bulbs so you don’t need to be in the dark during a trip.
Fuses
Fuses, like light bulbs, are some of those little things that you’ll never appreciate (or recognize) until they fail. Fuses protect electrical circuits and appliances from damage due to excess current. If there is a spike in power it can damage appliances - so a fuse is built into the circuit to burn out if too much current tries to pass through it, saving the appliance or the rest of the circuit.
When a fuse burns out, that circuit will remain open until you replace it, which means that the circuit is unusable. If it was hooked up to lighting, you can’t use those lights. With respect to RVs and other vehicles, if a fuse burns out you will lose some functionality until you replace it. Like lightbulbs, you should keep an assortment of spare fuses, at least one for anything in your RV that you actually need.
These are only some of the RV parts of which you should keep spares on board your RV. While these following accessories might not be called parts, they certainly are very valuable to keep around the RV in the event that you need them. Each of them is affordable and takes up very little space - space you won’t miss having given up in the event you are in the dark or need to do some quick waterproofing, for example.
In addition to the above parts and accessories, don’t leave for a trip without making sure you bring along the following items, accessories, and tools.
Flashlights and Batteries
Just as no home is without a drawer or closet somewhere that contains flashlights and spare batteries, no motor home should be without them either. Figure out whatever requires battery power in your RV and make sure you pick up spares of these batteries to keep on hand in the event of emergencies.
The same goes for flashlights. Even with spare light bulbs, it’s always possible for you to experience a blackout, and even with a generator, it’s possible to run out of gas. Being in the dark, especially if you’re in a camp somewhere, has the potential to be dangerous, and at the very least can ruin part of a camping trip. Think, for example, that you might have to perform some necessary maintenance on your RV in the middle of the night; you need to have portable lighting, make sure you have flashlights on hand.
Duct Tape and Sealant
Duct tape and sealants have their own distinct uses, and while you could potentially get away without them, it’s still a great idea to have them on hand for those times when they would come in handy.
Duct tape has hundreds of uses. Of course, it’s good for making makeshift bindings and joints and holding things together until better repairs can be made. It’s also good for plenty of other things - just look up uses for duct tape and you’ll see exactly what we mean.
As for sealant, it’s important to have some form of it around the RV in case you ever spring a leak. You won’t sink to the bottom of the sea, but you might experience damage to your interior if you allow a leak to progress. There are plenty of roof tapes and other sealants here on our site that can help you improve your waterproofing if there are ever any cracks in the armor.
A Toolkit
A toolkit is another one of those things that are necessary for any home to make quick fixes on the fly. Some people take pride in their collections of tools that take up an entire garage. Others keep a single tool chest and call it a day. Make sure that you bring along at least two screwdrivers, a hammer, some screws and nails, a knife, a tape measure, pliers, and something you can use to write.
That’s an absolute bare minimum. Bring along everything you think is necessary personally to effectively tackle any odd jobs that could possibly present themselves. You can definitely be unprepared, but you can’t really be overprepared. No one was ever too ready.
Start here when you’re looking for a great selection of RV parts that you should keep around as spares in case of emergency. There are plenty more things you would do well to keep on hand, and a lot of that knowledge comes with the ups and downs of experience.
We’re proud of our years of experience and our customer service, and if you’d like a little more information on some other essential RV supplies to bring along that can help you avoid cutting a trip short or making costly repairs, give us a call at 866-332-7881 and we’d be glad to give you some more insight into the matter. Till then, check out our offerings right here on our website.
The time it gives you to spend with friends, family, and other loved ones is irreplaceable, and the fact that you can take so many of the comforts of home with you is a real boon as well. It’s time to slow down and appreciate the little things that are often overlooked by keeping sight of the big picture.
These are incontrovertible truths, but at the same time, a lot goes into making RV living as comfortable as it has the potential to be. Because although it does have great potential, that can easily be missed due to want of some basic RV parts and other necessary accessories.
The time to plan is before you hit the road, not after, and not along the way. True enough, there will be things that pop up occasionally and need a little attention and human ingenuity to fix, and sometimes those little obstacles are what makes camping fun. What isn’t fun is losing water pressure or experiencing a blackout, and more often than not, you can circumvent those issues. All it takes is a little foresight - stand on the shoulders of giants, so to speak, and you can prevent some of the issues associated with the lack of the parts and accessories in this article. Without further ado, make sure to keep a spare of these RV parts and accessories.
Thermocouple
At its most basic form, a thermocouple is really just a small device that regulates temperature. They have plenty of applications, but in specific regard to RVs, they are usually used to regulate the pilot light for water heaters. The thermocouple senses if the light is lit, and if it is the thermocouple instructs the valve to stay open so that the light stays lit.
If your thermocouple is faulty, it can make the use of your hot water heater practically impossible, or worse, can allow the accumulation of dangerous gases. It’s no fun going without warm water if you’re winter camping, and most thermocouples are dirt cheap. Pick yourself up a spare from our site that’s compatible with your equipment and be prepared.
Water Pressure Regulator
What does a water pressure regulator do? It’s all in the name - it regulates water pressure. The importance of such a device goes pretty far, though, and without one (or with a dysfunctional one), you can risk serious damage to your RV.
Most often this doesn’t occur with low pressure. Low-pressure water is just an inconvenience, for the most part. However, it’s not altogether uncommon to hook up to water at a campsite and experience water pressures that are far too high to be safely used within your RV’s systems. A water pressure regulator helps keep water pressure within a safe range.
If you are hooked up to a water source and the pressure is too high, you risk damaging or bursting some of your RV’s pipes. That would be enough of a pain to deal with on its own, even if you don’t have to deal with a flood in the aftermath. Water pressure regulators, like thermocouples, are for the most part very cheap. Get yourself several spares - if one fails on you when you’re out on the road, you’ll be prepared.
Water Pumps (and parts)
While we don’t necessarily advocate bringing along an entire spare water pump on the road with you for any given trip, you should definitely take along some mission-critical parts. If your water pump fails, you’ll be without a lot of conveniences if you don’t have easy access to another hookup.
If your pump fails for any given reason, you can always drain water from your tanks to use for whatever reason you need, but that has the potential to put a damper on the enjoyment of the trip.
Here are RV Upgrades, you can find entire water pump units, but almost as importantly you can find lots of little parts that may occasionally need replacement. We offer strainers, filters, tubing, and fittings that you can keep on hand in case any of your parts fail. Best of all, like the other parts that we have explored so far on this list, by and large, the little parts and accessories are very economical - keep spares and be prepared.
Hoses
Hoses are as much a critical part of the systems within your RV that deliver water as the pump or pressure regulator, and if a hose bursts you’ll have trouble getting water.
You don’t just need spare hoses in the event of a burst hose - you need spare hoses because hoses need to be kept separated depending on their use. Wastewater, gray water, and potable water need to be kept separated at all times, and if you use hoses to manage them, you should keep at least one spare hose for each on board your RV, just in case.
Gas Regulator
As a thermocouple failure can cause your pilot light to go out, making it difficult or impossible to use your hot water heater, a gas regulator can make or break your ability to use gas as well. A gas regulator is critical to converting gas pressure to a manageable level so that it is safe to use with your appliances.
Excess water pressure can damage your RV’s plumbing and cause floods. Excess gas pressure is something that can be even more dangerous. Basically, if your regulator fails, there’s a chance that you’ll have to forgo any appliances that rely on gas, which probably means no cooking, no hot water for showers, and who knows what else.
You could take these risks, or you could spend a couple of dollars and be prepared with a spare gas regulator. They’re affordable and you can’t use gas without them.
Lightbulbs
Imagine you are enjoying a card game indoors with your family during an RV trip and you’re at a campsite hooked up to power. It’s raining out and pretty dark - all of a sudden the light overhead goes black. There are other lights in the RV, but you’ve just lost the best common lighting you had and you have not a spare lightbulb around. Your common area is in the dark until you can get more.
Of course, you’ve probably never heard of a home where there weren’t spare light bulbs kept somewhere. Light bulbs are like milk and eggs - everyone home has them because when a light bulb dies you need them right away.
Your RV is your home away from home, which means if you don’t have spare light bulbs when they go out you’ll be in the dark - even if you have power. You don’t just need them for lighting fixtures, either. Appliances take them too. This one goes without saying. Stock up on extra light bulbs so you don’t need to be in the dark during a trip.
Fuses
When a fuse burns out, that circuit will remain open until you replace it, which means that the circuit is unusable. If it was hooked up to lighting, you can’t use those lights. With respect to RVs and other vehicles, if a fuse burns out you will lose some functionality until you replace it. Like lightbulbs, you should keep an assortment of spare fuses, at least one for anything in your RV that you actually need.
These are only some of the RV parts of which you should keep spares on board your RV. While these following accessories might not be called parts, they certainly are very valuable to keep around the RV in the event that you need them. Each of them is affordable and takes up very little space - space you won’t miss having given up in the event you are in the dark or need to do some quick waterproofing, for example.
In addition to the above parts and accessories, don’t leave for a trip without making sure you bring along the following items, accessories, and tools.
Flashlights and Batteries
Just as no home is without a drawer or closet somewhere that contains flashlights and spare batteries, no motor home should be without them either. Figure out whatever requires battery power in your RV and make sure you pick up spares of these batteries to keep on hand in the event of emergencies.
The same goes for flashlights. Even with spare light bulbs, it’s always possible for you to experience a blackout, and even with a generator, it’s possible to run out of gas. Being in the dark, especially if you’re in a camp somewhere, has the potential to be dangerous, and at the very least can ruin part of a camping trip. Think, for example, that you might have to perform some necessary maintenance on your RV in the middle of the night; you need to have portable lighting, make sure you have flashlights on hand.
Duct Tape and Sealant
Duct tape and sealants have their own distinct uses, and while you could potentially get away without them, it’s still a great idea to have them on hand for those times when they would come in handy.
Duct tape has hundreds of uses. Of course, it’s good for making makeshift bindings and joints and holding things together until better repairs can be made. It’s also good for plenty of other things - just look up uses for duct tape and you’ll see exactly what we mean.
As for sealant, it’s important to have some form of it around the RV in case you ever spring a leak. You won’t sink to the bottom of the sea, but you might experience damage to your interior if you allow a leak to progress. There are plenty of roof tapes and other sealants here on our site that can help you improve your waterproofing if there are ever any cracks in the armor.
A Toolkit
A toolkit is another one of those things that are necessary for any home to make quick fixes on the fly. Some people take pride in their collections of tools that take up an entire garage. Others keep a single tool chest and call it a day. Make sure that you bring along at least two screwdrivers, a hammer, some screws and nails, a knife, a tape measure, pliers, and something you can use to write.
That’s an absolute bare minimum. Bring along everything you think is necessary personally to effectively tackle any odd jobs that could possibly present themselves. You can definitely be unprepared, but you can’t really be overprepared. No one was ever too ready.
Start here when you’re looking for a great selection of RV parts that you should keep around as spares in case of emergency. There are plenty more things you would do well to keep on hand, and a lot of that knowledge comes with the ups and downs of experience.
We’re proud of our years of experience and our customer service, and if you’d like a little more information on some other essential RV supplies to bring along that can help you avoid cutting a trip short or making costly repairs, give us a call at 866-332-7881 and we’d be glad to give you some more insight into the matter. Till then, check out our offerings right here on our website.
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