10 Must-Haves For Your RV Toolkit
Whether you just got a brand new RV or you’ve had it for years, you’ll want to have a versatile RV toolkit at the ready. Inevitably, you will need to use at least a few of these common items.
Traveling on highways subjects your RV to earthquake-level shaking, and parts are bound to loosen and break eventually. As RVers, we can save ourselves the hassle of costly repair services by having versatile items in our RV toolkit. We’ve made a handy list so you can put together a toolkit that has all the basic necessities.
1. Torque wrench
RV wheels take a lot of abuse, whether we travel on highways or side roads. RV manufacturers know this and include instructions to torque RV wheel lug nuts every 100 miles. If RV lug nuts come loose, the wheels begin to wobble and can cause the lug nut holes to oval, as well as the wheels to fall off.
This is never any fun. Keeping your wheels torqued is a critical safety issue and needs to be done specifically as per manufacturers’ directions. Keep a torque wrench on hand like this one from LEXIVON.
2. Tire pressure gauge
You should check that your tires are inflated to the recommended tire pressure every time you fill up with fuel. Monitoring your tire pressure with a tire pressure gauge can help maintain vehicle stability and handling and will help prevent costly (and potentially dangerous) tire blowouts.
3. Collapsible traffic cones
RVs are big vehicles. If they break down on the road, there isn’t always room to pull all the way onto the shoulder. There may not be enough room to safely change a tire or make other necessary repairs. A few traffic cones can buy you enough room to safely do necessary repairs or just keep other drivers from hitting your RV.  Â
Another use for traffic comes is to set them up to mark out an easy-to-see pathway when you back your RV into a campsite.
4. Tire inflator/portable battery charger
Having a decent tire inflator can mean the difference between calling a tow truck or not. Having the ability to get air into your RV’s tires without going anywhere will make life simpler and bring you peace of mind. If you combine this with a portable battery charger, it’s even better. After all, there will be a time when you need to charge your RV or tow vehicle battery, and it’s better not to have to rely on a tow truck to do this.
5. Allied Tools Switch Grip Dual Action Pliers Tool
This is quite possibly the handiest tool you can have in your toolkit. The Switch Grip pliers tool has two different pliers, plus wire cutters and several gauges of wire strippers, in one tool.
These remarkable pliers have a flat nose regular jaw. They also have a needle nose pliers jaw with a wire cutter and strippers for various gauges of wire. Everything is spring-loaded, and it even has a locking function as well. There are so many potential uses for this tool in the RV that it’s a must-have.
6. Adjustable crescent wrenches
An eight-inch adjustable crescent wrench can be used to adjust nuts or bolts or tighten fittings. It’s not perfect, but it’s lightweight. Carrying a couple of crescent wrenches beats packing a full wrench set with you when you travel.
7. Zip ties
Zip ties have so many uses around the RV, from keeping cords from getting tangled to keeping the RV’s propane lid from getting blown off. No RV toolkit is complete without them.
8. Cordless drill with screwdriver bits
A small cordless drill with screwdriver bits can be used with a scissor jack socket drill adapter to get leveling jacks up or down in a hurry with hardly any effort.
9. Scissor jack socket drill adapter
When you pull into camp, setting up is the first thing you do and the last thing you want to spend a lot of time doing. A scissor jack socket drill adapter gets scissor jacks down in seconds, nearly effortlessly. And when it’s time to get going again, it will take about 20 seconds to get all the stabilizer jacks up again.
10. Gorilla Tape
Gorilla Tape functions like duct tape, but the adhesive is even stronger, so it tends to stay fixed in place better. Like duct tape, it comes in different colors, but it also comes in a clear option, which makes it perfect for fixing small tears in awnings.
Track your RV maintenance
Make sure you keep track of all your RV maintenance and repairs with an online tool such as RV LIFE Maintenance. Not only can you keep all of your documents in one place, but you’ll also receive timely reminders when maintenance is due to help you avoid costly repairs and potentially serious accidents.
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Hey, I would also add A portable generator, Air compressor with air guns and sockets, Welder , grinders and all types of saws and blades
Don’t forget those gawd awful square bit screwdrivers! The RV industry’s preference for these oddball screws means you must have a way/means to work with them!
Change the gorilla tape to roofing tape. It’s waterproof and much stronger adhesive. Available at the roofing section of box stores. Comes in several widths and colors