The First-Time RV Trip Checklist: 40 Things People Forget

RV Life · 7 min read · Updated July 2026

This article contains affiliate links — if you buy through them, we earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure.

Every RVer has a story about the first trip. It usually involves a missing sewer hose fitting, a dead flashlight, or the moment they discovered the fresh water tank was empty at 9 p.m. This list is organized by the moment you will miss each item — because that is how forgetting works.

Before you pull out (the driveway ten)

  1. Wheel chocks — first thing out, last thing in.
  2. Leveling blocks — no site is flat. None.
  3. Fresh water: actually filled (check the gauge, not your memory).
  4. Propane: valves open, tanks weighed — a gauge reading "some" is not a plan.
  5. Hitch pins, safety chains, brake controller check if towing.
  6. Walk-around photos — roof vents closed, antenna down, steps up, bikes secured.
  7. Reservation confirmations downloaded offline — camp country has no bars.
  8. Paper map or offline maps for the same reason.
  9. Trash bags — more than you think; pack-in-pack-out is real.
  10. The power station, charged. More below.

Arrival (the setup eight)

  1. Work gloves — sewer hoses and firewood share a glove budget, buy two pairs.
  2. Water pressure regulator — campground plumbing has opinions.
  3. Drinking-water hose (white/blue, NOT the garden hose).
  4. Sewer hose + the fittings + a clear elbow — trust us on the elbow.
  5. Surge protector for shore power — one bad pedestal can cook a converter.
  6. 30-to-50 amp adapters, both directions.
  7. Headlamp — setup always finishes in the dark the first time.
  8. Doormat — the humble hero that keeps the rig livable.

Camp life (the comfort twelve)

  1. Camp chairs (forgotten more than any other large item)
  2. Cast iron or heavy pan — RV kitchens hate thin cookware
  3. Lighter + backup matches
  4. Local firewood plan (transporting it is often illegal — buy near camp)
  5. Bug spray AND sunscreen — one without the other is a rookie tell
  6. First-aid kit with tweezers (splinters outnumber all other injuries)
  7. Duct tape + zip ties + a multitool — the fix-anything trinity
  8. Clothesline and pins
  9. Games/cards for the rain day — there is always a rain day
  10. Coffee solution that doesn't need the drip machine
  11. Extra blankets — RV insulation is optimistic
  12. Shower shoes for the bathhouse

Power (the watt-wise six)

  1. A portable power station — the single best insurance for first-timers whose battery habits are untested. Our power budget guide sizes it; the short version: Delta 3 Ultra Plus for no-hookup sites, DJI Power 1000 for partial hookups.
  2. Every charging cable, doubled — the second one lives in the rig forever.
  3. 12V accessory plugs/adapters for the fridge and fans.
  4. Folding solar panel if boondocking more than two nights (buyer's guide).
  5. Battery state-of-charge check habit — every morning, coffee in hand.
  6. Fuses — the 15-cent part that ends trips.

The drive home (the departure four)

  1. Dump station plan — know where, know hours, before checkout.
  2. The reverse walk-around — antenna, steps, chocks, vents. Same photos, reverse order.
  3. Leftover firewood to a neighbor — good karma, legal compliance.
  4. Notes app entry: what you lacked, what you never used. This list becomes YOUR list on trip two.
The meta-tip: stage everything in the living room two days early. The gap between "I'm sure we have it" and "it's in the pile" is where all forty of these live.

Print this, tape it inside a cabinet door, and amend ruthlessly — every rig and family forgets differently.