New motorhome necessities..

[ohau8622]

Hi all,

We just received our VIN and probably another 6 weeks before it arrives to the dealer. I'm in the process of buying everything we may need to be prepared. Would you be so kind to provide me with the must haves I don't want to leave anything out. It's a 31 ft thor ace 30.3 model.

Thanks

Sylvia

[LETMGROW]

Here are some suggestions from another thread.
I would shorten the list by about 10,000 items and start out with basics and grow as you go.

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f59/essen...rv-332401.html

Good Luck
Lynn

[marjoa]

Originally Posted by ohau8622

I don't want to leave anything out

Sylvia,
IMO, it's going to take—at least—6 months and several trips for you to figure out most of what you'll need to keep on board and take with you. And then even after that time, you'll always be buying other items and making tweaks to your list. There's just to much stuff for someone to give you a complete list and everyone's needs are different. But I'll cover a few of the basics:
• When you actually get your MH carefully measure all cabinets and get some good plastic tubs to organize all you items for the inside cabinets and outside storage bays. This will not only maximize your space but keep things from moving around while underway
• A fairly complete set of tools and a small tub of assorted tapes, screws, fasteners, washers, bungie cords, rope, assorted electrical ties, spare LED bulbs & fuses etc
• Outside seating & camping items like: chairs, mat, folding table and maybe a bar-b-que
• TPMS and white vinyl tire covers
• Surge protector (preferably hard wired into the MH, but a portable one will do)
• Cleaning materials inside & out, a small vacuum, broom & dust pan
• 2"wood blocks to put under your leveling jacks
• Lining for all your cabinet shelves and drawers and then all the stuff that goes in them
• Probably a couple of throw down runner rugs for inside and maybe some rubber mats on the floor in front of the cooking area where you stand a lot. CG's are notorious for having small gravel where you park so you'll find that you'll track some of this into your MH (unless you take off your shoes every time) and these will help protect your floors & carpet if you have that. Also get a mat of some sort to put at the base of your steps to wipe off your shoes before entering the MH
• A 3" binder and plastic sleeves to organize brochures, reservations, maintenance records, CG membership paperwork etc
• Thoroughly read all your manuals that comes with the MH so you not only know how things work and the proper way to operate things and trouble shoot but you'll use this info to establish a maintenance list also
• At least a couple different lengths of drinking water quality hoses, inline water filter (at a minimum), some type of water pressure gauge, septic hoses and adapters, a box of disposal rubber gloves, paper towels and a small spray bottle with a water/bleach solution for disinfecting all water fittings before you hook up
• Con't to read this forum a lot, because as you do, you'll quickly find other things you'll need to do to make your experience easier, more fun and safer.

And on and on I could go. Most of the items I mentioned above have many types of models & types to choose from and that's why I say it'll take time to figure out all those details of which type to buy. I think you can safely estimate that you'll spend at least 10% of your total MH cost on all the things you'll ultimately need and want when it's all over.

It's fun fitting out your MH with all these things. Have fun with your MH as I know you will. Exciting isn't it.

[SuperGewl]

Very simple:
Sheets, towels, dish cloths, wash rags, some plates, cups, bowls, silver ware, cooking utensils, a couple of pots, pans and fry pan.
Add some food and then by stuff you need as you realize you need it.
Or I forgot a small dish rack and a coffee maker

[rewillia]

Additional Fire Extinguisher, maybe 2.

At minimum, 1-one for the rear of the coach, i.e. sleeping quarters and 1-one to store in a basement compartment where it can be easily accessed. Something you never want to use but certainly don't want to be without in the event of need.

And, of course the notepad and pen as you'll always think of something else you need or want that was previously overlooked.

[ohau8622]

Great list

[DrDaveMA]

Originally Posted by marjoa

Sylvia,

• 2"wood blocks to put under your leveling jacks.

I go to Lowes or HD and purchase two 8' pressure treated 2 x 10's then cut them into two 3' and one 2' pieces (I normally have to replace them every 2 or 3 years). I screw a drawer handle on one end of each piece. These are easy to place under the jacks ( or if necessary grab with your awning pole) there is no getting down on your knees to place or remove the blocks. The 2' pieces are use if required to stack on top of a 3' giving you 3" of extra lift. The 3' footers also spread the load over roughly 360 square inches instead of just the jack pad, about 100 square inches, your jacks won't sink into the dirt, gravel or black top when you lift all that weight onto 3 or 4 small pads.

[More-Gas]

When we bought our coach a good friend who has been fulltiming for 11 yrs suggested we go slow on purchases as we just are not sure what we need until we need it. Some things are a must and others are just wants.
Good luck on your new coach.

[petrel]

Good rechargeable work light/headlamp. Accurate tire gauge. Long handled window scrubber/squeegee - I like a clean windshield. Gloves for fueling. Hand cleaner/disposable gloves for handling blackwater matters.

Congratulations on your new motorhome!

[Hit_the_Rhod]

A suggestion for "Down the Road", and for everyone else on the forum too. About every two years, remove EVERYTHING from your coach. Do it on a nice sunny day, and where you have room to spread it out. Do a thorough house cleaning while everything is out. When putting stuff back in, look over each piece for serviceability, expired product (do you really need that can of expired stewed prunes that no one remembers buying?) If not a tool or emergency item (fire extinguisher) and you haven't used it since the last time you went through the coach, get RID of it! Odds are you will find two or three of things that you only thought you had ONE of, and maybe don't even need ONE! Great way to free up space.

And remember, one item in, one item out, or better yet, one in, TWO out!

[joes2901]

Make a few over nite stops at Walmart, Camping World and with measurements of your spaces for storage go browsing in the evening before they close. Try installing and using over night and go back to browse some more the next morning. You can return stuff that seemed like a good idea in the evening and find a better replacement easier the next morning.

[ohau8622]

All great suggestions thank you

[LETMGROW]

Originally Posted by Hit_the_Rhod

A suggestion for "Down the Road", and for everyone else on the forum too. About every two years, remove EVERYTHING from your coach. Do it on a nice sunny day, and where you have room to spread it out. Do a thorough house cleaning while everything is out. When putting stuff back in, look over each piece for serviceability, expired product (do you really need that can of expired stewed prunes that no one remembers buying?) If not a tool or emergency item (fire extinguisher) and you haven't used it since the last time you went through the coach, get RID of it! Odds are you will find two or three of things that you only thought you had ONE of, and maybe don't even need ONE! Great way to free up space.

And remember, one item in, one item out, or better yet, one in, TWO out!

I totally agree with you. I maintain a list of what I carry in each compartment and have the compartments numbered so I know where everything is. I can look at the list and sort out unused items and make space for new items which might be useful.
When we prepare the MH for storage each fall I empty every compartment and store the contents in clear plastic bins with tight sealing lids. I number the bins so everything can go back to it's rightful location. Before I refill the compartments in the spring I clean them and sort through the goodies and remove anything I haven't used and put it a bin which gets stored in my cellar at home. Every year it seems as though I remove more junk than I put back into the compartments but I always seem to have everything I need.
My wife does about the same thing with the inside contents. Everything gets removed and stored in bins and she cleans all the cupboards, drawers, and closets. Only a few things are left under the bed such as flags and poles throughout the winter storage. She has made dividers to separate things from each drawer etc. and knows where it all goes. She has also removed a few miracle kitchen gadgets which were bought by impulse and never got used.
Both of us maintain lists which we keep in the MH but we also have copies of the lists stored in our house in case of theft or God forbid an accident or fire for insurance claim purposes.
BTW, thanks for reminding me where those prunes are.
Lynn

[mikeannetta]

As a Newbie myself, I tried to find Checklists for exactly what your asking.
I attaching an PDF file of the Checklists.
I created file in Excel, and would send, but looks like excel file format is not compatible in Posts. If anyone knows how I could share the excel file, let me know!

Also feel free to let me know if I'm missing anything important!
List included are:
- Kitchen Checklist
- Camping Checklist
- Tools Checklist
- Departure Checklist

I also have a "Weights and Measure" Page that I have to REMIND ME or other family members who may be driving the coach of Important things like HEIGHT and LENGTH! I have a Winnebago SunStar LX 35F and Copied it from the Web Page!

Hope you find them useful!