RV Products We Use

If you’re going to RV or just want to streamline your life, you need to own a high-quality scanner. (Read this post for more tips on digitizing your documents.) We’ve been using the Canon LiDE200 Color Image Scanner for thousands of documents and couldn’t be more impressed. (Take a look at the reviews on Amazon for more.) This machine will scans multiple items at a time, converts text to searchable PDF documents, and does it all without a single hiccup.

We found the best price on Amazon and bought ours there.

There is a newer model for sale getting very high reviews, if you want to check it out too.

I used to own a KitchenAid stand mixer, a lovely full-size blender and food processor. I didn’t want to bring these things with me in the RV, so I looked high and low for a solid gadget that could do a decent job replacing them… and not die after three months of heavy use. I bought a KitchenAid KHB300WH Hand Blender and can earnestly say it is the only thing you need. Out of all the hand-blenders, it’s the strongest, fastest and highest quality, and if you buy it with the attachments, you can whip cream and chop onions as well.

I thought about this purchase long and hard and did tons of research, so I hope it helps you out if you’re looking for a “does it all” kitchen device!

We used to have monster-sized, heavy stoneware plates and bowls. When I realized this wasn’t going to work in the RV, I asked my RV friends for suggestions and they unanimously said “buy Corelle.” Corelle Livingware are smaller, lighter and very chip-resistant: the perfect match for us! They hardly take up any room in our limited cupboard space, and best of all, they’re relatively cheap.

Another bonus: Smaller plates & bowls means smaller servings without thinking about it. I’ve even lost weight since I started using them, and that’s a pretty nice bonus!

When you first plug in, there is a delay while the unit tests the connection. When the electricity is questionable, it will sever the link to the RV protecting your stuff.

If you’re moving around a lot and hooking up to different power supplies, you definitely need one of these. We bought ours at Camping World, but it’s cheaper online.

There are many others that look completely real, too. You can buy a can of Del Monte Fruit Cocktail , a container of Ajax cleanser, and even a realistic can of Aquanet Hairspray. They all look exactly like the real thing! So unless you get a very desperate thief, he’ll just pass over the real goodies and keep looking.

We own a pair of Motorola MH230R 23-Mile Range 22-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radios and they’ve come in pretty handy, especially when my mom joined us for part of the journey. It was easy to keep in touch on the road with a 22-mile range range.

If you’re taking a road trip, The Next Exit 2011: USA Interstate Exit Directory: the Most Complete Interstate Exit Directory is a gem; if you’re RVing, this is essential! The Next Exit gives you an updated list of what you will find at every interstate exit in the United States. That means you can know precisely when the next truck stop is coming up (with diesel!), the next Super Wal-Mart, rest stops and every thing else you can think of. I can tell you if there is a Chili’s, RV park, Waffle House or Home Depot coming up in the next 10 miles or not. Everyone will be less stressed knowing exactly when they can get gas, eat and sleep.

That knowledge is power, I tell you!

There are many ways to find an RV park. You can always go online, but if you only rely on the internet you’re going to get a hit-or-miss experience. Trailer Life RV Parks, Campgrounds, and Services Directory 2011 is very comprehensive, impressively updated and the ratings are accurate. (I pay attention to the bathroom ratings more than anything.) Though I do look online, this directory is the backbone of my RV park research.

(Note: We bought ours at Camping World & paid way more than the price I’m seeing at Amazon right now. If you’ve been RVing for any length of time, you’ll realize that Camping World tends to be pricey.)

Rand McNally 2011 Road Atlas: United States, Canada, and Mexico (Rand Mcnally Road Atlas: United States, Canada, Mexico) is an accurate but basic road atlas by the best in the biz, Rand McNally. It’s on the smaller side and doesn’t have every single little road you might want to see unless it’s a major city. (There are great city maps included.)

This is all we need because we also use a GPS device. Even though I have a GPS, I wouldn’t travel without a physical map, and this does the job.

We started driving the U.S. using just a map. I shunned GPS devices because we tend to be minimalistic and critical of new technology (until it’s been out so long the bugs have been worked out and the price has fallen). Well, after we got lost in Amish cornfields looking for an RV park, we decided it was time. Time to get a GPS. I know, people are shocked that we waited so long. Now that I have one, I am too. So, if you’re like us and living in the Stone Ages, or if you haven’t upgraded in a while, I recommend a large-screen Garmin (not a Tom-Tom). We ended up with a Garmin nüvi 1370/1370T 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth GPS Navigator with Maps of North America & Europe and Lifetime Traffic and love it. The prices are good at Amazon.com but I would check out Wal-Mart.com, too, since they sell refurbished models (only online). You will wonder, how did I live without one?