Words and Photos by Perry Mack
Self-sufficiency is a core tenet of RVing. Afterall, your rig is an independent, travelling home-on-wheels free from the constraints of basements and property taxes. Your survival in the wild, or a stress-free day in the park, could come down to the contents of your RV tool kit.
The reasons we carry a fairly complete toolkit are twofold. Number one is that we’re too cheap to pay someone else to do something we can do ourselves and secondly, sometimes there is no one else to do the job at hand. Plus, there is a feeling of satisfaction that comes with getting yourself out of a jam whether it’s a flat tire, leaking hose, or broken handle on your favourite coffee mug.
Perry Mack
Let’s start with our three top tips regarding any RV tool kit.
First, although it costs more, is it's important to have a dedicated kit of tools, parts, and compounds solely for use in your RV. If you make it something you have to pack for the RV or you poach items for home use from the RV, you’re apt to be missing the whole kit or an essential item when you need it most. This could happen (and often does) when you are inconveniently far from a hardware store to replace what you’re missing, or your mishap may make you unable to get to the hardware store.
Second tip, if you want to keep your tool kit as light and organized as possible it should be the only kit you use to do most repairs and maintenance on your RV. By only using your RV tool kit, you can add the tools you need and remove all the ones you don’t. The odds are you don’t need every size of socket and screwdriver ever made.
Perry Mack
When the power stops flowing you’ll appreciate being able to find out why.
Finally, keep your tool kit in a handy place, preferably accessible from the curb side. If your repair is at the side of a highway, you don’t want to have to empty a whole storage area just to get to it. The same applies if it’s raining, cold or you’re on the side of a narrow road with no shoulder. Repairs can be stressful at times and you can make things a lot easier by planning and preparing for tough locations.
If you carry an automotive tool kit, some items will carry over but many things in the RV tool kit will be u
Perry Mack
Stock spare fuses in the sizes you need by looking in your panel.
Tools you should have can be broken down into the challenges you may face; electrical, mechanical and plumbing. Some essential tools are the same for every situation. In your basic kit you should have an adjustable wrench, multibit screwdriver, hammer, vice grips, tongue-and-groove pliers, needle nose pliers, a quality utility knife, ratchet straps, battery-powered driver, drill bit kit, and a ratchet and sockets in the sizes to match your RV (including wheel lugs).
In addition to these basic essentials, we like to have a quality Leatherman-style multi-tool in a handy drawer for quick fixes so we don’t have to go to our main tool kit, and always keep a flashlight (or two) charged since things often go wrong in the dark.
Most electrical challenges can be fixed with a crimper/stripper/cutter tool, multi-meter, and a battery terminal brush.
Perry Mack
Our trailer tires need to inflate to 65 psi and our rear truck tires to 80 psi. This dual piston compressor with gauge can handle both quickly. Many cheaper gauges and compressors won’t.
Mechanical issues are related to all the bits of your RV that move like tires, axles, slides, and hinges. Your essential tools can handle most minor issues, but we would suggest you add a tire repair kit, tire gauge and 12V portable air compressor. The compressor can be very inexpensive, but I suggest spending what you can afford as the more you spend the more you get. By this we mean, faster fill rates and better-quality parts. The truth of the matter is a compressor will only fail when you need it most. Aside from repairs and maintenance, you can use it to easily fill bike tires, air mattresses, and in larger sizes you can even run air tools.
Plumbing and other water related issues will arise and the previously discussed tools will handle most of these as well. Here I would add the caulking gun, and a Clamptite.
Perry Mack
Most of us carry a spare, but the road doesn’t care how many flats you get on a single trip. Tire repair kits are cheap, easy to use insurance to keep us rollin’ on.
We also often need some compounds to help with our repairs. My essentials list includes duct tape (T-Rex is unbeatable), Gorilla glue, silicone and acrylic sealants, WD40, lithium grease, epoxy putty, electrical contact spray, bailing wire (preferably stainless), electrical tape, shop towels, zip ties, and Teflon tape.
Some parts are essential and can’t be repaired so you should carry spares. My list includes a few trailer signal light bulbs, plus an assortment of hose clamps and fuses to match your RV.
While you can go out and buy everything new for a relatively complete tool kit, like us you may not need everything in a kit or you’re too thrifty to buy new. Your local online classifieds and pawn shops may have what you need at a good discount. I suggest you familiarize yourself with the costs of the new tools you need so you have an idea what you should pay for used in both cheaper and better quality.
Perry Mack
A few supplies can maintain your RV and your toys.
I like buying hand tools used but items like the battery-powered drill I prefer new. These kinds of tools can suffer abuse that you can’t see, and batteries lose their ability to hold a charge over time. When we’ve looked for replacement chargers and batteries, they cost the same as a new power tool complete with batteries and a charger. So, you may as well start with new.
Throw in a head-mounted flashlight for hands-free work in the dark, along with safety glasses, work gloves (save yourself from scraped knuckles and the grief of handling cold and wet parts with bare hands), rubber gloves and you’ll be set like Superman to solve most RV maintenance and repair challenges.
Watch the complete video.
Perry Mack
Happiness is two hands and a light to make repairs.