I belong to a few camping groups on Facebook, specifically ones for T@bs, and one of the most often asked questions of new owners is, "What are your camping must-haves?" I thought it might be a good idea to compile a list of what we use regularly and recommend to new owners.
Starting with safety and security seems appropriate, doesn't it? Once you've bought your tiny camper, you want to make sure you get to keep your tiny camper. As I'm sure you know, though, if someone wants to steal it badly enough, they'll find a way. You don't have to make it easy for them! Here are a couple of items that help deter theft of our trailer:
1. A locking wheel chock. We bought the Trimax Wheel Chock Lock. This serves two purposes, keep the wheel from rolling when your T@b is parked, and keep the wheel from rolling if someone tries to move it! You can see it here on the right side of the wheel. It reminds me of the "boot" that law enforcement uses on a car that's illegally parked.
2. A Coupler Lock. Once you unhook from your tow vehicle, you can lock your hitch so it makes it hard for someone else to hitch up and haul it away. We chose the Reese Towpower Lock Kit because it also included a locking hitch pin for the receiver. (It also included a lock to keep the coupler from lowering, but it didn't fit our unit.)
3. Locking lug nuts so tires can't be removed/replaced. Thieves are creative, and here's one more way you can keep them from getting their hands on your trailer. Something like these Gorilla Guard Wheel Locks might do the trick. Just make sure you have the right size for your tires.
My next category would be Setting Up. There are a few products that we always make sure to bring to keep the camper level and secure, no matter what the campsite looks like.
1. The BAL leveler. Do NOT leave home without this brilliant piece of equipment! Whoever designed this has my respect. What it does is act both as a wheel chock and a leveler. We use a hammer drill to raise and lower the device which fits snuggly around one tire. We put it on the side that's sitting lower than the other, and raise it up until the trailer is level.
2. The Jack-E-Up. This is a wonderful device that allows you to quickly remove your jack, jockey wheel, and handle when you're hooked up to your tow vehicle. No need to raise up the jack and hope that a big bump won't damage the jack or wheel! Here's a video we took as we removed the jack and wheel before we left our campsite. (The motor you hear is our tow vehicle.)
3. Extension cord. We chose one that matched the T@b (of course) but also rolled up and stored quickly and compactly. One like this give us an extra 25 feet. It has come in so handy when we're just a few feet too far from the electric post at the campsite.
4. Power Adapters. Electricity is not one size fits all. Our camper is set up to run on 30 amp, and sometimes when we camp, there is a 30 amp outlet, but sometimes, there's a 50 amp, and sometimes there's a 15 amp outlet. SO...we need power adapters. It's important to look for male or female connections when buying your adapter. Our camper has a male connection, so our power cord has a female connection on one end to plug into the camper, and a male connection on the other end to plug into the outlet. If we need to adapt to either 15 or 50 amp, we buy an adapter that has female 30 amp to male 15 or 50, depending on the adapter. We use this adapter for F30-M50, and this adapter for F30-M15
5. Jack Pads. Love these! We have four stabilizers on the camper that lower to the ground. On occasion (lots of times!) we have a wet campsite. We put one of the Jack Pads down and lower the stabilizer onto it. This gives it a big footprint and makes it more secure in less than ideal conditions.
6. Leveling blocks. Sometimes, campsites are not level. Like, at all. For instance, this spot in Colorado where the camper was at such an angle, the kitchen counter was almost at my shoulder! At 5'8", I usually don't have this problem.
When the site is this steep, sometimes you can't lower the stabilizers far enough to keep the trailer level. That's where these friends come in really handy! You can stack them up on the ground and lower the stabilizers down to them and keep the trailer secure and level. Bonus use: You can also use them as a shower tile if the campground showers aren't clean enough for your taste! We have found this pack of 10 is more than enough, and easy to bring and store in the camper.
Those are my main recommendations for new campers and glampers. In my next essentials post, we will get into some of the day to day items we use while camping.
Happy setup and camping!
Peggy
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