What Should Be in Your RV Tool Kit?

Every RV owner should have at least a basic tool kit onboard their rig, both for emergency repair scenarios and regular maintenance. A proper RV tool kit consists of the tools you’ll need for every odd job, quick fix, and money saver under the sun. Whether you have a leaky faucet that requires a standard wrench or a power outage that calls for more thorough electrical legwork, your RV tool kit should have just the right stuff. You get to customize your supplies based on your needs, hobbies and capabilities.

In this lesson, RV maintenance expert Dave Solberg and RVIA Certified Technician Steve Albright walk you through a rundown of all the tools and equipment you might consider adding to your RV tool kit.

Step one: which size bag, and what should go in it?

If you’re like Dave and Steve, you prefer to be prepared with all of the essentials and maybe some of those tools you might use once in a blue moon. With a bigger arsenal, you’ll need a bigger bag. To avoid always lugging around an anvil-like RV tool kit, our experts recommend getting a heftier tool bag that can accommodate long and heavy tools, and maybe a smaller bag that fits your lightweight stuff.

Once you have your bag, what do you fill it with? Well, everything you think you’ll need and those items you’ve wished you’d had at one point. To start, Dave and Steve talk about the importance of including a range of common tools such as screwdrivers, pliers, and wrenches. Particularly if you ever plan on doing your own metal shaping or electrical work, you can also throw in a few miscellaneous implements such as picks, wire strippers, crimpers, and tin snips.

Next, every responsible RV owner has a cordless driver in their RV tool kit, complemented with an extensive (or limited, depending on your needs) supply of bits for screwing and drilling. The same goes for allen wrenches and utility knives, which can be utilized on a variety of components in your RV. You should also consider throwing in various flashlights, electrical tape, a tape measure, one or two hammers, and some basic terminals.

If you have some extra room, be sure to think about smaller important tools such as zip ties, paper towels/wet wipes, and assorted gloves that can be used for different jobs.

Other must-haves for an RV tool kit

Dave and Steve then move on to some common items that RVers might overlook. These lesser known but extremely handy tools include a multimeter for electrical measurements, an infrared thermometer, a non-contact voltage tester and a 12-volt test light. Each of these can be vital if you want to save yourself a few bucks by fixing yourself rather than taking your rig into the shop.

Lastly, our experts talk about things to keep in mind when stocking your RV tool kit with wrenches. They give you a quick word or caution about loading the wrong sizes, and ensuring that you have a wrench that fits around your wheels’ lug nuts. Phew, that should about cover the basics! It might sound like a lot, but trust us, you’ll feel much better when you hear a funny noise or feel a little creak under your feet if you have a well-stocked RV tool kit onboard your vehicle!