After living in our Truck Camper for two years, we’ve had time to figure out the most useful RV upgrades. Here we are going to share our 3 most useful upgrades that we would do first if we were to buy a new camper.
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Upgrade #3 – A battery monitor
When Sasha and I started boondocking more often, our battery levels became more and more important to monitor. The factory-installed battery monitor isn’t very accurate and checking voltage with a multimeter was tedious and didn’t give enough information. I installed this Renogy battery monitor after 2 months of struggling to figure out how much power we had left in our batteries. There are several options on the market, but this particular one fit nicely and was affordable. Having an accurate way to monitor battery usage is the key to knowing what your battery’s state of charge is. Battery monitor can also tell you when you might need to replace or upgrade your batteries. They also help you understand how much power each device and light your RV uses. This knowledge lets you more easily manage your power usage. For me, a battery monitor was the first step towards building a power system to support our growing power needs.
Now that I’ve made some substantial power upgrades, I’ll be swapping this monitor out for something that I can monitor with my phone. Most likely it’s going to be the Victron SmartShunt. It’s really nice to have the data on my phone, since I already use my phone to monitor my batteries. It’ll also free up space on my tiny panel for me to install my other inverter power button.
Regardless of what you chose, I strongly recommend getting some kind of battery monitor. They are really worth the investment! Another important item that you might need is a battery combiner. You can read about it here.
Upgrade – #2 RhinoFLEX Sewer Hose
We started off our travels using the sewer hose from our previous travel trailer. It was a cheap hose from Walmart, the Camco Revolution. This hose was the basic vinyl stinky slinky. We rarely stay at a place with full hookups. Our hoses live in our bumper and get pulled out for use at dump stations. In our first year, we had 2 fail on us by cracking at the seam. The first time, I noticed it before I dumped, but the second time, it broke while dumping. Luckily, the dump station had a working water hose and the mess was easily washed down the drain. But, this accident highlighted how important a sewer hose is to our daily life.
After a lot of reading, I decided to simply try the next step up in price, the Camco RhinoFLEX hose. And WOW, what a huge difference! The plastic is thicker, it holds its shape and doesn’t retract when stretched to the maximum. Even though both of these hoses are 10’, the RhinoFLEX is a foot longer when stretched out. Also, it doesn’t want to pull back like the other hose.
The hose is made out of polyolefin, which is much more pliable and works better in cold weather. So far, this single hose has lasted twice as long and has no signs of wear. The vinyl hose costs $15 and the RhinoFlex costs $20. However, you’ll end up spending many times more on replacement hoses and headaches. The additional $5 is well worth it! While writing this article, I found a huge price difference between Amazon and Walmart prices. Make sure to double-check the pricing before you make a purchase.
Upgrade – #1 MaxxFan Deluxe 7000 series
Many years ago, I lived in a 5th wheel for about 2 years. That experience taught me the importance of ventilation, especially on wet, rainy days. The 5th wheel had a Fantastic Fan with a rain sensor that would close the vent when it rained. That’s a very handy safety feature to have, but doesn’t really help with airflow on a rainy day. I installed a vent cover, which allowed me to use the fan in the rain. That was a great combination! A few years later, Sasha and I bought a Travel Trailer and I spent a while searching for the perfect fan to install. I finally decided on a MaxxFan Deluxe 7000 series. It was the very first upgrade to that camper, and I have been in love with these fans ever since.
When we got our Cirrus Truck camper, the very first upgrade that I did was to install a MaxxFan. I also moved the original factory fan to the bathroom, which worked out perfectly.
The MaxxFan will run rain or shine because it has an integrated vent cover. It’s fully automatic and it has 10 speeds, for both intake and exhaust. The greatest part is that I use the remote control to run it from the bed. If it gets too hot or cold in the middle of the night, I can adjust it without getting up. I think that this fan is the best on the market and it’s our most used upgrade in the camper.
The fan runs most of the time, sometimes for weeks on end. It’s vital to our comfort and we wouldn’t want to camp full-time without it.
Final Thoughts
We have done a lot of other upgrades, like our office, battery system, and inverters, but those were specific to our needs. Sasha and I think that these 3 basic RV upgrades are the most important and useful for any campers. We also made a video about these upgrades, you can watch it below.