Looking to Start RVing?
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Shop RV Supplies at the Tractor Store!
Before you even begin compiling a list of RV essentials, you may be wondering where to start…
To be honest, we were as well!
Now, you may be thinking, “I’m looking to start camping, not farming.” Surprisingly, if you are fortunate enough to live near a Tractor Supply Co. store it is a great place to pick up some of those essential RV items, such as the Zero G water hose (pictured here) or what is infamously known as the “stinky slinky.”
Fortunately, there are plenty of RV videos and blogs out there detailing what’s important and what’s not. Especially for those of us who are not looking to break the bank when getting started RVing. Like you, we did not want to load up on a bunch of things we didn’t really need or wouldn’t really use in order to save on space, weight, and money.
When beginning to research RV living, it’s recommended to watch videos and read blogs about different RV rigs and set-ups. We recommend watching those RVers that seem to be similar to your family and budget, but also those outside of it to gain a different perspective and outlook on things. As a single camper you may be surprised to discover that a family of six has a tip or idea that you can use when RVing and vice versa.
We spent a considerable amount of time watching RV YouTube videos and reading travel and RV blogs. While we prepared for this journey, watching these videos quickly replaced catching up on our Netflix favorites. By doing so, we were able to get an idea of what we thought we’d like and what we thought we wouldn’t.
Making an RV Essentials List
We began watching “RV newbie” and “RV essentials” videos on YouTube to find out what we needed or could use to start living this new lifestyle. And we started compiling those “Day 1 item” lists, (making lists is on of Ian’s favorite past-times, so he took the lead on this).
We recommend checking out the YouTube channels of the following RV influencers Keep Your Dream – KYD, Changing Lanes, Happily Ever Hanks, and others like them to see what they have to share on RV essentials. They break it down and say what they found to be essential and what they thought would be but wasn’t. After watching several of these videos we felt we had a better understanding of what was a “Day 1” item for our needs and what was something we could get a little later on.
Let’s Travel Family have essential RV items listed on their website which made creating our own list of essential RV items that much easier. We did see lots RV videos that we wanted “Day 1” that weren’t always on those lists, so we made sure to jot those down as well.
Once our RV essentials list was (mostly) complete, we started shopping around to find the best price for each item. Rather time-consuming but it was time well-spent as we discovered that prices vary greatly depending on where and when you shop. Amazon is easy and convenient for purchasing those harder to find items but for more common things, it sometimes pays to shop around.
In reviewing our RV essentials list, we realized we already had many basic tools needed for RV living. Though, there were certain things we needed to buy. For example, we had many corded power tools but decided to sell those and purchase all cordless ones instead.
Home Depot Has Power Tools
We recommend purchasing all power tools needed for your RV from Home Depot. That’s because we buy Milwaukee power tools exclusively now. We have had issues with both Black & Decker, Dewalt, and Rigid power tools and won’t buy either of them again. Milwaukee provides a five-year warranty that we’ve never had to use. However, buy whichever brand works best for you!
For your other tool needs we suggest you go to your local Harbor Freight or Tractor Supply Co.
Harbor Freight Has RV Supplies
Harbor Freight has great prices on hand tools. We have not purchased any power tools from them so we cannot speak to their quality. Though, they seem to have multiple options and brands available.
Regarding hand tools, we’ve purchased the Pittsburgh brand mostly and they have worked just fine. We bought a pry bar set which was particularly affordable and have been very pleased with. It was one tenth of the price of the more expensive brands at other stores and online.
The layout of the of the Harbor Freight brick and mortar stores can be a little confusing. They tend to have the same items in multiple places across the store which we found a little disorienting the first time we shopped there. As a side note, one thing we wish they had was a wider assortment of individual sockets as they had less than a handful of sizes available for individual purchase. Though, the sockets they did have were varied and affordable. Ian is not a huge fan of socket sets as he likes to use rails and organize them in a toolbox. Overall, we highly recommend checking out Harbor Freight over a big box home improvement store for most of your run of the mill tools.
Tractor Supply Co. Has RV Essentials
The next store we discovered for purchasing RV essentials has been one of our absolute favorite, the Tractor Supply Co. They have such a wide variety of supplies and tools. They have a wide variety of individual sockets (regular and deep) which helped round out the ones we needed to fill the gaps in our collection and for a good price.
Tractor Supply Co. has great prices on water hoses for drinking, including the Zero-G water hose! Tractor Supply Co. also carries a range of auto supplies for both gas and diesel engines. They carry Shell Rotella oil, fuels cans, fuel and oil additives, batteries, jumper cables… all the stuff you need for your tow vehicle, and then some!
Regarding farming, the Tractor Supply Co. aims to be a one-stop shop for farmers as they have feed, clothing, live chicks, and even axels. We found our RV sewer hose there for $10 cheaper than Amazon (but as we know prices vary depending on when and where you buy, so always check around).
Tractor Supply Co. carries both DeWalt and Makita power tools. While we prefer Milwaukee, Makita is a close second. We really enjoy going to Tractor Supply Co. and will continue to shop there for our essential RV items as we need to replace them. items and if they didn’t have what we were looking for, check out another place like Harbor Freight.
Another pro, both places offer a free rewards program and send out frequent coupons and updates about promotional sales. All you need to sign up for either program is to provide an email address or phone number and you’ll begin stacking up those rewards to cash in on future purchases.
Share With Us!
Where are your favorite, maybe lesser known, places to shop for your RV and camping essentials?
What do you like/dislike about the stores we shared in this post?
