RVer Bill Tokar offers his tips regarding “what should I carry”?

If nothing else, carry a tire gauge. A relative of mine, an engineer for GM, worked on tires for years, his number one hot button is proper tire inflation. He has seen people keep mechanically pristine vehicles, but have them fail due to this one oversight. I have been paying close attention to the tire monitoring thread, and my own experience with manufacturer installed systems has not been overly good. I just don’t trust the things. I have had way too many false “danger Will Robinsons” from them in the past – I guess better a false warning than none at all – just annoying to pull off and find all is well. So as a habit, before pulling out, we check the tires – truck and TT.

I carry a tool box with wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers, a hammer or two, punches, pliers, wire cutters, wood and metal drill bits, etc. I also keep a small VOM (volt-ohm meter) and various clips, wires, fuses and connectors along with a small soldering iron and accoutrements. I keep spare pieces for the anti-sway system (30 ft. TT), shear pins for the tongue jack (I am trainable), bulbs, etc. I keep some Gorilla glue and some silicon glue as well. Of course there are a box or two of small nails, nuts, bolts and screws. I round everything out with a small 5 ton hydraulic jack (that baby has saved the bacon more than once) and a very small vial of axle grease.

Over the years, my collection has grown, as I have made many a run to the RV or hardware store to fix this or that. Unless we are talking something fairly pricey or large, I pick up a spare and throw it into the pieces parts.

As far as the truck goes – I always keep a good spare tire. It is new enough that I haven’t worried much about belts and hoses and even if one were to go, getting a replacement would not be that difficult.