How I Accidentally Donate RV Gear Across America
I swear I am living the RV version of Groundhog Day, only instead of reliving time, I am re-buying the same camping gear over and over again like some kind of absent-minded squirrel.
There are two items in particular. They never break. They never wear out. They are perfectly good, solid RV parts.
I just keep leaving them behind.
Not losing. Not misplacing.
Leaving.
As in: Hey campground, enjoy this. Compliments of me. Apparently, I am running a charity.
The culprits:
- A water faucet splitter.
I use it so I can hook two hoses to the campground spigot. One hose to my fresh water. The other is to flush the black tank when needed. Nice. Handy. Smart. - A water pressure regulator.
Because campground water pressure can sometimes be so high it could power-wash the paint off a barn. Always use one. Always.
And yet, I repeatedly drive away without them. Like clockwork. Like my brain has a selective blind spot that only activates during campsite teardown.
My most recent realization of this flaw in my brain was in Fredericksburg, Texas at the Oakwood Campground, where we were holding our fall rally for the RV Community. Nice place. Anyway, I had just set up and was about ready to relax when I realized: No splitter. Again.
It was undoubtedly back in New Orleans, at the campground we had stayed at a couple of nights before. I left the splitter. But on the positive side, I did remember to bring the regulator. So there's that.
But this time, instead of immediately going on Amazon to reorder (for the fourth time), I walked up to the campground office.
I asked, kind of sheepishly, “Any chance someone has left behind a faucet splitter I could borrow?”
The guy behind the desk laughed. Not at me, but with the knowing laugh of a man who has seen things.
“Borrow? We have a whole box of them in back. Water pressure regulators too.”
He even brought one over to my site. Then he said the most compassionate thing an RVer can hear.
“Keep it.”
And in that moment, I felt seen.
So here is my official pro tip to you:
Before you click “Buy Again” on Amazon, go ask the campground office.
They probably have a lost and found that is basically a shrine to all of us who pack up a little too fast.
Your budget will thank you.
Your campsite neighbors will thank you.
And Amazon… well… Amazon will be fine.
P.S. If you do need to get these, here are the two I buy:
RV Hi-Flow Water Pressure Regulator 50-55 psi – https://amzn.to/4njZB9a
Camco Solid Brass Water Splitter – https://amzn.to/42XI3bP
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After many years of RVing my last act before driving away is to “walk the campsite” to check for items left behind. I hope this helps someone!
Probably, everyone has done that, or worse. It makes one feel really stupid. Twenty-some years ago, I drove off without unplugging the 50-amp! We all tend to focus more on getting the interior of the RV ready for travel, but still forget things. My routine is to put the pressure reducer on the water softener. I haven’t lost one in many years. They’re inexpensive, so carrying a backup makes sense in case one fails. Prior to leaving, one of us walks around the outside of the RV twice, first looking down, next looking up and then triple checking the towing connections. We have a long check list for the inside stuff, including things like pocket door latches, fridge door secured, antenna down and jacks up. Your coach might give you a warning but if it’s just an audio alarm, that’s not always helpful. Our Dish satellite antenna controller module would sense when the ignition is turned on and would automatically stow the dish antenna. It kept making me think that I hadn’t already stowed it and that was very annoying. It would produce an annoying beep alarm and we would immediately stop to figure out where it was coming from. I finally disconnected the ignition lead on back of the controller module. We use our checklist instead. There’s no such thing as leaving in a hurry. Be especially careful when leaving fuel stations. Walk around the area twice, making sure that you replaced the fuel cap, locked the fuel door and surveyed potential obstructions.
I do a ‘walk around’ check before we leave our campsite after my husband finishes unhooking everything outside. I look at slides, windows, jacks, tires, steps, awning, the power pedestal, the water faucet, etc. Then we check our lights on the vehicle we tow. We’ve only left our pressure regulator once, now I check for it. Fortunately, it was at a family member’s house but we still had to buy another one before we went back there.