Last Updated on June 4, 2025 by PorchLightReading
43 Dollar store RV essentials and camping hacks for your new (or used) RV. Must have list and tips for your first camping trip. Plus a free, printable, shopping checklist.
It is so exciting to become a new camper family! Hooking the travel trailer up for the first time and bringing it home with a sigh of relief that after saving up and searching for the right one (at the right price) it’s finally yours!
But as good as a deal it was, you realize this camper is empty, or maybe they left a couple of odd and ends. But it’s not ready for a camping trip, yet.
Leaving your mind racing to figure out all the things you’ll need for cooking, cleaning, and everything in between.
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- Table of contents: Dollar Store RV Essentials
- 19 Dollar store RV kitchen supplies
- 10 RV cleaning must haves
- 11 Camper utility supplies
- 8 Outdoor fun finds
- 3 Personal care essentials
- 9 Camping hacks for an easier trip
- Dollar Store RV Essentials Checklist – Free printable
The easiest thing to do is to head to the dollar store. Eventually you’ll find a better this or that, but for now we want to get on the road and enjoy the great outdoors.
Dollar Store RV Essentials
You may have some extra kitchen towels to bring into the camper, but having to pack and unpack everything gets tiresome real quick. It’s better to let these things stay in the camper for the long run.
Kitchen Supplies
- Kitchen towels
- Pot holders
- Drawer liners
- Trash bags
- Sandwich bags/gallon bags
- Cutting board/knifes/scissors
- Cheese grater
- Bottle/can opener
- Utensils
- Sponges
- Spatula/tongs
- Serving spoons
- Tin foil
- Chip clips
When you have kids and pets, dirt is constantly coming into the camper. It’s just part of the camping life. But at the end of the day you’ll want a nice swept floor and clean dishes.
Camper Cleaning Must Haves
- Dish soap
- Dust pan/broom
- Paper towels
- Garbage can
- Moisture eleminater
- Dish rack
- Cleaning wipes
- Dog poop bags
- Mesh laundry bag
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It’s nice to personalize your living space with decor and function. If your camper is older, a wall sticker backsplash will give it a more homey feel and the kids will appreciate having their own push nightlights.
You might even want to add a couple of tools to this list, such as screwdrivers and tire pressure gauge.
RV Utility Supplies
- Duct tape
- Door hangers
- Self adhesive hooks
- Push nightlights
- Flashlight
- Storage bins
- Matches/lighter
- Shower liner
- Closet hangers
- Backsplash wall stickers
Outdoor glow sticks are a fun way to spend the night and keep an eye out for the kids playing in the tree line. The same is true for twinkle lights around the campsite.
Outdoor Must Haves
- Glow sticks
- Cars/dolls
- Puzzles/coloring
- Bubbles
- Chalk
- Bird feeder
- Solar lights
It’s important to have a few medicine cabinet items on hand at all times. Part of camping includes bugs! Hopefully at a minimum. Although bug spray isn’t on my dollar store list, be sure to pack that along with sun block.
Personal Care
- First aid kit
- Bug bite relief
- Tylenol
These dollar store essentials are your first step to getting on the road. Of course you’ll still need a few more things such as:
and a few tools, but those are not things that can be found at the dollar store.
9 CAMPNG HACKS
Eventually you become a pro and figure out a few tricks and hacks to make life easier, but until then we can start off with a few things to get you started.
Stay organized with checklists- It’s easy to get off track and forget something that was once on the tip of your brain by a simple question someone asked about sandwiches while you try to pack the kayaks. You get there only to find out that you forgot the paddles. Sadly, I’m speaking from experience. Checklists are where it’s at and luckily for you I’ve created a few that you can print out and keep on hand. So be sure to check them out in the next post.
*Pro tip- If you find you’re packing things but not using them, cross them out and leave them at home. Less is more.
Firewood- Keep your firewood in a cardboard box. Not only does it keep the truck bed clean while packing other items, but the box and flaps can also be used as a fire starter. Just remember to only use locally sourced firewood while on camping trips.
Bring a fan!- Flies don’t like moving air and I don’t like flies. A box fan will do wonders to keep you comfortable while camping.
Shoe organizer in the RV closet- Maybe your closest is bigger than mine, but I love using a shoe organizer in the RV for my clothes. You can roll up outfits per day and place them in the individual compartments, or have a designated compartment for socks, T-shirts, ect.
Bring a headlamp- Having two hands while camping is a must. So much is done in the dark! Keep it hands free with a headlamp.
*Pro tip- Use an empty milk jug and turn your headlamp into a glowing lantern. Just shine the light down the top of the jug and you’ll have a light strong enough for a board game with the family.
Tin foil to clean the grill grates- Ball up some tinfoil and use it to clean the grates before cooking.
Freeze water bottles- Use plastic water bottles as ice packs. As it starts to melt you have nice, cool, water to keep you hydrated. Just be sure to remove some of the water before freezing as the water will expand in the freezer.
Collapsable buckets- You never know when you need a bucket and collapsable buckets are the way to go when you’re needing to save space.
Free printable checklist
Once you get into a routine packing and meal planning will become like second nature. But until then it’s nice to have a little list to help you along.
So pack up! Book the trip and drive safely. We’ll see you on the road.
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Dollar stores are a must for camp shopping! Condiments, easy meals, great storage stuff and health and cleaning supplies. Less waste and smaller portions. Space saving and most likely will use up the items so don’t have to bring them home.
I agree! It’s a quick and budget friendly way to set yourself up with camping supplies. A lot of these items can even be left in the camper at all times like kitchen utensils, making it extra easy on the mental packing list. Space saving and smaller portions is definitely the way to go!
Hi! Nice article. One helpful tip is to keep your checklists in plastic page protectors and you can check things off using a dry erase marker and then erase it and have it ready for next time. We have a checklist that we use each time and I include the items that we usually keep in the camper because what if we brought it in the house and forgot to take it back to the camper. It drives my husband crazy but it prevents us from arriving at the camp site with the ingredients for a meal in the dutch oven and then discovering that it is still at home.
We do long trips in the summer (hubby is retired and I am off all summer) and we make weekly menus and include a shopping list with it and I keep those in plastic page protectors so we can just take it out of the camping binder and mark off items as we shop. I love those page protectors and use them at work with my students because they can write on them and then erase it.
What a great idea! Page protectors with dry erase markers. That would absolutely keep everything nice and organized. I agree, trying to remember everything takes a lot of mental load, while writing and checking things off keeps things much easier while camping and traveling far from home. I’ll have to give the page protectors a try on our next camping trip. Thank you for the tip!