Our Fave Gear for RV Living & Nifty Gift Ideas

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It’s that time of year again! The Holidays are upon us. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hannukah, and Festivus for the rest of us. And while we’re not big on accumulating “stuff”, the joy of gifting is on our minds. Whether you’re looking for something special (or just plain practical) for loved ones. Or you just want to spoil yourself with something that enhances your RV life and traveling adventures, we’ve got you covered. Here are 21 gift guide ideas from $9 – $900, featuring our favorite gear, plus some AMAZING sale prices that just may be too good to pass up!

Everything from RV gear to household items, electronics, books, and even memberships to save you money. Black Friday. Cyber Monday. Holiday Sales. Coupon Codes. Grand Opening Sales. Special Discounts. They’re all here. We hope you find something in here for everyone.

A few things to keep in mind…

  1. You can find many of these items in our Amazon store while other items (or deals) are only available from specific websites or businesses that we know and trust.
  2. Please keep in mind that inventory and prices can (and do) vary throughout the season, so anything we share here is current at the time of publishing this article. And subject to change without notice. Please visit related links to see the latest prices for each item.
  3. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to leave us a comment. We’re happy to help!

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You can click the links shown below for each item, to learn more and/or make a purchase

OK, are you ready to dive into our selections for this year’s Holiday Gift Guide? Let’s go!

1. The New Mavic Mini Drone

Even though our new drone just arrived this week, it’s already one of Marc’s favorite things of the whole year. 

The new Mavic Mini weighs only 249 grams (about ½ pound) and not much bigger than an apple! It is so small that it can fit in my jacket pocket.  This is the lowest and safest weight class. Its light weight also means it does not need to be registered with the government in USA or Canada.

Our previous drone was a Phantom 3 Pro. it performed well, but was heavy and bulky to transport. This significantly reduced our opportunities to capture footage while out on hikes, as it was only practical to bring along if we had our Jeep or were flying from the RV.

Despite the Mavic Mini’s tiny (toy like) size it has similar performance to larger, more expensive drones. It can fly for 30 minutes on a charge. And the new DJI FLY app makes it easier than ever to capture professional looking shots with automated Quickshot programs.

Professional drone videographers might not like that it can’t shoot in 4K, but the 2.7K footage captured by the Mavic Mini is plenty for our YouTube needs.  Currently available on Amazon. This is an amazing leap forward in drone technology for an unbelievable price. I love it and can’t wait to start sharing more drone footage with you all!

2. Intex K2 Explorer Inflatable Kayak

We bought this in the summer to make the most of our visit with friends Brett and Danelle who live near beautiful Wallowa Lake in north eastern Oregon. We considered several brands of inflatable kayaks at different price levels. And ended up deciding to buy a less expensive one first, to see how much we would like it and use it, before investing more heavily. It was rated highly in the reviews, and for the price, the risk was low.

So far we are very impressed with the value for money! For around $80 we have a two person inflatable kayak with seats and paddles.

It took about 10-15 minutes to inflate and set it up.  It isn’t as efficient in the water as a hard sided, or higher end inflatable, but we still found it very fun to paddle around in. The K2 can carry a maximum of 400 pounds which is plenty for the two of us.

When inflated, it is about 10 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 1.75 feet tall. Having multiple inflation chambers gives us confidence that we won’t find ourselves in a dangerous situation with loss of air pressure while out on the lake.

More on our experience with it.

We left the kayak inflated for about 4 weeks while in Oregon, just transporting to and from the lake on top of our Jeep.  This also meant we didn’t need to dry it off to deflate it and put it away.  Also handy to drive home with it on the roof as it helped dry it off thoroughly.

Our Intex K2 kayak deflates and packs down in about 3 minutes. It is easy to transport in the carry bag.  Weighs about 38 pounds and stores easily in the basement of our coach or the back of our Jeep. When packed up in its storage bag, it is about 24″x16″x14″.

We are having a lot of fun with it, and currently on Amazon it is less than the cost of a couple rentals, and we can use it whenever we want.  At this price it has already paid for itself.

3. Rugged Portable Battery Pack / Device Charger

There’s a saying in our RV. It’s called “Julie-ing the phone”. That’s what happens when I use my phone so much when we’re out and about that I kill the battery. It happens way more often than I’m willing to admit. We’ve been through a few external battery packs over the years, but they haven’t really stood the test of time. We got the myCharge AdventureUltra Portable Charger about a year ago and it’s still going strong.

This is a heavy duty, yet portable battery pack that comes with 4 ports:two USB-A, one USB-C, plus a 120V AC port. It’s been awesome for charging just about any electronic device – smart phones, cameras, battery packs, tablets and laptops. This charger fits into my handbag or backpack. And I can recharge my phone several times, on a single charge! And while it’s bulkier than my previous external battery packs, it works way better.

It even kept my phone fully charged all the way to Australia – a 14 hour flight! It’s totally worth it.

4. Nextbase Dash Cam

We just started using a dashboard camera (aka dash cam) this past summer. And we have to say, it’s proving to be a pretty nifty addition to our RV tech and safety arsenal. This dash cam records our road trips with a 1440p/30fps HD dash cam. It captures everything that happens in front of you on the road – day or night – on a MicroSD card.

This Nextbase 422GW Dash Cam comes with a touch screen, and has Amazon Alexa built-in. So you play music, make calls or get directions, without taking your hands from the wheel or your eyes from the road. It is also enabled for WIFI, GPS and an Emergency SOS feature. And while we haven’t used all of these in-built features yet, we’ve been able to capture some nice quality footage from the road.  We’re able to easily view and share footage, using the free MyNextbase cloud storage, and copy to our smart phones.

It’s a useful safety device, should we ever need evidence in the event of a road incident. And also a handy tool for capture footage that we may like to share in our videos and social media, just for fun. We mounted this into our RV, using the 12v charger, so it automatically starts recording when we plug it in and start a journey. We also bought an extra dash cam mount for our tow vehicle, so we can use the Dash Cam for everyday driving around in our Jeep.

Buy NextBase DashCam: https://amzn.to/2DcKWJx

Buy the extra dash cam mount: https://amzn.to/2OHMctr

Sand-Free Camping and RV Patio Mat

Since hitting the road in 2014, we have had about 6 different outdoor patio mats. Most of them were the cheap, standard kind you get from camping stores. But this latest Sand-Free Patio Mat by CGear is definitely our favorite. Why? First, it is made of two layers of mesh fabric that lets the sand fall through it. It has significant reduced the amount of fine sand that often gets tracked into our RV. Second, this mat is lighter, more compact, and folds up much more easily than any of our previous mats.

It comes with a handy carry bag that makes transporting and storage so much easier. These double-sided mats come in a range of sizes and colors. We have the large 8’x20’ size in blue/green which weighs about 12 pounds. Whether you’re looking for a mat for your RV site, camping adventures or a day at the beach, these are definitely worth checking out.

6. Pepwave Mobile Router

The latest addition to our “mobile connectivity arsenal” is the Pepwave Max Transit DUO “PrimeCare Edition” Dual Modem LTE-Advanced Mobile Router. A bit of a mouthful, huh!? Don’t let it scare you off. Let’s just tell you what it does, and why we have it.

We currently have a video underway about our complete connectivity setup. But as this router is on sale now, we wanted to give you a heads up. Since hitting the road, we have been using two separate MIFI jetpacks to connect to the Internet (Verizon/AT&T). We wanted a more stable and reliable internet connection that felt more like a wired home solution. 

Enter the MAX Transit Duo. It’s a complete mobile internet solution for travelers like us looking to use cellular data as our primary mode of staying connected. The Transit Duo accepts SIM cards directly into its built-in cellular modem (two modems, 4 slots) and is compatible with AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon. With the Pepwave Transit Duo we can load the router with multiple SIM cards from multiple carriers allowing us to select which SIM/carrier is in use by the modem.

The signal from our cellular connection is then re-broadcasted wirelessly inside our RV using the units MIMO WiFi antennas. You can also utilize the Transit Wifi-As-Wan functionality to connect to campground WiFi in addition the cellular modem. But we have not tried this yet. This router is a true powerhouse for mobile workers like us, who rely on a solid connection to work from the road. 

Where and How To Buy

We got our Pepwave from MobileMustHave as they are tech experts and full time RVers who understand our mobile needs. They have a large selection, plus excellent support and service for choosing the right unit and can help you get it set up.  There are a variety of models depending on your needs, including simple WIFI hotspots if you don’t need a system as robust as ours. 

HOW TO BUY

If you have questions, they have an online chat to help you out

7. PotHeadz Steam Diverter for Instant Pot (and Ninja Foodi)

The Instant Pot is probably most likely to be be voted most popular kitchen appliance these days, followed closely by the Ninja Foodi. So it makes sense there are now a ton of IP / Ninja accessories available to make food prep even easier. Enter the PotHeadz Steam Diverter.

One of our clever RVLove fans actually devised and manufactured this, and sent one to us to test it out. Now we use it regularly to help keep steam out of the RV when we’re cooking! Simply pop the silicone “bird” onto your Instant Pot (or Ninja) Pressure Release Valve at the end of the cooking cycle, and the steam is released sideways out of the bird’s beak, instead of up.

This diverts the steam out through the kitchen window instead of up into the ceiling or overhead cabinets. It really helps reduce heat and moisture in the RV when cooking. Comes with a bonus 2-in-1 adapter and stand, and makes a great stocking stuffer gift.

8. Inofia Dehumidifier

As unglamorous as it may seem, this was one of my most exciting purchases last December. We were RVing in Florida and the high humidity and rain meant the air in the RV always felt ‘damp’. It was difficult for towels to dry and we started noticing a slight musty smell inside the RV. After doing my research, I bought this Inofia 30 Quart Dehumidifer, with intelligent humidity control.

It comes with a 4-pint water bucket and a continuous drain hose outlet. And can service rooms up to 1056 square feet. It beeps when the bucket is full of water, which can happen in a matter of hours (and wake us in the middle of the night). So we funneled the drain hose out through the corner of our slide out in the living area. This keeps the water continuously draining outside of the RV. (My Plan B would have been sitting the dehumidifer in the shower during the night so the water would go down the drain).

It’s fairly compact, looks attractive and works GREAT. Our friends Michael and Louise borrowed it for their travel trailer after the smaller unit (another brand) they purchased wasn’t proving to be effective. They ended up buying this unit as well. We consider this dehumidifier to be ideal for RVs, (trailers and motorhomes). And at home in the bedroom, bathroom, garage, attic and basement. We used it every single day while on the east coast, and it made a HUGE difference.

9. Comfortably Wild - the book

We may love RVing, but the truth is, we’re up for any kind of travel! “Glamping” has sprung up all over North America, over the last decade but believe it or not, there has never been a book on the topic…until now! Written by our friends, Mike and Anne of HoneyTrek, “Comfortably Wild” is the culmination of their 3-year, 9-country, 73,000-mile quest to find the best glamping destinations on the continent. And it came out beautifully!

From campgrounds to boutique properties, Airbnbs, luxury tents and teepees, vintage trailers, urban and ranch/farm style experiences, there is a unique style of glamping for everyone in this book. This coffee-table-meets-guidebook is a feast for the eyes and will inspire even more wanderlust. Discover over 70 dreamy destinations, plus inspiring stories, practical tips, and a lifetime worth of adventures inside. This book is an ideal gift for any traveler.

10. Roadside Safety Emergency LED Lights / Flares

We’ve tried a few different types of roadside safety flares over the years. And this rugged HOKENA LED Road Flares and Emergency Light Kit has now made its way into our vehicle. They help us stay safe in the event of a roadside breakdown or emergency.  These LED Flares are extremely durable, waterproof and even float!

Choose from kits of 3 or 5 disc style flares in a zippered storage bag. Plus, bonus glass window breaker, seatbelt cutter and tools for easy battery replacement (comes with 3 AAA batteries pre-installed). We’ve had this kit for a while now, and the latest version also comes with an emergency thermal blanket. The safety flares are disc shaped, and magnetic, so you can stick them to the side of your vehicle. You can also pull out the mini stand to prop the flares up on the road in front of or behind your vehicle, to ensure you are highly visible.

The flares come with 9 unique light modes – including flashlight, morse code and quick flash – to ensure the flares can be seen up to a mile away. Batteries last up to 35 hours (depending on mode used). These are safe, reusable and easy to use. Ideal to keep as an emergency kit in your cars, trucks, RVs, motorcycles, and boats. Great for hiking and backpacking too, and a great gift for anyone. Especially if you’re safety conscious, like us!

SPECIAL OFFERS

11. MagneShade Windshield, Window, and Tire Covers

Before we hit the road, Marc worked at a window coverings company for several years. So he was well aware of the huge difference external window coverings can make to reducing heat gain inside. With sun streaming in through the big glass windshield of our motorhome, the inside quickly heats up.

We used to have the snap on type window covers for our RV. But he needed to climb ladders and hang precariously from the roof, to put them on and take them off. It was awkward, time consuming, and not exactly safe. So this year, we upgraded to custom magnetic sunshades for our motorhome CC, from MagneShade. They are designed to fit your RV glass tight, using a patented, Rare Earth Magnet system. Safe and easy to put on and take off with the MagneShade Pole, so there is no need to ever take your feet off the ground. Now, we can put the MagneShade on – or remove – in less than a minute. Making it easier to use, even for short stays.

What Shades Do We Have?

We have MagneShades for our Windshield and Driver Side Window, which block 90% of the heat, while maintaining daytime privacy. And we still have excellent outward visibility so we can still enjoy the views without feeling closed in. Ours are simple black, but you can have virtually any custom print on your shades for an additional fee. We also got the MagneShade custom tire covers, which keep the wheels visible. They protect the tires from UV but don’t attract spiders, leaves and pine needles, like our other tire covers used to. The tire covers are lightweight and fold away easily into a storage bag.

We are super happy with our MagneShades – a very worthwhile and popular upgrade. These are high quality, custom shades, manufactured by a family business in North Carolina. Keep in mind the lead time to make these can be several weeks, especially at busy times of year and after big RV shows. 

12. TST 507 Tire Pressure Monitor System (TPMS) With Sensors and Color Monitor

If we have any regrets in our RV lifestyle, it is not getting a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) sooner. As sticklers for tire safety, Marc checked our tire pressure before every drive, regardless of weather conditions. And while we didn’t experience any tire failures, he admits that he now has a LOT more peace of mind on drive days.

Our TST 507 TPMS is an amazing time saver. When manually checking our tires, Marc also needed to frequently pump them back up because of the air that escaped while pressure checking.  Above all, the peace of mind I get – always knowing our RV and Jeep tire pressures and temperatures while driving – is priceless.

If you don’t already have a TPMS system for your RV, please consider getting one as soon as possible.  In my opinion, a good Tire Pressure Monitoring System is a high priority safety item – and must have – for any RV. We have the TST 507 TPMS with color monitor and sensors. We chose to go with the flow through 6 sensors on our motorhome and 4 cap sensors on our Jeep (towed vehicle). You can see our an in-depth review of this unit here. 

CURRENT SALES

There are a few options for buying this TPMS, Amazon of course, but we actually found the best prices elsewhere at two companies, both run by full time RVers. Prices will vary depending on how you set your TPMS up, but their deep discounts are available from now until the end of December. 

Update: December grand opening promos have expired. But a new coupon is available for 2020 offering 10% off of the already discounted price. (nearly 25% off of MSRP with coupon)

HOW TO BUY FROM MOBILEMUSTHAVE

MobileMustHave.com (formerly Livinlite.net – run by our friends Erik and Kala) offers the best price on this unit, presently. They just launched a site-wide Grand Opening Sale with a 15% discount on the TST 507 TPMS system.

  • Go to: https://rvlove.com/TPMSMMH
  • Add TST 507 TPMS Kit to Shopping Cart
  • Enter Coupon Code TST10RVL2020 to get an EXTRA 10% off of the already discounted price.

The extra 10% off mentioned above is substantial savings compared to any other pricing we have seen on this unit. (roughly 25% off of MSRP). So it’s a great time to buy a Tire Pressure Monitoring System. Especially if you are building a bigger system with lots of sensors.

HOW TO BUY FROM TECHNORV

TechnoRV.com is another tech company for RVers. But, their extra % off sale ended December 2nd. 

HOW TO BUY FROM AMAZON

13. Thousand Trails Zone Camping Pass

We joined the Thousand Trails (TT) camping network back in 2014 before we even hit the road full time in our RV. Staying in TT parks helps us keep our campground expenses under control. We have now spent over 700 nights camping in TT parks in our RV. That equates to approximately two years out of our 5+ years on the road! It literally saves us thousands of dollars in camping fees each year.

The Zone Camping Pass allows you to stay up to 14 nights at any Thousand Trails campground, before staying ‘out of the system’ for 7 nights. Or move at a faster pace staying 4 nights at each park, moving on day 5 without any time out of the TT system.

We started out with a Zone Camping Pass, and eventually upgraded to an Elite membership so we could slow our travel pace and enjoy longer stays. The Zone Camping Pass is a great way to test the waters with Thousand Trails. This gives you a chance to see if it’s right for you before investing more into one of the upgrade options.

Get More Detail

Learn even more about the TT Zone Pass – pros and cons – here in our blog post – Is the Thousand Trails Zone Pass Right For You?

SPECIAL OFFER: $150 OFF THE TT ZONE CAMPING PASS

This is a GREAT deal. The Zone Camping Pass is usually $565 and they often run promotions that are $100 off or 20% off. So this $150 discount makes the TT Zone Camping pass a steal right now.  Offer ends end of day, Monday, December 2, 2019. Get it while it’s hot!

14. Worldwide Travel Power Adapter / Charger / Converter

We just returned from a trip to Australia and our international travel converter/charger just didn’t cut it. We have future plans for international travel, and more devices that need charging than we care to count. So we recently upgraded to this Bestek Universal Travel Adapter/Convert/Charger. This allows us to safely charge multiple devices – almost anywhere in the world.

The Bestek travel charger comes with an EU power cable, plus 4 international adapters (UK/US/India/AU plugs), which supports travel to more than 150 countries. It has 250W output power, 4 USB ports, and 3 AC ports, spaced well apart. And, this unit can charge up to 7 devices at the same time – yay! The converter can convert the voltage from 100-240 Volts to 110 Volts for American appliances.

It is also NRTL safety tested with in-built protections against over-current, over-load, over-heat and short-circuit. You can’t use this for heating appliances – like hair dryers or coffee makers. But it’s perfect for charging our phones, cameras, laptops and other electronic devices while traveling. It also comes with a drawstring storage bag to keep everything together and protected. Now… all this has gotten us thinking about looking for more cheap flight deals! 😉 Ha!

SPECIAL OFFER

15. Living The RV Life - Your Ultimate Guide To Life On The Road

It’s been just over a year since our book was published, and we have a lot to be grateful for! When the book was released, it hit the #1 Amazon spot for Road Travel Reference, and Parks & Campgrounds. It was selected as a Recommended Title at Barnes & Noble and the iconic Boulder Bookstore. It even sold at Costco! 

Now in its 3rd print run, the book is officially a bestseller, with more than 160 5-star Amazon reviews. Most importantly, this book is helping a LOT of people learn what they need to know before hitting the road in RV. It’s designed to provide you with a good understanding of the RV life, before making such a big (and potentially costly) lifestyle change. 

The book is 256 pages, full color, and jam packed with practical advice, guidance, costs, real-life RVer profiles, and gorgeous photos that may inspire you to start packing!

Available in print and digital. It’s in landscape format, in the style of a coffee table book – to keep your RV dreams alive. Always in your sight and top of mind to keep you going.

Of course, you think we’re biased. How can we NOT be? But we still believe this book is hands-down THE best place to start your RVing journey. It’s your road map to the mobile life. But don’t take our word for it… go read some of the reviews for yourself.

WHERE TO BUY LIVING THE RV LIFE

They make great gifts, and are even helpful for family and friends to read. That way they will start to understand why YOU want to do it… and won’t think you’re so crazy…. when they know you have a plan. Who knows, maybe they’ll even want to join you?

16. Dometic Electric Cooler

We have had this Dometic CFX35W for about a year and a half and really love the extra versatility offered by an electric cooler compared to the traditional ice filled box.  Some use these coolers year round as an extra fridge or freezer.  With our full size residential fridge, we don’t use this cooler often, but used it three times in the last couple weeks.

We lent it to some friends to use for a few days when their RV fridge died, until they could replace it.  Then we used it to keep our groceries cold in the car while we went out for dinner after a big grocery shop. Our third time this week was when driving across town to a friend’s party and we were able to keep our food and drinks cold and our ice cream frozen! It also meant we didn’t have to’ fill up out hosts fridge with our goodies.

With an electric cooler like this, you can set the temperature to whatever you like. Whether that’s 50 degrees F (2C) to keep wine cool, or -7 degrees F (-22 C) to deep freeze your stockpile of fish or meats. Or any temperature in between.  And, when you’re not using any of the available space for ice. You have more room for your food and drinks and nothing gets soggy from melting ice.

Specs of this Cooler

Our CFX35W can hold 47 cans, or 32 liters of space with an external Dimension 16”H x 27”W x 16”D. That is 60% more space than a similar sized cooler with the needed ice. It is very sturdy and the size makes it fit under the tonneau cover of most trucks, or easily fits in the basement of many RVs to function as a secondary outdoor fridge.  It weighs about 38 pounds empty.

The cooler uses a surprisingly small amount of power too.  Dometic estimates that is uses 1 Ah/h maintaining 41 degrees F inside the cooler with 90 degree F temperatures outside.  That is a 50 degree difference.  The cooler has built in battery protection so it won’t kill the car’s starter battery. But you can buy an external battery source if planning on spending a whole weekend unplugged.  Ours can run on 120 volts, or a 12 Volt plug.

Do you use coolers a lot, or want a portable, extra fridge that can also double as a seat at events or picnics? This may be well worth the investment for you. There are a range of sizes and price points to choose from.

We love the versatility offered by being able to adjust the temperature to exactly what we want and never needing ice. These aren’t cheap, but they are great.

17. Magnetic Glasses that Mount and Store Upside Down

We have a set of 4 magnetic glasses from Silwy – 2 Bavarian crystal wine glasses plus 2 champagne glasses – that we absolutely love. Sure, we still have some favorite ‘practical’ drinking vessels for RV living. But it is SO nice to be drink out of quality wine glasses again, without having to worry about how and where to safely store them on travel days. We LOVE that these glasses can hang upside down under our kitchen cabinet, thanks to their heavy duty magnetic mounting strip. These actually won a German Innovation Award in 2018.

Not only are the glasses kept safely out of the way, and easy to access, but they are fantastic for space saving. And they look very cool hanging in our RV kitchen, attracting comments and amazement from every guests that sees them. We’ve been over some very bumpy roads, and these glasses stayed securely in place. They also come with magnetic, removable drinking coasters too, so you can mount them anywhere to prevent tipping them over. Also available as beer glasses, whiskey glasses, and stemless wine glasses/tumblers. These make an awesome drinking vessel, storage, and space saving solution for RVers, campers and boaters alike. And a great, unique gift idea.

HOW TO BUY SILWY MAGNETIC GLASSES

18. Sweet Dreams on a Custom Mattress

We both place a high value on a good night’s sleep, so having a quality mattress is super important to us. We got rid of our ‘upgraded’ mattress in our first RV in favor of a custom mattress from MattressInsider.com. When visiting their Denver showroom, they helped us ‘build a bed’ with all the different layers of foam to meet our sleeping style and personal preferences. We got a real education on what goes into a mattress, what’s important, and why. You can read about it and watch the video here. 

We couldn’t believe the difference. No more back pain for Marc and we both sleep like babies! When we switched RVs last year, the first thing we did was order the exact same mattress for our new to us motorhome, as we loved the first one so much. But you don’t have to visit their showroom. You can simply call and order your mattress over the phone. Their mattress experts will ask you a series of questions to help determine the best layers to suit your sleeping needs. Then they make your mattress (in any size or shape) for your RV, home or boat. They will ship it direct to you for free. And they offer a 121 Day Money Back Guarantee. 

You can watch our unboxing video/post to see how the mattress arrives and expands! We’ve been sleeping on custom mattresses from MattressInsider.com for almost 3 years now. We consider it to be one of the best upgrades we’ve made to our RV.

SPECIAL BONUS DISCOUNT 

  • Any time you order a mattress from MattressInsider.com, you can save 10% with the code RVLOVE – year round.
  • But when you place your order (minimum purchase $500) between December 2nd and December 4th, 2019 you will SAVE 15% with Coupon Code: LOVE15
  • To Order, call MattressInsider.com on: 720-487-1884
  • Order Online at: www.MattressInsider.com

19. Harvest Host - Unique Overnight Stays

One of the very best things about RVing is being able to travel wherever we like. And always having our home with us. We love to mix up our traveling style, and stay in all kinds of places. One of our favorite ‘unique camping’ experiences is staying overnight at wineries, farms and other attractions around the country.

Thanks to our Harvest Hosts membership, we get to stay at 900+ Wineries, Breweries, Farms and More around North America, for free. But, of course, we always support the business hosting us. By tasting (and buying) their wines and craft beers. Visiting their restaurant and/or gift store. Or stocking up on their local produce.

It’s all part of saying ‘thank you’ for allowing us to stay the night. Wake among the vines. Tour their farm and equipment. Visit their animals. No two Harvest Host experiences are ever the same. And we meet the nicest people – our hosts, and fellow RVers too.

SPECIAL OFFER

We’ve always had a special link offering 15% off when joining Harvest Hosts. But now, they have an even sweeter deal. 

From now until December 31, when you use our special link to join Harvest Hosts, you’ll save 20% (an additional 5%) on the $79 joining fee and pay just $63.20. 

AND, that price is locked in for the life of your account. Your annual renewal won’t go up, as long as you stay an active member.

HOW TO JOIN HARVEST HOSTS AND SAVE 20%

  • Go to this link: https://rvlove.com/HHSAVE
  • Use the code HHFRIENDS20 at checkout and a 20% will be applied
  • Compete checkout and start making plans for your first stay!
  • Your annual membership renewal fee will be locked in for life.

20. Battle Born Lithium Batteries

As you may know, we upgraded to an incredible RV off-grid power setup that enables us to boondock for extended periods. Our Battleborn Lithium batteries are the heart of this system (we have 6 x 100Ah Lithium Ion Batteries). Lithium batteries have a lot of advantages over traditional batteries. They are lighter weight, the ability to accept charge faster, more usable energy, and far longer lifespans.

While we love them, lithium batteries aren’t for everyone. If you only stay in campgrounds with electric hookups, aren’t so worried about weight, or you don’t plan on keeping your RV for long, you won’t get as much return on your investment. But for the way we like to travel, we love the additional freedom and capabilities offered by our lithium batteries. Battle Born is the most sought after battery on the market today, manufactured by a company that we know, trust and has excellent customer service. 

The 100Ah 12V Battle Born Lithium Batteries (LiFePO4 Deep Cycle) are normally $949 – $999 each but on Cyber Monday (December 2nd) Battle Born Batteries is having a “B Stock Blowout” on blemished batteries. Who cares if there’s a mark on your batteries, as long as they WORK, right!? 

Quantities are limited and the offer ends at 8pm Pacific Time on December 2nd.  So you’ll need to act fast.

To get the details of what’s available, call Battle Born Batteries on 855-292-2831 or email [email protected] and let them know you were referred by RVLove. Here’s their website.

20. RV Success School

When we started learning about RVing back in 2013, we spent hundreds – if not thousands – of hours, researching, learning, shopping and comparing before making our RV purchase and hitting the road. The whole experience was overwhelming, time consuming, often confusing and even frustrating. We were constantly second guessing ourselves. We just wished there had been a clear path for us to follow, with trusted, experienced guides to take us through the entire process. It would have saved us from spinning our wheels, and definitely saved us a ton of time and money.

We built and launched RV Success School in May 2017 with the goal of creating the very courses and depth of information we wish had existed before we started out as full-time RVers, to make the road to RVing so much smoother for others. Now of course, we’ve also written “the roadmap to the mobile life” in our book “Living the RV Life – Your Ultimate Guide to Life on the Road” which will get you off to a fantastic start. But the courses give you even more.

A Deeper Dive Into Learning

RV Success School goes even deeper and provides in-depth education on Choosing the Right RV for You, RV manufacturers, what to look for, choosing floor plans, extended warranties, insurance, recommended resources, RV safety and systems, repairs and maintenance, in-depth interviews with a wide range of other RVers in our RV Success Series. As well as information and guidance to help you Hit the Road the Right Way.

We do monthly Live Calls with Julie & Marc and occasionally RV industry experts (included in the bundles). We even offer one-on-one private consulting. This is extremely valuable for when you’re getting ready to make big decisions. Having us as a sounding board to confirm your choices are on track. Or help guide you in a new direction, helping you avoid making expensive mistakes. Above all, you can relax, knowing after completing our courses, you will be making sound decisions with clarity and confidence.

We’ve had students report savings of over $20,000 as a result of the information and resource we share in our courses.

SPECIAL OFFER – 20% OFF EVERYTHING

  • We are offering a 20% discount until the end of the year on ALL RV Success School courses and consults. 
  • View Course and Consulting Options: https://rvsuccessschool.teachable.com/courses
  • Just use the code HOLIDAY20 to save 20% on everything in RV Success School, including GIFT CERTIFICATES. This offer is valid until December 31, 2019. 

Other Sales and Discount Codes

Blix Electric Bikes – the only reason we didn’t include Julie’s VIKA+ electric folding bike in this list is we already included it in last year’s Holiday Gift Guide! I still absolutely love this bike – see our video review here. 

Tough Top Awnings – We recently replaced the fabric on all of our RV awnings and slide topper and cannot believe what a difference they have made! They look better, work better, and we absolutely love them.

Update: Check out or recent dedicated blog post and video about our Tough Top Awnings Here.

If you’re in need of new fabric for your RV awnings and/or slide toppers, call Tough Top Awnings on (360) 953-3299 to place your order and mention the Coupon Code RVLOVE to save 5%.

Extra Special Limited Time Offer in December.  If you mention code RVLOVEDEC between December 5th and December 31st you will receive a 10% discount!

Want More Gear, Gift Ideas and Inspiration?

That's a Wrap!

We hope you found some ideas and inspiration in this round up. Anything here catch your attention? What other items are you interested in that we haven’t covered? Let us know in the comments below!

Wishing you a very merry holiday season from both of us!

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GOT COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS?

We would love to hear from you. Drop us a note in the comments section below.

6 thoughts on “Our Fave Gear for RV Living & Nifty Gift Ideas”

  1. Always nice to see some more suggestions on gear we might need or want! Might not be so nice for our bank account . . . .

    Enjoying our Tiffin 36LA so much! Hope to meet up with you sometime in 2020. We’ll be doing Texas, New Mexico and Arizona in January, February and March.

    Reply

    • Hi David! Yes, hope you find some things in here that you find handy. So happy to hear you love your Tiffin 36LA! They are a great coach. We aren’t sure of our travel plans in Q1 but would be really nice to cross paths somewhere…. we may be flying to Florida for the Tampa RV Supershow but should be back in the south west (maybe AZ?) by Feb/March. Wishing you a fantastic Christmas!

      Reply

  2. Julie and Marc,

    It is good to hear from you again! I am planning to return to Florida for January and February again this winter. It would be neat if we could encounter each other like we did last winter. I do miss your travelogue videos that you used to do. I am hoping all is going well for the two of you and that you are enjoying your newly renovated motorhome. I also hope your Jeep Death Wobble is gone, never to return! Wishing you the best!! Take good care of each other!!

    Carl

    Reply

    • Hello Carl, Just replied to your email and logged in to see your comment here as well. We are spending the winter in the Southwest, but there is a good chance we will fly to Tampa Florida for the big show in January. Maybe we will see you there again.All is well for us. Enjoying our renovated motorhome and very confident that we won’t have any issues with towing the Jeep again. Thank you again and wishing you the best!

      Reply

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