Our favorite RV accessories

Recently we were contacted by Winegard and asked if we would test out and provide an honest review of their Carryout G3 Portable Satellite Antenna. We’ve been contacted before about reviewing other products but always said no, however this was a product we were really interested in trying, and in fact, had considered purchasing before. We had seen similar antennas in use by other RVers over the years and always wondered about them. As soon as I mentioned it to Deas, he was very excited to check it out. So I’m going to tell you about our experience with it, but this also got me thinking about other products that we have bought for the RV. So in addition to the antenna, I’ll tell you about a few other things that we love or can’t live without.

1) Carryout G3 Portable Satellite Antenna

Since this is the reason for the article, I’ll start with this one. In short – it’s awesome! I’m not a big TV watcher (except during football season!) but Deas is, and he always gets very frustrated whenever he can’t get satellite signal in a site. (We currently have satellite service through DirecTV via a fixed satellite dish on the roof of the RV.) It didn’t take us long after receiving this antenna to end up in a lovely, tree-shaded site….with no satellite signal. Deas scoped out a good location for the Carryout, we set it up….and BAM! Satellite signal! It was super easy. We have since used it in several other sites, and it worked really well every time. We are so grateful to Winegard to reaching out to us and letting us test it out. While Winegard did provide us with the antenna, all they asked was that we write an honest review – and I can honestly say it works amazingly well and we are very happy to have one!

You find more information about this product and purchase it directly from Winegard on their website:  http://www.winegard.com/carryout.

You can also purchase it from Amazon: https://amzn.to/2TsUquP

2) A new mattress

The first year or so we were in the RV, we used the mattress that came with it. But after several months we both felt like we weren’t sleeping so well on it, and Deas’s back was starting to hurt. We have a king size bed, but because it’s an RV king, it is 4 inches shorter than a standard king. I spent several days trying to figure out where I could find a mattress that was the right size, but everything I found was terribly expensive. Out of frustration, and never expecting to find something that would work, I checked Amazon. And much to my surprise, found a company (Dynasty Mattress) that makes high quality memory foam mattresses in RV sizes (in addition to regular sizes.) It even has a gel topper, came with two free pillows, was around $500 – and because we are prime members, it was delivered right to our campground in two days. We bought the 12-inch mattress but they also make a 14-inch one as well. We’ve now had this mattress for 5 years and we still love it. We think it’s even more comfortable that the expensive mattress we used to have in our house. Of all the things we’ve bought for the RV, I think this was the most important. We sleep so well on this mattress and would not hesitate to buy another one.

DynastyMattress Cool Breeze 12-inch Gel Memory Foam Mattress: https://amzn.to/2VWy2GZ

(Note: When we bought this mattress, it included prime shipping. As of today, it looks like Amazon is offering free shipping, but not Prime shipping. However I have seen it available with Prime shipping in the past, so it may just be one of those things you should keep checking if Prime shipping is important to you.)

3) Zero gravity chairs

I love our zero gravity chairs! Some people don’t like them because they think they’re too bulky, but they work great for us. I love to put my feet up, so sitting outside in these chairs is super comfortable. We store them in the tow car when we’re moving. They’re always the first thing that comes out of the car once we’re setting up, so they really only take up room in the car when we’re not riding in it anyway. We got ours from Amazon, and they’ve held up great.

Zero gravity chairs: https://amzn.to/2XScFIl

4) Weber Q grill

Deas loves to grill, and I love for him to grill because it means less clean-up for me! When we first started RVing, several people recommended the Weber Q grill to us, but Deas, being the thrifty guy that he is, didn’t want to spend that much money. So instead he bought a really cheap grill from Wal-Mart. It lasted a few months, then it broke. So he bought another one. And then that one broke also. You can see where this is going. Finally I convinced him that by the time he spent all that money replacing the cheap grills every few months, he could have just bought the Weber Q. So he finally ponied up the bucks for it. We’ve had it now for about 5 years, and other than the side tray that Deas accidentally left flipped inside when he turned it on (oops), it’s still going strong, and he loves it.

Weber Q grill: https://amzn.to/2NVdsUB

5) Shatterproof wine glasses

When you live in a tiny space like an RV, it’s always nice to sit outside when you can. I’m a wine drinker, and even though I do carry real wine glasses with us on the RV, I’m always nervous about using them outside. We usually have the dogs with us which means I’m juggling dog leashes along with my wine glass, so it makes sense to use plastic. But I hate drinking out of solo cups, so when I first came across these shatter-proof wine glasses, I knew they would be perfect for the RV. They come in sets of four. I have a set of the wine glasses, and because I like my bubbles, a set of the champagne glasses too. These are also ideal for when we’re invited for drinks at someone else’s RV. I can just toss them right into my cooler along with my wine and I don’t have to worry about them breaking.

Govino wine glasses: https://amzn.to/2VTsLjj

Govino champagne glasses: https://amzn.to/2F35ZyP

6) Gas firepit

When you think of camping, how quickly do you think of a campfire? If you’re like Deas, it’s about 0.0002 seconds. Dude loves a good campfire! However, there are some times when he can’t have a real fire – some campgrounds don’t allow them, for example. Also, I hate it when my hair and clothes smell like smoke the next day. Then we found this propane firepit, and all our problems were solved. Well, all of our fire problems anyway. Even campgrounds that don’t allow camp fires will almost always allow you to burn a gas firepit, and best of all – there’s no smoke! You can connect it to a regular propane tank and a full tank will last through many different fires. We really love this item and use it quite a bit.

Gas firepit: https://amzn.to/2TuXLJQ

7) Outdoor rugs

To be perfectly honest, it’s pretty easy to find quality outdoor rugs at multiple places – Amazon, Walmart, and Camping World, just to name a few. They’re all pretty much made of the same material. But the patterns and colors can be different, and that’s the type of thing I can be picky about. So these are the ones we chose (okay, I chose and Deas just went along with it.) I like the colors because they are neutral and the pattern is not too crazy. They are reversible, but I prefer the darker side up. We’ve had one of these rugs for 5 years and a second one for just a couple years. The older one is starting to show a few signs of wear, but after 5 years of near constant use, I’m not complaining.

Outdoor rug: https://amzn.to/2SUo6vD

So those are just a few of our favorite basic RV accessories – the ones we use the most frequently. If you have any questions about any of them, or if you want to know about any other types of products, please feel free to ask.

Full disclosure: the links I provided to the products are affiliate links. If you choose to purchase one of these items and use the link, I’ll get a little kick-back. But please do not feel obligated to do so. The main point of this post was just to talk about the products we use and like the most, and I hope you find it helpful.