Tools … Is There Enough Room?

Written By swweirback .

Not only did we have to pack food, clothing, schoolbooks, technology, and the three of us, we needed to be able to fix anything that broke, especially if it was out in the middle of nowhere. How do I tow a Home Depot behind the truck? Anyone tried it?

All of this prep work for this trip, I’m now an amateur electrician, plumber, auto mechanic and totally the worlds next best influencer! BUt what tools do we really need and where the heck are we supposed to store them all? The Adventurer 901SB has a section that is under the main living floor that the dealership that we bought it from referred to as, “the garage”. This is located on the rear of the camper, under the door. This is where the main power shut off is located along with the releases for the clean, grey and black water tanks. The garage has a slide out drawer and we found some “ammo” style boxes to store our tools in. I’ll need electrical tools, plumbing tools, things that help parts move (aka WD40) and things that will make parts not move (aka Duct Tape). The saying goes, “If it moves and it shouldn’t, Duct Tape. If it doesn’t move and it should, WD40.”

Outside of taking my entire tool cabinet, what are the essentials? Luckily, I’m not the first to ask and there’s actually a website link to give you a good jumping off point. Here’s a few notes on this particular checklist along with other tools we packed away:

  • The #2 square bit (aka, Robertson bit) - Back when I was trying my luck at cabinet making, I first came across the Robinson bit when it comes to drilling pocket holes for screws. Little did I know that the RV industry is mostly dependent on the Robertson bit. Make sure you have at least a dozen of these bits. I found a good Milwaukee set and covet these bits. Anything I install extra on the camper, I’ve made sure to use this type of screw.

  • Bubble level - not only do I carry a standard level, but we found a small, circular level that we use in the camper to make sure the living space is level. It is very helpful when taking the camper off the truck. Make sure when you lift, you stay level and slightly nose high.

  • Cordless Drill and Impact Driver I highly recommend that you stay within a brand family due to each type of power tool runs off a particular battery and they are not interchangeable. Dewalt, Milwaukee, Ryobi, etc.

  • We packed a standard hammer, small mallet, and a rubber mallet along with a pry bar.

  • I found a power bank, jumpstarter and air compressor combo from WolfBox that we love. Make sure your compressor can pump tires up to the right PSI needed (typically 80 for E rated off-road tires) LINK

  • Putty knife - Pack some flexible metal along with plastic putty knives. You don’t want metal putty knives shredding up the roof liner.

  • You can never have too much lap sealant or sealing caulk. DO NOT let water get into your rig. Your rig is mostly wood and wood fiber paneling. Wet wood = soggy situations.

  • These are the tool (ammo) boxes we used for the camper. They fit perfectly in the garage. LINK

It’s all a carefully coordinated dance on making sure you bring enough but not overpacking when you're literally living as a family of three in less than 30sqft of living space. With the tools I have coming along, it would appear that WeirbackOnTrack.

Where did I leave those Robertson bits? …

swweirback .
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