Top 5 Best Items on our First Trip Out

 We're still figuring everything out with the camper. Still, after this first weekend out, there are some definite stand-outs from the things we've put in our camper. In no particular order, here is our top 5

Weber Q1200 with Griddle

I like to do my research and it looked like the Weber Q1200 was going to be hard to beat as a mobile grill. On half a whim, I ordered a griddle for the grill, considering how useful many people find the griddle-based Blackstones. This grill gave me the best of both worlds. The first night out with cooked brats on the grill half and peppers and onions on the griddle half. The next morning, I flipped the griddle over and cooked break sausage on the grill half and pancakes on the griddle half. It is a great little grill. 

Dewalt Fan

Having an older camper that you make your own means having tools on hand. I have a general tool tote, a bag with electrical tools and supplied, and a bag with a cordless driver, drill, and impact. When choosing tools, I found Dewalt to be a good option because they offer a wide variety of different tools on the same platform. Our little vacuum is a Dewalt and I got a Dewalt fan. Though I love the vac and cordless tools, the real hero of the weekend was the fan. There was a small 120 v black fan already in the camper that I thought was going to be a good way to keep cool. Unfortunately, after turning it on, I quickly realized it was full of pet hair and dander and it immediately set off my allergies. We switched over to using the Dewalt fan and I felt a lot better.

I can't emphasize enough how handy it is to have a fan with no cord. You can put it in anywhere insides or outside, pointed any direction. You can always stay relatively comfortable and outside it even keeps the bugs away. I am so glad I ordered it last minute and brought it along.

Plastic Plates and Bowls from Walmart

I think we paid a dollar or less a piece for these plastic bowls and plates from Walmart. I'm not a big fan of plastic for dinnerware, so I was a bit skeptical. After using them for the weekend, they worked really well and didn't feel cheap like I was expecting them too. I even suggested to my wife that maybe should buy some for use at home.

GL.iNET GL-AR300M (Shadow) Mini VPN Travel Router

I wanted a flexible option for running the camper wireless network once and only changing how it got to the internet. That way my Roku, Google Mini, Wireless Temp sensor, and even Wyze camera could all be configured once to use one network and I wouldn't ever have to change them. This little wireless router allows me to do just that. I set it up to connect to my home wifi and the hotspot on my phone and it automatically connects however it can and everything else in the camper just works.

Performance has been amazing. I've got a T-mobile 5G phone with about 2 bars in the campground and I was able to stream TV, use the internet, and even play Fortnite without any issues.

Guide Gear Oversized Club Camp Chair

My wife and I are rather large individuals, so getting sturdy camp chairs was a priority. I picked these up on Amazon and they have been great. They are sturdy and comfortable. They are a bit of a hassle to fold back up, but once you get them, they fit in a nice bag that travels well in our bathtub.

Collapsible Dish Rack

We picked this up on a whim. It turns out it fits perfectly in the little sink in the camper. It makes doing dishes a lot easier and a lot less space consuming. We found it at Big Lots here locally, but you can find the same one on Amazon.