You're right, there are a lot of packing lists out there. I have my own .... and 90% of it I haven't used in the first year of RV'ing. Any guess how much unnecessary gas I have burned hauling around all of that stuff? In any case here's what I use on most trips and would therefore consider essential:
- Electric tongue jack. Put it on the trailer after just 3 trips, and still wonder why I waited so long.
- A good set of wheel chocks, enough for both sides of the trailer. I have a set of the X-chocks, in addition to regular wheel chocks, because I rarely find myself on a level site.
- A bunch of wood blocks to put under the tongue jack. A lot of sites are not real level front-to-back.
- Those yellow "Lego" blocks for leveling up the trailer, stabilizer pads, etc.
- One of those small generators like Honda, Yamaha, and others make. If you're at a site without electric, your battery will be dead after just one night with the furnace running.
- A "slinky hose" for the gray/black tanks. There's simply no way to cleanly empty the tanks without one.
- Something with which to clean off the tops of the slideouts. Brooms, mops, and leaf blowers are variously used. And a small step ladder to get up there.
- A large box or tub for the bed of the truck. Keep in it everything you need to set up the trailer ... blocks, WDH chain bar, gloves, flashlight, etc.
- A 25' hose and a pressure regulator to hook up to the site's water.
- A 30 amp to 20 amp adapter, so you can plug in the trailer at home to charge the battery, run the 'fridge, etc.
- An air compressor and a high-quality dial pressure gauge. You'll ned to get