5 RV Essentials You Need For Beach Camping, According To Reddit

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Being able to camp in comfort on the beach is one of the many reasons people get an RV. Whether you live too far to do a day trip, or you want to extend your time by the ocean, it's the perfect way to enjoy the beach without dealing with a hotel or renting a car. 

Researching the best West Coast beach camping destinations or considering a spot on the Atlantic Ocean aside, it's important to have a comprehensive packing list put together before you go. To that end, we've searched the depths of Reddit to find the five most essential items for RV beach camping. Redditors offer plenty of great suggestions in subreddits like r/GoRVing, r/camping, and r/RVLiving, and after scouring threads for the best of the best, we've come up with this list to help you make your next beach RV trip as comfortable and convenient as possible.

These items are just as important as the usual essentials for beach-going, like sunscreen, water, and beach toys for the kids, and once you incorporate them into your next outing, you'll find it hard to go back to how you did things before. So, take it from those Redditors who have gone RV beach camping before and made the mistake of doing so without these items, so you don't have to.

One of the biggest issues when beach camping, whether you're in an RV or a tent, is tracking sand inside. Those little granules can be incredibly frustrating and almost impossible to get rid of once they make their way in on the soles of your feet, so keeping them out in the first place is important. Redditors suggest placing a sand-free mat or a square of astroturf at the entrance to your RV to aid in brushing the sand off your feet before entering. 

"Grab a couple of GrassWorx astroturf mats for your front steps, and the inside of your front door," one person advised in a thread on Reddit's r/GoRVing subreddit. "You can easily shake them out several times a day, and you can thank me later." You can easily find mats on Amazon, like the OLanto Artificial Grass Door Mat, for around $15 (at the time of writing).

Putting a mat out in front is great, but the extra step of having them sit on the actual steps leading into your RV could be a game-changer, according to other commenters in the same thread. In a separate post in the r/camping subreddit, Redditors suggested using the Sandlite Sand-Free Mat from REI, though the astroturf option is recommended here as well.

Even if you brush off as much as you can, some sand (and overall dirt and grime) may still get inside if it's stuck to your body. Everyone knows that taking a shower is a lifesaver when camping, and if you can take one outside, all the better, according to Redditors. 

In one r/GoRVing thread, Redditors praise the portable shower outside your RV as the way to go. In fact, there are entire threads on the r/RVLiving and r/NoStupidQuestions subreddits about using one of these to get the sand and dirt off of you before going back inside your clean RV. If you use an outdoor shower, be sure to wear sandals or have a shower mat underneath you so the sand has somewhere to drain. If you do wear sandals, just leave them outside when you go in so they can dry.

Like other affordable RV finds at Walmart, you can pick up the Ozark Trail 5 Gallon Portable Pump Shower for under $45 at the time of writing. Additionally, you may want to do some DIY upgrades to your indoor RV shower, as everyone is likely going to rinse off again after a day of sweating in the sunshine. Consider a two-step approach: Take a quick shower outside to wash off most of the sand from the beach, and an indoor shower just before bed for a deep clean before you go to sleep.

While some camping areas allow you to park your RV right on the beach, other places will require a bit of a walk to get from the parking lot to the sand. In that case, it's really helpful to have a cart to bring your items back and forth in. After all, a fully equipped day at the beach can mean bringing portable chairs, beach toys, sunscreen, snacks, coolers, and more. For carts, look for one with wide wheels that don't sink into the sand. You can even try a sled, according to one Redditor on r/camping. 

However, a cart or sled isn't your only option. "The large blue bags from Ikea are great if you're looking for an over the shoulder and easy to store option," wrote one Redditor in the r/GoRVing thread. "They're great for beach toys, hauling dirty and clean laundry, and a host of other bulky but not too heavy uses." The poster also points out that Ikea bags are easy to clean and inexpensive, so you can bring as many of them as you need to (the Ikea Frakta shopping bag is just $0.99 on the company's website).

The unfortunate reality of camping at the beach is that sand grains are tiny enough to find their way into your RV even when you do your best to keep them out. To get rid of any sand that makes it past the mat and the outdoor shower, Redditors suggest bringing a handheld vacuum. 

"I highly recommend a small vacuum for in the trailer to vacuum the floors and beds (you will be sleeping with sand, but the vacuum will help)," wrote one Redditor in a thread on r/GoRVing. The sentiment was echoed by a poster in the r/camping subreddit as well: "Sand will get in everywhere, so you may need a mini vacuum." 

The handheld vacuum is also mentioned in a list on the Go RVing website, a platform that bills itself as the "consumer-facing voice of the RV industry." Just make sure it's always charged. Additionally, if you prefer something a bit less mechanically involved, a number of Redditors in the r/GoRVing and r/camping subreddits mention that bringing along a small broom is a good, simple way to keep sand out of your RV. 

This one is the definition of the word essential. The reality of driving a heavy vehicle on a surface as soft and yielding as sand is that it can easily get your RV stuck. The final RV beach-camping essential item you should have with you is a shovel for emergencies. As one poster on the r/GoRVing subreddit suggested: "Bring a shovel in case you have to dig yourself out or a friend. And don't get too close to the deep sand, you do not want to pay the tow truck to come to the sandy beach." Of course, this can be helpful if you get stuck in the mud as well, so a shovel is a good essential to have in your RV, regardless of where you take it. 

However, you may need more than that if you plan to park on the sand. In the same thread, another poster says, "Three words, my friend: emergency tire traction." A rolled-up traction mat, like the Jojomark Tire Traction Mat, is a good option, though having a shovel to clear the worst of it can make everything much easier. 

To find the essentials you'll need to pack if you're taking your RV for a beach camping trip, we turned to the internet's favorite crowd-sourcing platform: Reddit. We looked at multiple threads across various subreddits, including r/GoRVing, r/camping, r/RVLiving, and r/NoStupidQuestions. We cross-referenced this research with information on travel blogs like Go RVing and Wilkins Recreational Vehicles to back up what we found. Additionally, the author of this article grew up next to the beach and drew on personal experience when considering tricks for keeping sand out of the car and house, and how to drag everything you need from your vehicle to the shore.