Fixing an RV drawer
How-To

Something always breaks

"There is always a part of my mind that is preparing for the worst, and another part of my mind that believes if I prepare enough for it, the worst won’t happen." Kay Redfield Jamison
Erin Heinrich
ByErin Heinrich

Most people who travel in an RV tend to be pretty handy with tools, as it seems something always breaks when you least expect it. Usually, they are small things, but occasionally you’ll have a major repair to take care of while on the road. It typically isn’t feasible to make an appointment for service, as most RV dealerships and service repair shops are extremely backed up. And if you’re on the road, you are probably on your way to your next destination and just don’t have time to stop.

In our experience, we have had mostly small repairs (knock on wood), but they still need to be taken care of quickly and it’s not always convenient. Typically, we have to tighten or adjust screws that come lose on the front door, re-pressurize the water pump if it has gone dry and lost pressure, re-attach a basket or hook, repair the bathroom mirror/magnet that got stripped out of the cabinet, and the one time our pots & pans drawer was pulled out and broken after a bumpy ride.

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

Chris Bradford

We recommend keeping some basic tools on hand for things such as this. You don’t know what could go wrong, but putting together a tool bag with some essentials is a good idea. Here’s what I would start with:

  • Electric drill/screwdriver – We have a number of Ryobi tools, which all use the same batteries, so we brought our Ryobi drill/screwdriver with us rather than buying a new one. You may not always have electricity, so a good battery-powered screw driver is encouraged.
  • We use a Ryobi vacuum for the RV but this comes in handy as it can be used for wet or dry clean up and it works well inside the RV and to clean the truck
  • Extra battery and Battery charger if your set didn’t come with an extra
  • Fuses
  • Command hooks assorted pack
  • Sledge Hammer or strong mallet – I usually use a mallet to tap in the leveling blocks or chocks, or loosen them
  • Regular hammer
  • Shovel – This also comes in handy for off-road driving, but we wish we had a shovel when our tongue sank in the sandy wet dirt in our first Florida campground after two days of rain.
  • 4-way lug wrench
  • Jack suitable for your vehicle
  • Assorted screwdrivers/wrenches – Different sizes for different jobs. We actually keep a philips and flat-head screwdriver in the kitchen drawer for quick fixes.
  • Assorted and random screws and nails – In the case of our kitchen drawer, we used some random screws we brought as the staples used by the manufacturer broke off the drawer
  • Duct tape
  • WD-40 (dry lubricant)
  • Bungee cords (various sizes)
  • Various Straps for bundling hoses and power cords

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