Get your gear here: Cooking ideas, and a powerful flashlight

My friend Pete swears by crockpot meals on RV trips, plugging one in before heading out for the day so there’s a hot meal ready when everyone’s too tired at the end to throw anything together. RoadPro makes a 1.5-quart, 12-volt slow cooker that plugs into the cigarette lighter and works like a charm. The stoneware insert is dishwasher safe, and there’s a stretch cord that keeps the lid on so that you can drive while it’s cooking, too.
Cost: $28
Get it here: amazon.com

Speaking of cooking, if you find yourself at a campground with fire rings and are looking for a more efficient way to put your food over the flame to cook, the Tripod Pioneer Grill by Rome is great. The tripod is adjustable and breaks down for storage, and the rack one which you set the cooking pans, Dutch oven, coffee pot or even some foods directly is completely adjustable via chains, so that you can raise and lower it to control the amount of heat. The contraptions sometimes swings around a bit, but works especially well with heavy items.
Cost: $35
Get it here: rvsupplywarehouse.com

Everyone in camp should have their own flashlight, and the rechargeable, incredibly powerful Streamlight UltraStinger is pretty cool, able to go for an hour of continuous use, with a 30-hour halogen blub and an easy-to-hit push-button on-off switch. The 12-inch-long unit can be recharged in a vehicle with a 12-volt or using a 110-volt plug. The downside: It’s ridiculously expensive. But it will last forever, and the fact that it’s rechargeable is huge.
Cost: $155
Get it at: cabelas.com

The roadtripster is the handle of a longtime Coloradan who travels the country by any means possible, sometimes in an RV, sometimes car camping or in the backcountry, with kids and without.