8 Things New Campers Waste Their Money On (Learn From My Mistakes)

Let me start with a confession: when I got into camping, I bought a lot of dumb stuff. A whole garage of gadgets that promised to change my life and instead just changed the contents of my junk drawer. So consider this post my apology tour — a fun little rundown of the things new campers waste money on that they almost always regret, so you can spend your hard-earned cash on the good stuff instead (like, you know, actually going camping).

I'm Joe — Squatch to most folks — and today on Camping with Squatch we're having a little fun at my own expense. I dug through what seasoned RVers say they regret buying most, mixed in a few of my own greatest hits, and here we are. These aren't vague "don't overspend" tips — these are the actual specific items that pile up in storage bays and Facebook Marketplace listings everywhere. Grab a snack and let's save you some money.

The 8 Things New Campers Waste Money On

Fair warning: I'm guilty of about six of these personally. No judgment here — just hard-won wisdom.

1. The Bargain-Bin Sewer Hose

We'll start with the item nobody wants to think about — until you're thinking about it very hard at the worst possible moment. New campers love grabbing the cheapest sewer hose on the shelf. Then it cracks, splits, or springs a leak, and they buy another. And another. Ask around and you'll find folks who replace a cheap hose every single season.

Buy one good hose and cry once. A quality hose that seals tight and resists splitting costs a little more and lasts for years, for reasons I trust you can vividly imagine. This is not the place to save five bucks.

2. Zero-Gravity Chairs

Oh, this one's a classic regret, and it hurts because they're so darn comfortable. You lean back, your feet float up, angels sing. Then you try to store two of them in your rig and discover they take up roughly the same space as a second refrigerator. Seasoned RVers mention these constantly — comfy as can be, but they eat your precious storage alive.

Unless you've got room to burn, a couple of good old folding camp chairs do the job, pack flat, and leave you space for, say, food. Save the zero-gravity loungers for the backyard.

3. The Portable Ice Maker

It sounds so practical on the shopping site. Endless ice, right on your counter! Then reality sets in: it hogs a big chunk of your limited counter space, it's one more thing to haul, store, and winterize, and it becomes a giant paperweight the moment you're tired of dealing with it. This is one of the most commonly ditched RV purchases out there — plenty end up gifted to a relative or gathering dust in a basement.

Here's the wild alternative: buy a bag of ice for a couple bucks when you need it. Revolutionary, I know.

4. The Giant Outdoor Rug

You've seen the dreamy campsite photos — a big beautiful patio rug rolled out under the awning, looking like a magazine spread. Here's what the photo doesn't show: that rug soaking up rain, trapping dirt, tracking mess into your rig, and being a genuine pain to clean and pack up wet. Bonus gotcha — a lot of campgrounds won't even let you put one on the grass (it kills the lawn). So it rides around in your storage bay for three years, unused, judging you.

If you want to keep dirt out, a simple woven mat or a good doormat at the door does the real work for a fraction of the fuss.

5. The RV Cover

On paper, an RV cover protects your investment from the sun. In practice? Wrestling a giant, heavy, awkward cover onto the roof of your rig is a two-person, sweat-soaked, occasionally-marriage-testing ordeal — and if the fit's even a little off, good luck. Folks buy these with the best intentions and end up leaving them in the bag.

For most people, covered or indoor storage (or just parking smart) beats fighting a cover twice a year. If you've got a spot out of the weather, you may not need one at all.

6. A Satellite Dish or Fancy Outdoor TV

The dream of never missing the big game is strong, but a full satellite setup or a pricey "outdoor-rated" TV can run you hundreds to thousands — for something you mostly don't need. Between campground WIFI, your phone as a hotspot, streaming apps, and the free local channels your rig's built-in antenna already pulls in, you've got plenty of options without the big spend.

Spend that money on more camping trips instead. That's the good channel anyway.

7. Overpriced "RV-Branded" Everything

Here's a fun little racket: slap "RV" on an ordinary product and jack up the price. The famous one is special "RV toilet paper." You usually don't need the pricey RV-branded roll — plenty of regular septic-safe, quick-dissolve toilet paper works fine for a lot less. Want to be sure yours is safe? Drop a few sheets in a jar of water, give it a shake, and see if it breaks apart. If it does, you're golden.

Same goes for "RV" dish towels, "RV" cleaners, and assorted "RV" gadgets that are just everyday stuff wearing a marketing costume. Read the label, not the branding.

8. Glass and Ceramic Dishware

That nice matching dish set feels like a cozy homey touch — right up until you're rolling down I-24 and your cabinet turns into a percussion section. Glass and ceramic don't love road vibration, and a shattered mess in the cupboard is a rough way to start a trip.

Go with melamine, quality plastic, or stainless dishware. It's light, it's durable, it survives the drive, and it won't leave you sweeping up your good plates at a rest stop.

What's Actually Worth the Money

Since I'm not here to tell you to buy nothing — here's where seasoned campers say the money's well spent:

• One quality sewer hose (buy once, cry once — worth repeating).

• Good rubber wheel chocks, not the cheap plastic ones. The flimsy plastic ones can slip when you need them most, especially in wind. This is a safety spend.

• A solid surge protector / electrical management system to guard your rig against bad campground power. Your electrical guts are worth protecting. (More on that in my [RV air conditioner] post, since bad power loves to kill AC units too.)

• Comfortable, packable camp chairs and melamine dishware — the everyday stuff you'll actually use.

• Tires and safety gear. Never the place to go bargain-bin.

Squatch Tips: Spend Smart Out There

• Camp first, shop later. Your first few trips are the best shopping list you'll ever get. Let them tell you what you actually reach for.

• Go cheap on the fun stuff, spend on the safety stuff. Novelty gadget? Bargain bin's fine. Sewer hose, chocks, surge protector, tires? Spend the money. Get that backwards and it bites you.

• Beware the "looked great online" trap. Half these regrets came from a slick photo. If it seems too perfect in the listing, sleep on it.

• Shop your own rig before the store. Especially if you bought used — you probably already own more than you think.

• Don't buy for the fantasy trip. Buy for how you actually camp, not the once-a-year dream adventure. You can always add gear later.

That's the heart of Camping with Squatch — helping you put your money where it actually makes your trips better, and keeping it out of the junk-drawer graveyard.

Print This: The "Skip These / Spend Here" Cheat Sheet

Tape it inside a cabinet before your next shopping run.

⛔ Skip (or wait on) these:

• [ ] The cheapest flimsy sewer hose

• [ ] Zero-gravity chairs (storage hogs)

• [ ] A portable ice maker

• [ ] The giant outdoor rug

• [ ] A heavy, hard-to-use RV cover

• [ ] Satellite dish / pricey outdoor TV

• [ ] Overpriced "RV-branded" versions of ordinary stuff

• [ ] Glass & ceramic dishware

✅ Actually worth the money:

• [ ] One quality sewer hose

• [ ] Good rubber wheel chocks (skip the cheap plastic)

• [ ] A surge protector / electrical management system

• [ ] Comfortable, packable camp chairs + melamine dishware

• [ ] Tires and safety gear

Keep Your Money for the Good Stuff

Camping's supposed to save you from the everyday grind, not empty your wallet on gadgets you'll trip over in the garage. Start simple, spend where it counts, laugh at the stuff that looked amazing online, and put the savings toward what really matters — more trips, better memories, and maybe a nicer camp chair for staring at the fire.

And here's one more honest tip from a guy who sells RVs for a living: the biggest money-saver of all is buying the right rig for how you actually camp — not too much rig, not the flashiest one on the lot, but the one that fits your real life. That's exactly where I love to help. If you want somebody to steer you toward the camper that fits (and away from the one you'd regret), come find me at A&L RV Sales in Christiana, just outside Murfreesboro. Give me a call or text at 615-653-7561, or follow along with Camping with Squatch for more straight talk and the occasional laugh at my own expense. No pressure, ever — I just want you spending smart and camping happy.