If you fly in from Europe or the UK, your suitcase is the bottleneck. Camp chairs, a cooler and water jugs don't fit in it, and a power station can't go on the plane at all. The simple fix: order those things on amazon.com before you leave and have them delivered to the hotel where you sleep the night before your RV pickup. You collect the parcel at check-in and drive off with everything the next morning.
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Quick answer
- Order 2–3 weeks before you land. Third-party sellers can take 10 days or more; Amazon itself is often faster [A].
- Call the hotel first and ask whether it holds parcels for guests who haven't arrived yet [A].
- Order only the bulky and the unflyable: chairs, a cooler, water jugs, leveling blocks, a power station. Buy food, ice, water and gas after pickup.
- Ask your RV host what's included before you order. Many marketplace rentals already come with chairs and blocks [A].
When to order
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| 4–6 weeks before | Book the first night's hotel near the depot. Ask the RV host or rental company what's on board (chairs, blocks, kitchen kit). Read our packing list to see what's left. |
| 3 weeks before | Call or email the hotel about parcels (questions below). Get the exact address and how they want the label written. |
| 2–3 weeks before | Order. Check the delivery date on the checkout page; on 2026-10-29 one water jug from a third-party seller showed free delivery 11 days out, Amazon-shipped items 2–5 days [A]. |
| Week before | Check every parcel shows "delivered". If one is late or lost, buy that item at a store near the depot after pickup instead. |
| Check-in night | Collect the parcels at the front desk, unpack, and flatten the boxes. Most hotels will recycle them [A]. |
Ask the hotel first
US hotels handle guest parcels very differently. Big chain hotels near airports usually accept them; some charge a handling fee, some only hold parcels a few days before arrival, and small motels may refuse [A]. Ask before you order:
- Do you accept parcels for a guest who arrives on [date]? How many days ahead?
- Is there a handling or storage fee?
- How should the label read? Usually: your full name as on the booking, "Hotel guest, arriving [date]", and your confirmation number on the second address line [A].
- Can you hold a larger box (a cooler is about 2 × 1.5 ft)?
Get the answer in writing (an email is enough). If the hotel says no, an Amazon Locker near the airport or depot works for the small things only: lockers take parcels under 10 lb and 16 × 12 × 14 in, sold or shipped by Amazon, with no hazardous materials [S2]. A cooler or a power station won't qualify, so for those find a hotel that says yes.
Order ahead or buy after pickup?
| Order to the hotel | Buy after pickup | Don't bring or buy |
|---|---|---|
| Camp chairs, a hard cooler, collapsible water jugs, leveling blocks, a power station (can't fly) | Food, ice, drinking water, firewood (buy it near the campground; don't carry it between states), stove gas, bear spray for Yellowstone and Grand Teton (you can't fly with it) | Anything the RV already has: bedding and towels if you booked the kit, pots and plates, a hose. Check your contract [A] |
A supermarket or big-box store near the depot covers the second column on your way out of town. The first column is what's hard to find in one stop, or simply easier to have waiting for you.
Worth ordering ahead
Five things, with prices seen on amazon.com on 2026-10-29. Prices change; the checkout page is what counts.
Camp chairs
Rental kitchen kits rarely include chairs, and the picnic table bench is where everyone ends up otherwise. The Helinox Chair One packs to 4.5 × 4.5 × 14 in and 2.1 lb, so two fit in your checked bag for the flight home. A budget quad chair costs much less and is comfier, but too bulky to take back: leave it with your host if they want it, or donate it [A].
Look for: a cup holder and a seat at least 14 in high if your knees complain.
Helinox Chair One on Amazon · Budget quad chairs on AmazonAmazon affiliate links.
A hard cooler, about 30 quarts
The RV fridge is small and slow to cool down after pickup. A cooler holds drinks and the day's lunch on hikes, and it keeps the fridge door shut in the heat [A]. Around 30 quarts (28 litres) fits on the floor of a Class C; wheels help between car park and picnic table.
Look for: 25–35 quarts, a drain plug, wheels if you'll roll it. Igloo and Coleman make the common ones.
Skip it if: your campervan comes with a cooler instead of a fridge. Ask the host.
See 30-quart coolers on AmazonAmazon affiliate link.
Water jugs
At Mather on the South Rim and on BLM land there's no tap at your site, and the RV's fresh tank is for washing as much as drinking [A]. A collapsible 5-gallon jug folds flat when empty. They're thin: buy two, and don't drag them over rock. If you want one that lasts for years, a rigid 7-gallon Aqua-Tainer is the sturdier choice but takes up a cupboard [A].
Look for: food-safe (BPA-free), a spigot with an on/off tap. A full 5-gallon jug weighs about 42 lb.
Reliance Fold-A-Carrier 5 gal on Amazon · Rigid Aqua-Tainer jugs on AmazonAmazon affiliate links.
Leveling blocks (optional)
First-come and BLM sites are rarely flat. A level RV sleeps better and the fridge works as it should [A]. Camco FasTen interlocking blocks are the common set.
Skip it if: your rental already carries blocks. Many marketplace hosts include them; ask before you order [A].
Camco FasTen blocks on AmazonAmazon affiliate link.
Power station (only for long dry stretches)
Worth it only for several nights in a row without hookups, or for a CPAP machine. For phones and cameras, a power bank and a 12 V car charger are enough; see power and charging.
Why it has to be delivered: lithium batteries over 160 Wh are not allowed on passenger flights at all, and 101–160 Wh needs airline approval [S1]. A useful power station is 200–300 Wh, so you can't fly in with one, and you can't fly home with it either. Plan to sell it, leave it with your host by agreement, or ship it home [A]. The EcoFlow RIVER 3 (245 Wh) is one example.
EcoFlow RIVER 3 on AmazonAmazon affiliate link.
Ordering on amazon.com from abroad
- Order on amazon.com, not your local Amazon. Only amazon.com delivers to US hotel addresses at US prices. These shopping links are set to stay on amazon.com. If you still land on amazon.de or amazon.co.uk, switch back to amazon.com before you add things to your basket [A].
- Your existing Amazon login usually works on amazon.com. You add the hotel as a new US delivery address [A].
- Foreign cards work. Your bank may charge a foreign-transaction fee; a card without one saves 1–2 % [A].
- Sales tax is added at checkout, so the total is higher than the shelf price. Prices on this page are before tax.
- Returns are awkward from Europe. Order what you're sure of, and open the parcels at the hotel the same night so you can still swap something at a US store [A].
Sources and how we checked
Checked 2026-10-29. Prices and delivery times are what amazon.com showed that day and change daily. Hotel parcel policies vary by property; always ask yours.
- [S1] FAA PackSafe — Lithium batteries (over 160 Wh forbidden on passenger aircraft; 101–160 Wh with airline approval, max two; spares and power banks carry-on only) — www.faa.gov/hazmat/packsafe/lithium-batteries (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S2] Amazon Customer Service — Pickup Location Eligibility (Locker: under 10 lb, under 16 × 12 × 14 in, sold or fulfilled by Amazon.com, no hazardous materials) — www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201910770 (checked 2026-10-29)
Hotel booked, gear ordered?
Tick off the rest of the packing listWhat the RV has, what goes in the suitcase, what to buy after you land
Affiliate note: the Amazon links on this page are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Runway to Rim earns from qualifying purchases. You don’t pay more. We don't accept paid rankings. See our disclosure.