7 Best RV Vacuum Cleaners: Get One That Really Sucks!

The hunt for the best RV vacuum cleaner can be a frustrating one. The ability to try a variety of machines could require purchasing several models, or at least locating a vacuum cleaner store that has a wide variety on display for testing purposes.

Between sand from the beach, desert dust, pine needles from the forest, the fur Fido sheds, and the crumbs from your midnight snacks, RVers need a vacuum cleaner that really sucks!

Today’s post offers a guidepost for RVers. If you’re looking for a strong & durable sucker for your rig, we hope this will help.

Let’s get the job done!

Can You Use a Vacuum In an RV?

This may seem like a silly question at first glance, but it’s actually quite reasonable. The answer depends on power, of course. But most RVs are perfectly capable of running some type of vacuum.

For those without a house battery system, the answer may be a 12-volt vacuum that charges or runs off your engine battery. Those of us who can plug in a corded vacuum cleaner can really clean our carpets well.

But yes – you can use a vacuum of some kind in just about any type of RV.

We want to acknowledge here that not every RVer needs a vacuum cleaner. Many travelers take shorter trips and are perfectly content to keep the rig as clean as possible while traveling and clean ‘er up when they get home.

Other RVers have little or no carpet in their rigs and might prefer a broom.

This post, though, is for those of us who travel full-time or part-time and really feel the need for an onboard vacuum.

What Is the Best Vacuum for RVs?

We’d love to be able to shout out a superb vacuum and declare that it’s the best RV vacuum on the market, period. While we will tell you our favorite vacuum that we use (and love!) on our own RV, it’s not always that simple. We all have different needs.

Some of us are traveling in big rigs, others in smaller RVs or vans. Some of us have more power available than others. For these reasons, we really need to break the choices down so that there are viable options offered for all RVers. This way, whether you’re traveling in motorhomes, travel trailers, or overgrown vans, we’ll have a vacuum cleaner for you.

Because we’ve been living and traveling in a 43′ big rig for nearly 20 years now, we’ll start with what we know best from personal experience, the corded vacuum. Then we’ll move on to central vac systems and hand-held vacuums, both cordless and 12V options.

But first, let’s set the record straight on what we’re all looking for in an RV vacuum.

What Features Are Important In an RV Vacuum Cleaner?

Obviously, the purpose of having a vacuum cleaner is to clean your RV. But let’s take a quick look at some specific features we all desire in an RV vacuum cleaner.

Suction Power

This is, obviously, one of the most important features of any vacuum cleaner. A good vacuum cleaner needs to suck! Good suction power is the most sought-after feature of the best RV vacuum cleaners – or any vacuum cleaner.

Maneuverability

A good RV vacuum needs to be able to clean areas that are hard to reach. There are lots of tight spaces in RVs and the ability to reach areas that are tough to get to means having a good swivel head or a compact, hand-held feature. 

Size

Size is a big deal in an RV. The weight and size of everything do matter a lot. We also need adequate storage space for appliances like vacuums.

While some of us have a closet or storage bay that will accommodate an upright or stick vacuum, others require a small hand-held vacuum. Size matters!

Power Source

How you intend to power your vacuum cleaner is a significant part of the equation when you’re shopping for the best RV vacuum for your situation.

If you intend to always be plugged into shore power at campgrounds and RV parks, or if you have sufficient solar or generator power, then you can opt for a corded vacuum cleaner.

If, on the other hand, you often have limited power, you may need to opt for a cordless handheld vacuum cleaner to do the job. And in this case, battery life will factor into your decision as well, because your vacuum’s run time needs to match up with your cleaning needs. (More on that in a bit.) And finally, a 12V option may be best for some.

HEPA Filtration

Not everyone looks for HEPA filtration in an RV vacuum but it’s a great feature to have, particularly in a small environment. HEPA stands for “high-efficiency particulate air”.

HEPA filters have fibers, (typically fiberglass), with very little space between them. This allows the filter to capture tiny particles and contaminants such as pet dander, pollen, and dust mites.

HEPA filtration is a good feature to have on an RV vacuum.

Motorized Brush vs. Air-Powered Brush

This feature relates to how the vacuum works and the surfaces on which it works best.

Air-powered brushes use low-voltage power to move the air and suction debris through a small tube. So, air-powered brushes use suction to control the brush. This takes some of the suction power away from the cleaning of your RV carpets. These are best for hard floors and short carpets.

When a motor is responsible for spinning the brush, suction is not impacted. Motorized brushes are more commonly found in upright models and are best for higher pile carpets (with longer fibers), like those found in some luxury motorhomes.

What Are the Best RV Vacuum Cleaners?

As previously noted, the best RV vacuum cleaner depends on the type of RV you have and on your style of RVing. But we do own our favorite model and we can’t say enough great things about it. So we’ve listed that one first, as it’s our own personal first choice.

Upright Corded RV Vacuum Cleaners

We’ll begin with upright corded vacuums which are most appropriate for larger motorhomes and travel trailers.

In this category, we absolutely must start with our personal favorite vacuum cleaner. We read about it in The New York Times Wirecutter, (paid access which we subscribe to). Much like Consumer Reports, they test the heck out of scores of products. They’ve ranked our Shark Navigator Lift-Away as their Number One Pick for something like 7 years running. We bought ours on their recommendation, and now wonder what we ever did without it!

Shark NV352 Navigator Lift-Away Upright Vacuum

We’ve owned and used a Shark NV352 for about a year now, and we LOVE this vacuum cleaner. It’s far and away our favorite vacuum ever.

But remember – we have a 43′ motorhome with our ultimate RV solar panel system and, in case we need it, a powerful generator. We have no trouble at all plugging in a corded upright vacuum and cleaning the entire rig. In fact, we prefer a corded vacuum because it’s one less thing we have to worry about keeping charged. And it’s powerful!

It’s not going to be the right vacuum for every RVer. But if you’re in the market for a corded upright, we highly recommend it.

With that noted, let’s get into what we love about this vacuum. (Bear with us, as this is the vacuum with which we’re most familiar. We’ll try to be a bit more brief with the models that follow.)

First, the pros:

• It REALLY sucks… like an amazing amount. We’re slightly embarrassed (okay, not really) to share this, but when we used it the first time, we did so immediately after vacuuming with our old vacuum. We were HORRIFIED by how much dirt and debris it pulled out of our carpeting, showing just how much our old vacuum had been leaving behind!
• It has a powered beater bar, which really does a great job on carpets.
• It’s reasonably small for an upright, and fits in our closet quite easily.
• It has a very long cord that we can plug into a single outlet near the middle of our RV. It reaches all the way to the front and back without having to move the plug (handy for making quick work of vacuuming).
• It’s reasonably priced, especially for such a high-quality piece of gear.
• It comes with a good assortment of accessories that make it easy to use. These include an upholstery brush (great for cleaning vent fan screens!), a short crevice tool, and a longer crevice tool.
• The lift-away (detachable pod) feature makes it very modular. So, it works great as an upright, but can be carried around like a small, light canister vacuum, too. This is great for stairs and furniture, for example.
• The swivel head makes it very maneuverable and easy to steer, even in tight places.
• Replacement parts are supposedly easy to come by (although we’ve never needed any).

Now let’s take a look at the one and only con we’ve found:

• The hose is fairly short. But this isn’t much of a problem thanks to the lift-away feature.

We’re sharing these details based on our personal experience over the past year of regular use.

The Shark NV352 has “Anti-Allergen Complete Seal Technology” as well as a HEPA filter. These work to trap dust, allergens, and other contaminants inside the vacuum.

The NV352 has a brush roller shut-off that lets you switch instantly from cleaning a deep carpet to cleaning a bare floor. We have both, and it works beautifully throughout. our entire rig.

The Shark NV352 Navigator Lift-Away vacuum weighs 14 pounds.

BISSELL 2999 MultiClean Allergen Pet Vacuum

Those of you who travel with dogs and cats might be partial to this vacuum as it specifically targets pet hair and dander, and even includes special “pet tools” and a floor tool.

The Bissell 2999 has a HEPA sealed filter system and swivel steering. This vacuum gets excellent user reviews for maneuverability, suction, and cleaning up pet hair. It has an extended quick-release wand that provides over 12 feet of reach for cleaning hard-to-reach areas, including ceiling corners and the like.

The Bissell 2999 weighs 15.7 pounds.

Shark HV302 Rocket Pet Corded Stick Vacuum

Yes, another Shark product. Shark does vacuums well. The HV302 is a lightweight stick vacuum that, though corded, may be the perfect size for an RV. It has swivel steering and a pet multi-tool and precision duster.

This vacuum gets high ratings for cleaning both carpets and bare floors, and it converts easily to a hand-held vacuum.

The Shark HV302 weighs only 8.2 pounds and the stick can easily be used overhead for cleaning ceiling corners and other high places.

It gets rave reviews for great suction.

Central RV Vacuum Cleaning Systems

Central vacuum systems that are sized for RVs work in a similar fashion to central vac systems found in homes. In an RV, they may be mounted in a storage compartment or on a wall. The suction outlets can be mounted on the floor, the wall, or the kick-panel of stairs if you’ve got a 5th wheel.

Once mounted and connected, you just bring out the hose, flip the cover of the vacuum outlet open, and place the end of the hose in the outlet. You’ll connect whatever attachment you want to use, and the suction will be supplied through the outlet.

We mounted a central vacuum cleaning system to the wall of our friends’ RV, and you can see how we did it here:

HP Products 9880 Dirt Devil Central Vacuum System

With hundreds of five-star ratings from Amazon reviewers, this Dirt Devil is consistently a top-rated RV central vacuum system.

This central vac has a HEPA filtration system and comes with multiple accessories designed specifically for RVs. The all-metal vacuum box is sturdy and durable, and the system is backed by a 5-year warranty.

The vacuum box weighs only 14 pounds and requires a space of only 6.25″ x 7″ x 14.5″ for mounting. It requires 120V for operation. The system has overheat protection and an automatic reset. Dirt capacity is one gallon.

Many reviewers call this system a must-have and note the fact that installing it will raise the value of an RV. They typically tout the generous hose length, with one reviewer noting that there’s sufficient hose to run it out the RV door and into his car to vacuum the vehicle!

There’s high, high praise out there from users of the 9880 Dirt Devil.

Hand-Held Cordless or Corded RV Vacuums

In this section, we’ll feature some of the higher-rated smaller hand-held vacuums. These can be mounted if desired. All require either the ability to be charged (and thus ready when you need them) or a 12V cord for plugging into a 12V outlet in your RV or van.

Cordless hand-held vacuums are notorious for insufficient suction, so we worked to find a few that have a majority of decent reviews from users.

BLACK+DECKER 20V Max Handheld Vacuum

Another Black & Decker product, this hand-held vacuum has a 20V lithium-ion battery giving you a bit longer to scoop up the crumbs in your RV. It has a pivoting nozzle and a high-performance motor that allows for a fair amount of suction as hand-helds go.

While we don’t own this vacuum ourselves, we can tell you why we’re confident in placing it at the top of this category: It’s the NY Times Wirecuttter’s winning pick as The Best Handheld Vacuum. They said it “has more suction than any other cordless handheld vacuum” they tested, with the exception of a far more expensive (and not currently available) model from Dyson.

It has a three-stage filtration system and, like the previous model, has cyclonic action to spin dust and debris away from the filter. And while the Wirecutter’s testing showed a less-than-ideal no-fade average of 10 minutes run-time per charge, they still picked it as their #1 choice. They said its strong suction makes up for any lack of longer battery life.

It comes with a standing charging base and needs to be plugged into 120V power to charge.  It has a little crevice tool and brush that remain onboard the vacuum for handy access.

This little vacuum weighs just three pounds.

Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Lithium Ion Cordless Hand Vacuum

Right near the top of the list of hand-held vacuums is the Pet Hair Eraser from Bissell. With an average of 4.7 stars from over 26,000 Amazon reviewers, if you’re in the market for a cordless hand-held vacuum, this might just be the RV vacuum for you.

This vacuum has a 14V lithium-ion battery that allows it to provide the run-time you need to clean throughout a mid-size or smaller RV (up to 17 minutes).

The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser has a large dirt bin and triple-level filtration and comes with a motorized brush tool, an upholstery tool, and a crevice tool.

This vacuum is 16 inches long but only weighs 3 pounds. Four lithium-ion batteries are required to run it and are included with the vacuum. Just remember to keep it charged!

BLACK+DECKER Dustbuster Cordless Handheld Vacuum

This Black & Decker Dustbuster is a more typical hand-held vacuum and seems to be quite popular with almost 42,000 Amazon reviews, 87% of which are 4- and 5-star reviews.

This Dustbuster comes with a crevice tool, push-in brush, and a high-capacity bagless dirt bowl.  Reviewers seem to agree that the suction is great for a small machine like this, though run-time is anywhere from 10-15 minutes depending on how steadily you’re running it.

Users state that this battery needs to be plugged in for 3-6 hours and then can be unplugged until its battery life has been depleted from use. The internal battery is lithium-ion.

This little vacuum with cyclonic action weighs only 2.11 pounds and has a limited 2-year warranty.

QYHY Portable 12V Car Vacuum Cleaner

Our final hand-held vacuum on the list of best RV vacuums is this little 12V corded hand-held unit that was designed for use in the vehicle detailing profession.

It has an LED light that illuminates when the vacuum is in use. The vacuum can be used as a wet or dry vac. It has a high-power motor with reportedly strong suction, and comes with a brush nozzle, an extended hose, and a slot pipette for corners and slots. It also has a washable HEPA filter.

The 12V power cord is 16.4 feet (yes, FEET) in length! This unit weighs only 1.9 pounds but still packs a punch.

Do You Use a Vacuum Cleaner In Your RV?

Feel free to drop us a comment letting us know whether or not you carry a vacuum in your RV. If you’ve got one you really love (as much as we love ours), be sure to share the details!

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