Top 10 Tips for RV Travel Day

When you live the nomadic lifestyle, travel days are part of life. They can be stressful and take much longer than anticipated if you are not prepared or don't have a good strategy. However, they don't have to be! After doing this for a couple years we've learned some lessons and come up with a few of our favorite tips for making travel days easy, breezy, and dare I say fun?!

Our first few months on the road we learned a lot of hard lessons, many of them during travel days. Learn from our mistakes! Here we share our very best tips for a successful, stress-free travel day!

Tip # 1: Have a Checklist

Checklists are so handy! I use the notes app o

n my phone in case I need to make adjustments and I always have it with me. You can use any method you wish, although I suggest you make it something you can easily edit as you think of things to add, or remove things that no longer belong. Our checklist includes things like securing loose items, closing and latching cabinet doors and drawers, closing and latching the fridge, etc. Yours will vary based on your needs, but you get the idea.

Tip #2: Plan an Order of Events

Somewhat related to tip #1, while making your checklist, consider the order of events that need to occur. For instance we shut off our water last so we can use it until we leave for bathroom, hand washing, etc. Chocks come off last, securing loose items is one of the first things we check for.

Tip #3: Pack Food for the Road

Maybe this will apply to you, and maybe it won't. If you are driving a fifth wheel or travel trailer, this will be more of an issue than you motorhome and van dwellers. Regardless of your travel style, we recommend having something readily made and easy to eat. We usually pack breakfast sandwiches or tacos wrapped in foil, coffee in a thermos and eat that on the road. For lunch - sandwiches, dry snacks, and a cooler in the truck and sto

p at rest stops to eat it and stretch our legs. Even if you're in a motorhome or van having something easy and already made helps cut down on travel time and stress on the road.

Tip #4: Pack the Night Before

If you need to leave early it helps to pack up as much as possible the night before. This will drastically cut down on what's needed in the morning allowing for a quick and easy early morning departure.

Tip #5: Know Before You Go

Have a really good understanding of the route ahead of you. Will there be low bridges? Weight restrictions? What about traffic patterns and timing? We are a very large rig so these considerations are super important for our safety. We consult a truck map and use multiple online sources to confirm if we have any doubts. Also, be wary of google maps. On more than one occasion it has routed us on very unsafe or even unpassible routes. If you are planning to boondock (dry camp), check google maps satelite view to verify campsites and routes into them before you go. Apps like Campendium and iOverlander can be very beneficial as well. Read the reviews, often campers will mention what to avoid or be aware of.

Tip #6: Divvy up Tasks

In our family, everyone has jobs to do on travel day. We all know what those jobs are, how to do them, when to do them, and this makes it go much more smoothly. Kayla and I tackle the inside while Lily and Steve work on outdoor things. This is a system that ha

s worked quite well for us as we are not stepping on each other's toes, and everything is sure to get done. Of course we still refer to our checklist because mistakes do happen, but it's much more rare.

Tip #7: Turn off Water and Propane

When traveling it's important to turn off your water and propane. First off for safety reasons, and secondly so you don't have any incidental flooding or water damage. Ask us how we know! *Side note* If your RV refrigerator operates on propane, you may need to keep the propane on during travel to keep the refrigerator running. In this case, make sure the fridge is set to "Auto" or "Gas" mode so that it automatically switc

hes to propane when the electrical power is disconnected while driving.

People often ask whether they should travel with any water in the tank. We fill ours about 1/3 of the way full, that way we have plenty of water for bathroom and hand-washing during travel and it isn't nearly as heavy as carrying a full tank. FYI water weighs 8.3lbs per gallon.

Tip #8: Check Weather Conditions All Along Your Route

When traveling be sure to check the weather and radar all along your route. Knowing wind speeds, stormy conditions, excessive heat warnings and any other potential hazards are good to know to keep you safe and help you execute your journey. If you decide to take a

n alternate route due to potentially hazardous weather, be sure to check it for passibility and safety!

Tip #9: Fuel up Before You Go and Stick with Truck Stops Along the Way

We try to fuel up with the truck only as much as possible before hitting the road. This allows us to go to cheaper gas stations and not have to worry about height restrictions or room to maneuver. Inevitably though you will need to get fuel while towing or driving your RV. I recommend sticking to truck stops because they are large and easy to navigate. If you have a s

maller rig or van this obviously doesn't apply to you! You lucky folks can fill up just about anywhere safely.

Tip #10: Have Fun and Don't Stress

When we first started out I would get major travel day anxiety, I'm talking like even the day before I would start to feel the stress creep in. All the what-if's, worries, and fears would try to take over my mind. Having a checklist, knowing your route and weather conditions, and being prepared go a long way to prevent any anxiety from rearing its ugly head. Once you're fully prepared you just gotta let it go and trust! I always pray over our rig and truck and then trust God to deliver us safely to our destination. Have Faith!

While travel days can be stressful, the

y really don't need to be! Follow these tips and you will be enjoying stress-free travel days from here on out!

H

appy Travels!