Stay Safe On The Road, RV Travel Tips

If you do not travel often in your RV or are new to RVing, it can take a while to build up a knowledge base.  One of the top areas you want to plan for first, is travel safety.  You need to be prepared before you have any issues.  Some things you might think about because you use them in a brick-and-mortar home are having a first-aid kit handy, carbon monoxide detectors, or keeping up-to-date fire extinguishers on hand.  But there are situations unique to RVing.  Here are a few RV travel tips on getting started:

Check road conditions beforehand

Not something you have to think about in a stationary home, right!  But when you are moving down the road, the conditions will affect your trip plans.  Use Google to search for specific state road conditions or road advisory systems.  You can also look for Interstate Road conditions and know which roads may be closed or in repair and suggested new routes.

Unexpected Storms in an unexpected area can be dangerous.jpg

Be prepared for the weather

Closely related to road conditions is how weather will affect your trip.  Using road conditions to check on potential weather issues on the road you can try a great website like United States Road Conditions which let you know road closures.   Knowing what weather to expect will let you know what items you should be prepared to pack or have on hand.  It also helps you learn the area and know where to go in case of tornados, blizzards, or other hazardous weather situations in an unknown area.  And knowing the weather ahead of time during your RV travel will help you prep for how much fuel you might need for heating or if you are caught in trip delays.

Unexpected storms in an enfamiliar or unexpected area can be dangerous.

Unexpected storms in an unfamiliar area can be dangerous. 

Know your RV

In your home you can flip on switches, call for service or fix something quickly yourself with supplies from Home Depot.  But when you are on the road, you don’t always have such luxuries.  You need to know features and usages of your RV to be prepared for during your RV travel.  This can include several options:

• Do research and know what items are problem areas for your make and model of RV.
• Keep back-up parts for those problem areas as well as parts that are hard to get access to or take a long time to order.
• Be familiar with your warranties and insurance. Know who to contact or at least know where your paperwork is in case you need to contact someone for service or repairs.
• Know the tank sizes, weight, height – all the measurements of your RV. This will tell you when you need to empty, fill up, not go over or under certain bridges because you are too tall or too heavy.

Secure your belongings

Have you entered your rig after traveling down the highway and opened a cabinet door?  If so, you might have been attacked by flying cans or bottles that were not secured.  There are all kinds of tips and trips for keeping things in place during your RV travel.  Try using command strips, extendable rods for bars, baskets, trays, and straps to keep things in their place.  If you have slides on your RV, you need to make sure there is nothing between them and where they need to slide in and out.  If you don’t check, you will have crushed items on your hands.

Also not securing items can cause cabinet doors or refrigerator doors to pop open with goods going everywhere.  Flying or falling items will rip holes and gouges in your RV.  It is very important to go through your entire RV and very carefully note if something will be having a ‘traveling’ issue.  When you enter your RV after traveling, it is also prudent to carefully and slowly open doors and cabinets.

Using a checklist will also remind you to check your RV roof for safety issues or forgotten belongings. 

Use a checklist

The biggest safety help with your RV is to have checklist.  It is hard to remember everything you need to take care of when packing up, traveling down the road, or setting up at your new campground.  You don’t even have to create a checklist from scratch.  There are lots of YouTube videos and checklist available online.  If you are a Facebook member for a group with your RV model, even better.  The checklist can be more specific to your RV needs.

No matter what kind of RV you have, how or where you travel, every RVer needs to be aware of safety issues.  It not only affects you and your loved ones.  If affects all the other travelers on the road.  So be safe!