Planning an extraordinary cross-country road trip with your friends, a holiday vacation with your family, or a weekend getaway with a loved one? Bringing your motorhome, RV, or campervan with you?
There are some tips that you must remember before hitting the road – whether it may be a three-day drive or a month-long adventure. Read on and learn some tips that you can use during your motorhome road trip to keep your journey fun, hassle-free, and safe.
Choose Your Destination Carefully
While some may say that traveling in a motorhome would not require some planning because you have your home right with you, a little planning won’t hurt. Look for a flat spot to keep you and your things from sliding to the other side of the vehicle.
Try to stay away from the campground lights because they’ll flush out the night sky. Most importantly, find a site where you’ll have access to clean water and a toilet (if you don’t have one in your motorhome).
Park in the best spot the site has to offer to make the most of your trip and take in the majestic view from the moment you wake up!
Plan And Store Your Food Wisely
One of the most important things to plan for during your motorhome travel is your food – what meals to prepare, how to store them properly, and how much food to bring. While you can cook in your RV and stock food in your fridge, keep in mind that your storage space is still limited.
Buy some sealed plastic storage containers to prevent bugs, insects, and other pests from ruining your food, as well as to keep them fresh. Plan your daily meals and portions so you won’t be a starving camper in the woods.
Moreover, bring food to cook over a gas stove or campfire, such as bell peppers, beetroot, potatoes, and corn. Here’s another tip to save you some extra bucks: buy your food and produce at supermarkets instead of convenience stores and service stations along the road.
Prices here can be quite expensive, so shop for your snacks, ingredients, meals, and other necessities at your supermarkets.
Stock Up On Entertainment
If you’re in for a long trip with your campervan, you’d be surprised to find some days where you’ll become bored despite all the outdoor activities nature has to offer. On some days, the weather won’t be your friend and force you to get locked up inside.
To avoid feeling cooped up, pack some board games and card games that can pass the time and books, magazines, a guitar, or any other handy instrument. You’ll thank yourself for not relying entirely on electronic devices as batteries will inevitably run out.
However, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t bring your mobile devices, though. Secure your tablets, Kindles, laptops, and portable TVs to have endless hours of entertainment while the power lasts, or at least until your next stop to a charging station.
Keep Emergency Contacts Handy
You may never know what can happen during your trip, so it’s best to keep a physical list of emergency contacts with you. Ensure that you have them written down on a piece of paper and not just on your phone (again, batteries die!).
It’s best to plan your route or destination so you can gather emergency hotlines such as the police station and hospitals. Also, make sure that you have the number of 24/7 roadside assistance to save you from trouble (and danger, too!) when your vehicle breaks down in the middle of nowhere.
In addition, keep a list of your family and friends’ contact numbers, too. If you haven’t memorized them by heart, write them down so that you can easily reach them even if your phone has died out.
Update Family And Friends Regularly
Some may find this menial, but it’s best if you have a friend or relative you regularly update on your whereabouts and destinations. Agree on making it a habit and set a schedule for daily updates, which you should religiously follow.
You should both come to an understanding that if you fail to update on the agreed-upon time, things must have gone south – so take this seriously! It can save your life should anything go wrong.
Life on the road is highly unpredictable, so ensure at least one person knows where you are and how you are doing.
Strategically Store Your Shoes
This might sound weird to some, but hear us out: where you keep your shoes is an essential part of your trip and will affect your mobility. Designate a spot or area to keep your shoes inside your van, and remember to place them there.
Once you’ve started your outdoor adventures, chances are your shoes can be quite filthy, dusty, muddy, or dripping wet. You wouldn’t want that anywhere near your bed, don’t you? Especially not somewhere near where your head will rest – keep them far away!
However, you might need your shoes in the middle of the night or the wee hours of the morning, so place your shoes somewhere where you’ll easily find them. Do yourself a favor and stick to where your shoes should be to keep your van clean and muck-free.
Pack Lightly
It can be tempting to bring half of your home when you’ve got so much storage space but stop right there. Packing more than you need is a rookie mistake you’ll end up regretting. Don’t bring complicated equipment such as a professional griller, blenders, and whatnots.
Chances are you’ll be overwhelmed with so much stuff you’ll be bringing along and will end up not using half of those. Remember that nature will provide you with everything you need as long as you know what to look for and how to find it if you’re in for an outdoor trip.
Also, remember that traveling in a motorhome means living in a small space. Try to adjust your lifestyle even for just a short period of time, and you’ll see that you can survive without most of the things you’re used to.
Bring The Essentials
In addition to packing lightly, remember to bring the following: socks, shirts, pants, underwear, a hoodie, or a sweatshirt to keep you from freezing. Don’t forget to stack up some toiletries such as baby wipes, shampoo, soap, deodorant, and a toothbrush.
Make sure that you’ve brought comfy pillows, a blanket or comforter, and some fresh, clean towels. To juice up your devices, bring a phone charger and a universal adapter so you can plug in wherever you go.
Other essentials on the list are a bug repellant, a first aid kit and a medicine cabinet, a box of matches, sunscreen, a tent (if you’d like to pitch one), a vehicle repair kit, and even gas or fuel for the vehicle if you can get your hands on some.
Keep Two Sets Of Keys
This one might be hard to follow if you’re renting out an RV or motorhome, but try to do it anyway. Keep two sets of keys and place one near your bed and the other hanging on the usual spot on the front seat.
Doing so will enable you to control the vehicle should you feel something isn’t right with the environment outside without scrambling for keys.
You’d feel much safer if you do this, so make sure to keep your keys in their designated area no matter how disorganized or messy you are!
Take Your Motorhome For A Spin
An important yet often neglected part of preparing and planning for a long drive with a motorhome is test driving the vehicle itself. No matter how experienced you are driving, driving a huge van or truck will take some getting used to.
Take it out for a spin to get a feel of its controls, how it feels steering on curbs and corners, its brakes, among others.
A motorhome is heavier than a regular car, so if you’re used to driving regular cars, this is one step you wouldn’t want to miss before hitting the road.
Bring A Person You Love To Be Around
Not to sound dramatic, but make sure the person you’re spending time with during your trip is someone you can bear. Not only do trips bring the worst out of people, but being cooped up with the same person or people can be suffocating and miserable.
Long drives are fun, but they’re even better when you’re with the right people who get you and how you live your life. Remember, you’re going to be sharing a tiny space with these people, so who you’re traveling with will make or break the rest of your trip.
Please have a quick chat over your expectations during the trip, some ground rules or agreements, and keep it real to avoid getting on each other’s nerves and ruining a trip that’s supposed to be joyful and light.
Bring A Solar-Powered Charger
People who travel with motorhomes make stopovers at charging stations to power up their vehicles and portable devices. However, in some cases where you might find it inconvenient to stop over, you can opt to bring a solar-powered charger with you instead.
A large power bank can last you a couple of days and can charge a lot of devices without using up the power on your motorhome. This is a great must-have for every motorhome traveler because it is convenient, economical, and easy to charge.
However, if you don’t have one, try to conserve electricity. Turn off the lights and engine when you sleep to conserve your battery and save yourself the inconvenience of spending the next day without electricity and power.
Conclusion
What are you waiting for, traveler? Gear up and prepare for life in a motorhome as you hit the road and enjoy the time of your life!
Enjoy your trip and every single moment of your journey traveling with a trusty motorhome!
