Planning an RV Road Trip? Here are 9 Tips for an Awesome Journey
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With summer upon us in full force, many RV owners, or soon-to-be RV owners, are preparing to set out on a family road trip and are looking for planning tips to make their journey as carefree as possible. If you don’t yet have an RV stop by and look at Kirkland RVs wide selection of RV for sale near you.
RV road trips are tons of fun but also require a decent amount of planning in order to be that way. To help you get your planning done, this article is going to share 9 tips for planning a memorable RV road trip that’ll help you and your family have the time of their lives!
1. Choose The Right Route
What do you want to see on your RV road trip? You need to choose a route that will allow you to see everything that you want to see while also choosing a route that is convenient for the others who will be traveling with you. If you are traveling with children you should choose a route that also has things for them to enjoy along the way if possible.
There are tons of sample itineraries out there from others who have done the exact route that you want to do, so take a little time to research a good road map that hits the sites people in the family want to see.
2. Plan Your Itinerary But Leave Room For Spontaneity
Having a balance of both structure and spontaneity is important when planning an RV road trip. You should have a good idea of the structure and schedule of your road trip, but also leave wiggle room margins at the beginning and end of each day. It is important to be able to spend time somewhere if you find a beautiful spot on your route that would be great to rest at for the kids and time to play.
Too rigid of an itinerary can take the fun and excitement from traveling — causing you to feel stressed at the slightest diversion from the schedule. So plan ahead but also be open to stopping and smelling the roses for an hour or two.
3. Bring The Essentials
Certain items are essential in order to have an easy road trip. Plan ahead and pack these along to avoid stress and increase comfort. Bring along necessary kitchen supplies, make sure your RV is equipped with an awning, comfortable lounge furniture, and a good water filter.
Make a list of essential items and order or buy them prior to your road trip to make the journey more comfortable and convenient for everyone.
4. Do A Trial Camp Set Up & Tear Down
If you have just purchased the RV, a trial set up and tear down can be extremely helpful for avoiding stress and lost time. Setting up camp isn’t always straight forward and it may take a couple of runs before you feel comfortable doing the entire process without the owner’s manual in hand.
A couple of weeks prior to your road trip, have a practice run and get familiar with the setting up and tearing down process.
5. Make A Packing List
Making a packing list will ensure that you don’t forget any essential items on your road trip. Include several categories on your packing list like clothing, miscellaneous, food, and convenience.
Flesh out each packing category and reference your list when it’s time to pack for your road trip.
6. Bring Entertainment Options
This is especially important if you are traveling with kids. Bring along games, books, movies, a soccer ball or frisbee to keep everyone entertained at the campground. Entertainment options will make the long hours spent driving melt away and create lots of fond memories for everyone on the road trip.
7. Take Your RV For A Test Drive
A test drive is essential if you are a first-time RV owner and aren’t familiar with the way your RV drives. Test-driving your RV will help you become comfortable driving on the road and will help you get an idea of the handling of your new RV.
8. Make A Grocery Run But Don’t Buy Things That You Never Eat
Grocery runs before a big road trip are always intense and extensive. RVers and especially first-time RVers have a tendency to be a little extreme and buy much more food than they actually need.
This can prove unhelpful though as they may not be able to eat the food as fast as it spoils and they also might lack sufficient fridge space to store it all properly.
As a general rule, only buy items that you typically eat and know how to prepare. This will help you avoid wasting food. Additionally, make sure to measure your RV refrigerator before your grocery run to avoid overbuying.
9. Get Your RV Tuned-Up
Prior to setting off on your grand adventure, you should bring your RV in to be inspected by a mechanic. Anything that needs tightening, tuning-up, or repairing should be done during this visit. In order to have a smooth RV road trip, you need to have a working RV that isn’t likely to fail on you when you’re in the middle of the desert.
Schedule a tune-up and go through a maintenance list for your RV a couple of weeks before your road trip so that any repairs necessary have time to be made.
Find The Perfect RV For Your Summer Road Trip
If you are planning on doing an RV road trip soon and would like to find the perfect RV for your travels, talk with a professional about what you are looking for in an RV to help you narrow down your search.
At Kirkland RV, we have a team of RV experts who are ready to help you find the perfect RV for your family. To hear more about the RVs we have for sale, contact Kirkland RV today to speak with one of our team.
