How to Plan the Perfect RV Trip: 5 Tips

Planning your next RV trip? We know how important it is to plan ahead: do your research on the trip and the destination, be sure to properly organize, and be sure to start planning early to account for all costs, make reservations, properly determine timing, and prep all necessary vehicles. But, the biggest, underlying theme: start early.

Starting early allows you to take them in more digestible pieces versus taking care of everything at once and allow you to hear from every stakeholder in the upcoming trip. Visualizing your upcoming trip ahead of time will also allow you to create an ideal experience for everyone involved and mitigate any issues before they happen.

Our tips for planning the perfect RV trip:

Don’t wander aimlessly: choose your destination wisely

RV trips can be very fun, freewheeling experiences, but for the majority of people, it makes more sense to choose destinations and plan trips accordingly. Wandering aimlessly is a waste of time and often times a waste of money. Traveling by yourself is one story, but when traveling with others, especially, planning the destination and travel is more affordable and will allow you the right amount of time to travel in a more leisurely way.

Planning ahead can also mean fiscal benefit. Often times, camping resorts and other RV parks can charge almost 4X as much on the weekends versus during the week. Allowing for travel during the week and not limiting yourself to the weekend can help you save money and/or extend your travel plans while doing so.

While traveling to your destination, planning your steps along the way is as important as choosing the destination. This will avoid you from being stuck without a site or for paying for one that is less than desirable or priced much too high. There are many tools you can use to plan routes including : Passport America, Good Sam, and AAA. These tools can also help with identifying shorter distances, more desirable and/or scenic routes, and avoiding extra expenses like toll roads.

Create a travel checklist

It’s important to make a list to ensure you don’t end up leaving something behind. By creating a thorough travel checklist you’re more likely to pack everything you want and make sure you don’t miss any key items.

Creating an RV trip checklist will also ensure you do everything you need to do when traveling including: setting up and breaking down your recreational vehicle, checking mechanicals, checking electronics in your RV, and loading all required items.

The best part of creating the checklist is that you get to use it over and over again. It might be tedious and time consuming to start, but it will be a tool that you’ll benefit over and over again every time you take an RV trip.

Find the best information guides for your destination

Accurate information is one of the keys to creating and planning a successful RV trip. There are many options available that provide useful and accurate information such as The Good Sam Travel and Savings guide.

There are also several guides to rest areas, dump stations, and diesel stops to help guide your trip such as the RVers Friend.

Guides such as these will help you find credible information while you’re actively out on your trip and will also help you decide the distance of each leg of your journey.

Prepare and load your vehicle appropriately

For safety purposes, there are many things you should go over prior to kicking off your next RV trip. You should always check your vehicle for cracks and leaks in any belts and hoses, look for tire damage, and any broken internal or external lights.

Here’s a basic checklist to follow to ensure you’re ready to safely hit the road for your next RV trip:

Are all filters clean?
Are a/c units working?
Is all emergency equipment properly working?
Are all tires properly filled?
Is the rear camera working properly?
Are gas and smoke detectors updated?
Are propane tanks full and functional?
Are tires properly aligned?
Do remote mirrors work?
Do all appliances work properly?
Are entry stairs working properly?
Do windshield wipers work?
Are batteries working properly?
Are all oil levels correct?
Are all fire extinguishers up to date and working?

Account for missteps along the way

When you’re dealing with RVs, lots of mileage and lots of rode, there are many opportunities to damage your vehicle. Understand that there may need to be repairs that are pertinent to carrying out while you’re on the road or that will need to be taken care of as soon as you’re back home. More often than not, though, it’s important to take care of these as soon as possible rather than putting them off too long.

RV Glass Parts offers many repair and maintenance solutions to many RV manufacturers including: Airstream, Coachmen, Four Winds, Holiday Rambler, Itasca, Monaco, Sportscoach, and Winnebago.

The other obvious thing you should do prior to heading out on your next, fun RV trip include gassing up a day or two before heading out and ensuring your coach is well stocked to have everything you might need.

It might take a lot of pre-planning, but putting a lot of thought into your next RV trip will help you create a great experience for you and everyone else involved in your trip (long, short, or any length of time). Being prepared for accidental damage to your RV windshield or side windows is a smart idea too, since this glass technology keeps the cold or hot temperatures outside until you want to enjoy the climate, and protects against rain, snow and insects as well. You never know when your RV glass systems might be compromised!

Custom Glass Solutions provides RV glass repairs and RV glass replacements to both windshields and side & door window systems. We maintain a network of glass repair shops across North America who can assist you when an accident strikes, getting you back on the road as quickly as possible so your adventure can continue! Learn more about us and contact us with any questions you may have.