Regardless of your degree of camping expertise, you should be familiar with these twenty RV tips and tricks.
1. Utilize a checklist for RV departures
Nothing is more frustrating than realizing you forgot to unhook your shore power cord before hitting the road. Before you pull out, there are a lot of things to keep in mind.
Having a visual checklist on your phone or printed out will help you make sure you don’t forget anything.
2. Be aware of your rig’s height
Determine the height of your rig. Put a label or a piece of masking tape with the height written on it on your dashboard. Before you go, be aware of low-hanging branches and the height of overpasses. Make sure you have a safe route by using an RV-safe GPS.
3. Level your camper before adding fresh water or dumping your tanks.
To make sure you are truly getting a full or empty tank, level your RV before filling it up or flushing out.
4. Towel bars and other items can be mounted on your walls using exterior-grade Gorilla mounting adhesive.
Gorilla mounting tape of the exterior grade sticks to RV walls far better than Command strips or any other product we could find.
5. Use the Command Broom Holders to store tools or flashlights.
Lighters and wrenches are wonderful to have on hand in your basement storage spaces or inside your RV thanks to 3M Command broom holders.
6. Change the showerhead on your RV
By using this approach, you may maintain a respectable water pressure while conserving water. Longer, better showers in the RV are available with the Oxygenics showerhead.
7. Make Use of a Pressure Cooker from Instant Pot (or Ninja like us)
Compared to traditional cooking methods, the Instant Pot pressure cooker will enable you to prepare great meals in a fraction of the time.
All you have to do is add the ingredients, press the button, and let the Instant Pot handle the rest. Bonus: Since the Instant Pot can be vented outside, cooking won’t raise the humidity in your motorhome.
8. Bring a small set of tools.
Keeping a simple tool kit with the necessities will help you be ready to tackle little repairs when necessary. This contains an electrical tester, a torque wrench, several bits, screws, and a screwdriver or cordless drill.
9. Bring a blow dryer.
You can use a hairdryer for purposes other than just blow drying your hair. When lighting a bonfire, you can use a hairdryer to blow warm air onto cold kindling or to defrost frozen pipes.
10. Keep a few pine cones on hand.
How come? Pine cones are useful for décor year-round. When you light a pine cone, it easily bursts into enough flames to start kindling, making it nature’s ideal firestarter.
11. Choose an RV-safe path.
To plan your itinerary and choose fantastic camping locations that suit your camping preferences, use the RV LIFE App and RV LIFE Trip Wizard. All in one handy tool: read reviews, get critical park information, and get RV-friendly directions.
12. Before you leave, shut off the propane valve.
It’s absurd to travel with the propane valve on your RV open. As we move, our rolling rigs experience shaking comparable to an earthquake. As we drive, propane connections and lines may break due to the shaking, which also causes many other things to loosen or possibly fall apart. There’s no denying that this puts your RV at risk of fire.
13. Carry a first aid package
Carry a first aid kit for both people and animals so that you are ready for any emergency (including those involving your four-legged family members).
14. Bring one or more collapsible storage totes.
Collapsible storage totes make good makeshift tables to place campfire necessities on and can be used to carry goods for bonfires, such as components for s’mores, napkins, glasses, and beverages.
15. Bring board games and additional pastimes for the family to enjoy.
When the weather becomes too bad for outdoor activity, your family may spend more time together at home playing board games. These are some fantastic card and board games that you can play in your RV with ease.
16. Pack a pizza stone
You can bake delicious dishes in your RV’s propane oven by using a pizza stone to help balance the oven’s temperature. You can always use it to bake pizza, of course! Pizza stones are brittle, so be sure to wrap them carefully before driving.
17. Clean your black tank while driving.
This is a classic RV hack. After you’ve dumped and flushed your black tank as best you could; dump into the toilet about 20# of ice cubes. The cubes will swoosh around in the tank for about 20 minutes as your drive down, essentially scraping off any stuck debris that is left built up on the bottom of your tank.
18. Before leaving your campfire, make sure it is completely extinguished.
One of the main causes of forest fires is abandoned campfires. Not every one of these fires was purposefully left to smolder. Anything combustible in your firepit may rekindle hours later due to the intense heat produced by campfires in the ground beneath them. When you’re through with your campfire, completely put it out with lots of water or dirt (after all, nobody wants to be “that guy/girl”).
Generally speaking, before you leave your fireplace, you should be able to place your hand there comfortably.
19. Turn a headlight into a lantern
Light up your campsite with a lantern made out of a 1-gallon water jug and a headlamp strapped with the light side facing down into the water . This camping tip works best with opaque, white jugs, like milk containers.
20. Wash your clothes while driving.
Fill a five-gallon bucket with water, laundry soap, and soiled garments; make sure the top fits tightly. Make sure the lid is securely fastened; if it isn’t, a major mess will result. Locate a location within your rig where you can guarantee that the bucket will remain securely in place. Better still if you have a place to store it.
Similar to a washing machine, the clothes in the bucket will stir with every bump and turn you make while driving. Your garments will be immaculate and ready to be rinsed and hung to dry in the open air after an hour or two of driving.
