Discover These RV Tips For a Memorable Experience!

There are countless RV Tips that are considered useful to many. Some may be more important to you than others. Here are 25 Tips of what I feel are key in a happy and "eventless" RV experience to one of the Arizona RV Parks.

Do You Have These RV Tips Covered?

Ask yourself, "When was the last time I had my RV serviced?" If you cannot remember, it would be worth your time to have it looked over thoroughly before going out and traveling hundreds of miles only to find that your radiator needs attention.

• Make sure you have enough gas until your first scheduled stop.

• Get a front-end alignment. Preferably do this after you loaded up your Motor Home. This will save you wear and tear on your tires and save you gas money!

• Check your tire pressure prior to leaving. This is one of the extremely important RV Tips that will help prevent blowouts and tire damage. If nothing else, it will help optimize your gas mileage. Do this often throughout your trip. Make sure you consider the age and condition of your RV tires and note that is always a good idea to check the tire pressure prior to each time you drive. Just get into a habit of walking around your RV looking noting the appearance of your tires.

• Purchase a box of moth balls and place them near the propane lines of your water heater and also the refrigerator. This will help keep the nasty spiders away. Something else that might help are the scented dryer sheets. I have heard these will also help deter the little critters. You simply place them where you think the rodents would like to call home.

• Purchase an AC voltage monitor.

• Another one of the RV Tips I feel is very important is to make sure you have a water pressure regulator when you are connected to any water source. This will help protect your RV's plumbing.

• Pack some wheel chocks, or some blocks of wood to prevent your unit from rolling once it has been unloaded off of your truck.

• Have multiple fire extinguishers on hand just in case you might need them. You want to make sure that you have plenty. Trust me, you would rather have too many than not enough fire extinguishers should you need one.

• Take advantage of the running water at any of the Arizona RV Parks that offer it! You may be wondering how this could be one of the RV Tips. Well, even if your beautiful Motor Home has an operable shower, you will not have to worry about running out of hot water like your 6-10 gallon water tank holds! Pretty much everywhere you go you are going to cheerfully find a site which offers toilet and shower facilities.

• Whenever possible, wipe down your dishes with a paper towel to avoid putting food down the drain and make sure you throw the paper towel away in the garbage. The less you throw down the drain, means less risk of having any clogging issues. This will also prevent your tank resembling one that smells like a landfill!

• If your RV should breakdown or if you have an emergency that requires you to stop on the interstate, make sure you place a few of those red triangles to alert highway patrol officers of the emergency. Laws prohibit anyone from stopping on the shoulders of all interstate highways. This includes both on and off ramps, except in an emergency.

• Keep in mind that emergencies are considered those which are considered life threatening occurrences, such as when a vehicle breaks down. By the way, the state patrol does not consider having to go to the bathroom as an emergency, even though it may certainly feel like it to you! Patrol officers will tell you that you need to exit the closest exit ramp before making a stop on the interstate highway. They would probably also agree with you that this is one of the top RV Tips!

• To prevent your toilet from "bulking up" the black water tank, place your toilet paper in the garbage versus down the toilet. This will prolong the life of your tank. By doing this, you will not have to worry about spending the extra money on that special biodegradable toilet paper.

• Purchase a small single-plug surge protector for each appliance that exists in your RV. If you are going to "boondock," (which means "free camping to those who are not familiar with this term) select the ones with switches, so that you can turn them off completely.

• Pack any essential tools that you might need but leave any unnecessary items/tools at home.

• If you are not one of the fortunate people who have one of those Global Positioning Systems,(GPS) on your cell phone, you can find rest areas along your travels. Just watch for the roadside signs which are indicated more times than not, in blue and white. I have also noticed that these postings can be found at each rest stop so that you can plan ahead and look forward to visiting the next one! Yippee!

• Consider purchasing a "rest stop areas" publication, if the previous option does not work for you. If you have kids, they might think this is the best of all the RV Tips. Are we there yet? This might keep their mind off the long road trip. This publication is a great guide to have with a listing of the Rest Areas & Welcome Centers throughout the US Interstates. The paperback book lists the features of each specific rest area, such as rest rooms, handicapped facilities, vending machines, phones, dump stations, and even a listing of where you can walk your pet.

( This guide is published by Roundabout Publications, P.O. Box 19235, Lenexa, KS 66285 You can call them toll-free at 800-455-2207 or you can log onto www.TravelBooksUSA.com.)

• You may also wish to purchase a "truck stop directory." This particular guide is another directory that lists the locations of truck stops, such as The "RVer's Friend." The directory is very useful as it lists not only the gasoline locations, but the locations where you can purchase diesel fuel, which to many, might be worth it just for the diesel locations.  If you use diesel, you already know how hard it is sometimes to find a station that sells diesel fuel. In addition, this guide provides camping services.

(If you wish to purchase it at www.TruckStops.com or you can call them and order it over the phone at 800-338-6317.

• Purchase a Campground Directory. This is another great idea in the RV Tips list, especially if you have a change of plans when on the road.

• Purchase or use some inexpensive (preferably plastic) dishes to wash your dishes in. This will help conserve your gray water holding tank space. Then, when finished, pour the water down the toilet into the black water holding tank. Another one of the RV Tips for conserving water in your gray water holding tank space is to turn the water off when you are brushing your teeth, shampooing, shaving, etc. in the shower. This really is not hard to do. In fact, I do this at home, but then again, I am kind of a conserve and recycle freak!

• I have heard some say your should consider getting rid of the "cheapie" sewer hose that comes along with any new RV and buy a better sewer hose. I've also heard those same people recommend that if you are going to follow any RV Tips, you should buy two hoses, one 10 feet in length and the second, 20 feet in length. That way if you need the extra length, you can connect the two of them. Make sure you also have a connector in which to connect the two hoses. Having these certainly create a "good piece of mind," just by having these.

• This may sound silly, but always have plenty of quarters packed. You never know when you might need them, say for an unexpected visit to the laundry mat or if you have to pay for air needed for your RV tires.

• Take an RV driving class is also a good idea when it comes to RV Tips. If you feel that you could benefit from a class, then why not? It actually wouldn't hurt anyone if they took a driving class. You never know, you might just learn something.

• Pack an auto battery charger so that you are able to charge your batteries. (Also make sure you have enough rechargeable batteries, too!)

• Develop a check list two weeks prior to departure. This will give you plenty of time to take of the things you need to. You may think of other tips to ensure you have a safe and FUN RV experience. I would suggest that you write down your very own specific list as it likely won't exactly resemble my list of tips.

I hope these RV Tips were helpful to you. More importantly than the RV Tips, I hope you enjoy your RV Experience! Have fun!

Ok, sing it... "On the road again, just can't wait to get on the road again..."

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