How-To
Matt Light's Guide to Planning Your Trip
I used to spend my weekends playing football with the New England Patriots, but nowadays you’ll find me on the road with my family RV camping! I’ve learned a lot over the years about planning ahead for our trips which makes them so much easier and less stressful for everyone. Here are a few of my top tips:
How to Plan Your First RV Trip
-
Map Your Trip
Of course, being able to take whatever fork in the road you want when you’re in an RV is a big part of the appeal. But once you’ve picked that path, you should still be prepared for where that road leads you! Make sure you map out the course to get to your final destination which not only makes the adventure fun but safe. There are trip planning apps like Roadtrippers that help you plan every mile of your trip with millions of destinations and ways to share your story with others. There are other apps like RV Life that help you customize the trip with your vehicles height, weight, and length, helping you avoid tunnels that won’t allow propane tanks, road closings, bridges that are too low for your RV to get under, safe routes, campground suggestions, driving times and more. -
Know Your Height Restrictions
Put a piece of tape or sticky note on the dashboard with the height of your RV so when you come up to a bridge with a height restriction, you’ll know if you can make it under it or not (and always allow yourself at least a few inches more for safety). When in doubt – don’t! -
Go Old School – Bring a Map
I also carry an actual paper map in the RV in case the GPS won’t work or we lose WiFi. A map also shows you the big picture of where you and where you’re going with cool destinations along the way that might inspire a detour! -
Pack Only What You REALLY Need
One of the best things about RVing is that you can bring absolutely anything you want from home – but that doesn’t mean you should. When you bring only what you think you’ll really wear and use, you can keep your RV uncluttered and you’ll have plenty of room to pick up any new treasures along the way. The same goes for food. Fill your RV pantry with all the necessities but keep in mind, most campgrounds have a store on-site or one nearby so you can pick up anything you need there.
We’ve put together a quick list with some things you might not have thought of too. Check it out here.
