How To Plan A Successful RV Trip

To really commune with the Great Outdoors, does anything come close to a recreational vehicle, or RV? These mobile dwellings are basically homes on wheels, usually replete with a full kitchen, bathroom, sleeping areas, and places to relax and take in the experience. Better yet, they can be driven, allowing you to tour and explore right from the comfort of your home away from home. Sometimes known as camper vans, they are a step up from traditional campers or caravans, which are trailers that need to be towed from place to place. 

RVs are a wildly fun way to take a road trip, allowing you the convenience of shuttling from point to point with a home's amenities at your fingertips en route. Need a snack or toilet break when miles from anywhere? Go for it. But, for all of their advantages and similarities they share with a traditional home, they are, of course, a different beast. Taking a trip in one requires that you make active adjustments in your daily routine, and that you undertake some careful planning to ensure that the journey goes without a hitch (pun intended!).

Think of an RV like a car with a house welded onto it. The mechanics to power it are the same as a normal vehicle — fuel fires up an engine that drives a shaft to move the wheels (and presto!) you'll be zipping along a road in no time — okay, it's a bit more complicated than that, but you get the picture. That's the simple part. Water is stowed in large tanks that will serve the bathroom and kitchen. To create pressure in the pipes to force that water out, an RV will have a water pump. That water, after use, goes into separate tanks depending on where it's come from — grey water and black water (the latter is water from the toilet, the former is everything else — think kitchen or bathroom sink/shower water). 

Power comes courtesy of the RV battery or an electrical system that can power all the appliances when plugged into the grid at a camp site or motorhome park. Furniture is usually adaptable; a dining area, for instance, can become a sleeping area after folding down panels and rearranging of cushions — and the space above the driver's seat serves as sleeping quarters. Efficiency is the hallmark of any RV.

While the idea of traveling by RV brings with it a level of freedom — you don't need to look for lodging after all, and can cook a meal or take a shower wherever you are — planning in advance is critical. What could be worse than being stuck miles from civilization, outside any cellphone coverage? Wherever you decide to stop each night, plot the route between your destinations and calculate the best way between them ahead of time; it's highly encouraged not to do this on the fly. 

You should always aim to drive in the daytime, and take regular breaks. These vehicles are much larger than a standard car and require a much higher level of concentration to operate. And don't push it; some seasoned RVers like to quote the 2-2-2 rule — traveling no more than 200 miles per day, driving a maximum of two hours without a break, and arriving at your camping spot before 2 p.m. You can also add another two — staying two nights in each place.

Since a lot is jammed into a compact space, RVs don't usually leave much area for luggage storage. Chances are for your trip you will be renting an RV, but even then, items like bedding, linens, and kitchen essentials are not always included. Check with the rental company to see if they are. Always pack your belongings in soft shell, collapsible duffel bags, not standard, wheeled suitcase that won't smush down and fit into the RV's small storage areas. Don't pack a separate outfit for every day, but plan on doing laundry and wearing clothes repeatedly (so pack laundry detergent!). Again, efficiency is paramount.

If you stay at campgrounds (a smart choice, at least for some of the trip), bring flip flops for the showers. Beyond this, your luggage should have all the expected items for a camping trip — clothes, toiletries, flashlights, refillable water bottles, sunscreen, and bug spray. Pack layers and something waterproof. Leveling blocks ensure your RV is stable when parked, ask your rental company to supply them. Also, some basic tools will come in handy — screwdrivers, an adjustable wrench, a utility knife, scissors, tape, and a pair of work gloves for the messier parts of the experience.

You're traveling in a home on wheels, but you won't have the creature comforts that you are used to at home. Some days, cooped up on top of one another, you and your fellow RVers might wish that you were all back home, in a normal sized bed with access to a spacious, heated bathroom, a big fridge, and blazing fast wifi. 

An RV trip isn't supposed to recreate the feeling of being at home, or a stay at a remote resort, it's much more nuanced than that. You'll have to get used to simple, repetitive meals, beds where you can't stretch out without touching the sides of the vehicle, showers that don't last more than a minute, and not being able to escape (at least when on the road) from the people you are with. But the pay-offs are incomparable, a shared sense of purpose, to travel wherever you want, and see slices of a nature in a pure, unfiltered, and less touristed way.

The highway network in America is quite an achievement, a patchwork of roads that allows us to efficiently travel around this nation with speed and safety. But, while highways are great for spanning large distances quickly, they don't offer drivers and passengers much of interest to see. The back roads are a much more scenic alternative, and isn't that the point of an RV trip, to connect to nature? The terrain will be less uniform, you'll experience a more personal version of the country, and since road speeds are usually lower than on highways, you might even get better gas mileage. 

Compiled by the Federal Highway Administration, America's Byways showcase the America's National Scenic Byways and All American Roads, two categories of roadway with scenic splendor guaranteed. Since some of these roads are remote, with limited cellphone (and hence GPS map) service, consider bringing a copy of National Geographic's "Guide to Scenic Highways and Byways", which highlights more than 300 stunning drives across the country.

When you are parked, your RV battery will power everything in the van, from the lights to the water heater that lets you have hot showers. When you are at a camp, you can hook up your RV to a power source to take over this responsibility, to run things like the appliances and water heater, and this won't drain the battery. But if you boondock, or free camp, you need to be attuned to how much power you use, because out there in the wilderness, or in the city center parked at the side of the road, you won't be able to recharge the battery. 

A few simple tricks can help you conserve energy when you're boondocking. Turn off the water heater once you've finished showering (you wouldn't believe how easy this is to forget), or take cold showers, switch off unnecessary lights, use an ice cooler to keep items refrigerated, and bring battery-operated fans.

For many adventurers making a trip in an RV, the most rewarding aspect of the journey is the sense of escape — especially from the digital world that has us in shackles — a pure, elemental way for travelers to reconnect with nature and to truly appreciate the restorative, therapeutic properties of embracing the environments around us. But we also need to connect with our friends and family, or catch up on a show, or simply make sure we are driving in the right direction, and at times like these, having access to wifi is indispensable. 

It's hard to stay connected on the road in remote destinations. Consider using your phone as a hotspot, though depending on your phone's data plan, this might not be a long-term solution. Private campgrounds typically offer wifi, and for other locations, the Coverage? app can give you service information for the main three telecom companies here. Another app, WiFi Map, details the free wifi networks in any location.

You're ready for your first RV, which will be unlike any other vacation you've had. You want to make sure everything goes smoothly and the voyage will be one of discovery, adventure, endless fun, and filled with plenty of laughter and snapshots of wonder. But remember, you don't have to have the best wine or the most delectable meal for an RV trip to be a success. It's not always the obvious things that make these types of excursions such an exceptional way to explore. 

Sometimes the most wondrous moments are just sitting there in nature, soaking it all up when you've finally got away from the daily grind. The indescribable feeling of the sun at twilight hitting a lake where you've stopped for the night. Or the gentle wind whipping through the trees in the forest where you are camping, gently rocking the branches, whispering round the RV — a seductive sound to serenade slumber if ever there was one.