You’ve rented an RV from Outdoorsy and are anxious to hit the road. But before you pull out of the driveway, let’s make sure you’ve closed, opened, secured, tied down, pulled in and locked everything on the rig. Because nothing ruins a trip like a mistake that could have been prevented.
Most motorhomes and travel trailers have many things in common that need last minute attention. Here’s a general RV pre-travel checklist, but feel free to add your own specific items:
1. Turn off all lights and fans and your heater or air conditioner
2. Close all vents and windows
3. Turn off water heater and water pump
4. Prepare refrigerator for travel
5. Stow away or tie down television
6. Stow away loose items
7. Latch all interior doors
8. Close and latch all cabinets
9. Lower TV antenna and/or satellite dish
10. Retract cell phone booster
11. Pull in slides
12. Store outside items (chairs, grill, dog pen, etc.)
13. Retract leveling system or jacks and store
14. Pull out and store chocks and levelers
15. Close and lock outside storage
16. Retract and secure awning(s)
17. Unhook and store water hose
18. Unhook and store septic hose
19. Unhook and store electric cord
20. Unhook and store cable TV cord
21. Check exterior lights, turn signals
22. Check hitch
23. If pulling vehicle, check for tight tie downs
24. Retract stairs
*If you are leaving a camping area, utilize dump stations where available, and travel with some water in the fresh water tank. You may not want to fill it up entirely though, because of the extra weight your vehicle will be carrying.
After awhile working through this checklist will become second nature, but it’s always a good idea to take your time and make sure everything gets a second look. No one wants to be that guy who drove off with the awning hitting trees, or that girl who left the stairs down and is scraping the curb (okay, that was me!).
Just having something written down (like the checklist above) to reference should help you start every travel day. Have a great time venturing across the country in your new RV!
