By Nanci Dixon
We all make mistakes. I have made some biggies, too. Some of the RVing mistakes below have happened to others and some to us, but some, thankfully, have not! Don’t let them happen to you either!
7 RVing mistakes to avoid
Not checking site length before reserving
We were camp hosts for a park that had two sections—one for large RVs and one for smaller RVs and tents. Every day someone had made reservations for a too-small site and, with everything else booked, we had to turn them away. Not happy campers!
We have learned by looking at Google Earth and any of the available campground photos that there may be a little wiggle room to extend back over a concrete bumper when we hope to park our tow car with the RV. We can’t count on it though. Those concrete bumpers vary in height and we always double-check before extending over them.
Editor’s note: Here’s a secret to using Google Earth to accurately measure an area.
Not knowing the height of the RV
Know the traveling height of your RV. An easy way to measure is to put a broom handle or stick on the roof extending out and drop a tape measure. Have someone read the length then add the highest point of RV to it. Post the height where you can easily see it while driving.
Watch the height signs of bridges, gas stations, underpasses and entrances to campgrounds. If in doubt, have a spotter walk through with the RV.
Backing up without a spotter
It is important to have a spotter when backing into sites, particularly when new to RVing. Whoever backs in better should be the one to maneuver the RV into the site. We have seen many men jump out of the RV and the women get behind the wheel to back in.
My husband and I have finally developed a set of hand signals that both of us understand. I point to the direction the wheels are to go, use both hands to signal to keep coming and crossed fists to signal stop. Remember to watch for overhanging branches and the tree that sneaks up behind the RV when not looking.
Believing the GPS unconditionally
You may have already learned your RV mistake lesson with this one. For us, “Turn right” brought us directly to a 10-foot underpass. “Turn left” once took us to a tight dead-end with nowhere to turn but in a farmer’s field. We were glad it had already been harvested. Look ahead before following the GPS instructions, particularly on dubious turns. If it doesn’t seem right, it might not be.
Follow the campground’s online or printed instructions when they say, “Do not follow the GPS.” Usually, they can be found at the very bottom of the reservation in small print!
Sometimes, when in doubt, we set both our RV GPS and Apple or Google Maps to compare.
Not checking the weather forecast
Know what the weather is that you’re heading into. If heavy winds, snow, ice or torrential downpours are in the area you are headed, try to avoid them. Stay an extra day or two if available where you are, or ditch plans and reroute around the area.
We did not do that when headed through Texas in early 2023. We barely made it through the ice storm in Dallas and stayed four days literally frozen to the ground in Amarillo.
Setting up RV at campground site without accounting for slides
Know how far the slides extend. I mark on the doors of ours so I can make sure there is enough clearance between pedestals, trees and other obstructions for slides to come out. Some people measure with their arms
The lesson was brought home when a new neighbor parked his new fifth wheel for the first time in the dark and did not account for the electric pedestal. The pedestal was toast and the slide was crushed.
Not doing a walk-around before leaving
As we heard in the RV “oops” column, not unhooking sewer hoses, water hoses, or electric cords and leaving the jacks down are very common.
We have been guilty of several! One time it wasn’t until the second walk-around that I noticed the door awning was out. I was so intent on looking down that I forgot to look up. Now I do one walk-around checking the basement storage doors, jacks and all connections. Then I do a second one checking the slideouts, awnings and the satellite.
These are some of the most common mistakes RVers make, particularly when new to RVing. We all learn and hopefully only need to learn once!
MORE “RV MISTAKES”
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- Common trailer hookup mistakes you might be making
- RV tech reveals 20 RV mistakes that drain your wallet
- RV antifreeze myths busted and the mistakes to avoid
- The most disgusting RV mistake you never want to make
RVDT2813
We learned a valuable lesson a few years ago – check the power at the Pedestal prior to disconnecting / starting set-up. The power was bad and we had to reconnect and change sites. A couple minutes can save several…
We always leave one of us at the site, while the other pulls the trailer away. Then the site is scanned….without the trailer on it…to make sure nothing was left behind. Things left are much easier to spot with the trailer no longer at the site (say, for instance, levelers).
Unless you’re traveling short, don’t be tempted with a U-Turn. Just drive around the block. Climbing the curb while obstructing traffic from a failed tight turn burns more fuel than simply going around the block.
Run water through your inline filter before connecting. The amount of charcoal dust it will spit out is amazing. Likewise, rinse off your cartridge type filters before installing. They too can send charcoal downstream and into your faucet screens.
Class A’s – If you’re looking for something, park your rig in a safe location, drop your toad and scout with the small vehicle instead of the entire train. Seeing branches in the toad beats hearing them scrape in the RV.
As always, great tips learned from experience.
After all the hoses, cables and power is disconnected and stabilizers are raised, hook the tow vehicle to the trailer. The last thing removed are the wheel chocks.
BTW, the chocks are the first thing to set in place after leveling side to side, before unhitching.
An old timer told us early on that the wheels chocks are always the first thing to do when you arrive and the last thing to do before you leave. Good advice that we followed for ten years full timing!
We deliver RVs to permanent campground sites. Over 1,000 now. My wife does all the backing and I do the directing. I can see much better outside than I can in the mirrors and mirrors don’t show low branches. People are always surprised. We got a lot of “wow”, some “we’d be divorced if we tried that” and one “if my husband and I tried that one of us would be bleeding”. We get lots of “I can’t even back up the boat trailer”. I tell them that’s a lot more difficult than a large RV trailer since those little trailers swing to the side so quickly. Just take your time and all will be fine.
All good advice. Thanks.
Verify with multiple gps apps is a must!
All true but, IMO, the MOST important is knowing the height of your RV. Do not assume the height in your owner’s manual is correct. Measure it yourself and include the tallest item on the roof…Air Conditioner shroud, SAT TV antenna, etc. I always rounded up to the nearest inch. Then write it down and tape it to the dash of the RV or tow vehicle in front of the driver’s position.
We’ve made several of these goofs. But recently we had a problem at a CG because the space length given on the reservation site was off by 10’. We squeezed in but had to park the car elsewhere. (They said they’d been meaning to measure spaces for length.) Since the CG was heavily forested, an overhead preview was impossible. This also happened to us at a BLM CG near Moab. The agent at the office in town was shocked to hear about the large rock in the middle of the pad (grass growing around it) that rendered it useless except for tenting. Always have a back up plan!
Thank you, Nanci, for these warnings, reminders! Almost ripped out our power cord years ago because failed to do a timely pre-departure walk-around. Have a great weekend and safe travels!