The dream of many RVers is to “get away and relax.” It’s a good goal and one I share with you! Did you know that there are specific things you can do to guarantee a relaxing RV trip? Read on to see what I mean.
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Keep up to date with RV maintenance
There’s a time and place for everything. Washing and waxing an RV on a weekend camping trip isn’t my first choice. (It’s not even my second or third choice!) If you want to relax and unwind, performing maintenance chores on your rig will not help! If you dutifully keep up with the necessary RV tasks, you won’t feel pressure to tackle them during a weekend that’s slated for relaxation.
Plan trip details
It used to be an RVer could set out in one direction, drive a while, and then easily find a campground to spend the night. Those days are over. Now it’s important to plan ahead. Know where your route will take you and secure campsites ahead of time. Do this well before you leave the driveway. And be sure to keep everything recorded (written in a notebook or saved on your cell phone) so that you can access the information quickly and easily.
If you plan to eat at a popular restaurant, make reservations ahead of time, if possible. The same goes for other activities you and your RVing buddies want to do. For example, schedule and pay for that horseback ride ahead of time. A little preplanning will lessen the stress of waiting in line or missing an opportunity altogether.
Get meals planned and prepped
Too much time in the RV’s kitchen used to make me feel left out. Free yourself from the stress of meal preparation by planning meals ahead of time—the simpler, the better! Prep as much as you can before your trip. For example, if you plan to grill hamburgers, premake the patties before you leave. Slice onions and prep other toppings, too. Have sides premade and ready to go. Then, when mealtime comes, it will take very little time, stress, and effort to get food on the table. (Here are some delicious meal prep chicken dinners, and here are some make-ahead foil packet recipes. Yummmmmy!)
Ditch social media for a relaxing RV trip
Our RV time is “unplugged” time. Recent findings from a British study recommend “unplugging,” as well! The study reported that eliminating social media (like Facebook, Twitter, etc.) for one week improved participants’ feelings of mental well-being. Anxiety lessened and moods brightened. (Probably not a big surprise, huh?) When camping, we also keep TV time to a minimum. Watching the sunset is so much more relaxing than seeing the evening news. Don’t you agree?
Pack light
No one wants to “relax” in the campground laundry room all weekend. But honestly, how many shorts and tops will you actually wear? My husband and I used to indiscriminately toss clothing into the very limited number of drawers in our RV bedroom. Not anymore. If we plan to be gone for a “long” weekend, we take three “outfits” at most—one for each day.
Leave work behind
Just because you can work remotely doesn’t mean you always should. All of us need a break from our daily work. Trying to squeeze in some work time at the campground is stressful—for you and any travel buddies. If at all possible, leave work at home.
Slow down
It’s fun to take a break from our hectic daily lives. Except when that relaxing three-day weekend turns into a contest to see how many activities you can cram into 72 hours. Slow down. And remember! You have an RV. You can try some of those activities on another weekend, right?
What do you do to ensure a relaxing RV trip? Share your ideas in the comments below, please.
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The best tips and advice for surviving the family RV road trip
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I like to find a nice place to boondock for a few days at a time. I bring the necessities and just relax and enjoy nature and the company of the person(s) with me.
We used to be when we worked to leave and drive as far as we could to have more time at our destination but now both being retired, we travel about an hour and a half then stop and get out and walk around, maybe have a snack then just set back for a little while before getting back on the road.
I beg to differ regarding maintenance.
Light maintenance or a quick detail job on the road dust is part of my relaxation. We are in our coach for 6 months at a time. I need projects to keep me busy when nothing is on the schedule.
I think the article is geared more to weekend campers, not semi or full timers.
Gail does a great job offering pointers and tips that can used by a variety of campers, full time and part time weekend warriors. Pick and choose what works for your needs. Just think how difficult it might be to write as many different topics that we read authored by Gail as frequently as she does. I am thankful for the many “flavors” of her offerings, some don’t work for my needs but are still interesting and other are dead on.
The one thing I would add is to manage your driving. One cardinal rule we have is that we stop around every two hours. We try to make it a truck stop or rest stop so there is no stress when trying to park. We get out and walk around for a minimum of 5 minutes. It makes a huge difference upon arrival and has cut any tension during set-up significantly.
Great tip! Thanks!
Great idea, I am going to insist on that suggestion.
My significant other is a retired over the road truck driver and it’s usually not stop for hours at a time if the destination is quite a bit away. If it’s a 2-3 hour trip, no stops in between 🙁