By Gail Marsh
Thunk! Chunk! Snap! Click! These are the sounds you need to hear before you start your RV’s engine and hit the road. If you forget this “sound” advice, you probably won’t like what you see when you enter your RV upon arrival at the campground. Follow that sound and check out these tips for safer RV travel.
Don’t start your RV engine until you hear these sounds
Thunk!
This is the sound you’ll hear when you push against your RV’s interior cabinet doors. Yes, the door may be visually closed, but you need to push until you hear the “thunk.” Then you’ll know the door is secured for travel.
RV cabinet door latches are not like the ones in your stix-n-brix home. The door latches in your RV are specially designed to keep the door closed during travel. Think about it: Driving down the road can jostle things all around. Items inside the cabinets may push against the door, causing it to open. No one wants to end a day of travel by picking up all the cabinet contents that jumped out of the cupboard and danced all around the RV.
If you don’t hear the “thunk,” the door is not travel-ready.
(Hint: Even the latched doors can open if you hit rough roads. That’s why we pack plastic plates, cups, etc. If the latch fails, at least we won’t have broken glass to sweep up!)
Chunk!
Just like with RV cabinet doors, you should hear a “chunk” sound when closing your RV’s interior drawers. That sound emanates from a mechanism usually mounted to the back of the drawer. When the drawer is pushed completely closed, the locking feature engages to hold the drawer shut for travel. Listen for the “chunk” before you leave.
Note: In addition to the built-in lock mechanisms, we use bands and Velcro straps around cabinet doors and drawers to keep them closed. This added precaution has saved us both time and money over the years.
Snap!
Our RV shower door consists of three panels of glass. The outer glass panel has a hook on it. There’s also a knob mounted to the shower surround. To secure the shower doors for travel, the doors are pushed all the way to one side. This allows the hook to fit over the knob. But wait! You’ll need to push the hook down over the knob until you hear the “snap.” That sound means that the hook is securely latched into place and will not disengage during travel.
Click!
This is the sound I listen for when our RV’s solid step system is lifted back inside the entrance doorway for travel. One time, when I opened the RV door, the steps fell out. I hadn’t locked the steps in place! I didn’t listen for the “click.” Now I do. Every time.
All RVs are a little different. It’s important to learn about your rig and discover the sounds you need to hear before heading out on your next adventure.
Do you have additional “sound” advice to share? Please do in the comments below.
RELATED
- Types of pet restraints essential for safe travel
- Engine heater failure: What we learned when the temps dropped
- Easy ways to make your RV’s entry steps safer
- Is it safe to drive with propane on in your RV?
RVT1227
It’s a 21′ trailer, but it’s still the same concept.
Our door and drawer hardware allow us to use elastic loop bands (visit the hair care section and look for the big hair loops). Nothing is sitting loose on counters or table. We find the middle of the bed is safe for non-liquids. We installed safety straps on the dinette table to prevent it from bouncing off the legs. Emergency jugs of water are inside the tub. Pet’s water bowl is empty – and um, the toilet has barely enough water to cover the valve. The bathroom door is closed and latch fully engaged.
Really good advice, Gail. Over the years I’ve had cabinets fly open and dishes go flying. Ha! One other thing … I have one slide that covers a cabinet as it opens or closes. After arriving at the campground on one trip, I opened that slide and it stopped partially open. I kept trying thinking it was the slide motors out of sync. Then, came to find out one of the cabinet doors had opened, blocking the slide from advancing. By the time I found the issue, it had bent the hinges so badly that I had to replace them. So, now we place a rubber band around the handles so that cabinet can’t come open while traveling.
No mention of the refrigerator door latches. We use bungee balls in various lengths to secure cabinet doors.
We use velcro straps on our cupboards after we had a Corelle plate break after extremely hard braking to not hit a bear. I thought it was all the Corelle broken. If you have ever broke one you know, found the shrapnel everywhere! No problems since. Last time we were on that same stretch of highway, I remarked to my Hubby this is where the bear was. Less than 1 mile later another bear was walking down the highway…no issues this time.
I simply use an interior, exterior and before start checklists! Enlist the wife or the kids in reading the list – you give the right response to the item read. Just like the big kids in front of a 777 do! It is fail safe if practiced. No noises to listen for.
Thank you for the reminder, Gail! Will lower the probability of finding a mess upon reaching ones destination. ‘Tis a benefit of a drivable RV in that co-pilot can jump up and address arising problems before they escalate. Alternately, one can pull off the roadway and corporately address problems. Have a great day and safe travels!