Monthly Archives: December 2010

RV Thoughts

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This is the short list of the things I thought about after the purchase of our first RV and traveling across country.

  1. Diesel Engine (Better Gas Mileage)
  2. Levelers to prevent swaying while parked.
  3. Sewer line drain (Collapsible long hose that will screw into the drain at the campground.)
  4. Sewer line stabilizer to support the hose and drain down hill.
  5. Water Hose between 6ft to 20ft
  6. Driving Lights (when using high beams you lose visibility of the road)
  7. Bed (Stock bed is uncomfortable)
  8. Rear end clearance (Make sure yours doesn’t bottom out when you pull into a gas station.  We left our mark across the United States)
  9. Driver and Passenger leg room (Passenger leg room is limited due to engine in a class C and it gets hot)
  10. CB Radio to communicate with truckers about roads.
  11. Join a KOA or Good Sams Club for discount stays at RV Parks.
  12. Flying J, TA, Petro, Wallmart and other places will let you stay overnight for free. (No Hook Ups) Some Flying J, TA and Petro will have a sewer drain for a price.  The further west you go you’ll find this service free at most Rest Areas.
  13. All U Haul shops will fill your propane.  Some Flying J, TA, and Petro stations provide this service as well.
  14. If you see something in a place like Camping World chances are you can get cheaper at Wallmart.
  15. If you’re going to National Parks that require payment don’t buy an annual pass unless you plan to visit more than 4 in a year.  Annual passes are $80.00, entrance fee is $20.00
  16. Take a lot of photos!  These are places you may never see again so having a digital photo log of places you’ve been can be like a vacation in it self.  Blogging on our trip was great for posting photos and writing about our journey.
  17. Don’t rush yourself.  If you do a lot of night driving you’re missing a lot of scenery.  Plan your travel to get up early and stop driving at least an hour before the sun goes down.
  18. Check your tire air pressure for better gas mileage.
  19. Check your engine oil especially if you’re going over a lot of mountain passes.  The harder you push you engine the more chance you have of burning your oil.
  20. Check your lights around the RV.  The last thing you want is Barney Fife giving you a ticket for a burned out tail light.
  21. Keep your RV level for better refrigerator function.  If you are parked on a hill your refrigerator will not run at it’s optimized level.
  22. Get a good map that shows all roads.  The big United States map only shows major Interstate.  The Rand McNally will show state by state and all the short routes.
  23. Last but not least.  Being the guy in the RV doing the speed limit in front of all the traffic is fun.  Mainly because you know what they’re saying about the RV in front of them!