Planning an Extended RV Trip

There are few things in life that are more exciting – and more daunting – than planning for an extended vacation. And while some people choose to leave the finer details to their travel agent, organizing a well-planned vacation is up to you when you own an RV. However, it’s that freedom that also makes an extended RV trip so much fun. When you’re preparing for an RV trip that will last a few weeks or months, careful planning and organization are the best tools to prevent burnouts or disasters while on the road. Keep reading to check out a few of our top tips to help prepare for your next big RV trip.

6 Tips for a Successful, Extended RV Vacation

1. Think About Your Must-See Attractions

While the freedom of the open road is one of the best things about an RV trip, some structure is necessary for planning a great vacation. Get together with your family and take some time to dream about your top road trip destinations. This is the fun part of planning and a good way to get everyone involved in on the action.

Do your best to pick a stop from everyone in the family and make a plan around your favorite destinations. This can be a loose guide for booking campsites, shopping and finding other cool points of interest along the way as well.

2. Plan Your Route

Now that you have your main attractions nailed down, you can zero in on a more defined travel plan. Hop online to find information on local travel guides for each province, territory or state that you plan on visiting. This is also an ideal time to think about how much time you’ll be spending in each area, whether or not you’ll be camping the entire time, if you have friends or relatives nearby that you’d like to visit, etc. From there, you can make the necessary reservations and start purchasing tickets to local attractions as well.

3. Set a Budget

Before setting all your plans in stone, you’ll also need to think about an appropriate budget for the trip. How far do you plan on traveling? Will you be spending time in other accommodations aside from your RV? How much money do you need to spend weekly on groceries and activities? Do you have money set aside for emergency RV maintenance?

Typically, it helps to set your budget on the higher side to allow some wiggle room if your trip veers off the plan slightly. In fact, a daily spending amount may help to keep everyone in your family on track as you look towards the next few weeks or months on the road.

4. Packing to Live in Your RV

Ask anyone who has completed an extended RV trip before, and they’ll tell you that you’re going to end up packing too much. It’s better to pack less than you think you might need to free up room for those long stretches between stops. Prevent packing overlapping supplies by checking and rechecking your itinerary before leaving. And keep in mind that most modern RV parks offer laundry facilities as part of their amenities, so you don’t need to overdo it on clothing items either.

5. Maintenance

Every RV should have at least a basic tool kit on board for emergencies. However, if you’re planning an extended trip, investing in other essentials like duct tape, screwdrivers, a socket set and tie downs can be a life-saver in a pinch! The extra supplies that you need will depend on the length of your trip and what you plan on doing while you’re away, so take the time to brainstorm with your group as you create a packing list.

6. Closing Your Home

It’s very easy to spend so much time focusing on preparing your RV, that you forget to think about closing up your home for the next few weeks/months. Whether you’re renting out your home or you’ve got family looking in on your property, you need to plan ahead for possible mishaps while you’re away. Do you need to suspend your mail delivery? Is it time to install or update your security monitoring system? Will someone local be able to take care of your lawn maintenance? These are all important tasks that can easily get lost in the shuffle of planning.

7. Enjoy Your Next Extended RV Vacation

When you’re heading out on the road for a lengthy trip, staying organized and making lists can help reduce your chances of running into issues while you’re away. With careful planning and a bit of teamwork, you can remember everything you need to do and rest easy as you enjoy your trip!