Top 5 Avoidable RV Newbie Mistakes

in this episode i'll count down my top five avoidable rv newbie mistakes these mistakes range from major to minor and we'll count them down so you can avoid these mistakes before you get started if you're an experienced rver please add any items in the comments that you think belong on the list hi everybody i'm john marucci i'm an avid traveler and teacher and love to explore in 2016 i decided to travel by rv and have never looked back i've had my share of problems along the way and being a teacher by nature i tried to turn these problems into help for others whether you're new to rv travel or experience you're in the right place so let's jump in we'll cover these from least to most problematic and add tips along the way to help you avoid these mistakes each mistake is one i've made number five in our countdown bringing too much stuff i've been traveling by rv for a while now and one of the things i still deal with is bringing too much stuff on any given trip to manage risk i bring a lot of tools to stay away from laundry i bring a lot of clothes because i don't want to go to the grocery store too often i bring a lot of food since i produce videos i bring a lot of tech and equipment so how do you find the balance between having what you may need and what you really need this is a tricky question as some people are more risk averse than others i tend to plan out my trips and avoid risk so i probably bring too much stuff on most trips however it seems that the one time i pack light and leave some stuff behind is when i need the thing i purposefully kept from packing the tip here is to know the length and type of trip you'll be taking and to adjust your packing if you're going off grid it will mean a different plan than going to an rv resort there's likely more risk when boondocking off-grid away from a town versus an rv resort near a town and amenities if i break a water hose at an rv resort i can probably hop into town and pick one up with relative ease if i'm 50 miles away from everything while boondocking then i likely will need a backup hose or a way to fix the hose your temperament tow vehicle and type of rv also play into this decision if you're already tight on payload with your tow vehicle and trailer you just won't have the capacity to take a bunch of stuff with you you may want to counter any possible risk but if you can't add extra tools and supplies because your tow vehicle can't carry it you'll need to adjust or get a bigger vehicle number four in our countdown camping at the wrong time and wrong place this is the classic mistake where new rvers plan a trip on a holiday weekend or during an extremely busy time and place i'm convinced of the contrarian approach to camping unless i can pick a site i already know in advance so i pretty much avoid camping during hectic holidays unless i have a site reserve that i know will be good the first time is always a bit of a risk but after a few trips and understanding campground maps you can lower your risk we have a video called finding a good rv campsite basics that will help you improve your skills in choosing the best campsite at a given campground wrong time and wrong place can mean several different things and to me timing is everything michigan's upper peninsula is an awesome place to visit but you may want to consider early fall versus mid-summer unless you're in love with mosquitoes and black flies i made this mistake and won't do it again there was a lot of prep work and packing only to show up during the height of let's attack humans week and pretty much have the trip negatively impacted it would have been different and better if i'd waited six to eight weeks if you check out our national parks visitor data you'll notice that some national parks aren't busy at all during the summer wow let's go there not so quick maybe there's more to it why are they busy in the fall and spring only because it's too hot to camp there in the summer fall can be tricky at some higher elevation campgrounds as snow can quickly become a problem some places in the south can be very stormy and even have somewhat frequent tornadoes in the springtime this is all to say that you need to do some research before you hit the road and understand the place where you're heading number three in our countdown going too fast going too fast can be applied to a few different areas of rving besides towing down the road too fast which will significantly affect gas mileage and maybe more than your trailer tires can handle you can go too fast backing up your trailer which can be catastrophic i've seen people damage their new rvs when backing in simply because they went too fast i can't tell you how many times i've heard someone spotting the person backing and yelling at the driver with the driver not hearing it good communications can solve some of this by using phones or walkie-talkies when backing in but generally to be safe go way slower than you think a good set of bluetooth phone headsets for the spotter and running the phone through the tow vehicle speakers for the driver will work wonders in this regard finally slow it down on campground roads usually some kids are riding around and playing freely which is a great part of camping if you think about it a campground is one of the few places where kids can just play with other kids make friendships quickly and have fun you likely also know that if you own a truck you probably have a vehicle with the worst possible visibility my truck has huge blind spots and i'm always concerned about it in tight spots so if you're driving around a campground remember to slow it down number two on our countdown improper towing setup it is very easy to have an improper towing setup and not know it especially when getting started the very first rv i owned my 2016 rpod 171 i towed with a 2014 honda pilot four wheel drive the dealer did a horrible job of setting the hitch for towing and i had no idea about it at the time the trailer leaned back which is about the worst possible way to tow a trailer it wasn't until a week or two into owning the trailer that i started to question what they did essentially they didn't want to order a longer shank for the hitch and so sent me out with a short hitch shank which raised the ball too high for the small trailer leaning the trailer back i was fairly ignorant at the time but it started to dawn on me quickly that the trailer should be somewhat level when telling shouldn't it the dealer did replace the shank with the proper sized one and amazingly the honda pilot and our pod 171 started working together much better this is all to say that you should get some understanding about towing the trailer you own or are planning to buy before you buy it every rv i've owned i've used a weight distribution hitch and thank in general these are an essential piece of safety equipment a weight distribution hitch helps distribute the tone weight of the trailer four and aft so that too much weight isn't sitting on the back axle of the tow vehicle making the front steering axle sloppy and braking dangerous if you ever feel like your tow vehicle has a sloppy steering feel you likely need to redistribute weight forward to the steering axle i won't go into more detail here because we have an outstanding video called rv towing weight distribution hitch basics a must watch for anyone who tows a travel trailer the video link is in the description below and finally number one on our countdown buying the wrong rv to buy the right rv you have to ask several questions by the way if you're just getting started with your first rv some of these things you may not know before you get out and see what you like i own my first rv for 11 months and quickly realized it wouldn't suit what i wanted to do so mistakes are common in this regard here are some questions to consider number one how often do you plan to camp number two would you rather camp at organized campgrounds or off-grid number three do you plan to be in the rv a lot or live outside most of the time number four do you plan on cooking primarily inside the rv or outside at the campsite number five do you plan to use the campground bath house there are other questions about your current tow vehicles capability your financial ability etc that play into the picture but for now let's run through a quick scenario given the above questions so bob and stacy are close to retirement age and want an rv to escape the harsh winters in the north the first question again is how often do they plan to camp bob and stacy would like to use their new rv occasionally in the summer but would like to live in it most of the winter months down south the second question again would they rather camp at organized campgrounds or off-grid they plan to camp only at organized public and private campgrounds the third question was do they plan to be in the rv a lot or live outside most of the time they both have some online work commitments and will be inside most of the day the fourth question was do they plan on cooking primarily inside the rv or outside at the campsite stacy likes to cook and likely will be cooking most of the meals inside and our fifth question was do they plan to use the campground bath house neither bob nor stacy is keen on using public restrooms or showers when i look at this scenario the couple needs a large premium travel trailer fifth wheel or class a motorhome with plenty of space and a quality kitchen off-grid and off-road options are unnecessary but a full bathroom is essential the rig they should buy must also have a comfortable seating area for work since there is no way to fit all the requirements into a small travel trailer bob and stacy will either need a heavy duty truck for towing or go with a class a motorhome if they have the resources to do so to me bob and stacy are prime candidates for a premium fifth wheel with a three quarter ton or full ton truck to pull it so there's a lot that goes into the decision of what rv to buy and you need to carefully work through the various options based on your travel preferences okay that'll do it for now i hope you've enjoyed this video if so please click the like button and subscribe if you haven't already also feel free to share this video on social media as it helps us out thanks for watching stay safe this is john marucci in so long for now

Channel: John Marucci

Views: 6,704

Keywords: rv newbie, rv mistakes to avoid, rv towing mistakes, rv buying mistakes, rv living, rv life, rv newbie mistakes, rv beginner mistakes, rv tips for beginners, beginner rv mistakes, rv camping mistakes

Id: Z4EeZIqm1AI

Length: 12min 11sec (731 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 12 2022