My husband and I bought our very first RV trailer in October of 2023 and we made all the mistakes as rookie RV campers!
Embarking on your first RV adventure is exhilarating, but it’s also a learning curve. Many new RVers make mistakes that can turn a dream trip into a logistical nightmare. The good news? Most of these blunders are avoidable with a little preparation and awareness. In this guide, we’ll explore the top 10 mistakes beginners make and offer practical tips to help you steer clear of them.
1. Overpacking
The Mistake: New RVers often bring too much, thinking they need to prepare for every possible scenario. This leads to clutter and an overloaded vehicle.
How to Avoid It: Prioritize essentials and consider the duration of your trip. Create a checklist and stick to it. Remember, RVs have limited storage, and overloading can affect your vehicle’s performance and safety.
2. Not Practicing Driving the RV
The Mistake: Many first-timers hit the road without practicing, leading to stressful situations when navigating tight spaces or reversing.
How to Avoid It: Spend time practicing in an open area before your trip. Learn to park, reverse, and drive through narrow lanes. Understanding your RV’s height, width, and turning radius is crucial.
3. Forgetting to Check Weight Limits
The Mistake: Ignoring your RV’s weight limit can cause mechanical issues and safety hazards.
How to Avoid It: Familiarize yourself with your RV’s Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR). Use a scale to check the total weight, including passengers, gear, and fluids, ensuring you’re within the limit.
4. Skipping Pre-Trip Inspections
The Mistake: Overlooking simple checks can lead to breakdowns or malfunctions on the road. Speaking from experience, on our maiden voyage, we smelled burning breaks almost as soon as we left our house and were only a couple of blocks away. Luckily someone flagged us down and we pulled over. The pin to the breakaway cable that attaches an RV camper trailer to our truck to engage the emergency brakes came out and we didn’t know. We were able to secure it with a zip tie and be on our way. It completely freaked us out on our first trip.
How to Avoid It: Conduct a thorough inspection before every trip. Check tire pressure, fluid levels, brakes, lights, and all connections. Confirm that doors, windows, and storage compartments are securely closed.
5. Misjudging Campsite Sizes
The Mistake: Arriving at a campsite that’s too small for your RV can cause frustration and wasted time. We booked a site at an RV park once that was designed for a much smaller RV than ours so it was a very tight fit and made for a stressful parking job.
How to Avoid It: Research and book campsites in advance. Check the site’s specifications, including length, width, and hookup availability, to ensure it’s suitable for your RV.
6. Neglecting to Level the RV
The Mistake: Skipping the leveling process can make sleeping and cooking uncomfortable and may even damage your appliances. Sometimes I try to be helpful by putting down the stabilizers while my husband is unhooking the trailer from the truck, but it can’t be leveled when the stabilizers are down, so it’s not exactly helpful. My bad! Better to get it unhooked and use leveling blocks first if needed, before engaging the stabilizers.
How to Avoid It: Use leveling blocks or an automatic leveling system to ensure your RV is on even ground. A small bubble level can help you check your progress.
7. Underestimating Water and Power Needs
The Mistake: Running out of fresh water or overloading the electrical system can disrupt your trip.
How to Avoid It: Calculate your daily water and power needs. Fill your fresh water tank before heading off-grid and invest in a generator or solar panels for backup power. Be mindful of your RV’s electrical capacity to avoid tripping breakers.
8. Ignoring Weather Conditions
The Mistake: Failing to plan for weather changes can lead to discomfort or even danger.
How to Avoid It: Check the weather forecast before your trip and pack accordingly. Have contingency plans for severe weather, such as locating nearby shelters or delaying travel during storms.
9. Not Understanding Hookups
The Mistake: Improperly connecting to water, sewer, or electrical hookups can result in damage or messy situations.
So far, we’ve mainly stayed at RV parks with water and power hookups. We made the mistake of attaching the water hose to “Fresh Water” instead of “City Water” once we got to the RV park.
Water was gushing out of a hose underneath our trailer and we had no idea why. We saw some other hoses under where the kitchen sink was that had plugs on them. Since the hose that was gushing water didn’t have a plug on it, we thought that it had fallen off. My husband jerry-rigged a plug and stopped the water from gushing and we thought the problem was solved. When I went back inside the trailer to keep setting up, I noticed the floor had bulged up several inches. That completely freaked us out!
We immediately unplugged the hose to let the water pour out since we then understood it was an overflow hose. We shut off all of the water until we could figure it out. After a bit of research and 24 hours later, it occurred to me that I should re-watch the videos that I made when we were doing our walk-through when we first bought the RV; I particularly wanted to re-watch any videos related to water. It took about two minutes to figure it out and realize that we plugged the water hose into the wrong place! We should have plugged the water into “City Water”. We didn’t know that “Fresh Water” meant “Fresh Water Tank”! The “Tank” would have been a helpful label. Rookie mistake! And one that we will never make again.
How to Avoid It: Learn how to safely and correctly connect and disconnect hookups. Carry gloves and basic tools, and double-check all connections before use.
10. Rushing Through the Journey
The Mistake: Trying to cover too much ground in one trip can leave you feeling exhausted and stressed.
How to Avoid It: Embrace the slower pace of RV travel. Plan realistic driving distances and allow time for relaxation and exploration. Remember, the journey is just as important as the destination.
Mistakes are part of the learning process, but being proactive can help you avoid the most common pitfalls of RV camping. By staying prepared and taking time to plan, you’ll set yourself up for a safe and enjoyable adventure.
Have you made any of these mistakes? Share your experiences and lessons learned in the comments below! For more tips, subscribe to our blog and start your RV journey with confidence.