Planning Your First RV Road Trip

Planning your first RV road trip might seem easy at first.You bought your motorhome, you have it all outfitted and ready to go, you knowwhere you’re headed and you have all of your maps. What else do you need?

You want to be sure that you plan carefully for everycontingency. Even the best dealerships do not have a service station in everycity or every state. You will not have family or friends surrounding youeverywhere you go, and you need to be prepared, just in case.

As with any travel trip, you want to be sure that you haveyour identification, insurance cards, prescriptions, and physician informationin a safe place. But there are many other lists you need to make as well. Getonline or talk to your local RV dealer to obtain a list of RV service stationsalong your route and at your destination. Write down the name of the servicelocation or dealership, the phone number, and the address. You may even want tomark these on your map ahead of time. This way you know just who to call if youbreak down or have an accident.

Have the phone number and paperwork for your warranty, aswell as the name and phone number of your dealer handy, also. Make sure thatyou have the call center or customer service number for the dealership, notjust the guy that sold you your camper. You want to be sure that you get theright person on the first try if you need to order parts in a hurry. Your RVdealer should have the ability to order parts for you and have them shippedanywhere, including campgrounds.

Do not forget to call your RV insurance agent, let them knowyou are preparing to leave town, and make sure you are covered under everypossible issue or accident. Know what your policy covers, and have yourinsurance cards and contact information in the motorhome with you at all times.If there is a national call center for your insurance company you should havethat too, as well as the address and phone number of any locations available onyour route. You never know when you might need this information.

If you are on a schedule, you may want to consider RVRentals as well. Prepare a list of dealerships on your route that will rentmotorhomes. This way you will be prepared to not only repair your own vehicle,but to continue on your trip as scheduled in any event.

In the end, preparing for your first RV road trip could be abit daunting. But once you get through the first steps and have all of theinformation in place, you will find that the planning gets easier for eachtrip. And, if you are ever in an accident, find yourself stranded on the sideof the road, or simply need the pump to your bathroom repaired; you will beprepared and know just where to go!