Hi. I am buying a used RV and relocating from S. Cal. to South Florida in a few weeks, and then living in the motorhome for a couple of months until job and home can be secured. I have gotten a lot of great tips, and I just found this forum, and there's always more to learn.
Any advice, no matter how elementary or basic, is GREATLY appreciated!! I am very much looking forward to a grand adventure! Oh, almost forgot to mention; I am towing my little car w/me; hoping I don't turn down any dead-end streets; LOL!!
Just for piece of mind, you might want to join AAA with RV coverage. It's going to be a long hot drive to FL. There are others too, like Good Sam, but I don't know much about that one. At least with AAA you can also get some tour books that have many campgrounds listed and their ratings, plus a discount... along with maps of your route. Check around, you might find another emergency road service program. I went with AAA because I have it on my other vehicles.
Have a mechanic go over everything under the hood, have good tread on all of your tires. If you have the extra money, have an RV Repair place go over the rest of your rig. Check for propane leaks, water system leaks, is the roof ok or does it need to be redone. That's a biggie, last thing you would want is a roof leak. I have been lucky and have had no leaks and didn't want any, I had my roof redone last summer, I felt it was a good investment.
I stay in my RV 3 to 4 nights a week for work. One thing that has worked great for me flushing the tanks. It's not too expensive, but works great. Camping World has a clear hard plastic adapter to put on your outside drain that fits between your drain and sewer hose. It has a water hose hook up w/ball valve and an external valve. Just drain the black tank (having the gray tank closed), shut the outside valve and run the water hose, it will back up into the black tank and when it's full, just release the outside valve and turn off the water... do that a few times and your black tank will be clean as well as the sensors in the tank. Cleaning the black tank on a regular basis will also help keep the smell down. I usually keep the gray tank valve open when I have a full hook up. When I know I'm going to flush the black tank, I try to schedule it after I get a shower. Might sound silly, but after the black tank is done, I release the gray tank and the warm soapy water helps flush out the sewer hose too. Never keep both tanks open at the same time... you wouldn't want any of the black tank going into your gray tank.
Another thing I purchased was a shower head that mixes water and air. Even though the water pressure is good where I am, it feels like it's even better and the hot water seems to last longer too. You also have to purchase a shut off valve and possibly a holder, those can be purchased at Home Depot, the shower head is Camping World again. Read the reviews on the Camping World site, there's parts numbers for the s/o & holder.
If you will be staying in your RV for a while, you might also want to get a 90 degree brass (not the cheap metal ones, those leak) adapter for your city water line, they are cheap and you can buy them at Wal-Mart for about $3. Using one of these, your hose and check valve won't have the extra pressure on them.
It will probably be warm where you're going, but you might want to get a couple of the smaller electric heaters (thinking you will have a full hook up). Using the RV heating system will use up propane.
An outside surge protector may be in order too. Last thing you would want is to fry your electrical box. I've heard that different places, some new and some older have not the best electrical hookups and spikes happen.
One last thing I did was have the local RV shop put in an extend-a-stay tee in my propane line. I have a 9 gal. tank on my rig, but when that runs out, I have to unhook everything to get more. Now, I have two smaller tanks that I switch out and I don't have to unhook the cable, electric, water or sewer. Let alone pulling out the rig and backing in again. I just take the smaller tank down the corner to be refilled. I only use the propane for my hot water heater and when I want to cook or heat something up on the stove. My next hot water heater with have dual fuel... electric or propane....
You also might think about covers for your pop-up windows. With the covers, you can keep the pop-ups open all of the time, even during rain.
If I can think of any other small tips, I'll let you know.
Good Luck and have a Safe Trip!
P.S. Until it's 2nd nature to you, walk around your RV a couple of times before you pull out... watch for steps not being put up or other doors or flaps not being secure... and always watch for the height when you're driving and use the mirrors!!
I think you got excellent advice. Try to take your Rig on a shake down camp before you head out for the long trip. Make a list of what to close up before you even move your RV no matter how well you think you have it all down in your head. We had a checklist and used it every time we got ready to move after spending time in one plave and moving to another. Be sure to try down your awning extra tight, close your lower panels tight, Lower your TV or Satallite antenna, raise your step,put inside things where they will not slide. I used to put the stove burner covers inside the oven in a towel so they did not rattle.Etc, you get the idea. Cover every tiny thing on your checklist.
We also loved Camping World, get a catalog and be a member.THey have an awesome shower holder for your shampoo, conditioner, etc and it hangs on the wall. It keeps down the bottles that roll around and saves space in the shower for you. I wish I was selling them but you can get them . You might need to get a Post Office box at mailboxes and then they can forward your mail to you at a campground or Post office in a city where you can pick it up. A GPS will come in handy and if you can converse with someone at home where they have long distanve phone access, sometimes you might be out of cell service) they can call ahead for a cvonfirmed reservation at a campgroud if you will arrive after office closing hours. Get a Woodall's campground book or join a club to find camping sites across the country. Some of the home owned ones are the best. Check the ratings.
enuf, I am off to bed, but check back with you. I ope you can log in on your trip and let us know how it is going. I envy you!
I just returned from a 3000+ mile trip. I was advised in this forum to buy AAA and did. As it turned out it was a very wise decision.A very small price to pay for the benifits and piece of mind. We broke down in the painted desert at noon on a 95 degree day. Middle of no where, hot, wife and kid not happy. A call to AAA by cell phone, an hour later we were repaired and on our way, no charge. Just one of many adventures of that trip,may yours be safe and fun.
I'm sorry you broke down... but I'm happy you had AAA! I don't go anywhere w/o it! I've only had to use it a couple of times having my truck towed, but I feel more at ease when I know I'm covered and help is only a phone call away. You'll have to come back and tell us more about your adventures!! I've only been around Washington State with my RV.
We have lived full time in a 1984 Tiffin Allegro RV for 14 years, and found all the help we needed on RV.NET, there is every topic you can imagine, and more there. With over 84000 members contributing. Ideas for places to get repairs, like NAPA, info about where you can get parts to fix it yourself, etc.
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