Planning for your RV Trip
Research your vehicle:
We spent quite a few days researching RVs and watching all possible videos we could find on youtube for travelling on RVs. Try watching the 360 degree tours of the vehicle and videos on how to empty the sewer, the water reservoir, how to turn on the water heater, how to keep the fridge running while on the way, etc. Make sure you know what sized vehicle you would need - there are 3 classes - A, B, and C, and I would recommend you book the size that is suitable for your group. Also keep in mind the larger the size of the vehicle the harder it is to park and drive.
Links to some YouTube videos we made:
Plan the itinerary:
One of the key aspects of planning is to decide on the itinerary. On this aspect, we had a few things to consider:
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Since this was our very first venture on an RV road trip, we did not want to plan on anything longer than a week.
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We did not want to drive more than 4-5 hours per day, preferably keeping it to 3-4. We knew that a typical 3-4 hour drive would turn out to be much slower in the RV, since this is a much larger vehicle that drives slower. Also, we wanted to make sure we have ample time to get to our destination while daylight was there, even if there were any unplanned stops along the road.
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We wanted the trip to be not all-drive, but have relaxing stops along the way.
Given all these constraints, we decided to do a trip to the crown jewel of Montana - the Glacier National Park, stopping at the beautiful city of Coeur d' Alene along the way. Note that we have been to both these destinations in the past, the only added dimension this time was the ride on the RV.
Book your campsites - Soon!
Once we finalized the itinerary, we went ahead and booked all the RV campsites, which sell out really quickly during peak summer months, especially during these Covid19 times. Being first-time RV-ers, we paid a bit extra to get pull-through sites (sites that don’t require you to back up your RV) at each campground. Later we realized that backing up was not a big deal, and that necessarily did not have to be a constraint. One other thing that is really important is to know what services are offered at each campground - full hookups with electricity, sewer, and water were basic necessities for us, so we made sure to book campsites that had full hookups.
The Infinite Packing List
We spent a considerable time listing everything that we would need. Given the unprecedented times where we wanted to minimize social interactions and store stops and much as possible, we tried to load all the food and essentials we would need in our 7 day trip, to avoid any stops other than gas. I suggest taking some time to do this, otherwise it is easy to miss things.
See my sample packing list here.
Load up your RV:
We rented the RV a day in advance, so that we would have enough time to deep clean and sanitize the vehicle (again, these are unprecedented times!) and also have enough time to organize everything inside - it is like moving into a temporary house for a week :). We were pleasantly surprised at the size of the fridge inside, and also the amount of storage space available.