Avoiding Disaster On Your RV Trip

Avoiding Disaster on Your RV Trip content provided by Mom With a Map staff writer

With airline prices soaring, many families will take to the road this summer. The RV industry is booming.

However, travelling in an RV isn’t always smooth sailing.

Many RV owners experience problems at some point. Here are a few tips on avoiding disaster so that you can enjoy a stress-free trip.

Flat battery

RV batteries are much more heavily used than car batteries as they help power lighting, heating and appliances on top of basic vehicle electrics. As a result, you need to keep these batteries constantly charged and watch your energy usage to avoid it going flat. Investing in features like solar panels can allow you to not rely so heavily on electrical hook-ups.

Batteries will naturally wear over time. If you’ve noticed your battery draining faster than usual, it could be worth getting it checked by a mechanic. Preventative battery repairs/replacement will aid in avoiding disaster.

Tire blowout

RVs often do a lot of miles and this can take a toll on the tires. If tires get too worn, there can be a greater risk of a blowout, so check your tire tread depth periodically.

Tires are also more likely to blow if the tire pressure is too low. Before a long journey, it’s often worth pumping up your tires to prevent this. It’s also important to stay on a regular schedule of having your tires rotated and checked thus avoiding disaster.

Leaky toilet

There is nothing worse than a bathroom maintenance issue while traveling. Unfortunately, a leaky toilet is a common and unpleasant RV problem. This is often caused by the seal around the base wearing away. 

A leaky toilet can be messy and unhygienic. So just how do you prevent it? Both lack of use and excessive use can cause a toilet seal to wear away. Make sure that you’re regularly using your RV and using the toilet. At the same time, keep an eye on your toilet seal if your RV is old and heavily used as it may wear over time.

Appliance failure

Problems with appliances are inevitable when you own an RV. Just like home appliances, they will eventually break with regular use or if not used enough. 

Your RV refrigerator is the most likely appliance to experience problems – RV refrigerators can break if not kept clean or not used for long periods. Avoiding unexpected disaster by cleaning it and not leaving it turned off for too many weeks will help extend the life of the appliance.

Parking accidents

Many people who buy an RV are not used to driving such large vehicles. While accidents can occur for a variety of reasons from driver tiredness to high winds, one of the most common causes of accidents is driver error while parking as a result of underestimating the size of the vehicle.

RVs can be difficult to park not just because of their size but because of their blind spots. To assist with parking, it could be worth installing sensors or backup cameras – especially if you’re not used to driving such a large vehicle. It can take time to get used to the size of an RV and new drivers may want to consider going to an empty car park to practise their parking so that they feel more confident.

Now that we’ve covered avoiding disaster, all that’s left to do is go enjoy your trip!

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