How to Travel Safely in your RV

Camping season is upon us, so it’s time to start getting your RV ready for you next big trip. While you’ve probably got all the clothing and cooking supplies locked down, there are some additional supplies that you’ll want to look into to complete the preparation process. Keeping yourself and your family safe should be a major priority, so Howdy Ranch RV has provided a list of important safety tips while you’re traveling in your camper. If you need additional advice, stop by our location near Corpus Christi, San Antonio, McAllen, Laredo, and Rockport, Texas and let one of our experienced staff know how we can help you.

Basic Gear

Some gear is more about staving off annoying inconveniences and keeping a little ache or pain from ruining an entire day. Consider bringing along some of the basics, like sunglasses and sunscreen. This is going to be particularly important during the summer to protect you from those harmful UV rays. Even when it’s overcast, all those clouds actually reflect and intensify the rays, so you’ll still want to be taking all precautions to protect yourself and your family.

Bug spray is also going to be incredibly helpful, especially down here. And above all else, you’ll want to have a first aid kit. This should include some of the basics to treat minor scrapes and injuries, or at least tie you over until you can find professional help. Here’s hoping you never really need it, but make sure all the supplies are regularly refreshed so things like pain killers don’t expire.

Prepare for Emergency Situations

For more serious situations, you’ll want to look into more serious gear. You’ll want a basic toolkit to help you try and patch any roadside breakdowns. Sometimes you’ll have to buckle down and call a tow truck and, no matter what, you’ll want to make your next stop the nearest RV technician to make sure there aren’t any underlying issues, but it can relieve a little bit of stress to be able to patch things up yourself.

With all the electrical wiring, appliances, and campfires going on, your next priority should be fire safety. Invest in fire extinguishers, and yes that’s pluraled. You’ll want two or three, scattered throughout your rig. You can even buy extinguishers that are built for different types of fires, like grease fires or electrical fires.

Safety on the Road

When you finally get on the road, there are some additional safety measures you should be keeping in mind, and these should mostly revolve around how you operate your vehicle. Whether you’re driving a motorhome or hauling a towable RV, RV driving is a lot different from driving your everyday commuter vehicle. We highly recommend spending a lot of time practicing before the big day. Even if you have some RV driving experience, it’s always good to brush up on your skills. Some particularly affected driving skills will include braking. Some rigs have their own braking system, but it’s probably a little different from what you’re used to. Even if you’re using a standard vehicle to tow your RV, all that weight is going to increase the amount of time you need to stop, so make sure you know what that amount of time is.

There are a lot of other ways you can be safer and more confident behind the wheel, but it all essentially boils down to gaining more experience as a driver. Take some time to relearn some of the basics, like parking, reversing, and turning, so you’ll know how to keep yourself, your family, and other commuters safe. If you need additional safety tips before your trip, or if you’re still looking for the perfect RV, stop by Howdy Ranch RV and we’ll help you with all your RV-related needs. We welcome all current and future RV owners from Corpus Christi, San Antonio, McAllen, Laredo, and Rockport, Texas.