RV Tips for First-Time RVers: Avoid Mistakes with Setup, Driving, Hookups, and Camping Etiquette

Are you new to RV LIFE and wondering how to start your journey? In this episode I (Patti Hunt) share invaluable advice for first-time RVers. From choosing the right RV to mastering setup and road safety, I will cover everything you need to hit the road with confidence. With three years of full-time RV experience, I traveled across 32 states, visited 72+ campgrounds, and learned countless lessons—often the hard way! Tune in for practical tips, must-know safety precautions, and insider advice on planning stress-free RV adventures. 

Other Episodes & Websites Mentioned:

How to Keep Your RV Cool 

The Ultimate RV Trip Planning Guide 

RVing Abbreviations  

Harvest Host Glossary 

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Transcript

Introduction to the RV Life Podcast

Speaker 1 0:00

Are you new to the RV lifestyle , Excited , but maybe a little overwhelmed ? You have come to the right place . I'm Patti Hunt and you're listening to the RV Life Podcast . There is so much to learn when you start the RV lifestyle and I have resources that I hope is going to help you get started . I started my full-time journey four years ago and put a lot of miles on my RV , crossing the country three and a half times . I made a lot of mistakes and learned from other people and from my mistakes , and I'm hoping to share what I learned with you today .

Speaker 1 0:47

The RV Life podcast was created to educate , entertain and explore the RV lifestyle , and it is my mission to inspire you to live life to the fullest

Exploring Open Roads Resorts

Speaker 1 0:59

Open Roads Resorts . They have five incredible parks that are located in Idaho , Nebraska , New Mexico , and two of them are in Texas . They are all highly favored parks , which means the RVers went to RV Life Campgrounds and put their reviews in for these parks , and you can check out all about these parks from other RVers by going to campgroundsrvlifecom , or you could go to openroadresortscom to find out all about these incredible campgrounds .

Essential Tips for First-Time RVers

Speaker 1 1:40

Now today I am flying solo and providing first-time RVers with things I believe you need to know , but we have to go easy on ourselves . We are always learning , Even after four years . There are things I am certainly still learning . So let's dive into the tips that will make your RV travels less stressful and , as I often say , I hope , will help you enjoy the journey .

Speaker 1 2:12

So , like I said , journeyed across the country Four years ago . I started out in Las Vegas and one of the things that I decided to do after making the choice to go RVing , which happened during the pandemic Everything was shut down and you know , business was shut down . So at the time my husband said , hey , let's sell everything and buy an RV and travel the country . And I was pretty travel the country and I was pretty uncertain . Actually , I laughed when he said it . I had no idea what this would possibly look at , as I had only been in an RV for seven nights prior to going full-time RVing . So not a lot of experience , but for whatever reason , it was scary . But I said what the heck , let's do it . And to date we have traveled to over 32 states and 72 plus campgrounds and national parks visited zero . People often ask why no national parks ? And for us that was because we always found the hidden gems , the little towns that people didn't often talk about , the cool places that we just decided to stop and we just never made it to those national parks . They are on my bucket list . I do want to visit some of the national parks . We'll see where we go with that .

Choosing the Right RV for You

Speaker 1 3:44

So now , if you're thinking about the RV lifestyle and maybe you don't even have the RV yet , trying to find the RV that's right for you will be a whole episode in itself . But just to give you a few quick tips , for those of you that are looking either for your next RV or for that first RV , One of the tips that I would suggest is everybody that's going to be in the RV writing down everything they want in an RV . Don't stop yourself and think , well , heated floors are expensive or you know the size of it would be more expensive . Just write down everything you would want . Write down how many people will be traveling with you , Will you have pets , and also trying to figure out the type of camping you want to do . It's going to be really important for choosing the RV that's right for you Now .

Speaker 1 4:45

On February 12th , I did an episode how to choose the best campground and in that episode we talked about different types of camping and that included mooch , docking and boondocking , those types of things . So you could kind of figure out what type of camping might be right for you , which will determine the type of RV that's going to be right for you . Then my suggestion is to go check out some dealerships . Go into the dealership , make sure the feeling is right . The salesperson , you know , is not just trying to sell you , they're really hearing you . And another option is to go to some of the RV shows . There are some smaller local RV shows and then there are bigger RV shows , Like in January I was at the Tampa RV show . In September I'll be at the Hershey RV show , and those are the largest RV shows . But they give you the opportunity to check out different types of RVs , to check out different dealerships , different types of manufacturers , to talk to people , to experience a lot of what those RV shows have to offer .

Speaker 1 5:58

Choosing the right RV for you is really a personal decision . You could ask people why they chose the RV they chose , but at the end of the day , what works for you ? We are , like I said , I am , like I said , going to have more information on this topic . I'm gonna bring an expert on to talk all things RVs to help you decide what the best RV for you might be

Mastering RV Setup and Hookups

Speaker 1 6:25

. Now , for those of you that have the RV and you're just starting out , or you're new to the whole RVing thing , this is what I hoped to share with you today Tips that'll help you to make the RV journey , like I said , less stressful and so that you can enjoy the journey more .

Speaker 1 6:48

First of all , when you purchase your rig whether it's a brand new rig or a used rig , whether you purchase from a dealership or from someone you want to try to get as much information as possible about your rig . Each camper RV , whatever they are , is different . Each model is slightly different . Whether you are towing a car a toad , as it's called or you're pulling a fifth wheel or a travel trailer , or you're in a van , it's very different . What and how you set up your rig , how you drive it , how you back it in all of those things are very different . So you want to learn as much as possible from the person you're buying it from .

Speaker 1 7:41

For me , buying an RV from a dealership , I want to be able to stay and have the dealership teach me about my RV . I want to know that I could call them if I can't figure something out . For me , that's very important and one of the things you want to do with your RV is really know as much about it as possible . One of the important things is going to be knowing the height of the RV . Now keep in mind that the posted height of the RV may be different from the actual height . Let me explain . The height of the RV is usually stated somewhere on the RV or in the manuals , but if somebody added something to the top of the RV , you want to make sure that you have measured to whatever the highest point is . For instance , on our RV we had some type of Wi-Fi or internet type thing . I don't even know what it was , we didn't use it , but it was on the top of the RV and it added maybe three or four or five extra inches .

Speaker 1 8:56

But you want to know that . You want to know the weight of your RV . Rv weights are given . They're the listed load that the RV is . There's a word for it and I'm missing that word right now . Once you load up your RV , you want to know the weight so you could go to a truck stop and go to what's called a CAT scale that's C-A-T scale to know what your RV weighs loaded and you want to know what its towing capacity is to make sure that you're not overweight . You want to know the length of your RV . I know people say , yeah , of course we want to know that length , but you want to know including the hitch and whether you're pulling a toad or you have a truck and then a trailer . So you want to learn everything there is to know about your RV . You also want to know if there's propane on board . Those kinds of things are important before you start out . You start out . The next thing I think that is important to understand about your RV before you really take off , and that is learning about setup and teardown and mastering the hookups , so all the systems that need to be hooked up .

Speaker 1 10:21

Now , one of the things that I did when I started RVing , because I had little to no experience at all . We lived in Las Vegas , like I said , and I wanted to be close to where we had lived and spend some time with the RV getting used to it . So we actually went it was 15 minutes away to Lake Mead and learned about set excuse me set up of the RV . We practiced setting it up , we practiced breaking it down the hookups , we learned as much as we possibly could about the RV and we actually stayed in Lake Mead for 30 days , which was the max , but we stayed there for 30 days . I , you know , stored stuff , I figured out how to store stuff , I organized stuff , I unorganized it , I reorganized it . It was a work in progress .

Speaker 1 11:14

One of the things that happened with our RV which really worked well in the end we were , like I said , at Lake Mead . There wasn't sewer there and our rig had been winterized , so there was a lot of this pink stuff poured into all of the tanks and to rinse it through we had to keep going to the dump station . So we had to pack the whole RV up , secure everything , take it to the dump station , dump , come back , reset up and in the end that was actually great practice . May not have been the best situation , because every like five days we had to do this , but it was certainly great practice . We broke a couple dishes in the process because they were not stored properly . So it was a learning lesson , but these are good things to learn .

Speaker 1 12:04

The other really important thing that we learned was backing in , parking the RV , so backing it in how to communicate with each other . That's one of the things that I want to talk about . My husband drove the RV . I had never driven it . I was the one that was behind the RV guiding him , which is not something he was accustomed to listening to somebody direct him in how to drive or park you know , not his thing . So we were backing in and out of this space and it became stressful at times . People have seen , you know , on Facebook or Instagram . It can become very stressful and you could avoid that .

Speaker 1 12:50

One of the things we decided to do instead of using a cell phone , we decided to use walkie talkies . I think that's a preference . People like their cell phone . They could put their headset in or you could do the same with the walkie talkies . So , totally a preference .

Speaker 1 13:06

But one of the things I've realized is when I was outside the RV and I would say left and right , that could be confusing , Because if I was standing in front of the RV , is it my left or left , Like it just got confusing . So the answer was we would say driver's side or passenger side . That was quick , easy way for both of us to communicate . And again , with practice , there was some yelling , there were some you know hostile words , and we got to the point where we learned that sometimes we just need to take a breath , slow down , stop . Sometimes there were times I would say stop . You need to come out of the RV and look at what I'm seeing so that you know we can truly communicate with each other . I know now with newer RVs , there are great backup cameras and 360 cameras and so maybe that helps people . I'm sure that helps people a lot , but something to consider .

Speaker 1 14:02

The other thing is setting up . So one of the things you want to learn about your RV before you get out on the road is , once you pull in , each different type of rig has a system for what you need to do with the RV , how to level it , those kinds of things . So hours took time till the airbags deflated . So the airbags had to deflate . When we were starting it up , they had to inflate . The time it took to do that , as well as the leveling system , all of those types of systems you want to be aware of with your RV once you are starting out or you park it . So be very aware of that .

Speaker 1 14:51

The next thing you want to know about and you want to practice is hookups . So we're talking . When we say hookups , we're talking water sewer , and sewer is gray tanks and black tanks . That gray tank is your shower and your sink water . Black tank is your toilet water , for those of you who aren't familiar as well as your freshwater tank , where you're going to hook a hose up and bring the water in , and there's different hookups and different systems . So you want to learn what works for your RV , as well as hooking up the electricity With electric hookups . Their equipment people want to use , like surge protectors , those kinds of things .

Speaker 1 15:42

I'm not getting into detail about that because , honestly , I didn't handle that part of it . I'm not getting into detail about that because , honestly , I didn't handle that part of it . I don't have a lot of that information , but it is something you can easily Google . Look at some other YouTube channels and podcasts to find out about electric hookup . One of the suggestions , especially if you're going into an older campground , especially if you're going into an older campground is to check that the electricity is working before you start backing the RV in . We one time parked the RV , got it set up just the way we wanted , went to plug in that electricity wasn't working and we had to move . So it is definitely something you want to check before you pull in . So these are all the hookups . It takes time to learn how to hook these things up , how to deal with your system , your water , your fresh water . We had clear 2-0 filter systems , so we had a filter that we connected to our water . There's a water regulator . All of these things are things you want to research for what your needs are , the types of you know if you're using a filter system , if you're using a water regulator all of those things , for you want to find out for your RV specifically . So we would get parked , we would get our RV set up , and then one of the other things . And , as well as learning how to break those things down , One of the things I do with dumping my tanks .

Speaker 1 17:18

I learned the hard way about dumping the black tank . It's a geeky story but to help you not make the same mistake , I'm going to tell it . I did all the hookups , just about all the hookups , all the time . Dan drove , he parked and I did the hookups and I would take them down and , in between dumping the tank , so you have to dump the gray and the black tanks .

Speaker 1 17:46

From time to time there's debate on whether or not to leave those tanks opened . It's still being debatable . I would say the overall trend from experts is do not leave your black tank opened . Do not leave it open unless you're dumping the gray tank . Some people leave them opened . What I learned as open unless you're dumping the gray tank . Some people leave them open . What I learned as far as dumping the tank I went out , I dumped the , I started dumping the gray tank .

Speaker 1 18:15

Then I went to dump the black tank and the hose was going uphill a little bit so it wasn't flowing , and I went to lift the hose and there were two hoses connected to each other , which is okay . Just have to make sure those connections are secure , because when I went to lift it they came apart and , yes , I got stuff on me that I don't even want to think about . Luckily , the black tank was pretty much emptied , so there wasn't a lot of stuff , but there was a lot of cleanup . I think I took three showers after that .

Speaker 1 18:55

One of the things , one of the learning lessons here , is a making sure that all of your connections are securely on and even every time you go out , make sure they are secure so they don't come loose . The other suggestion is start by opening the gray tank . Do it just for four or five seconds . You could see that it's flowing without any leaks or anything . Close the gray tank , then dump your black tank . Once your black tank is totally dumped , then finish dumping your gray tank , which will help push everything through your hoses and wash out the black tank , as well as taking a hose that can rinse that out . So that is some of the basics and important things that you need for setup . Again , I'm going to say this repeatedly each RV is a little different in how these even the tanks work and the hookups work . So learning that from the person you're buying the RV from , from the dealership you're buying the RV from those are all important from from the dealership you're buying the RV from those are all important .

Speaker 1 20:05

The other next step , I think , is learning how your RV works , All of the things in the RV . So when you get into an RV , everything is so different , including flushing the toilet . So if you've ever been in an RV , flushing the toilet is a lever that you stand on to that you put your foot on to , you know , make everything wash through . So it's important that you know how to do this before you take out , take off on your planned trip . I'm suggesting doing these things before you say , OK , we're getting out on the road , we're going to go on our summer vacation for two weeks . We got this . Do a test run , Try these things before you make that trip and potentially ruin your vacation . The more you know , the easier it is . You know , you've practiced . Now it's easier to do these things . That is really helpful . Then you're ready to go out on the road . Something may go wrong . I mean , this is RVing . Things may go wrong , they may not work like you planned , but if you have most of the basics set up , then it's easier to deal with other stuff that might come up . The next thing I suggest is knowing how everything in the RV works , Like I said , the toilet , knowing how to flush the toilet .

Speaker 1 21:28

A lot , a lot of debate on whether to put anything that doesn't come out of your body in the toilet . There is debate on whether or not to put toilet paper in the toilet . You could read the discussions on both sides . You could read the discussions on both sides . For me personally , if I couldn't use our toilet and put toilet paper in it , the RVing wasn't going to work for me . I personally used the Costco toilet paper and the only time I ever had an issue is because I didn't use enough water to flush . The important part is making sure you flush that toilet paper with enough water to get it through the system . I think I was worried about conserving water because we were somewhere that we didn't have the ability to dump tanks or get more water . So in trying to conserve , I did back up the toilet , and that is one of the big things .

Speaker 1 22:28

So learning how to use the toilet , learning how to use the heater and the air conditioner and while it might be warm weather and you're thinking I'm just going to use the air conditioner , you also should know how to use the heater , turn it on , make sure it's working properly . If there's any buttons or knobs or adjustments , making sure you understand how to do that , the same as making the water work . So if you're hooked up , making your water in your RV worked , when you're hooked up to a spigot , to the city water is very different than if you're in the RV and you're using your onboard tanks for those of us who have them . So again , you may not have these things , but everything that you have in your rig you should know how to use . Also , knowing how to turn on the water heater that is a whole separate in my RV . That was a whole separate button . That is a whole separate in my RV . That was a whole separate button .

Speaker 1 23:26

Depending on how I was hooked up , there were two different ways that the water heater would work and again , every RV is different . So make sure you understand your RV . Look at your RV on the inside . Any button , any gadget , anything in there you should know what it is , what it's for and how to use it . Then I would go to the outside . Again .

Speaker 1 23:51

We talked about hooking up sewer hoses , water hoses , electricity , surge protectors , water pressure regulators . Those are things once you get to the outside , knowing how to hook everything up , knowing how to work everything and deciding which things you need . Do I need the surge protector , Do I need a water pressure regulator and those kinds of things ? Personally , I wouldn't run out and buy everything all at once . These are probably good questions to ask your dealership . If you're buying it from a dealer . There are lots of forums that you could find your particular RV so you could decide what would work best for you .

Speaker 1 24:42

The other thing you should know about is a generator . If you have a generator on board , how to use it . If you have solar and you have an inverter or a battery , if you have a lithium battery , it's very different than if you have a lead acid battery what to do in those cases ? You want to learn about that . So this is where I say take a test drive before that big plan . Even if you take the RV out of your driveway , drive it and drive it back . If you could go somewhere local , if you go to a local campground , practice hooking it up , practice jumping , practice all of these things . That is a great way to go . When you're an RVer , you want to know someone is with you every mile , Whether it's sales or service . That someone is Blue Compass RV . With over 100 locations coast to coast , featuring more than 15,000 new and used RVs and over a thousand service bays , with more certified RV technicians than any other dealer . Blue Compass is with you today , tomorrow and the road ahead . Visit your local Blue Compass RV dealer or go to bluecompasscom today .

Speaker 1 26:05

Now , one of the things I want to share with people because I've gotten a lot of questions and that's what actually inspired this episode . I have been out a lot , I've been talking to a lot of people and I , you know , listen to people on social media . People reach out and a lot of people are looking for these types of tips for the newer RVer . One of the things I've been asked a lot is about what certain words mean and what the abbreviations mean . Fhu is full hookups and you'll see that a lot if you're going to book at a campground and you'll see that a lot if you're going to book at a campground . So what I'm going to do is in the show notes , because there's a lot of words and a lot to learn . In the show notes I'm going to put two articles and one is for Harvest Host and it's the RVers Glossary . So it gives you a lot of the words that you might come across and you need to know what they are as well as RV .

Speaker 1 27:05

Life has an article talking about abbreviations . They're great to kind of , you know , breeze through . You don't have to try and memorize all of it and at the end of the day , you could just Google it on your phone , figure out what it means , but it's good to be familiar with some of these things .

Planning Your RV Trip

Speaker 1 27:23

But it's good to be familiar with some of these things . Okay , you've taken your test drive and now it's time for that trip and this is your big trip . Sometimes you know , people are going out on that camping trip , maybe for three days a week , two weeks , and maybe this is the only trip you're going to take this summer and you wanna make it special . And one of the things trip you're going to take this summer and you want to make it special , and one of the things that I'm going to suggest is that you don't put so much pressure on yourself . Make it enjoyable . But it's not the end . All be all , Prepare , expect the unexpected Things happen . Planning your trip from point A to point B Traffic , weather happens , there's a lot of things that could happen . So you want to plan and be flexible . Let's talk a little bit about planning .

Speaker 1 28:16

I did an episode on RV planning and I'll put it in the show . Notes was just a couple weeks ago and in that episode we talked about the idea of planning those trips , being flexible , and when we say planning , we're not always talking about people that want everything exactly like this is exactly what I want to do each day . Sometimes you're still planning . Even though you're winging it , there's still some things that you want to do that are part of the planning process , so keep that in mind . The episode where we talked about planning was with Mike and Susan from RV Blogger . They have a lot of experience , a lot of great information that they shared on that episode , so I highly recommend that . One of the things that both Mike and Susan and I use is the RV Life Pro suite of products , which includes Trip Wizard , and that is the best planning tool Seriously the best planning tool .

Speaker 1 29:25

You go on , you plan your trip , no matter how far away it is from your location . If you're only going 20 , 30 miles , it is still good to use , because it then gives you RV safe GPS , and what this does is it takes into consideration your RV measurements height , weight , length and whether or not you have propane on board is very important that you know the roads that you should be on , Something that happened to me . I live in Pennsylvania . I was going down to Virginia . It was before we had our RV and we didn't have the RV life we just went on a road We've driven on many , many times and we felt like , okay , we could go from Pennsylvania down to Virginia on 95 , no problem . Well , we get to the tunnel in Baltimore and you're not allowed to have propane when you go through that . Now , that said , you could have the small barbecue propane tank , you could have that smaller tank , but if you have a big propane tank on board , you should not be going through the tunnel . Luckily , we weren't stopped , we did not know and there was no time for us to turn around . So this is why some planning is important , and certainly RV safe GPS is incredibly important .

Speaker 1 30:51

The other thing that RV safe GPS will do is help you navigate detours , road closures and unexpected stops . You can then decide well , I have to go to a gas station and make those changes , because it is easy to add a stop along the way . I just had somebody on the show that they were using Google Maps or Apple Maps , whichever one it was Actually it was Waze and they were going through a road that they've been on many times . They get to an underpass , an overpass . They went to go under , they knew they weren't going to make it and they are tying up traffic in both directions . Luckily somebody stopped who was a fellow RVer and helped them to navigate around , that they were on the show and told the story . But it's important to hear about these things and why you know , RV safe GPS is important . The other story I had done , Indiana on from Cool RV , which is an amazing product that helps reduce , helps your AC work 40 plus percent more efficient . You might want to check them out . Cool it's called Cool RV , K-O-L , K-O-O-L RV and what is great that they talked about was they actually went under an overpass and hit the AC and broke it and from that they developed CoolRV . But again , it's not the best way to try to , you know , and then they've invented an incredible product and started a business , but this isn't the way .

Speaker 1 32:41

So now , as we're traveling around , let me talk about Open Roads fuel card . This is an amazing fuel card that could save you money if you use diesel fuel and you could save anywhere from 40 cents to 60 cents . I've saved even more 40 , 60 cents or more a gallon by going to the truck stops that are listed on my app . The card is absolutely free to get . Just go to the show notes , click on the link , sign up for the fuel card . They'll send you your card and you can get started saving money .

Safe Driving and Campground Etiquette

Speaker 1 33:18

Let's talk about safe driving and parking . We've talked about this a little bit . As far as safe driving goes , one thing I'm going to say is there are some RV schools . So if you're now driving a 40-foot Class A and you've never driven one , you might want to consider an RV school and they will train you . I'm not going to dive into this . I am looking for an RV school and I'll have them on the show so they can give us some tips and what to look for , type of things . But learning how to drive your specific type of rig obviously is important . I think it's kind of obvious . I'm not going to dive into that too terribly much . We already talked about the idea of safety and parking and having that person spot you when you're parking , especially when you're new . Again , if in a newer RV with all the cameras just want to get used to those , Getting used to those backup cameras and the 360 camera takes some doing so , again , it's all about practice .

Speaker 1 34:30

Let me talk a little bit about campground etiquette and there are things you would think people know what to do and not to do . You would think there are rules that are kind of you know , obvious , but we need to at least address it a little bit , because there are people that just don't know and there are things that I learned along the way just don't know , and there are things that I learned along the way . One of the things you want to do when you're going into a campground is make sure to read through those rules . I know some of them you might be like , okay , this seems obvious , I have to pick up my dog's poop , or , you know , my kids shouldn't just run around in other people's campgrounds . But there are other things that maybe you don't know , and one of those things that just about every campground will have are quiet hours , and they'll tell you from what hour to what hour it is quiet time , and that sometimes even includes a generator , and they will state that . So I don't think we need to dive into this and me sit and say , you know , don't let your kids just run through somebody else's campsite . But there are some things that take learning in .

Speaker 1 35:43

What campground etiquette is , you know ? Obviously , clean up after yourself , leave your space cleaner than you found it , kind of thing , and the whole thing with wandering through somebody's campground . I choose to believe people just don't know , because you hear about it happening a lot , and I think of it this way if you're living in a house and you have property around your house , you wouldn't just walk through the property . I mean , most people would just walk through somebody else's property . It works the same for a person's campground space . So just keep that in mind . Check out the rules . Sometimes different campgrounds have different type rules , so just take some time , check them out .

Speaker 1 36:28

That's a good idea

Expecting the Unexpected

Speaker 1 36:31

as we start wrapping up some other suggestions is expecting the unexpected . Rving is incredibly enjoyable . It is a lot of fun . It is something I've never really done before and in that and in all the fun , things are going to go wrong , Stuff's going to break , Lens are going to get messed up , Weather sometimes is going to be an issue . Maybe there's mechanical issues , Maybe there's health issues , and you have to be as prepared as you can and be flexible . That's what I'm going to suggest . Expecting the unexpected . Flexible that's what I'm going to suggest .

Speaker 1 37:17

Expecting the unexpected , not waiting for the other shoe to drop , so to speak , but knowing that it's something of a plan . Knowing that if you're traveling with your kids and you know it's going to start raining , maybe have some indoor activities or games , or know if the campground has indoor activities , just to kind of get a little bit of you know a little bit of a plan . You can't plan for everything . The other thing to as a caution emergencies happen when you're on the road , whether it's medical emergencies , RV issues , whatever . That is one of the suggestions that I have is to have , whether it's a wipe-off or a laminated something , but there should be something in the RV that has emergency contact numbers .

Speaker 1 38:09

When you get to a campground , you want to know where you're located , as funny as that sounds . When we would travel a lot , sometimes I couldn't even think about what state we were in , let alone the city name , my RV site . So you want to know what site you're in and I would write that on like a wipe off . I had a laminated paper that you could wipe off because in an emergency situation , if you have to call 911 , which I experienced while traveling you want to be able to give that information quickly and not have to fumble for it . So knowing the address of the campground , the name of the campground , the site you're in , all of those things are important , as well as everybody that is in the RV having access to that . Also , a medical emergency plan .

Speaker 1 38:58

If you're traveling , you're away from home a lot of times . First of all , if it's a major emergency , you're calling 911 . That's obviously universal , you know . Maybe there's knowing if there's an urgent care . I have a grandson that has asthma and has had to go to an emergency room , so knowing where they are when you're out camping is important . As far as RV issues , you want to know who you should call what's covered to some degree . You want to understand if you have a policy that covers certain things , where to access that , whether you're calling your dealership , and so there are RV issues that you know . You just want those things that might be a more urgent situation handy .

Speaker 1 39:51

Okay , so let's leave this on a happier note and talk about knowing that there are things that , while there are things that will go wrong , RVing can be for me . Let me just say for me it was and has been and will continue to be the most amazing experiences that I've had , and those are the things that I want people to focus on . So when you're talking about your first time out , you're making that plan . Think about those things . You know everybody that's traveling wants to do . What do you want to see ? What kind of activities do you want to have ? You know whether you want to go to a national park . I wanted to go to a national park . Haven't been to one yet , but that's still on the list . So what kinds of things do you want to do ? What kinds of things would you enjoy ? Are you more the mountains ? Are you more the water ? Are you more the mountains ? Are you more the water ? Sitting down and really kind of putting together something of an idea of what everybody's looking to do , that is something I highly suggest . As you're planning , you're making plans for that .

Speaker 1 41:10

First time out , I'm going to say and this is a cliche knowledge is key . Well , I would say , the more you know , the better . There are things that you just can't learn at all . There will be things you're going to learn as you go . There will be mistakes you're going to make and you just have to embrace the mistakes , learn from them and move on . There is so much more information I could give . I am going to ask that people please share your thoughts , your comments , your suggestions . Do you have suggestions of more detailed information that you'd want that I could bring an expert on . If you've been traveling , you know what can you suggest for that new person , and you could do that by making a comment on the podcast platform that you're listening to this on , or you could go to social media at RV Life Podcast on Instagram or Facebook , make a comment , send me a private message . I truly want to hear from you , but it's now time to talk about the OpenRoads Innovative Toll Solutions , and that is one of those things that I've had to learn the hard way as I've traveled across the country . I've gone through tolls that my toll transponder did not work , was not the right transponder , and I had over $240 in fines . Openroads Innovative Toll Solutions takes care of all of this . There's a link in the show notes . Click on that link . The toll transponder is $24 a year and it covers all 48 states , so you are covered . This is something that I believe every RVer traveling should have .

Featured Campground of the Week

Speaker 1 43:00

It's now time for the Feature Campground of the Week , and it's brought to you by RV Life , and this week's Feature Campground is Victoria Palms RV Resort in Donna , Texas . In Donna , Texas , this is an encore resort and you do not need to be a member , but it is a 55 and older , so you do need to have at least one person that is 55 or older . Victoria Palms RV Resort is a premier RV resort in tropical Rio Grande Valley of South Texas . They feature a tropical pool and spa . They have a full restaurant , two-story craft center and they have so much more . They offer pull-through sites and back-in sites with FHU full hookups . And if you don't have an RV , no problem , they have fully furnished rentals . They have a solid 8.4 rating on the RV Life Campground site with 77 reviews , and you can go to campgroundsrvlifecom and search Victoria Palms RV Resort to learn more about this property , everything about this property , all of the photos , the amenities , everything you need to know about this property , and then , if you decide you want to book your stay , there's a great big book now button so you could easily book your stay .

Speaker 1 44:25

Rv Life Campgrounds is part of the RV Life suite of products and it is the most comprehensive source of RV parks , campgrounds , resorts , most comprehensive source of RV parks , campgrounds , resorts and city , state and national parks , corpse of engineer properties and so much more . If you are not yet a member , there is a link in the show notes to get 25% off for first-time users and just go to that link . Once you get to checkout , it's 25% off .

Final Thoughts and Listener Engagement

Speaker 1 44:54

As I said , I would love to hear from new RVers , people thinking about RVing , and my RVers that have been on the road . Please share your comments , your suggestions , your thoughts , your ideas , items here that you've used , things that you've done , things that you've seen . Please share at RV Life Podcast on Instagram or Facebook . I want to thank you , my listeners , so very much for listening and I want to remind you life's a journey . Live each day to the fullest , without regrets . I'm Patty Hunt and you have been listening to the RV Life Podcast .