There are special considerations to make when preparing for a long RV trip and RV travel safety is an important topic to us here at Gilbert RV Insurance. Please take the time to review these tips on how to make a long journey safe and successful!
Plan Your Trip Thoroughly
Sure, surprise side roads can spice things up, but have an itinerary laid out ahead of time to outline your approximate location on any given day. The key here is that once your itinerary is planned, leave a copy with someone you trust and contact them on a regular basis so they know everything is going according to plan. If you change plans, be sure to let your contact know what’s different so that if something goes wrong, they know where to find you or where to send help.
Stock Up on Essentials
Namely, medications. Plan to visit your doctor before you leave on your big RV adventure to get enough medications to last for the duration of your trip. The last thing you want to do is needlessly pay for a consultation with a doctor you don’t know in a city you’re not familiar with to get the medication you need to finish your trip. Take it with you from the outset and keep it (and yourself) safe.
“When in Doubt, Know Your Way Out”
And by this we mean, don’t rely entirely on electronic devices to do your navigating. Pre-load your maps into these handy gadgets in case you cannot get reception on-site and always have an atlas or maps of your routes and destinations should the batteries die or your coffee get spilled on it, rendering it useless.
Don’t Take Your Chariot For Granted
Every day that you drive your RV, take a good hard look at it before you get behind the wheel. Check the fluids. Check that everything that should be is connected (or disconnected and properly stowed). Secure loose items in the RV in case of sudden stops. Look at your tires for signs of wear or under inflation, check your break lights and turn signals.
When you take an extended trip, it’s just like taking several smaller trips. Before a smaller trip you’d still do your pre-road checklist, right? We hope so! You’ll need to do it several times on a long trip as well to take the necessary precautions to achieve the highest level of RV travel safety you possibly can.
Drive Defensively
A long trip means that much more time on the road to find the nutcases out there who put their safety and yours in jeopardy with foolish driving. Drive defensively. Give them plenty of room to be inattentive without affecting you, your family, your cargo, your investments. Keep a cool head, keep an eye on your mirrors, and be safe from sea to shining sea!
For more great information about RV travel safety as well as RV travel guides and fun ideas for the road, we encourage you to dig deeper into our blog! To protect your RV and passengers on long trips and short ones alike, be sure to take a look at our insurance products and get a quote today. Go safely and go with Gilbert!