Lakeshore RV Center
As tempting as it may be, do not just toss your camping gear and supplies into your RV, close the door, and hope for the best as you start off down the road. If you do this, you'll most likely open your RV door at your destination to find a huge mess on the floor of every room inside your RV. There are some packing steps you should not overlook when prepping your RV for travel. Utilize the steps below to make sure that you can start enjoying your vacation as soon as you unhitch at your campsite. Don't let unnecessary stress derail your journey to experience the RV lifestyle!
The Cabinets
As you travel down the road, your neat and tidy kitchen cabinets can quickly become a mangled mess of tipped over glasses and dishes. And some big bumps in the road or sharp turns can even cause your cabinet doors to fly open, spilling the contents onto your RV's floor. To avoid this, there are a couple things you should do to keep your kitchen in one piece.
If your cabinet doors are not already equipped with latches, you'll want to install one on each door. They're easy to put on and will ensure that your doors stay closed, even on the bumpiest of roads.
The next thing you want to do to your cabinets is line them with non-slip padding. In the event that glasses tip over or dishes want to slide around, the non-slip padding will cushion a fall and make movement within the cabinet almost impossible. The non-slip padding really grips things well and helps keep your dishes and glasses in one place and in one piece.
One more thing you can do to protect the contents of your cabinets is invest in small bins that will fit inside the cabinets. Bins are perfect for holding canned goods, spices, and other small items that tend to roll around and cause havoc in RV cabinets. Check a local dollar store for plastic bins.
The Fridge
The easiest way to secure your food in the fridge is to invest in some refrigerator bars. These are small tension rods that you can set up inside the fridge to make compartments for items that will move around.
Once you have them installed, pack your stuff close together so there’s less space for things to move around. If you have anything that is in a breakable container, it may be a good idea to put it in something else. So if it does happen to fall over you won’t have a broken mess on your hands.
Before you leave, close the door to the fridge and lock it. If for some reason you don’t have a lock on your fridge, you will want to invest in one, or improvise with some bungee cords. You don’t want the doors flying open while you’re on the road. Not only will things spill out, but everything inside will get warm, possibly spoil, and you'll be wasting a ton of energy trying to keep an open refrigerator cool.
Countertops
If you have things on the counter tops, such as a coffee maker or toaster, you don’t want them flying all over, but it can be a pain trying to find a place for them while you travel. This is where non-slip liners will come into place again. If you cut a piece the size of your appliance, it will help hold it on the counter. Some things, especially taller items, may need to be laid on their side in order to keep them from tipping. If your coffee maker has a glass pot, put the pot away somewhere so that it doesn’t break on the way. If you have a dishwasher in your RV, this is a great place to stash things on the trip since it has the tines that will help hold things in place.
Bathroom
You’ll want to employ the same tactics for the bathroom cabinets that you did in the kitchen. Lock the doors, line the shelves, and group things together in bins. If you have a medicine cabinet, look for small extension rods to insert inside the cabinet. If you have empty space that will allow things to tip over and roll around, use washcloths and hand towels as padding to fill in the area.
Also, make sure you close and latch the shower door! This is so very important and very easy to overlook. If the door is not secured, it could fly open and slam around as you go down the road. When you get to your destination you may find shattered glass all over the floor in the bathroom.
Bedroom
If you have lamps in your bedroom, lay them on the bed. This gives them cushion and ensures that they won't fall off a nightstand. Lock the drawers of both the nightstands and dressers to keep them from coming open on the trip. If you have clothes hanging, you want to get them snug together so they’re not sliding back and forth on the rod. You can do this by simply using a bungee cord to wrap things together or by wrapping a thick rubber band around the rod to keep hangers in place.
General Areas
As you prep your RV for travel, make sure your windows, doors, and sliders are closed and locked. This will keep out rain and wind and will help protect the contents of your RV.
If you have a lot of items in your RV, ensure that you are distributing the weight evenly. If you put all the items on one side of the camper, it may not seem like a big deal, but it might just be enough to throw it off balance and cause some issues when towing. You don’t want to end up with your camper rolled over in a ditch from taking a turn.
If you have loose furniture, get some bungee cords so you can secure them in one place. Not only are they at risk for breaking if they fly around, they can do a lot of damage to the camper as well as other items inside. Don’t risk having a chair leg sticking out your window when you get where you’re going.
Prepping your RV before you leave may not be the most fun part of the trip, but it will save you a lot of time and money on unnecessary repairs and replacements. Use that extra cash to buy some high-tech camping gear or go on a memorable trip to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore!
