Planning an RV trip can be a fun and exciting process but it also requires
some careful thought and preparation in this video we're going to give you seven
tips on how to plan a successful RV trip or even just a road trip so stay tuned
Hi my name is charity and my husband Ben myself our two kids our dog our cats we've all been
traveling the U.S in our RV for five years now and we have learned a ton along the way so here
on this channel we share tips tricks some of our fails and some great places we've found to
Camp explore and some great places to eat too so if that's something that you're interested
in make sure to hit that subscribe button to be notified each week when we release a new
video one of the things that we hear from many families just getting started with RV life or
with family travel is that the trip planning process feels daunting and overwhelming I've
been planning our trips for five years now and I've definitely learned some tips and
tricks that I know are going to help you plus in case you would rather have some done for
you trip itineraries we wanted to give you not only some trip planning tips but some pre-made
done for you take all the guesswork out of it RV trip or road trip itineraries designed
for the whole family so we'll talk about those in just a little bit we get together gonna be
things in the process of planning is you decide your destination you want to consider some factors
like the weather at activities you want to do in the area and the time of year you're going
to want to travel if you want to travel to say like the South or the Southwest remember summer
months are going to be warmer in some outdoor activities like hiking or biking might not be
as comfortable as they would be say during the fall or the winter months now if you want to
visit mountain regions like Glacier National Park the most popular route that goes through
the national park going to the Sun Road can be closed due to snow as late as mid-may or
even early June so take into account the weather for the region that you're going
to want to visit during the time that you're planning on being in that area
step two research campgrounds and RV parks now once you have a general idea of where you want
to go the next thing you're going to need to do is figure out where you're going to stay so you
want to research campgrounds and RV parks in the area and one of our favorite tools for researching
campgrounds is RV RV is the only online travel agency booking site where campers and rvers can
search compare instantly book highly sought after public parks from a single platform and with over
3 500 State and national parks listed on RV you never need to deal with Reserve America
recreation.gov Reserve Florida Reserve California all the other major State Park booking sites again
RV does it all for you and no other booking site offers this type of convenience RV is
also consistently finding cancellations and then rebooking RV members into campgrounds in gyms like
the Florida Keys areas around Glacier National Park Arizona Texas and many many more popular
popular sites they're sold out out search feature makes it super easy to pick up a cancellation
reservation and book it all at the same time with no booking fees even while you sleep RV
consistently finds sites and book stays from one to three nights or even extended stays for 10 to
14 days at a time and since we love RV to help make the planning process easier we have partnered
with them for 10 percent off an RV membership for our viewers visit gratefulglamper.com forward
slash RV to learn more or click the link in the description we'll have for you below one of the
things you want to look for as your researching campgrounds are amenities like hookups showers
laundry facilities and if you have a longer length RV make sure those sites can accommodate big rigs
another thing to look for when traveling with children is to check on whether or not
the campground has kid-friendly activities like a playground or a swimming pool if you're traveling
with your pets and furry friends you want to make sure to check the campground pet policy and
amenities like a pet walking area or fenced-in dog park side note Alaska loves the dog parks
step number three is to plan your route based on your destination and your campground reservations
planning your route you can use one of our pre-planned routes that we'll have for you
or we really like using either RV Parky or RV trip wizard for route planning as
you plan you want to take into account any road restrictions for RVs such as low bridges narrow
roads and both RV Parky and RV trip wizard are great about making these types of Hazards very
clear and helping you route around them also take into account how much time that you have
allocated for your trip and how many miles per day you feel comfortable driving if you want to
be off the road by dark many rvers observe the 3-3-3 rule which is Drive no more than 300 miles
a day arrive at your destination no later than 3 pm and stay for at least three days
the next thing to do is make your reservations at the campgrounds and RV parks and you want
to do this well in advance as many popular campgrounds will fill up quickly during Peak
Travel Seasons this is where using a booking service like RV can come in handy to pick up
a cancellation for hard to book places or popular travel destinations some campgrounds will have the
option to book online but others you actually need to pick up the phone and make a phone
call to make a reservation make sure to check the cancellation policies when booking so you
know what your options are should your plans change or in the event of a trip interruption
so step number five prepare your RV before you hit the road you want to be sure to check your RV for
any needed repairs or maintenance and check tire pressures and fluids if you have a drivable RV or
even a towable RV you still need to check those tire pressures the best bet is to have your RV
inspected by a repair facility if it's a drivable RV or trailer shop if it's a towable things like
axles wheel bearings brakes those all need to be inspected and maintained regularly and we
also highly recommend ensuring you have a tire pressure monitoring system on your RV and Tow
vehicle if that's applicable we'll put a link to our favorite TPMS in the description of the video
and also it's over on our blog for you as well now you want to make sure all of your RV appliances
and systems are in good working order so test and clean things like the hot water heater and
replace that anode rod in your hot water heater if you have one check your furnace test your heat
pumps your stove your microwave your fridge it really is amazing how taking a few moments to
do so some of these things before your trip can really reduce stress once you're out on the road
now step number six go ahead and pack all of your RV trip Essentials now make a list of all
of the essential items that you're going to need on your RV trip such as food clothing personal
items I actually keep a lot of duplicates of all of our toiletry items dishes towels in our
RV and this makes the packing process a little easier and faster be sure to pack enough bedding
pillows towels and consider bringing items like a portable grill now we've used several
the Blackstone the otzi grill lots of options out there some comfortable camping chairs are
also a must we did a video on how to hit the road in less than one hour and I will link to
that video after this video is over so you can learn how we can get on the road faster
having a backup plan in case of emergencies or unexpected changes in your itinerary or breakdown
is important contact information for emergency services and the nearest RV repair shop could also
come in handy so you want to be able to jot those down one thing we really like for campgrounds is
the emergency magnet from our friends over at today is Sunday and this is something you want
to have in a handy place and it's important to have the address of the campground and
your site number written down should you need to call emergency services for help
lastly have fun and be safe on your RV trip once you hit the road be sure to take time and enjoy
the process and the travel that's why we live this lifestyle in the first place make sure you
follow safety guidelines make sure you look for potential hazards on the road one of the
things we now use as a dash cam just is an extra layer of protection in the case that there was an
accident now let's talk about these five RV trip itineraries we have already done for you so if
you're still feeling a little uncertain about the planning process don't worry we got you we've put
together five itineraries over on our blog with pre-made routes Campground recommendations things
to do in the area it's really truly a done-for-you plan so after this video I'm going to link over
to that blog post on our website where you can find links for all of these done for you RV trip
itineraries but let's talk about what you're going to find over there a few things I want to point
out is that in these itineraries there are some stops where we suggest lot docking for a night
at a place that allows overnight parking such as a Cracker Barrel now this is to break up a trip from
point A to point B to avoid driving fatigue and this is where we also use and recommend a harvest
host membership for those one-night stops or those overnight stops first up on the itineraries is the
pnw now this itinerary takes you through the beautiful Pacific Northwest and Oregon coast
and along the way you're going to have the opportunity to explore vibrant cities like
Seattle and Portland and explore both Olympic and Mount Rainier National Parks plus enjoy outdoor
activities like hiking biking fishing and some places you might want to include in your travels
are Cannon Beach in Seaside Oregon this is a great place to explore the tide pools check the times
for the tides before you go low tide is best to see the wonderful sea life check out the Tillamook
Creamery in Tillamook Oregon The Goonies house in Astoria or take a whale watching tour in the San
Juans next how about a trip to the Grand Canyon this itinerary takes you through the American
southwest with a focus on the Grand Canyon along the way you'll have the opportunity to visit many
other national parks like Zion National Park Bryce Canyon Capitol Reef and arches as well as historic
sites like Monument Valley Utah it's a very easy add-on if you want to go see Horseshoe Bend and
Lake Powell in Arizona with this particular itinerary as well maybe you'd rather take a
trip to New England including New York City in Washington DC we've got an itinerary for you
that takes you through picturesque New England with stops in Washington D.C Philadelphia Boston
and Acadia National Park along the way you'll have plenty of opportunities to explore Charming
coastal towns enjoy amazing lobster dinners and take in the Autumn foliage if you choose to visit
in the fall this is one of our favorite routes to explore U.S history and take in the Smithsonian
museums in DC but maybe an RV trip to say California is more your style this itinerary takes
you through the Golden State covering four now national parks including Yosemite and Death Valley
you can explore Big Sur Monterey plus enjoy fresh produce amazing strawberries in this area people
trust us climb the dunes at Pismo Beach catch some waves on the beach and then end your trip with a
visit to the Fantastic Glass Beach in Fort Bragg California where Nature has turned a trash dump
into something truly beautiful and absolutely amazing now if you like Sun and Sand consider
RV trip in Florida we've got a great itinerary for you here that's going to take you through
the Sunshine State with stops in Miami Florida Keys and Disney along the way you'll have the
opportunity to explore beaches with swimming and maybe check out some dolphins and then theme parks
make sure to take a walking tour through Little Havana in Miami take in a Florida Marlins game and
try some amazing authentic Cuban food you can book a snorkeling tour at Biscayne National Park while
you're here now since biscayne's mostly underwater you definitely want to see it via boat while in
the Florida Keys take another snorkel trip visit Key West and check out dry Tortuga National Park
you can find more tips for making the most of a visit to the Florida Keys and the Clearwater
Marine Aquarium where Winter the dolphin lived out her last days with her specially made prosthetic
tail all of this is over in our blog for you check check in the mic check in the mic mike check mic
check mic check planning an RV trip can be enough yeah another thing you want to do is look for a
many are some comfortable camping chairs are also a much killed it kill that
you can find links to all of these itineraries plus more on trip planning in our blog post
right up here and take a look at how to hit the road faster right up here if we
don't see you out on the road or around the campground we'll see you in the next video