Prepare for the First RV Trip: 5 Tips

We found our Forest River RV, but now what? Be sure to follow these 5 tips to prepare for your first RV trip and avoid disaster.

1. Cleaning

This is a no-brainer even for an RV that has been detailed by a dealership. But, the main reason to thoroughly clean is to find every nook, cranny, and hidden storage space in your RV. In our 2019 FR3 32DS, we learned so much from the cleaning process such as, finding 2 storage areas under the bed, realizing that the cabinet doors appear to be put on upside down, locating the fuse box, and finding a place to store the extra table cushion behind the jackknife slide sofa. 

2. Measuring

As you clean each area, carry a notebook and tape measure to accurately measure the size of each compartment and the opening dimensions. Planning how to use each of the deep spaces in advance will give each section a purpose and keep the small spaces organized. I watched several organizational videos including this one by Lyfe Untethered that were very helpful, and I lined all of the storage areas with shelf paper to reduce noise and vibrations.

3. Check Functionality

How you plan to use your RV will determine the purpose of each space. Since we plan to boondock frequently, we need all necessities to be accessible without extending our motorhome slides. This creates 2 considerable problems in our model. First, none of the bedroom drawers will be accessible since the king bed butts up against the drawer fronts when slides are retracted. Everything below the kitchen sink is inaccessible, too, which will make the usual under-the-sink location for the trashcan hidden when we are traveling and boondocking. To solve these problems, our daughter needs to have space to store some clothes at the end of her bunk and we need a separate small trashcan for boondocking. We also need somewhere for laundry, cooking spices, and guest bedding. Outside we need storage for sewer hoses, chairs, fishing gear, grilling equipment, and a screen house. Our outside storage compartments are not water tight, so purchasing plastic containers will be necessary. 

4. System Checks

Against recommendations, we purchased our 2019 RV without an inspection.  In the winter Illinois temperatures, we have no idea whether the AC or water works properly in this winterized vehicle, and we already know that one of the slides has caused a gouge in the flooring. With less than 6000 miles on the unit, we anticipate that there may still be some manufacturer issues to fix. So, Mark called Forest River and Barry Hughes from the FR3 division provided us with a Vin Recall Search link, Interactive Owner’s manuals, Helpful How-To Videos, Manual Slide Out Operation pdf, Forest River virtual plant tour, and contact phone numbers for support! He was amazing! We also located the Forest River site through Google Search here. We have now tested the jacks, furnace, cameras, slides, microwave, generator, refrigerator, manual overhead bunk, awning, and every door, lever, and drawer. Now if the ice will just melt off the roads we will head south so we can flush out all of the water lines and test the water heater, showers, faucets, etc.

5. Electronics Setup

And finally, since Grace is remote schooling, we needed to upgrade and test our electronics. We bought a Verizon Jetpack and upgraded our phones to an unlimited data plan, reset all of the TV channels, tested the satellite antennae, and tried out the GPS, backup and side cameras.