Getting Ready To Roll

Let’s get one thing straight right off the bat. I have no intention of telling you how to get your rig ready to go where hitches, sway bars, or vent covers are concerned. You can find plenty of good information about that just about anywhere! I’m all about the inside of the rig! No one tells you anything about that!

First of all, you need to put yourself into the mindset that you are preparing for a giant earthquake every time you drive your rig to a new place. You know when they say on the airplane, “Contents may have shifted during flight?” Your contents WILL shift during travel! So, figure out ways to store things where they won’t slide off of counters and spill, break, or get destroyed. For instance, I have a spot on my counter where I can wedge the coffee pot and the utensil holder in between the stove and the window valence and it doesn’t move at all. Inside my cupboards I use “cabinet binz” (available lots of places like the Container Store, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Home Goods) and put things that might spill like wine, olive oil, etc in those. My avocados ride in my napkin basket, and my bananas ride in the sink. Think about your stuff and how you’ll keep it from causing you extra work when you set up. Refrigerator bars and cupboard bars from Camping World are a big help too!

I have heard that Corelle dishes are supposed to be tacky. Whatever! They are the bomb for RVing! They stack nice and they are pretty hard to break. Although, we managed to put them into our new rig wrong (plates on a little shelf – don’t do it!). They slammed into the cupboard door and the door opened and they didn’t just break on the floor. They shattered! We lost 2 or 3 plates out of 8 or 10. We still have plenty, we rearranged them and haven’t had any problems since. We’ve been using the same ones for 15 years of earthquakes! In our newer rig, our mugs are in a cupboard. They have gotten more chipped. In old rig, they had a drawer and they fared better. In my next rig, I’m going to find a mug drawer and get new mugs! I figure after 15-20 years of use, it’s probably OK.

Line your cupboards and drawers with the rubber stuff from Walmart that keeps things from sliding. I forget what it’s called, but you can find it by the contact paper. (Also near by – the Corelle dishes!) It doesn’t actually stick down with adhesive so you can adjust it. It helps keep things from sliding all over the place.

There will be things you’ll have to straighten up every time you travel. For us, it’s the medicine cabinet and I’ve been deemed, “The Straightening Up Fairy” because I usually am the one who cares the most about things standing up straight. My OCD kind of works for other people sometimes!

When you are putting things into your rig to set it up, think about lessening your work load. You don’t want to spend a ton of time packing before a trip! All you want to have to load is clothes, food, and things you’ll use on that one particular trip. You don’t want to load pots and pans, towels, etc every single time. What a pain! It’ll suck the fun out of your trip!

Also, you’re going to be camping, or as we like to call it, “fake camping,” but that’s no reason to rough it! You just bought a nice rig so camping would be more comfortable. Don’t make it too much work or uncomfortable.

For instance, don’t put your hand me down beat up pots and pans in your rig. Most likely you’ll be washing by hand. The last thing you want to do is have to scrub stuck on scrambled eggs or some other stuck on food out of your pan. You don’t have to spend a ton of money on fancy name brand pots and pans, but do invest in some decent non-stick cookware. Also, make sure you have utensils you use frequently like your favorite type of cooking knives, garlic press, etc. – whatever it is that works for YOU! Cooking shouldn’t be more work than it is at home because you don’t have the right stuff! A lot of RVers use slow cookers. I have yet to have a rig where I have the space for one, but it can be a great way to have your dinner waiting for you after a day of exploring. One caveat to my “don’t use beat up pots and pans rule” is if you’re going to cook something like clams that will scratch up your pot. Then, put your most beat up pan under a dinette seat or in the storage underneath your rig, and get it out when you’re going to cook something that will wreck your nice stuff.

You know how you take your old, crummy bath towels, and turn them into garage towels? Don’t make your rig purgatory for garage towels! Spend the extra few bucks and get some quick drying bath towels. Whatever you do, don’t go buying some thick, luxury Egyptian cotton towels! You’ll never have a dry towel after your first shower! RV’s have a way of retaining moisture and it’s really hard to get your towels dry! Also, buy extra hand towels. When your entire family is using one trailer bathroom, you’ll be amazed at how fast it’s wet and clammy! YUCK! I live in the Pacific Northwest and do much of my RVing here. It is the land of cold, wet, clammy towels! An old RVer once told me, “Buy cheap towels!” I had no idea what she was talking about and totally dismissed it. It took me a while to figure out that she was trying to tell me that cheap towels dry faster. Now, they’ve invented quick dry towels that are a little softer and thicker than cheap towels. And, they’re not all that expensive!

Many trailer mattresses are funky sizes. You might think you’re stuck with whatever sheets are available at RV shops and dealers. I hate those sheets! They’re microfiber and feel horrible! If you’re a microfiber fan, cool! Skip this paragraph! I am a big fan of jersey sheets. They stretch and fit odd sized mattresses. On my short queen, I use full size sheets and the bottom sheet is nice and tight instead of being all bunchy. For the longest time the best ones I could find were at Walmart. (I hate going to Walmart! It is a necessary evil if you have an RV, I think!). My daughter recently found some at Macy’s in their Martha Stewart section. If you’re avoiding Walmart, check out Macy’s. The mattress itself is a whole other blog topic and we’ll get to that later.

When decorating/personalizing your rig, think about things that make you happy such as pictures of your family or places you’ve been. Think about things that will make you more comfortable like throw pillows or throw blankets. I think it’s hilarious that trailer brochures tout their bed spreads as selling points. They are the first thing to get thrown out the door for me! I love quilts, pillow shams, cozy throws for the end of the bed. The big thing is, your rig needs to be YOUR happy place! Anyone in my family will tell you that as soon as my trailer is set up and I’m sitting inside, I’m in my happy place and it doesn’t really matter where it’s parked. I know I’m away from the stresses of home and work and I start to relax just by sitting there! Part of that is because it’s set up how I love it! Do the same for your rig! Have fun! Happy set up!

Next blog post: What to do with your clothes in those weird RV closets!