6 Habits RVers Need To Break, Now!┃ RV Mistakes

So we all have habits, some good and some not so good. And some habits that need to be broken now. If you're an RVer, today we want to share with you six habits that, if you're an RVer, you need to break. And we know some of you don't have any of these habits, and some of you have a few, and some of you have all six. But these are habits that we've got to break now. Let's show you. A habit that RVers need to break is leaving their grade tank open all the time. Now I know some of you will debate me on this, but we've heard of people and we've seen on Facebook groups and other social media sites that some people have gotten sewer gnats or sink flies, those little bitty things that will come up, and they'll come up through your open tank into your sinks. You don't want that. They're hard to get rid of. But close your gray and then just open it when you need to. And we understand there's going to be some times that you leave your gray open for certain things, such as doing laundry. Just make a note to close your gray before leaving. You don't want those gnats in your rig. Check. One habit that you definitely need to break if you're an RVer is leaving the campground with your water turned on to your rig. We had a major issue with this. Danny's going to pop some video in here and show you what happened. It was not a fun cleanup to say the least, and we weren't gone very long. Quick, easy thing, and it'll save you a big hassle. And I've got a memory tool to help you to remember when you need to do it. So turn your water off before you leave your rig. Check. Remembering to turn the water off when you leave the rig is one of the hardest things you will ever do. No joke. It's just really hard to remember. And so what we have done, we have put a sign right above our door so we have to see it when we go out. And it simply says turn off water. Hopefully we always see this and then go right then and turn the water off before we leave. Just our way of remembering. Another habit we need to break is stop trusting your black tank sewer connection. A few of us have had that bayonet pin not be hooked on correctly and have a sewer problem. Luckily mine was not big. We caught it pretty quick and closed it. But here's a trick. If you want to make sure your connections are right, open the gray each time for a quick two or three seconds to see if the connections hold here at your rig and also in the ground. Make sure it hadn't popped up. And close it back so you can have that gray to flush your tank later. But that will give you a quick, easy test to make sure your black tank connection is correct. The speed limit is 55 miles per hour. Ann, are you speeding? No. Another habit RVers need to break is driving too fast. If you read the manufacturer's suggested driving speed, it's between 60 and 65 miles per hour. There's a few reasons for this. One, it's safer that way. It gives you more time to stop if someone has to stop in front of you. These rigs don't stop on a dime. Also, driving at that speed, you will get much better fuel economy. You know, eight miles gallon is still not a lot, but it's better than six if you try to speed. So try to take it a little slower and it'll be much better also for your rig. We came through Louisiana last year and let me tell you, those were the worst roads we have ever driven on anywhere. And I was down to like 50 and 55 miles to the mile average speed. See the way I need to say this. 55 miles speed just because the roads were so bad and we felt like we were going to bust the cabinets off the wall. So there's a lot of reasons to slow it down and get your foot off the pedal. So a habit RVers need to break is trusting their tires for way too long. Most RVers don't realize that these tires will age out before they wear out because we don't put tons of miles on RV tires year after year. You'll think they're okay based on your mileage, but based on the date that DOT gives you, will tell you that you probably need to change them after about five years, up to seven, probably the lower ends, probably the safest. And just because your tires have a lot of tread left does not mean they're safe. A lot of RV tires will tend to ride out, get weak and the sides will get weak and that will cause a big problem. No one wants to blow out while going 60 miles an hour down the highway and that's how a lot of people get hurt. That's how a lot of people lose their lives. So be safe, know the date of your tires and take action when you need to. One habit every RVer needs to break is arriving at their campsite and setting up after dark. It's just too scary. Okay guys, so there's a whole lot of reasons to get to your campsite and get set up before dark. After dark you just can't see as well and that's when a lot of mistakes are made. We were at one campground and our neighbors were trying to back in between two trees. They were on each side of the rig and we literally went out and had to hold flashlights shining on the trees so that they could see them as they were backing in and not hit them. I was so grateful that we had gotten there before dark and didn't have to face that challenge. Now we understand if things are going on and maybe you're a weekend warrior and you're going to a campground that you go to all the time and you know your spot and sometimes it's just unavoidable. But when possible, arrive before dark. Danny's going to show you one of the tools that we use to keep this from happening in our traveling world. Rule three is something that will keep you from getting stressed and worn out on travel days. So the first three we want to talk about is never travel more than 300 miles a day. Think about it. 300 miles is about six hours. That's going to be tough. That's a long time in an RV. That is a long time. We like to travel about 150 to 200 miles a day but on long travel days we never are going to travel over 300 miles a day. And if you are traveling that 300 miles in one day, remember to stop every couple hours and get some rest. That will help you too. Second three and the rule three is arrive at your campground by three o'clock. That's right because if you arrive by three o'clock you have plenty of time to get set up before dark. Number one. Number two, when you're trying to set up after dark that's when mistakes are made and problems happen. Yep. Number three, don't travel this hard over three days in a row. Can you imagine going six hours three days in a row? I maybe could do it when I was younger but now I know it's not smart. Plus you miss so many things along the way. This is where you need to remember it's not about the destination sometimes. It's about the journey. So take time to enjoy the journey. Don't forget to hit the subscribe button. 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