Connect WaterĬonnect your water line at both ends. Once connected at both ends turn the breaker back on. Hopefully, you also have a surge protector, and you are connecting that to the shore power first. Turn the breaker off if you can before you connect anything. The pads will help distribute weight and keep you from sinking. We recommend using pads under the stabilizers, especially on loose ground. Put down Stabilizersĭeploy your automatic or manual stabilizers. Whether you use a chock under the tires or a stabilizer between them, it’s a good idea to go ahead and take care of it at this point.

Chock/Stabilize your wheels (and disconnect from tow vehicle if necessary) Slow down, take the necessary steps the first time and you’ll save yourself a lot of unnecessary crankiness. If you’ve been driving all day repeating your whole setup from the beginning when half-way through will get old quickly. The height you will work out after but if you disconnect a hitch and then realize you need to get out the leveling blocks, you will have to reset and start all over. Level your RVīefore you go any further, especially if you are towing a trailer, check if you are level side-to-side. Having the slide-out perfect won’t be as nice if you are walking out of your door into a bush every day. It also pays to check where your door opens/stairs come down. I hop out of my truck, look at the side of my trailer, and whip right back around to get back in and reposition for the slide-out. For some reason, I somehow always seem to forget about the slide-out when I first pull into a site. Most importantly here is making sure your slide-out(s) have room to fully extend. You don’t want to set everything else up to then get to those connections and realize your hose and power cable don’t reach. Knowing where your water, sewer, and electricity are will be a good indication of which way your RV should be facing and where in the space you should be parked. When you are either backing in or pulling into your site know where your connections are. Use this to get started, then add your own steps based on your experience! Know where your connections are To try and help, here is a simple checklist of the most important steps when setting up your site. Many of us have run to the internet right before that first trip when we too realized we retained nothing from that 4-minute speed lesson at the lot. You know you just heard the words “very important” but what was so important? Maybe you should have waited a few minutes longer to picture yourself grilling lunch on a beach somewhere. Hello freedom, hello wind in your hair, the mountains are your backyard, and nothing can stop you now! Oh no, wait, you are still in the dealership and the salesperson was just explaining something about unhitching. You can even download the entire list as an Excel spreadsheet at the bottom.Congrats, you did it, you are buying your first RV and now you are ready to hit the open road. Click on each item to learn more about our favorite picks on. We’ve shared our RV packing list below so that you won’t have to buy your 7th wine opener on your next trip. Even if you’re boondocking in the Walmart parking lot, the thought of buying something you already own can be painful. Making sure you have the right equipment before you leave home can save you a lot of heartache when you’re at the campsite and many miles from the nearest store.

Rv checklist for camping