Travel Tips

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Jeffro

Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2021
Posts
18
Location
Mesa
Any tips on how to avoid my summer trip turning into the movie “Vegas Vacation”...
My wife and 2 young kids (1 & 3yo) are hittin the road this summer in our class C Jayco for 2 months. I don’t want to be divorced by the end of this trip🤙🏻😎
 

Attachments

  • 35F8B834-F6BC-4EEB-876D-D380A94B7813.jpeg
    35F8B834-F6BC-4EEB-876D-D380A94B7813.jpeg
    205.2 KB · Views: 4
Don't put any toilet paper into the toilet. Have a small trash can with a lid next to the toilet and put the toilet paper into it. Sounds gross, but toilet paper gets attached on to the sensors and then they don't work.
 
Practice ahead of time the art of backing your camper into a site - avoiding trees, sign posts, rocks, railroad ties, etc. One person at the wheel, another behind/to the side of the camper who is responsible for giving directions. Learn that the director has to stay in the mirror view of the driver.
Sort out your hand signals. Or get inexpensive walkie-talkies and nail down your commands - it's not right or left, it's driver side, curb side. Phones will work but only if you have service. I've seen some people be amazingly nasty to one another while conducting this little chore.
 
The 1yo can sleep underway, but look for electronic (noisy) games for the 3yo.
Be very ready to surrender the core to wife/mother when she needs to do things.
Matt
 
OK your starting in Mesa AZ, so where are you heading? Putting TP in some sort of trash bag is simply gross. I read people doing this and I always ask why? Using your black holding tank as it's designed to be used should never cause you a problem. Tank sensors are notorious for failures so I never trust them.
Back on Topic. Are you coming north? If so avoid CA. Instead north on 395. There is lots to see and do in OR and WA.
 
OK your starting in Mesa AZ, so where are you heading? Putting TP in some sort of trash bag is simply gross. I read people doing this and I always ask why? Using your black holding tank as it's designed to be used should never cause you a problem. Tank sensors are notorious for failures so I never trust them.
Back on Topic. Are you coming north? If so avoid CA. Instead north on 395. There is lots to see and do in OR and WA.
I’ll be heading East with the destination being Key West😎😎😎
Then northwest to Wisconsin to see family and friends.
And then southwest back to AZ🤙🏻
 
OK your starting in Mesa AZ, so where are you heading? Putting TP in some sort of trash bag is simply gross. I read people doing this and I always ask why? Using your black holding tank as it's designed to be used should never cause you a problem. Tank sensors are notorious for failures so I never trust them.
Back on Topic. Are you coming north? If so avoid CA. Instead north on 395. There is lots to see and do in OR and WA.
No, what is gross is the fact that about 90% of all RVs have sensors that do not work because of toilet paper sticking to the sensors causing it to be shorted out and not working. Holding tanks are very poorly designed. Tanks sensors fail because of TP.
 
What kind of trips have you taken so far? Any other weekends, vacations to draw experience from? You'll learn a lot during that 2 months, no doubt about that! ;)

Make sure you have a pad of paper and pen, so you can write down all the things you realized you forgot. The good news is that Walmart is everywhere, to allow you to stock up!

Black tank wise, use plenty of water when you flush. Half a "pot" goes down with any solids. I don't worry about blank tank sensors, they never seem to work right (probably for the reasons Seilerbird mentioned) but after awhile you'll learn how many days of use it takes to fill up before you need to dump it. Probably not long on a Class C (depending on tank size) and family of 4... although only 3 using the pot. Monitor your 3yo and make sure he or she doesn't flush too much TP. Tank sensors aside, that'll cause a big clog when you try and dump if the TP ratio isn't greatly outweighed by the water ratio.
 
What kind of trips have you taken so far? Any other weekends, vacations to draw experience from? You'll learn a lot during that 2 months, no doubt about that! ;)

Make sure you have a pad of paper and pen, so you can write down all the things you realized you forgot. The good news is that Walmart is everywhere, to allow you to stock up!

Black tank wise, use plenty of water when you flush. Half a "pot" goes down with any solids. I don't worry about blank tank sensors, they never seem to work right (probably for the reasons Seilerbird mentioned) but after awhile you'll learn how many days of use it takes to fill up before you need to dump it. Probably not long on a Class C (depending on tank size) and family of 4... although only 3 using the pot. Monitor your 3yo and make sure he or she doesn't flush too much TP. Tank sensors aside, that'll cause a big clog when you try and dump if the TP ratio isn't greatly outweighed by the water ratio.
We took a 3 day, 800 mile trip around AZ back in March, and a 3 day trip to Lake Havasu in April and kids did great and rig felt pretty spacious for the 4 of us, especially when it was nice out and had grill, tables and chairs set up under awning😎😎😎
 
Are you gonna have a toad? Being stuck in an RV even at destinations can be brutal. 1 and 3 years old is easier in some respects. Plan short legs and short days. Camp hopping is not much fun. Plan stops of up to 3 days to relax regroup and do laundry.

Don't make it a stress zone by keepingtogeneral Pattons schedule.
 
No, what is gross is the fact that about 90% of all RVs have sensors that do not work because of toilet paper sticking to the sensors causing it to be shorted out and not working. Holding tanks are very poorly designed. Tanks sensors fail because of TP.
I had dirty black tank sensors for years. I didn’t need them. I could tell when the tank needed emptying by the sound. You also learn quickly how many days before you need to empty. Not a big deal at all. Even if you want to do it, someone with a 1 year old and a 3 year old would have a much more difficult time. Kids explore everything, and just thethought of them finding that disgusting container would chill my soul.

Oh, and we installed external tank sensors on the latest rig. I still use them mostly for fresh water indicator. When the fresh water gets low, the waste tanks need emptying. Pretty simple.
 
Use campgrounds and not parking lots. You will want air conditioning or you will be miserable and tired. Try to pick campgrounds with pools and playgrounds. You can do the chores of hooking and setting up while the family has some fun and a break. KOAs may work well for you.
 
Try to pick pull thru spots for the cross country stops. Less backing can save a marriage. It's also nice at the end of a long day driving.
 
Holding tanks are very poorly designed. Tanks sensors fail because of TP.
So what? Tank level sensors don't tell you anything you won't learn as easily by listening or watching. Not an important thing. And TP is only one of the things that cause those flaky sensors to give false readings.

Besides, after a short while you develop habits about how long between dumps, based on your personal usage experience.
 
Two months may sound like a lot of time, but you have planned a trip that is at least 6,000 miles long. That is 100 miles per day, according to my calculations, which is a LOT driving a motorhome. Also, the first long leg of your trip is going to be across the HOTTEST part of the U.S. And the other two legs are going to be fairly hot as well. Kids and wife, plus you, are going to be awfully cranky at driving such a long distance. Are you sure you really want to do so much driving??? Could you cut it down somehow?? Maybe skip Key West????Most of us do not like to drive more than a couple of hundred miles per day before stopping because it is much more stressful to drive a motorhome than a car.

So, make sure your AC is working. If it were me, I'd get it serviced before I left. Also, do you have reservations yet? You will NOT want to scramble on the road looking for a last-minute campground with two unhappy kids and a miserable wife trying to keep them both happy. And boondocking in hot weather with two little ones is out of the question because it will be hot at night in some places, as well!

Pack plenty of food and drinks for the kids. Keeping everyone fed is important with little ones. And don't forget a kids emergency packet of thermometer, baby tylenol, pedialyte, etc. in case someone gets sick. Ditto for first aid supplies like band-aids.

I can remember some horrible long trips we took with two very young kids about 50+ years ago, so I do not envy you!! We stopped at a toy store halfway there, stocked up on a bag full of cheap toys, and hid them in the trunk for "emergencies!" And don't forget to pack a few balls and outdoor toddler toys. Three-year old will need an occasional stop to play outdoors and run off some steam!
 
Last edited:
Do a walk around right before you leave, and after every stop. You never know when something might come loose, a door left open, tires under inflated, etc. just a simple visual check. Have a great time!
 
The great TP debate is on!

When doing your walk-a-round look up AND down. Up for TV antenna, awnings. Down for electric cords, sewer hose, water hose, compartment doors (and check they are latched) and kids toys.
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
131,670
Posts
1,382,726
Members
137,455
Latest member
MtnRV
Back
Top Bottom