New to RV

[Diane]

Congratulations and best wishes on your new adventure! My 1st best suggestion is to follow your checklist, even pilots with millions of flight miles still use them. I learned mantras like "wheel chocks are 1st thing down and last thing up."

[joe w]

Originally Posted by JordanIngle

Hello! We are first time RV owners with an 11 month old and a dog. We just recently purchased a 2022 Jayco Jay Flight SLX 224BH.

We don't any experience with owning our own RV but we are excited to learn.

We welcome all advice from anyone!

Thanks!

Welcome to the forum! Best advice for starters is to read your owners manual(s) including the ones for appliances thoroughly! Go through your unit and check for loose screws and other fasteners, there will be some!

[daveswanson]

The metal fold down steps to your door are slippery and scary to most dogs. Consider purchasing RV step covers for at least the top two steps. We use the closed-loop polypropylene ones that strap on with tie wraps. Our dogs use to fear RV steps, but now bound up confidently. Nothing worse than having to carry the 'baby' every time in & out.
Tip 2: keep your towing speed at the posted limit or no more than 60mph for a while, and limit daily mileage to about 350, or even 300 miles. RVing is about relaxing as much as adventure, so enjoy the drive and allow plenty of fun time in the afternoon after you park.
Welcome to great living!

[tlbranth]

We were green too. Didn't want to know any in-depth stuff straight away, just how to do normal things. This video was the best info I ever got as a beginner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CA05uYcU3zI

[tuckerdog1]

Welcome from TX. I always advise folks new to RVing, look at it as an adventure, not a vacation. Things will go wrong, or break. Expect it and go with the flow. Also, few things will test a marriage like one party ( usually the wife ) trying to direct the other party with backing the RV into a campsite. Even if the couple is good at it, you will sometimes lose sight of each other. Invest in a set of inexpensive walkie talkies.

[Hollander Mutthaulers]

Welcome to RVing!

Keep a good list or notes on what works, doesn't work, what you'd like, and how to do things and keep reading this forum. Use caution, common sense, and have a great time!

[wags]

If your nickname is GM Mr. Badwrench, like me, YouTube will be your very best friend. Stuff goes wrong with these less than lovingly built units, and you will have to fix it most of the time. If you are handy, of course, this may not apply!

[joe w]

Check your pantry shelving and see if they are stapled in or screwed in. If stapled and you put some canned goods or other heavy items on them plan on/count on them collapsing after a road trip.

[Eric H.]

My advise is if you are not familiar with how all of the systems to your RV work, you should use it at home for a few days until you know how or if everything works. I was lucky when I started RVing because I am a mechanic and my boss when I was learning to repair cars always had RV's and worked on RV's, horse & utility trailers. So I knew how to work on them before I owned one. I take it for granted but I am amazed at how little some people understand about how they work and what to expect from everything onboard. People say camp close to home first but I say do it at home. That way if something isn't right your house is right there. Many vacations are cut short due to bad experiences in the middle of the night. Figuring out how everything works while also figuring out how to manage all the duties of taking care of a toddler and pet in a new environment can be a lot to handle and can spoil your first RV vacation memories. Waking up and letting the dog go out the back door to do it's business at home is a lot different than doing it at a camp ground with a leash and poop bag. Then add the fact that the dog found the garbage the night before because everything is new and in new places now so the morning dog walk isn't easy to pick up lol and the babies crying because it's cold and the furnace stopped working at 3:00am. I'm not trying to make it sound bad, just sharing a bit of experience I've gathered with many years of RVing/camping with kids and dogs.