How NOT To RV for beginners: The Top 10 RV NEWBIE MISTAKES TO AVOID as a Beginner RV Living! Thinking about living in an RV Full Time, you’re probably worried about making dumb newbie RV mistakes, and wondering what not to do in an RV? There are some dumb beginner RV mistakes you don’t want to make because dumb RV mistakes can cost you time and money!
In this blog post, I’m sharing the full time RV mistakes I’ve made. Consider this episode Full Time RV Living for Beginners 101! These are just a few of the dumb RV beginner mistakes to avoid, Want even more RV Tips for beginners, don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube and also pick up my RV beginners Guide below!
Top 10 RV NEWBIE MISTAKES TO AVOID as a Beginner RV Living:
- RV Mistake #1 – Not fueling up before you travel or park.
- RV Mistake #2 – Not checking your RV’s tires regularly.
- RV Mistake #3 – Not planning your route (in advance).
- RV Mistake #4 – Not making reservations (in advance).
- RV Mistake #5 – Buying the wrong RV.
- RV Mistake #6 – Traveling too far, too fast.
- RV Mistake #7 – Not investing in memberships.
- RV Mistake #8 – Not performing regular RV maintenance.
- RV Mistake #9 – Not knowing your RV’s height and weight.
- RV Mistake #10 – Giving up or not getting started!
Are you thinking about RV life or just starting your RV living journey and wondering what not to do in your RV? I’m sharing 10 mistakes that RV newbies make and how you can avoid them to save time, money, and keep you on the road. I also made a video to go along with this blog post.
🎁 [GET THE FREE GUIDE] Plan & Prepare for Full Time RV Living With My RV Life Planner!
RV Newbie Mistake #1 – Not fueling up before you travel or park.
1️⃣ Mistake number one most RVers make is not fueling up before they travel or park.
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❌ You don’t want to park and plug up only to find out that you don’t have enough fuel to operate your RV. Or worse, you don’t want to be traveling and run out of fuel.
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❌ Sometimes gas stations are far and few between. They might not be at the next exit, but the next 30 exits away.
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❌ You need to make sure that your RV can actually fit into these fueling stations.
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❌ And if you need a specific type of fuel: gas vs diesel. You have to make sure that the places that are on your route actually have it. For instance, not every fuel station sells diesel fuel.
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✅ This includes your RV Propane!
RV Beginner Mistake #2 – Not checking your RV’s tires regularly.
🤦♀️ The 2nd RV Newbie Mistakes To Avoid is Not Checking Their RV Tires Regularly (i.e. wear and tear, tread patterns, PSI levels for under-inflation or over-inflation.
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💰 You’re going to want to invest in an air compressor for your RV (for instance, my motorhome had large truck size tires that required an air compressor for high pressure tires. Meaning more powerful since it has the power to blow up BIG RV tires.
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💯 Plus, if you are having to do this often, it’s not ideal to go to a gas station or truck stop all the time to have to air up your RV tires, so it’s best to buy your own tools!
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😭 I found out the hard way that not all RVs, especially motorhomes, will necessarily fit at the gas station’s air compressor pump areas either! Plus, if you have high pressure tires, their air compressors won’t be powerful enough to actually blow up your RV tires with air.
RV Newbie Mistake #3 – Not planning your route (in advance).
🤦♀️ The 3rd RV Mistake most RV newbies make is not planning your route in advance!
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🚫 You are not a car, you don’t want to get stuck on or under anything!
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⛽️ To make sure that you’re not wasting fuel on a bunch of back roads driving around it’s a really good idea to stick to main roads and major highways.
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💰 And the best way to do this is to plan your route in advance and also invest in an RV GPS!
>> RV Fuel Hacks: Tips For How to Save Money When RVing (Gas or Diesel) + Towing!
RV Beginner Mistake #4 – Not making reservations (in advance).
🤦♀️ Mistake number four that RV newbies make is not making RV reservations either in advance or at all!
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🤔 Most people just think that you get in your RV and take off, but that will cost you a lot of time and money.
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📅 You want to make RV Park reservations weeks and even months in advance because sometimes RV parks don’t have the capacity for you or a spot to fit your RV — depending on the season, events going on, etc…
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❌ Or maybe the spots the RV Park does have available won’t work for your type and size of RV. (for example: say you need a 50 amp electric hook-up and they only have a 30 amp RV Hook-Up spot then you won’t actually be able to get the proper shore power to run your RV!
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💩 Also, I’ve gotten to RV Parks where they’ve put me and I actually didn’t have an RV sewer at my spot! I either had to unhook and go dump at the shared dump station or wait for the honey wagon to come around and dump my RV holding tanks for me. BUT that was only 2 times a week! So NO washing dishes or showering too often!
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✅ Making these reservations in advance can help you avoid these problems (as well as clarifying and conforming the RV Park reservations you have).
Related:
- How To Find And Book RV Parks
- Best Websites To Find RV Parks & Campgrounds
- Top List Of Mobile Apps To Find & Make RV Park Reservations
RV Newbie Mistake #5 – Buying the wrong RV.
🤦♀️ Mistake number five that RV newbies make is buying the wrong RV.
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💯 I’ve had four RVs in the past five years. Between Travel trailer life, van Life, and Motor Home life. Now, I can tell you investing in the wrong RV is a big waste of time and money. Plus, most of the time RVs are depreciating assets. Meaning they’re not going up in value over time! You’re typically always losing.
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⬇️ Buying an RV is not like buying a house or land that could appreciate in value.
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😱 Also, you don’t want to buy an RV that you hate or that doesn’t work for your RV lifestyle wants and needs!
RV Beginner Mistake #6 – Traveling too far, too fast.
🤦♀️ Mistake number six that RV newbies make is traveling too far too fast.
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☝️ Traveling is stressful and takes more time in an RV than it does a car.
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⏰ You wanna take time to enjoy the journey and the places that you visit.
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💯 Plus, if you’re in a hurry, you might forget to unhook or screw something up.
Related:
RV Newbie Mistake #7 – Not investing in memberships.
🤦♀️ Mistake number seven that RV newbies make is not investing in RV Clubs & Memberships + discount ideas, which can help you save a ton on fuel, RV parks, and more.
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💰 I wish that I had understood these better when I was getting started, and how affordable RV travel really could be. Plus how much money I could have been saving or have saved! 😭
Related:
- BEST RV memberships and Clubs to SAVE BIG!
- 30 Ways To SAVE MONEY RV Living Full Time!
- Ways To Save Money & Fund RV Life
RV Beginner Mistake #8 – Not performing regular RV maintenance.
🤦♀️ Mistake number eight that RV newbies make is not performing regular RV maintenance.
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☝️ You want to prevent, not postpone, RV problems.
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😳 The worst feeling is a beeping alarm or flickering lights and something not working in your RV (especially that you could have prevented).
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✅ It’s a good idea to have a checklist or a schedule that you stick to to make sure that you’re performing regular RV service and maintenance (i.e. changing the oil, turning on your RV generator, and making sure that the RV batteries are full of water if necessary).
Related:
- Find RV Service, Repair, Parts, Mechanics, Technicians & More
- Best RV Roadside Assistance Service
- RV Maintenance Checklist
RV newbie Mistake #9 – Not knowing your RV’s height and weight.
🤦♀️ Mistake number nine that RV newbies make is not knowing your RV’s height and weight.
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🛻 As I say, think like a trucker. Go where they go, stop where they stop, get fuel, where they get fuel, eat and sleep.
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🚧 It’s a good idea to avoid back roads and city streets that go over railroad tracks, as well as, over or under low bridges. But if you do have to travel on them, you want to know your RV’s height and weight.
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☝️ And some of that has to do with city and state regulations of where you’re traveling (or are allowed to travel), the other part of that has to do with safety for you and those around you!
RV Newbie Mistake #10 – Giving up or not getting started!
🤦♀️ RV mistake number ten that RV newbies make is either giving up aka Quitting RV Life or not getting started RVing at all.
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❌ Don’t let all the what ifs of RV Life worry you and stop you from embarking on your RV journey!
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💯 We all had to start somewhere.
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😳 And believe me, I’ve made a lot of mistakes.
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☝️ The best thing that you can do is to do your research and have a plan for your RV life before you get started. You don’t wanna just dive in, or it will be stressful.
Related:
- How To Prepare for Stationary RV Living [Checklist]
- How To Prepare For RV Living (Nomad Getting Ready To RV Full Time)
- How To Prepare For Full Time RV Living [BEGINNERS GUIDE]
What’s Next?
Now you know, 10 mistakes most RVers make when they start their RV living journey, but you don’t have to make them. If you’re ready to get started preparing and planning for RV life and avoid the same mistakes, download my RV life planner and I’ll show you how to get started RVing the right way.
🎁 [GET THE FREE GUIDE] >> Plan & Prepare for Full Time RV Living With My RV Life Planner!
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