Travel Trailer Camping Tips

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Plan the Trip

Memorable vacations don’t happen on an impulse. You might be able to have a nice impromptu road trip if you just want to see some scenery, but camping is a whole different breed. This doesn’t mean it’s difficult, but if you’re unprepared, you’ll wind up running into frustration, financial issues, and disappointment. In order to avoid these problems, simply put together a budget and book your campsite far in advance.

Budget Appropriately

Budgeting sounds simple at first, but there’s more to keep in mind than just the check in costs. Figure out how much money you might need for gas, food, tools, and anything else you can think of. It’s never bad to overestimate, because it’s better to have surplus cash than to come up short when vacationing in travel trailers. Also, set aside an emergency fund. Random inconveniences like flat tires or broken devices can cost you a lot of extra money, which will deplete your budget if you don’t keep some spare fund on hand.

Selecting your Campsite

Without booking ahead of time, you’ll never know when or where you’ll find an open campsite. These usually fill up months to weeks ahead of time, so you might wind up having to settle for something outside of your desired area. To avoid this issue, book your campground at least a couple months in advance.

Pack what You Need

Many new campers make the mistake of loading their travel trailers with too much junk. There’s a weight limit on your tow vehicle, and for driving safety (and legal reasons) it’s important to abide this limit. To do this, make sure you’re packing appropriately. Keep the weight specification in mind, and then start by loading up only what you need. If you’re still well below the weight after these items go on, you can start adding additional cargo. Generally, you’ll have a lot easier of a time doing this if you make a checklist to be used for every trip. This will ensure that you never forget something important, saving you a lot of stress and frustration down the road.

Towing Practices

Once you’ve loaded the travel trailer up, it’s time to consider your towing practices. If you’ve never hauled anything larger than a small trailer before, it’ll be difficult at first, but you can do it with a little knowledge and preparation. We recommend practicing long beforehand in an empty parking lot. This way, you can get the feel for the braking system, handling, and how to turn around corners properly. Once you’re on the road, remember that a travel trailer’s brakes don’t respond as quickly as the ABS in your tow vehicle. This means that you’ll need to increase your following distance at all times. Also, when turning corners, look in your side mirrors to make sure the back of the trailer isn’t shifting into the other lane. It takes a conscious effort to execute these techniques the first time out, but with repeated trips, it’ll become second nature!

These tips will help you out with every aspect of your travelling experience. From planning and budgeting to packing and towing, you can relieve a lot of stress by preparing properly and keeping best practices in mind. Most importantly though, learn to have fun with the process. Remember that you’re getting set up for another RV vacation, which is the part of the year we all look forward to! If you don’t have an RV yet, you can start enjoying camping trips like these too by getting a used travel trailer from Lone Star RV. We’re located in Houston, near Conroe, Beaumont, and League City, TX. We also serve customers from Galveston and Katy, TX, so don’t wait for a new style of vacation. The summer is calling, and it’s time to get your first travel trailer today!