Traveling always sounds like a great idea—until it’s time to
pack. Anyone who’s ever been on a road trip, especially, knows just how
mentally taxing a trip across the United States can be. Heck, you can travel
across just one state and understand that owning and using an RV isn’t always
all fun and games.
But that’s why you bought the RV: to enjoy some recreation
time in your vehicle. And if you aren’t going to enjoy traveling in it, then
what was the point of buying it in the first place? We couldn’t agree more,
which is why we’ve put together this quick guide for handling a road trip full
of noise, fighting over the directions, getting lost, and all of the other
challenges provided by the open road. In the end, you can make the experience a
net positive—and enjoy the journey just as much as you enjoy the destination.
Fresh Air: The Key to
Keeping Your Sanity
Many people who own an RV and take it on a road trip become
obsessed with efficiency. They want to travel at the optimum speed in order to
preserve efficient gas mileage. They want to hit X target by Y time of day, and
they don’t care what they have to do in order to hit the milestones of their
itinerary.
The problem? This prevents you from getting outside. That’s
why it’s important to take a break in your RV and enjoy it for what it is: a
mobile home, a house on wheels.
So make sure to incorporate fresh air in your itinerary. And
before you go, make sure you think about installing an RV awning in order to get some shade and some fresh air at the same time.
You’d be amazed at the quality free time you can enjoy simply by deploying the
awning once in a while on your trip. And once you’re done, simply put it back
into place and you can be on track to the next destination.
Distractions Can Be a
Good Thing
When you’re hard at work in an office, distractions are
taxing. They take up your time and make you less efficient.
On the road, distractions can be just the opposite: they can
help you feel better. If you’re traveling with a large family, distractions are
great because they prevent any sibling skirmishes caused by boredom.
Our suggestions? You can start with some good mental games,
like “21” questions, of course…but those eventually lose their luster. So make
sure you have some different ways to break up the monotony. Don’t count on one
book on tape or one CD to last the whole journey. Change up the distractions as
often as you can to keep everyone entertained. You wouldn’t expect everyone at
home to be able to focus on one thing for hours at a time; why should they do
it in an RV?
It doesn’t take much to preserve your sanity on a road
trip—as long as you prepare in advance. So make sure that in addition to your
itinerary, you keep a few of our points in mind as well.
