How to Avoid Overpacking for Your RV Trip
August 30, 2019 09:18 AM
If you’re renting a camper-van to go on a trip, especially a long road trip, you might be tempted to bring as many clothes and amenities as possible so that the road feels like home. However, the whole point of an RV excursion is mobility and taking the whole kitchen sink with you can leave you feeling bogged down and disorganized. What’s more, even if you’re trying to pack lightly you might have no idea what things are essential to have with you and which you might be able to pick up along the way. In order to make sense of all these machinations ensure that your camper trip is weightless and easy, we’ve compiled a shortlist of the do's and don’ts for packing on your RV journey.
Cooking Gear
Nightly gourmet road meals are a super appealing prospect but one which requires a ton of fancy equipment which is likely going to clog up your extremely limited kitchen storage space. Leave the rice cooker, crock-pot, and grill at home and stick to the essentials. Bring a small or medium-sized fry pan for doing most of your basic cooking, a few reusable utensils for cooking and eating alike, and a reasonably sized pot for cooking stuff like noodles or oats. If your camper is luxuriously equipped with an oven, a baking sheet is also a good idea. We promise this will be enough to sustain you for a week or two after which you can return to your foodie lifestyle.
Clothing
When it comes to dressing on your road trip try and channel your inner minimalist. You aren’t attending the MET Gala and chances are the people you’re travelling with are either family or close friends who won’t mind if you wear the same shirt two days in a row. A good pair of sneakers, maybe some hiking boots and outfit essentials (jeans, tees, hoodies, swim trunks) should be all you need to have a blast while on your trip.
Food
Alright, this one’s a toughie, I mean, who knows how hungry you might get during the long days speeding along blacktop? Remember though that snacks and even meal components are usually accessible while en route unless you plan on heading to a truly desolate location. For the food, you plan to bring, try and pack essentials which will fill up your meals throughout your whole trip but won’t take up too much space (think rice, canned veggies, and other non-perishables).
Campfire Specifics
If you’re staying at a campground populated by other RV naturalists, chances are the grounds will have a camping store of some kind. While you do want to make sure you aren’t up-charged on bug spray, there’s obviously no need to pack your camper full of something like firewood or lighter fluid. Doing some research on the resources around your destination before embarking on your trip will help ensure you don’t pack what is already there.
