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KMLsquared's avatar
KMLsquared
Explorer
Oct 28, 2020

Books for first time RV owners?

Good friends of ours just purchased their first travel trailer. They are total newbies, only tent camped their entire lives. They have two young children. I want to get them a book that covers the basics of owning and using and RV. They are not at all mechanically or electrically inclined. I also don't want to scare them with sky is falling type stuff.

Anybody have any recommendations?

P.S. I did search but did not turn anything up.

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  • ken56's avatar
    ken56
    Explorer
    Oct 28, 2020
    Deb and Ed M wrote:
    Amazon carries "the Idiot's Guide to RVing" and "RVing for Dummies"; plus they have trip logs, and guides like "The Next Exit", and National Park info books which are also nice to have.


    This. These are good books for newbies although I do agree youtube is the best resource along with introducing them to THIS forum. The people here are full of knowledge and wisdom because there is LOTS of experience behind the advice.

    Now, seeing you are on this forum asking then you must have some experience RVing. Be a mentor and help out by showing them things to maintain their trailer and inform them how to properly empty their tanks and such.
  • Allworth's avatar
    Allworth
    Explorer II
    Oct 28, 2020
    "RVing for Dummies" sounds insulting, but it is really a good starter.
  • Deb_and_Ed_M's avatar
    Deb_and_Ed_M
    Explorer II
    Oct 28, 2020
    Amazon carries "the Idiot's Guide to RVing" and "RVing for Dummies"; plus they have trip logs, and guides like "The Next Exit", and National Park info books which are also nice to have.
  • Sandia_Man's avatar
    Sandia_Man
    Explorer II
    Oct 28, 2020
    Youtube is great for just this as most can attest to, we did not know a thing about RVing when we got our first TT. Still, our maiden voyage was uneventful in terms of our rig's performance. For books I would think Amazon has it's share, other online book outlets should have some as well.
  • rlw999's avatar
    rlw999
    Explorer
    Oct 28, 2020
    These days there seems to be more information (and current information) on Youtube than in books and often it's easier to understand it with video than in print. Since you haveRV'ing experience, take a look at Youtube, find some channels that are giving good advice that makes sense to you and send some links over to your friends.

    Since I'm usually not out of internet/cellular range when camping, I usually just look stuff up as I need it. Waste valve leaking? I look up waste valve replacement. Slide stuck? I look up slide repair.

    Though sometimes I'll come here and ask for clarification or to get a second opinion.
  • Vw_triker's avatar
    Vw_triker
    Explorer
    Oct 28, 2020
    I watched a LOT of tube...
    You don't know what you need to know...until you need to know it
  • Lwiddis's avatar
    Lwiddis
    Explorer II
    Oct 28, 2020
    Internet. Send them websites to the basics. Here’s one...

    https://www.rv-dreams.com/rv-electrical.html

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