Getting ready for a trip.

[HeeHawHoney]

We are getting ready to load the RV with the necessities for our Labor Day weekend at the beach. I am not looking forward to the packing process. When I am lugging bags, and laundry baskets, of supplies out of the house, is when one of the benefits of being full-time is very apparent.

My question is this:

Do any of you have any tips that make loading the RV a little easier?

[Sillybugs2]

We keep towels, bedding and all kitchen stuff all the time in rv. Camp chairs, rafts, grill etc we also use at home. Takes us only an hour or so to load clothes, food , chairs etc in it if rushing. Usually though we load leisurely since we park it a day ahead to get fridge cold.

[HeeHawHoney]

I see that I'm going to have to invest in "camper clothes". That makes perfect sense to have at least a couple of changes that live in the RV. We don't leave the fridge running all the time because we tried that and the freezer froze shut before we realized it was happening. As for sheets, towels, and pots and pans, we do have a few that live in the RV too. I also LOVE the flat dolly idea! That is exactly what we need. Just load it up a couple of times and save 50 trips back and forth to the house! Thank you all so much for the suggestions. I know what to do now.

[wannabervin]

Leaving the fridge on is a great idea, 'cept when you have to store the RV. Our street is too narrow to get our TT in and out of. Having to load and unload perishables is a pain!

[Campfire_Time]

We keep a 3 section checklist. One section is everything that's supposed to always be in the trailer. We verify it in the spring. The second section is, consumables, the stuff that stays in all season but needs to be replenished from time to time, like toilet paper. The third section is stuff we put in just before every trip, clothes, step ladder, laptop, tablets, etc.

[mileshuff]

Here in AZ we cannot keep food stocked in the pantry during the summer. The heat would quickly destroy it when trailer is not in use.

[Nutinelse2do]

We leave ours fully stocked. Everything kitchen and bathroom, also " camping clothes" are always in there.
Only thing to put in for a trip is any special clothing, electronics, and food.
Yup, have double of everything for kitchen, and some smaller trial sizes for bath products, but mostly full size items.

[rockhillmanor]

HeeHawHoney wrote:
We are getting ready to load the RV with the necessities for our Labor Day weekend at the beach. I am not looking forward to the packing process. When I am lugging bags, and laundry baskets, of supplies out of the house, is when one of the benefits of being full-time is very apparent.

My question is this:

Do any of you have any tips that make loading the RV a little easier?

I hear ya! The first year I had to unload to winterize for the winter I could not believe how much 'stuff' I had to unload!

Sometimes are situations are such that you can't leave a second set of stuff in the RV all the time. I hated all the back and forth trips to the RV AND those dang RV narrow steps also until I started using something as simple as a flat dolly.

You can buy a dolly at any box store or hardware store or have the DH make you one! Sheet of 3/4" plywood and screw 4 wheels on it!

Will cut your trips back and forth out to the RV down to one maybe two! AND when you finally head out on your trip YOU won't be all dead tired from schlepping all the stuff into the RV. :C

I resurrected a crate dolly from my basement and attached a sheet of plywood to it for moving stuff around. It also comes with me in the on the carrier behind the toad. I use for just about 'everything that needs to be moved' thereby protecting my back and knees.


Here's a moving dolly from Harbor Freight a whopping 12.00 bucks rated for 1,000 lbs! Same one can be bought at any big box stores.Screw a sheet of plywood on top attached a rope pull and you can schlep a ton of stuff out in ONE trip!

[beemerphile1]

newman fulltimer wrote:
leave it packed

No better answer. We keep both RVs packed except for clothing and perishables. Did require buying duplicates of some things.

[Opie431]

I hit the garage sales and cleaned house. Stocked my trailer from that and than bought what I still needed. Only fresh food has to be packed the last few days.
Oops, one more thing. Start having to put heavier clothes in for fall camping and possible snow in October.

[Campinghoss]

Our fiver is like a second home, fully stocked and always ready to go with the exceptions of items that will not keep either in the frig or pet food/items like milk, veggies and the sort.

[Janss]

We gather all the items somewhere in the house (living room or by the door). Spouse stays in the RV while I go back and forth to the house carrying the items to the RV, handing them off to spouse, who puts the items in their place. This way, I don't get too tired climbing in and out of RV several times. As others stated, we keep as many things in RV as possible. We have duplicates of things (like RV toothbrush and house toothbrush).

[loulou57]

We Leave hydro on while at home. Our freezer is always full of assorted meats etc. The fridge and pantry have all the staples. We only need to put in fresh fruit and veg before we head out. The kitchen is fully equipped, the batohrooms supplies, linens etc. Basically we can just hook up and go. When we return, anything that got used is replaced, laundry done and things back in TT. I wash the floor, clean bathroom etc.

[olfarmer]

My basement is always packed and the cookware and utensils are always in it but it still takes some time to pack food, groceries, medications, clothes, and a lot of miscellaneous stuff. I look at it this way: if we were staying in Hotels/motels I would have to lug 2 suitcases in every night and out every morning, this way I only have to pack and unpack once. 😉

[Escargot]

Yep. A couple of changes of season appropriate clothing, non-perishables, toiletries, the usual bedding and galley supplies live in my RV. All I have to pack is perishables and my electronic devices, and maybe an activity specific item or two. My RV is stored at an RV lot and I can still be on the road in less than an hour.

[toedtoes]

x100

Like dieseltruckdriver, I have "camper clothes", so unless I need something specific clothing-wise, all I have to pack is perishable foods, the pets, my camera gear and me.

It does feel a bit odd to get up and be ready to go not even 10 minutes later. I'm still trying to get used to the idea of sleeping in on travel day.