Category: DIY

Live by the Checklist

Where to start?

Hold on let me get out my checklist.

Frist, always use a checklist. When we first started out living in a RV, there were many things we had to remember. It was new to us, so the things that needed to happen before leaving was fairly long. But alas, I am getting ahead of myself.

When getting your first RV, you usually have a quick walk through only 10 or 15 minutes. In that 15 minutes, you are told where the water hook up is. How to turn on the pump. Where the dumps are at. Where the battery hook up is. When all is said and done, only thing that has happened is the delivery guy got his stuff checked off a checklist.

The dealership has everything closed up, ready to hook up, and they move it out to an open parking lot for you to drive off.

Back the truck up and hook up the hitch. Now what?

With our first 5th wheel, it was delivered, and set up. After seeing everything that needed to happen we asked the question, “What if we forget something?” In no way is the answer a good one.

In comes the Checklist.

We borrowed a Checklist from another RVer to get started. Made a few modifications to it. Made it our own so that it worked for our family and our rig.

Every trip we go down this checklist and make sure everything that needs to happen before we hook up is completed. A few things on this list are: Fuel up truck, close slides, make lunch, turn off A/C, wipe under the slides, check tire pressure. A few things you may not thing of: add water to tanks, open blinds, and secure the TV’s.

Everything on the list are things that may create a problem. May be an expensive error. May be a catastrophic mishap. We use this checklist to avoid breaking something unintentionally.

Below you’ll find a file linking to a checklist we have used and lived by. You can borrow our check list and make changes to it for your benefit.

We have also included this check list in the back of Our Travel Planner (click here to check it out) . A paperback book form of our planner that we use on a daily basis while planning our travels.

BOM-set-up-breakdown-check-listDownload

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What? You mean you DON’T have this in your car?

I know the saying “Expect to Self Rescue” is something a few of us know, and many have never heard before. So why not be at least somewhat ready for whatever life throws at you?

Most of the time the grey matter between the ears is enough to get through a lot of situations. I assume you think that way too? I know I’m not MacGyver, and I know that I need more than a paper clip and bubble gum to get out of a few situations.

As an RVer, I expect something to go wrong while out in the real world. To simplify the process of getting back on the road, or back to camping, or back to life, I make sure there are certain tools on hand in my truck at all times.

Lets take a look behind the seat:

  • Umbrella
  • Hiking stick
  • Tow Strap
  • BIG Jack
  • Lug Nut Wrench
  • Orange Tire Plugs/Plug Kit
  • Air Pump

Umbrella, well, gentlemen, you keep the umbrella in the vehicle so that the lady in your life doesn’t get her hair wet. Nope, not an emergency, but very important in the “happy wife, happy life” category.

Hiking Stick. This too is useful if you find yourself on the hiking trails. Oops, also not for emergency.

Tow Strap. Here is a piece of kit that you don’t need until you NEED it. RVing puts us sometimes off the beaten path, and hopefully close enough to others that if we need to get UN-stuck, we can use it to tie to another vehicle to get out of a sticky situation.

BIG Jack. I have tried to get a tire up off the ground using a 2 ton jack before, on a 10 ton trailer. It didn’t move, at all. So to a tool store to get a bigger jack. Now I have a 12 ton bottle jack that stays in the truck. I know that I can lift the truck or the trailer now.

Lug Nut Wrench. Bot the truck and the 5er has the same size lug nuts. A breaker bar and the proper size socket is always in the tool box. If you are unsure, or have multiple lug nut sizes, a 4-way wrench may be the way to go. Don’t forget the key if you have security or locking lug nuts on your car.

Orange Tire Plugs/Plug Kit. Orange plugs are heavy duty tire plugs. These are used for truck tires, and tires that are under higher pressure. The Plug Kit is used for plugging holes when they happen in a tire. In my plug kit, I keep a set of wire cutters to use to grab the nail or other object that is in the tire causing the leak.

Air Pump. The High Volume inflation pump can be used to air up tires that have a leak, or change pressures if temperatures have lowered your tire pressure. If you have a flat, add air, find out the ‘why’ your tire went flat, fix the hole, and fill to the tire pressure for your vehicle (see sticker in driver door jam.)

Of course, there is always roadside assistance, but once again…”Expect To Self Rescue.”

This is not the whole kit that I keep, but some of the bare basics that I make sure are close at hand. Let me know in the comments if there is something you MUST have, or something you’d like to learn to use.

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