Camping is an American favorite. You can travel wherever you want, and it’s typically a lot cheaper than booking places to stay – not to mention, it can feel like a second home!
What many people don’t realize, however, is that there are camper/RV-specific laws that need to be followed while traveling. These tips for driving an RV will get you on the road safer, and sooner.
For instance, in some states (and more being added), drivers cannot text and drive at the same time – unless they’d like to get a ticket. While we wouldn’t advise being on your phone while driving any vehicle, it can be especially dangerous while driving with the added length and weight an RV or camper can bring.
Another law that varies by state will be open container laws. Because campers can have refrigerators (and thus, alcoholic drinks), it’s important to understand the state laws along your route. As always, it’s important to keep these drinks far away from the driver (even if there are no laws about open containers in the state that you are in).
When driving an RV, it’s important that all passengers stay seated and buckled during the drive. Many states require extra brakes when towing an RV/Camper and some even have limitations on height, weight, and width.
Before ever taking your camper or RV on the road, make sure you know how to properly reverse and how to drive around corners. Most of us are used to smaller vehicles for everyday use, so upgrading to a larger one can be tricky and take practice. You quickly realize that commanding an RV is nothing like driving a car or even a truck. You should learn as much about what driving an RV is like as early as possible. This way you’ll be prepared for every scenario, be that bumpy terrain, tight turns, or small parking spaces.
Along with practicing before you hit the highway for your first road trip, be sure to adjust your mirrors, watch the weather forecast, go slow, check that all your lights are working, keep far right, know when to break, keep your distance, know your tail swing and of course, never drive when you are tired.
For a breakdown by state of laws that you need to have knowledge of, check out this resource:
https://www.rvtripwizard.com/rv-info/state-road-laws.php
