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Introduction

One afternoon in late summer of 2020, our friend and neighbor Lora knocked on our door to tell us out of the clear blue sky that she was selling her house and everything in it and hitting the road in an RV. Her teenage daughter had gone off to college earlier in the year. Their huge five-bedroom house was way too big, way too expensive, and way too empty for a woman living all by herself to maintain. So, she sold it in the midst of the real estate boom of COVID-19, and she held a huge garage sale to get rid of her unneeded furniture and a lifetime of assorted accumulated stuff.

It all happened so fast that we couldn’t quite believe it. Later that week, she pulled into our driveway with the used Class C motorhome she’d bought and christened “Big Betty.” She was headed first for Salem, Massachusetts, a place she’d always wanted to see, with her two giant sheepdogs, her small auxiliary dog, and a cat. A small party formed in the rain in our driveway, friends and neighbors seeing her off. Lora is a pretty, upscale sort of lady, gregarious and caring, and she’d seen many of us through some major crises. The entire neighborhood hated seeing her go.

There was no route she intended to follow, no trail leading her to some destination, no deadline to get anywhere by some specific date. The five of them — Lora and her four furry companions — were going out to see the country; meet new people; discover new cities, villages, and landscapes; and go wherever her whims and Big Betty carried her. With no more mortgage payment, property taxes, insurance, homeowner’s association fees, utility payments, lawn care, or other assorted home maintenance to pay for, suddenly being on the road meant she could afford this lifestyle almost indefinitely. “I’ll try it for a couple of months and see if I like it,” she cheerily said as she left town. As of this writing, Lora has been gone almost eight months, and she’s still traveling.

When history books get written about the 21st century, we suspect there will be a big fat asterisk at the natural demarcation point of the year 2020 — before COVID and after COVID. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to come up with a single event, industry, or activity that wasn’t dramatically altered by the national and global shutdowns that accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic. That included the world of recreational vehicles (RVs). The RV business had already been enjoying an uptick in sales and interest for several years, but when every other form of vacation travel shut down because of pandemic restrictions, RV dealerships sold out of nearly everything on their lots in record time, and parks and campgrounds in all 50 states were packed solid. And in 2021, the RV industry anticipated manufacturing well over half a million new trailers, motorhomes, and campers — the highest annual number in recorded history.

We may know our friend as Lora, but her name is Legion, to paraphrase a famous parable, and she is many. More than 11 million American households own an RV today, and over a million Americans are living in an RV full-time. It’s for Lora and all those other new, first-time RVers like her that we decided to write this book.

With so many millions of people of all ages setting out on their first RV vacation each year, our goal is to give you enough knowledge that you won’t feel overwhelmed by the vocabulary, the equipment, and the written and unwritten rules of the road. Whether you’re planning to take the occasional weekend adventure, or you’ve got itchy feet to go and keep right on going, owning an RV should be a fun experience. But to keep it fun, there is a lot to be aware of before you even set foot on a dealership’s parking lot and even more when you take your first trip. All the things we learned the hard way are in this book, in the hope that you’ll never panic and just keep on rolling.

About This Book

Shopping for and camping in an RV is supposed to be fun, so we want you to feel informed and confident from the first time you enter a dealership to the time you leave on your inaugural camping trip. In this book, we acquaint you with the types and sizes of every RV imaginable — what they’re called and what makes them ideal or unsuitable for your situation. We help you decide whether your rig should tow or be towed, and we even tell you what a toad is. We arm you with RV driving tips and explain the mystic forces of weight distribution. You get the lowdown on your RV’s systems for power, gas, heating, and air conditioning, and we even give you the straight scoop about water and poop.

By the time you finish this book, you’ll be able to hitch up, hit the road without it hitting back, and set up camp like you’ve been doing it for years. Most important, we help you decide whether the RV lifestyle is for you — whether you intend on camping for a few weeks a year, living on the road full time, or something in between.

Because of the way this book is laid out for beginners, seasoned RVers may think there’s nothing here for them. But there’s a use for it you may not have considered: Perhaps you’re the captain of your rig, the master of all you survey from the throne of your driver’s seat. But if you’re traveling with a spouse, a friend, a partner, or perhaps your teenage kids who don’t know how your RV operates, we hope you’ll pass this book to them before your next big trip. Life on the road is so much easier when you have a helping hand or two to keep things running smoothly. If you don’t have the time, patience, or opportunity to teach your traveling companions how to operate or troubleshoot your RV and its systems, let us do it for you!

There’s a practical side to sharing this book with your traveling companion, too: Unexpected accidents can happen on the road. RVers and campers frequently seek out the perfect spot in the wilderness, far from civilization. But no one is indestructible or entirely bulletproof. If something were to happen to you as the principal driver and your traveling partner had to take over the steering wheel suddenly, they would need to know the basics of how everything in your rig works.

Within this book, you may note that some web addresses break across two lines of text. If you’re reading this book in print and want to visit one of these web pages, simply key in the web address exactly as it’s noted in the text, pretending as though the line break doesn’t exist. If you’re reading this as an e-book, you’ve got it easy — just click the web address to be taken directly to the web page.

Foolish Assumptions

RVs & Campers For Dummies starts from scratch, as though you know almost nothing about RVs, so we make a couple of presumptuous assumptions:

 We assume you’re toying with the notion of having an RV of your own, or at least renting one to see if you like it.

 We assume you’ve at least owned your own automobile and know how to drive, but we don’t assume you’ve ever towed anything in your life.

 We don’t assume you know your Class B from your fifth wheel or your fresh water from your black water (and trust us, you don’t want to mix them up).

 We don’t assume you’re mechanically inclined or that you know which end of the hammer gets used for installing screws.

Icons Used in This Book

Throughout this book, you’ll find icons (little pictures in the margin) that will help you spot material of special interest. Here’s a guide to what the icons mean:

Anything marked with the Tip icon is a bit of advice that’s handy or helpful to know, like a shortcut or a practical suggestion to save you time, effort, money, or a headache. Owning your rig makes you part of the rolling confraternity of fellow RVers, and we all like to share our hard-won tips and experiences “for those who may follow.”

The Technical Stuff icon points out interesting information but not essential to understanding the subject at hand. If you’re in a hurry, you can skip anything marked with this icon.

The Remember icon marks stuff you probably should commit to memory or at least write on the back of your hand.

Anything marked with the Warning icon is important enough to warrant either a “Don’t do this!” or “Be sure to… .” We probably learned it the hard way, so you’re the lucky beneficiary of our bungling.

Beyond the Book

In addition to the material in the print or e-book you’re reading right now, this product also comes with some access-anywhere goodies on the web. Check out the free Cheat Sheet for a quick rundown of the different types of RVs and campers, tips on renting an RV, advice on what you can and can’t do in rest areas, and information on where to come for free. To access the Cheat Sheet, go to www.dummies.com and type RVs & Campers For Dummies Cheat Sheet in the Search box.

Visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/rvsfordummies for updates, videos, tips, tricks, and more.

Where to Go from Here

Like all For Dummies books, ours is designed so you can read it from cover to cover. (We always advise everyone to buy one copy for every bathroom.) Or you can head straight for the topics you’re most interested in — use the table of contents and index to find what you need.

If you’re looking at motorhomes, you won’t need to read Chapter 7 on tow vehicles. If you’re already familiar with the various types of RVs that are available, Chapter 2 may bore you to smithereens. If you climb into your rig, turn on the power, and nothing happens, sit down at the picnic table and thumb your way to Chapter 14 about electrical systems. It’s your book now, so use it as you see fit! There’s a lot of information stuffed into these pages.

Finally, before we jump in, a word of caution about this or any other book about RV ownership: Never make a potentially expensive purchase based solely on something you read in a book or online. Depending on your personal circumstances, investing in an expensive RV may very well be the biggest purchase you’ll ever make, with the possible exception of a house. We know everybody has their moments of weakness and susceptibility to pretty looks and a smooth line of patter, and your first RV can be a lot like your first teenage romantic crush: The heart wants what it wants. But throughout this book, we repeatedly urge you to avoid impulse buying and do lots of research before you hand over your hard-earned cash. You’ll be glad you did. Happy travels!