Jay Du Temple’s First RV Trip: Tips and Tricks for RV Newbies
This year, I toured across Canada for my one-man show, Fin. But this wasn’t a regular comedy tour… I wanted to make things interesting. I ran and biked between my show stops to help raise awareness and support for the Douglas Foundation for mental health, a cause very close to my heart.
There were a lot of ‘firsts’ for me on this trip. Over 77 days, I biked and ran over 7,000 km’s, performed shows in 16 cities, and helped raise over $150,000 for the Douglas Institute. It was also my first time RVing! Here are some important things I learned along the way.
1. What are slide-outs?
Honestly, I had no idea what slide-outs were! Don’t be afraid to open the Slide-outs on your RV – just check to make sure the coast is clear and there’s nothing in the way before they open up. This takes a total of 10 seconds and almost immediately double your living space inside the RV. By the end, we were opening the slide-outs pretty much every stop and it was so much more comfortable.
2. Driving is easier than I thought.
Driving the RV looked intense at first, but it was so much easier than I imagined. And if someone else can help you from outside when you want to park or get out of somewhere tight, you can go anywhere! We managed to get it in and out of downtown Toronto easily!
3. Food planning is key.
Food and meal planning is important for long cross-country trips. Equally as important is packing and storing your food in the RV so it doesn’t fall and roll all over the floor when you take a sharp turn! Our coffee machine made a couple backflips from the counter when we suddenly had to break.
4. Clean your black water tank.
Don’t forget to do the proper clean cycle after emptying your black water tank. We forgot once and the smell that followed us was horrible!
5. Bring some coins with you.
A lot of campgrounds still have paying showers or washing machines with loonies and quarters. We were on a tight schedule, sometimes arriving late and leaving early, out of business hours to get change at the camping office.
6. Create a routine.
Make sure to establish a routine for setting up and departing a campground. At first, we were a bit more “on the go” and forgot once or twice to close the awning or some side doors before leaving… rookie mistake.
7. Google is your friend.
We planned a lot of our driving routes, gas station stops, and parking options in advance by using Google Street View to check if it was a tight space for the RV or not. We even checked what gas station to go to according to the space to maneuver around the pumps. Circle K usually had the best setups.
8. Trash piles up.
One of the biggest challenges we had was our trash management. With the food, sports equipment, high-level endurance products, and additional gear, it was kind of messy when we weren’t taking care of the trash right away.
9. Going the distance.
We were really surprised at how long all of our RV resources can last… gas, propane, water, electricity. We had so much more autonomy than we thought. I think we filled our propane 4 or 5 times in 11 weeks of being pretty much full time in a RV.
10. Let’s do this all over again!
Overall, our experience driving around the country was amazing. We saw so many beautiful places and slept in all kind of environments. The RV made us discover a whole new side of our country. Let’s be honest, sleeping in BlackStrap Provincial Park (SK), with rain drizzling on your roof… it’s a vibe.
