Packing your RV for a trip is a lot like painting a masterpiece. Sometimes it’s best to start with a paint-by-numbers kit to learn the basics before venturing out on your own. Then, with practice, you can create your own work of art.

Whether you’re new to RVing or an experienced traveler, the following tips will, we hope, make you a better “artist.” Culled from trial and error and more than a few “necessity-is-the-mother-of-invention” experiences, we’re confident they’ll help you hone your packing skills.

Distribution of Weight
This is the first and most critical component in the “art” of packing. When loading an RV, you want to place the heaviest weight in the center between the front and rear axles. Putting heavy objects in the lower compartments and the middle keeps a good center of gravity, which helps to conserve fuel.

The amount of weight you’re hauling will affect gas mileage. In fact, mileage can be reduced by up to 1 percent for every 100 lbs. you carry, depending on the RV size.

To keep the total weight at a minimum, take only the food and supplies you’ll need before you reach your first destination, and do the same with your water tanks—a gallon of water weighs eight pounds. Keep the levels of your sewage tanks just high enough to allow chemicals to work.

Once you’re packed, but before heading off, take your coach to a public scale and weigh it to make sure you are not overloaded. This also provides an accurate weight for calculating tire inflation pressures.

Kitchen
The best way to save space in the kitchen is to develop a meal plan before you leave so you only bring the staples and cooking equipment needed. Going through your kitchen at home and making notes of the items you use every day will make this much easier.

To make the most out of your kitchen space, many RVers recommend using zip-top bags to store pantry items like cereal, pasta, and rice since they take up less room. Plastic grocery bags can be stored in empty paper towel cores that are then easily tucked inside cabinets. You can also use your microwave and oven to store bread and other small items.

Make sure you pack your items tightly so nothing moves while you ramble on down the road. Use plastic storage containers and stack them on shelves to make efficient use of large cabinets. This also protects small items from shifting while on the road.

To prevent breakage, use bubble wrap, ScootGuard, or paper plates in between good dishes to keep them from shifting. Cutting ScootGuard into squares and placing below individual stacks of dishes instead of lining the entire shelf helps keep things more stable. Most experienced RVers don’t pack much glass, and with the variety of attractive plastic drink ware available, there’s no need to take the risk. For good measure, use rubber bands or bungee cords to keep cabinets closed while on the road.


Living Area
The most innovative suggestion we encountered is to stuff homemade pillows with extra blankets or towels. What a great way to store extra linens! Few RVs have room for a filing cabinet, yet no matter how short the trip, you usually have to take some personal papers with you.

An effective way to manage the “paper pile” is to categorize and store papers in page protectors that open at top. These easily slide into binders and keep everything neat and organized. Adding under-shelf baskets to the overhead cabinets creates room to store the binders, directories, and other books. A small fireproof safe in the bottom of the closet provides secure storage for important papers, extra cash, and jewelry.

Bathroom
A small box or plastic storage container holds items you need occasionally—like cleaners, a blow dryer, and toilet paper—and can be stored in the cabinet under the sink.

If your medicine cabinet is on the wall, you can cut apart cutlery trays to keep prescription bottles and other small items from moving while on the road. For corner cabinets, one RVer suggests cutting Plexiglas strips and taping them to the shelves to prevent everything from landing in the toilet after a trip.

Bedroom
A boon to shoe lovers is the new bed skirt shoe rack that attaches to the bottom of your bed, leaving more room in closets or under the bed. You’ll have a lot of extra room in your wardrobe if you use expandable hangers. Experienced RVers recommend taking only the clothes you need and limiting them to wash and wear and permanent press.

Two sets of sheets and towels should be enough, and extras can be stored beneath the bed. Remember to pack an alarm clock!

Tools and Emergency Equipment
Make a tool kit that includes all of the basics and be sure to include leveling blocks. Many home stores sell a pre-made kit that has everything you’ll need.

Your emergency gear should include a jack, lug wrench, flashlight, flares, first aid kit, wheel blocks, and fire extinguisher. Keep everything in one easily accessible place and place an extra fire extinguisher in the kitchen. Take along maps, a CB radio (if possible), extra oil for your RV, a gas can, rags, a water hose, lanterns, wooden matches, plenty of batteries, a portable radio, and wood planks to prevent your RV from rolling when parked.

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When you are all done packing, if you want to find things easily on the road, draw a diagram of the RV once everything’s in place. We know you have lots of other tips and strategies for packing your RV, so leave your strategies in the comment section under this article or go directly to the forums section to share with your fellow RVers! BRV