Traveling with a motorhome is one of the best ways to travel for cheap and have as much comfort as possible in a vehicle. It’s a way me and my boyfriend travel in Europe and we love the freedom this lifestyle provides us. But it’s rarely discussed on social media how important it is to prepare your motorhome for traveling and how much the level of readiness determines the safety and calmness of your everyday travel life.
So I made a list of 14 tips on how to technically prepare for traveling with a motorhome. With a little disclaimer that these tips come from personal experience living in a motorhome for over a year now and research done online, let’s dive into these recommendations!
Tires
Tires are one of the most important driving components that impact your driving performance, fuel consumption, braking safety, how comfortable the driving will be, and much more. Because of that, I would recommend checking if you need new tires and not postponing them for later to ensure safe and pleasant driving.
For a motorhome, if you plan on traveling for a longer time and in different weather situations, all-season tires could be the most convenient option. How often you should change tires depends on many factors such as the driving itself, weather conditions, and other aspects but make sure to not use tires older than 10 years.
To know when the tires need to be changed, you can check if the tread bar is even with the tire tread and if so, it’s a definite sign to change tires. Make sure to also check if there are any visible damages to the tires and take care if there are any. For a longer tire life, it is recommended to balance tires so that the weight distribution between them is even and to prevent any early signs of worn-out tires.
Brakes
Brakes are another important mechanism to check before starting any traveling. A motorhome is rather a large vehicle that needs a great and reliable braking system so that you feel safe and make sure that others are as well. Some things you can try at home without taking the car to a mechanic are to check if the brakes aren’t worn out, you can take the motorhome for a test drive on an empty road if it’s possible, see if there aren’t any vibrations while braking, test hand brake and how good the car holds while on a slight hill road.
If you experience any issues or uncertainty about the quality of brakes, I recommend taking the motorhome to a mechanic so that it can be properly checked and fixed if needed. Also, it’s good to check the brake fluid at the mechanic or change it if it’s low to prevent the brakes from getting soft.
Engine
Engine is an essential part of a car and is something that also needs to be checked before traveling. One way to check if the engine is in good shape is to see if there isn’t any smoke from the exhaust pipe. In any case, if there is smoke, you can check motor oil levels and if there are any oil leaks. Also, it is recommended to change motor oil ideally every six months up to one year. An engine air filter that keeps dirt from entering the engine is also recommended for checking and if needed, changing it. If the filter is dirty, it can impact the engine’s abilities, create smoke and even result in engine failure therefore once a year it’s better to change the filter to prevent any damage to the engine.
Leaks
Checking if there aren’t any leaks from the car is very important as it might be a sign that something needs to be fixed. The most common is oil leakage from the engine where small amounts are normal but if the leakage is unrestrained, it can be a sign that the engine needs to be checked. Other fluids that can leak from the car are engine coolant, transmission fluid, brake fluid, power steering fluid, or even fuel leak. If you notice any leaks, it’s important to identify what is causing them and fix the problem.
Apart from the car side of the motorhome, in the living part of it, there is also a built-in water system that needs to be checked for any leakage. In 2022 we bought our first motorhome that, when testing water, turned out to have multiple openings in the water pipe. Gladly, we tried everything before hitting the road because it turned out to be not so easy to fix our issue.
Testing equipment
If you have heating, water, and gas systems in the motorhome, it’s best to try everything out and make sure that all of that works flawlessly. While traveling it’s so much harder to fix something or find a part that you want to fix or change. You can never be fully prepared for all that can happen and something still might need to be repaired but testing and understanding the systems that are built in the motorhome on the road is more stressful. Before starting to travel I recommend trying to heat the motorhome so that in colder temperatures you will feel comfortable as well as try to cook a meal and try washing dishes there, and even take a shower to see if the water drains well.
When we bought our new motorhome this year, in 2023, we had our first camping experience not far from home with two other friends, and when we reached the camping spot and started to wash our hands and some dishes, we realized that water was just staying in the sink, not draining at all. And at that moment we couldn’t do anything since it was already dark outside and we had friends over but later we found the problem and fixed it but anyway, it was a thing that we didn’t check before and needed to deal with at an inconvenient place and time.
Body damage
The next thing to check to make sure that your motorhome is in excellent condition is to look out for any body damage such as dents, cracks, overcab quality, and if the walls of the motorhome are in good shape. Our old motorhome’s walls were made of aluminum coating and plywood coating in the interior that overtime, facing some leakage from the roof and the walls in wet weather, started to rot and disintegrate which became a huge problem in the living conditions that this kind of issue brings. We didn’t know to check the walls when we were first looking for a motorhome since we didn’t know that it could be a problem but now that we were dealing with it, we found out that a lot of older motorhomes have this issue and it’s something to consider when purchasing an older vehicle.
Lights and fuses
Checking if the car lights are working properly is another important task. A car needs to have working headlights, tail lights, indicator lights, and license plate lights to be safe on the road and also to not get any fines in case of faulty light situations. You can check how well the headlights as well as fog lights work yourself by turning them on and checking if they are evenly lit and bright. For tail lights, you may need to ask for someone else’s help to see if brake lights work well enough. Number plate bulbs and turn signals are important for driving and for participating in road traffic therefore it’s unmissable to check if they work properly.
Another thing to check is car fuses that protect electrical wiring in a car and indicate if something goes wrong with the electrical system. A blown car fuse in most cases is caused by too much electrical current flowing through a circuit. It is recommended to change fuses every ten years but checking regularly if everything’s in order may prevent any damage to the car.
Electrical system
Nowadays, motorhomes in Europe have two different electrical setups – a 12-volt system that supplies electricity for devices like lights in the interior, ventilators, water pump, and other small things, paired with a 220-volt system that gets powered by a generator or electrical hookup plug. Another electrical setup is with the 12-volt system that gets paired with a solar panel setup that depends on the amount of batteries and solar panels that you use but usually you can get 12 volts that the power inverter converts from the battery where the 12 volts get stored, to 220 volts so that you can charge or use devices that need more electricity.
Since you will need electricity while traveling, it’s very important to check if the electrical system works properly and that you get familiar with all the components of the system. In older motorhomes you won’t probably encounter a solar panel system unless the previous owner installed it therefore before traveling you will likely want to do it since it’s much easier to get electricity from solar panels than using a generator or finding hookup plugs.
Rust and mold
Rust can be an enemy to any car – an ignored rust can greatly damage the body of a car by producing holes and is something that needs to be taken care of as soon as you see first signs of it or – small bubbles under the paint of the car. It forms commonly in humid areas with high moisture and salt amounts. Frequent car washes, fixing any scratches or dents as soon as possible, and checking your car regularly can help prevent rust from forming on the car.
Mold is another nemesis that you may need to deal with. When preparing your vehicle for travel, I recommend checking if there isn’t any way that moisture can get in your motorhome and if so, fixing the problem so that there isn’t any way that mold can become a larger issue.
With our first motorhome we sadly very soon encountered mold at various places but because we had the motorhome’s walls in very poor condition, we couldn’t escape the mold problem that easily. Usually, it is recommended to clean the moldy areas immediately with bleach or special mold products but if the main source of moisture isn’t fixed, the problem will occur again.
Safety
Feeling safe inside your motorhome means also having devices that can help in emergencies. A carbon monoxide detector that can help to notice carbon monoxide leakage which is very dangerous in confined spaces and a fire extinguisher that can help in small fire cases and should be with you no matter what are two of the most important ones to have with you in a motorhome.
Read more here about the things to have before traveling full-time with a motorhome in Europe.
Duplicate keys
Duplicate keys are important no matter if you live in a motorhome or a house. Unfortunately, we can’t always guarantee that we won’t lose keys or something else happens, therefore it’s an assuring way to help yourself in case of an emergency. Creating spare keys before anything bad happens is also more cost-effective since you won’t need to call for an emergency locksmith for any services. Keys can also get broken hence it’s best to have spare ones with you. Also, make sure that the spare key set is placed in a safe and secured place so that no one unwanted can find them.
Privacy
Something that may seem unnecessary at first but very important when traveling and staying at different places, either a campsite or a free parking space in a city, you will want some kind of privacy and assurance that no one on the street can lurk inside your windows.
When we tried to camp in the city with the motorhome for the first time, now I want to laugh at how unprepared we were – we didn’t even have curtains to put up because we wanted to have different ones and took down the ones that the motorhome came with when we bought it. So when it got dark and we realized that everyone passing by was looking inside, we put some fabric on the windows that we secured with duct tape. After that we grasped the importance of privacy and that the ability to shut the windows and have peace of mind that no one is watching you, really is important.
Securing belongings before driving
Think of how you store things while you are driving so that nothing breaks or gets damaged while driving. This doesn’t apply only to dishes and food but almost to everything that isn’t mounted in a motorhome or doesn’t have a dedicated, stable place. In our new motorhome, we have a table that isn’t fixed to the floor so that you can move it to one or other side but while driving we need to put a rope, fixed to the chairs by the table, so that while driving the table cannot slide and damage something.
But we didn’t know that it could be a problem until while driving, we needed to suddenly brake at a red light and the table slid into our closet section and scratched the surface of it. It isn’t a big deal but since then we have paid even more attention to securing everything before the drive so it’s safe, we can completely focus on the road, and our belongings are protected.
Tools
And finally, an important thing to check before traveling is if you have the necessary tools, for example, for fixing a tire issue or inherently any basic tool that can help you if there are some minor issues that you can deal with without professional help. Some basic essential tools include various sizes of screwdrivers, wrench sets, ratchet and socket sets, trolley jack, pliers, torch, and hammer. It is best to equip yourself with these tools before the journey since you can never be sure if, in the needful moment, a hardware or car tool store will be available near you.
Overall, it might seem like a lot of testing and checking but you will be thankful while traveling to not worry about all the little details and to be able to feel confident that you are safe and ready for any adventures ahead.
When we bought our second motorhome this year, we prepared to start traveling for 2 months. Of course, we didn’t spend all that time only preparing the motorhome but generally, it was quite a lot of work and time put into it so that we could feel comfortable and ready to leave so I can guarantee that dedicating all that time for the motorhome before leaving is so worth it.
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