How to Make RV Travel Days Easier | Tips from Full-Time RVers

Travel Days: Our Love-Hate Relationship With Life on the Move

We’ve been traveling full time now for roughly three years, and you know what? We love traveling. It’s really exciting to be in a new area, exploring the sights and delving into the culture that makes each place unique. It’s amazing, honestly, and we feel so blessed to live this kind of life. 

But you know what we don’t love?

Travel days. 

Seems weird, right? Loving to travel, but not loving the actual traveling part? Maybe we’re a bit of an exception to that old saying, “It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.” Because truthfully, we enjoy the destinations way more than the journey to get there.

And in all honesty, that’s kind of our fault.

We tend to get overly excited about where we’re going next. So, we rush the packing process, thinking we’ll just get everything ready quickly and hit the road. But that usually means we’re a little low on water, low on food, and just generally underprepared. Sometimes we don’t fully think through where we’ll stay for the night, especially when we’re boondocking. And more than once, we’ve pushed ourselves too far on drive days—too many miles, too few breaks. You can probably guess how that ends… cranky kids, exhausted, parents, and a serious need for a reset once we finally arrive.

But hey, the good news is: we’ve learned from it.

One of the beautiful things about living on the road is that you’re constantly figuring things out. What works, what doesn’t. And we’re learning that if we want to love every part of this life—not just the places we land but also the getting-there part—we need to make some changes.

So here’s what we’re working on: making travel days smoother, less stressful, and maybe even (dare we say?) enjoyable.

Tips We’re Putting Into Practice for Better Travel Days

These are some of the strategies we’re trying (or plan to try) to take the chaos out of travel days. If you’re new to RV life—or if you’ve been doing it a while and just need a fresh perspective—hopefully some of these will help you, too.

1. Start Packing the Day Before

This one is so simple, and yet it took us a long time to embrace it. When we wait until the morning of departure to do everything, it turns into a frantic scramble. But when we start packing the day before—getting the outside gear stowed, doing a quick tidy-up inside, securing things that might shift during the drive, it’s a game changer. Morning us is a lot happier when evening us did some of the work.

2. Stock Up on Food and Water

It’s amazing how many times we’ve left a campsite low on essentials. We tell ourselves, “Oh, we’ll just grab something quick when we stop,” but if you’ve ever traveled long stretches in remote areas, you know that’s not always an option, especially when you’re in a big RV. Now, we make it a point to fill our fresh water tank before leaving (especially if we’re heading into boondocking territory) and pack up plenty of snacks, easy meals, and drinks. Nobody wants to be hangry while trying to merge onto the highway in a large RV.

3. Plan Your Overnight Stops (At Least a Little)

We love the spontaneity of RV life, but a little planning goes a long way especially on travel days. Even just having a few possible overnight spots pinned on a map makes a big difference. Whether it’s a rest stop, a Harvest Hosts location, a Cracker Barrel, or a dispersed camping spot, knowing you’ve got options can really cut down the stress if things take longer than expected (and let’s be honest, they often do).

4. Keep Drive Days Shorter

This has been a tough one for us to implement, but we’re trying. It’s so tempting to knock out a big stretch and “make good time,” but the truth is, we’re all happier when we limit our drive time. The sweet spot for us seems to be around 5-6 hours on the road, with some flexibility for breaks. It keeps the mood lighter, the kids entertained (or at least less bored), and the driver more focused.

5. Create a Travel Day Checklist

This has been huge. Instead of relying on memory, we’ve created a go-to checklist that we run through before we hit the road. It covers everything from “lock the fridge” to “check tire pressure” to “secure the coffee pot.” It might sound over-the-top, but trust us—it’s better than realizing you left your outdoor rug behind at the last campground (again).

6. Give Yourself Grace

This one might be the most important. Things go wrong. You miss turns, get stuck in traffic, deal with unexpected detours or bad weather. Kids cry. Tensions rise. That’s life on the road. But we’re trying to remind ourselves: it’s okay. It’s all part of the journey. We’re not aiming for perfect, just peaceful. And every rough travel day gives us more wisdom for the next one.

Final Thoughts

We love this life. The freedom, the adventure, the ability to go wherever we feel called that’s the dream we’re living. But that doesn’t mean every single part of it is easy or perfect. Travel days have been our nemesis, but we’re learning, growing, and slowly figuring out how to make them work for us instead of against us.

If you’re feeling the same way, like travel days are more stress than joy, you’re not alone. And it’s not a sign that RV life isn’t for you. It’s just part of the rhythm of the road. A rhythm you can tweak and improve over time.

We’ll keep you posted as we continue fine-tuning our routine. And if you’ve got any travel day tips you swear by, we’d love to hear them! Reach out, we’re always up for learning from fellow road warriors.

Happy (and hopefully smoother) travels!