How do you make it easy to load and go?

[daleyocum]

Every time we get the trailer out of storage it seems to take us days before we are actually on the road. Our trailer is stored about ten minutes away at a RV storage facility. Usually we bring it to our house to clean and load (HOA limit is 3 days but sometimes we’ve stretched it to 5.) but we could load it at the storage lot as well. It seems to take us forever and we’re exhausted by the time we’re on the road. We spend the first week of our trip just getting over getting ready for our trip!

The trailer is always loaded with most things except, majorly, clothes and food yet somehow this process of going on any trip takes us as much as four days.

We’re doing something wrong. I don’t hear lots of other people talking about this. Any advice on organization or adjusting our process/mindset? We’d like to be in a position where we can leave a day after we decide to go but we are far from that now.

[karenjude]

Make a grocery list and shop the day before you plan to leave. Only buy things for the trip, not your house. Load the groceries from your car directly into the trailer. Now you’re all set to go food wise.

[SeaLevel]

We also just need to load clothes and food, and it takes us about an hour or two - but there is pre-work involved.

Over the past few years we've figured out our various meal menus, and we make a list of what we have versus what we need to buy. Then the day before we do our food shopping, and then work off those lists for making sure we load everything. We plan for up to about 5 days of meals in advance, plus any extra snacks etc., and then shop for what we need while traveling.

For the clothes we consider the expected weather for where we're headed and then bring enough clothes for up to two weeks. We do laundry as needed while traveling.

When we get back from a trip we clean the trailer inside and out - never leaving anything in the trailer that could attract pests. That way we don't have to clean anything when leaving for a trip.

[daleyocum]

Originally Posted by SeaLevel

We also just need to load clothes and food, and it takes us about an hour or two - but there is pre-work involved.

Over the past few years we've figured out our various meal menus, and we make a list of what we have versus what we need to buy. Then the day before we do our food shopping, and then work off those lists for making sure we load everything. We plan for up to about 5 days of meals in advance, plus any extra snacks etc., and then shop for what we need while traveling.

For the clothes we consider the expected weather for where we're headed and then bring enough clothes for up to two weeks. We do laundry as needed while traveling.

When we get back from a trip we clean the trailer inside and out - never leaving anything in the trailer that could attract pests. That way we don't have to clean anything when leaving for a trip.

That’s a good idea to just have a fixed menu for the first five days and have a list for those things.

[Landshark]

Just as dishes and pots and pans live in the trailer, basic items that I am very likely to need live there also: light and heavy jackets, pajamas, hiking boots/shoes, driving shoes, duplicate toiletries, bedding. So all I need to pack are the clothes that I would have to take out to wash anyway: jeans, tees, socks, unders. For weekend or short trips, I don't wash the bedding until I have several nights piled up on them.

Another problem with trailer storage away from home is that the fridge won't be cold when you arrive with food to stock it. So you either have to make a trip out to it the night before to start the fridge, or take a cooler with your refrigeratables (is that a word??). Easiest to take a cooler: pack it at home and stow it someplace where it won't tip over in the trailer; makes your getaway faster. Then you have the cooler for beer on the trip once the fridge is cold enough to load!

Hope this helps. Vivian

[waninae39]

make a checklist and use categories ie BBQ, kitchen tools, bedding, outside, towing, food, sundries, .add and subtract from the list each trip.

mark on the list if you used the item

over time, you will notice items you bring, but never use

turn on the fridge the day before. add ice to the freezer

[KCurtis]

Two days before we depart I turn on the refrigerator to allow it to cool down. We also pickup the totes from our trailer that day. We pack them with all of the clothing, towels, etc... that we will need. We then shop for any groceries we will be taking the day before and we take it to the trailer, along with any other items we'll need inside the trailer that are at our house include the totes. I then check the tires and torque the lug nuts, batteries etc....

I pack our Truck a day or two before we depart. It helps that our truck is only used for pulling the Airstream. We stage the other items in totes I simply load up into the backseat or the bed of the truck. A majority of what we need in the truck is left there from trip to trip. We have a topper on the bed of our truck and that has helped us tremendously since it keeps the bed nice and dry.

Doing all of these things really simplifies what we need to do on the day of departure. Like you, we decided the last thing we wanted to do is spend a lot of time and energy on the departure day.

[daleyocum]

Originally Posted by KCurtis

Two days before we depart I turn on the refrigerator to allow it to cool down. We also pickup the totes from our trailer that day. We pack them with all of the clothing, towels, etc... that we will need. We then shop for any groceries we will be taking the day before and we take it to the trailer, along with any other items we'll need inside the trailer that are at our house include the totes. I then check the tires and torque the lug nuts, batteries etc....

I pack our Truck a day or two before we depart. It helps that our truck is only used for pulling the Airstream. We stage the other items in totes I simply load up into the backseat or the bed of the truck. A majority of what we need in the truck is left there from trip to trip. We have a topper on the bed of our truck and that has helped us tremendously since it keeps the bed nice and dry.

Doing all of these things really simplifies what we need to do on the day of departure. Like you, we decided the last thing we wanted to do is spend a lot of time and energy on the departure day.

So it sounds like you’ve found it’s better not to bring the trailer to your house but you bring things to it?

[Mollysdad]

Keep clothes in the RV. Even shoes, hats, gloves, sweatshirts.
I find I don't need as much as I stored.
Keep dishes, pots and pans, radios, alarm clocks, toiletries stored in the Airstream.
Keep a toaster and coffee maker as well as an instant pot, slow cooker, and electric heater stored.
Do laundry when you return, not right before leaving.
Keep the bed made.
Stuff that goes in the truck lives in the truck. Tools, air pump, gas can, patio mat all have Action Packers.
Start the fridge three days ahead. Also check the tire pressures.
Buy groceries and store them the day before. Store a case of bottled water. Don't forget a bag of ice. I hate getting to my first stop and find I can't have a cold drink.
I even remove the hitch lock and just 'dummy lock' it. (I'm in a secure spot.)
You want to get where you only need to hitch and go on travel day.

[mythbuster88]

Originally Posted by daleyocum

Every time we get the trailer out of storage it seems to take us days before we are actually on the road. Our trailer is stored about ten minutes away at a RV storage facility. Usually we bring it to our house to clean and load (HOA limit is 3 days but sometimes we’ve stretched it to 5.) but we could load it at the storage lot as well. It seems to take us forever and we’re exhausted by the time we’re on the road. We spend the first week of our trip just getting over getting ready for our trip!

The trailer is always loaded with most things except, majorly, clothes and food yet somehow this process of going on any trip takes us as much as four days.

We’re doing something wrong. I don’t hear lots of other people talking about this. Any advice on organization or adjusting our process/mindset? We’d like to be in a position where we can leave a day after we decide to go but we are far from that now.

Vacations are a lot of work. And camping is more work. Preparing for a long journey in your trailer should take a few days. Thats the truth. Plus your rig is coming out of storage so thats even more work.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Same as Mollysdad....clothes mostly kept in the AS.
We have found over the years that most of the household wares do not adapt well to AS use. You will likely end up finding the same.
Any specific trip needs can the listed and loaded pretty quickly.
Lastly...we tow to the market for the eats & drinks.
Finely...off we go.👍

Bob
🇺🇸

[Paprika]

Before I became a full-timer, I always kept my RV as ready to go as possible. (This is especially useful if you're concerned about using it as an escape pod in case of natural disaster.)

I kept it stocked with non-perishable foods (pasta, canned goods, dried foods, etc.). Of course essentials such as cookware, towels, soap, and so on were already there--I had the rig supplied with items that were optimized for RVing.

As for clothes, whenever an item of my regular clothing started to get a little old, I'd move it to the RV and buy a new replacement. After all, I wasn't trying to impress other campers with my stylishness, so slightly worn clothes were fine for camping trips. I kept basic clothing for all seasons in the rig, always with layering in mind.

Finally, when returning from an outing, if at all possible I'd dump, fill with water and propane, and then top off the gas tank when I got close to home. That way the rig would always be ready to roll. All I had to do was go to storage with my laptop and my phone, head out, and stop along the way for fresh produce and milk.

[A W Warn]

It usually takes me 3 or 4 hours total to actually load, usually the afternoon before morning of departure, and a few minutes for checking for safety issues.

For me, the trick is to plan for departure and also getting ready to go again ASAP upon returning, having a routine to execute the plans, and keep the trailer ready to leave on a moment's notice while it is in storage.

I don't wait till just before leaving. A few days or so after returning from a trip I go back into the trailer with freshly laundered clothing, that stays in the trailer, bedding, and towels all get put back in their proper place. Replace non-perishable food and other needed supplies at this time. We keep a written shopping list as we travel just for this purpose.

Do necessary cleaning, maintenance, and repairs between trips, not when preparing to leave. Off season is for projects that take more than a day or two. If any item is needed for every trip it stays in the trailer, and is not shared for home use.

We plan what is needed for the trip and gather it at a central location at home, several days before departure date.

When it's about time to go ... turn on the fridge the day before loading. Load perishable food, clothing, meds and toiletries evening before leaving, if possible, or morning of departure, which shouldn't take more than a couple hours. Most of the time before loading I connect the trailer to the tow vehicle and move it close to the house door so I don't have to walk/carry so far. I check the lights, mirrors, tire pressure, and fill the water tank at this time.

Immediately prior to departure I do a supervised safety/departure check one more time, takes about 10-15 minuets. My wife uses a list that we have created that she checks off item by item as we get them done. I've added "lock the doors" to that list, since not too long ago we left the house front door unlock for a month while we were gone on a trip :-0.

[KCurtis]

Originally Posted by daleyocum

So it sounds like you’ve found it’s better not to bring the trailer to your house but you bring things to it?

Exactly!

Plus, my HOA doesn't like us to park RV's, Boats, etc... in front of our houses.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by daleyocum

Every time we get the trailer out of storage it seems to take us days before we are actually on the road. Our trailer is stored about ten minutes away at a RV storage facility. Usually we bring it to our house to clean and load (HOA limit is 3 days but sometimes we’ve stretched it to 5.) but we could load it at the storage lot as well. It seems to take us forever and we’re exhausted by the time we’re on the road. We spend the first week of our trip just getting over getting ready for our trip!

The trailer is always loaded with most things except, majorly, clothes and food yet somehow this process of going on any trip takes us as much as four days.

We’re doing something wrong. I don’t hear lots of other people talking about this. Any advice on organization or adjusting our process/mindset? We’d like to be in a position where we can leave a day after we decide to go but we are far from that now.

Hi, I don't think that you are doing anything wrong. We keep our trailer at our house and we take about a week to get it ready for a trip. We have all of the kitchen and bathroom items, for the trailer, in the trailer. Cleaning the trailer, setting air pressures, and torqueing lug nuts takes time. Also we have stuff for the truck to haul like our generator, tools, and many other things. Food items are sometimes precooked, precooled, and frozen, before being put in the trailer. This all takes time. We keep some clothes in the trailer and some have been cleaned, folded, and put in containers that go back into the trailer. Many things are better kept in the house until a few days before a trip.

[turk123]

We travel in our trailer a lot. We have everything we need like dishes, pans, silverware, coffee maker, food containers, etc all bought for and in the trailer. Trying to use your home goods and transferring every time you take the trailer out will drive you crazy.

Make lists of things you carry, print them out and laminate them. I store my lists in the outside compartments where the items go. This really helps when you are looking for the firestarter and you can't remember where you put it. You just check your list. This sounds a bit weird but my wife suggested it and she's always saying to me when I can't find something, "Check your lists".

She has her own lists for the inside of the trailer.

If you travel in your Airstream a lot, you learn to put things back after using them. Never break that rule. Never move anything without telling your partner where you moved it. We follow that rule religiously. It will make your job of packing easier as everything has its place and you can check areas to make sure things are where they are and as they are suppose to be.

When first starting out, we packed our trailer for our first long trip and brought way more than we needed. Don't overpack. After traveling for three months we came back home and removed about 1/3 of the things we took. Lightened-up the trailer and freed up a lot of room for the things we truly needed. If you absolutely need that blender for those once in a while cocktails, buy it on the road and keep it in the trailer.

We even bought traveling clothes. We've several times gone to a Columbia outlet store and bought their shirts and shorts. Why? They dry very quickly at the laundromat and sorting is easier. Waiting an hour and a half for your 8 pairs of jeans to dry is not my idea of spending a sunny day in paradise. Making that trip to the laundromat shorter and more often reduces the number of clothes you need to take.

After spending 6 months this past year traveling, you learn ways to keep the clutter down.

[Trowbridge]

All the others here are important ideas. One more...

No matter what else you bring, make SURE you have your fly fishing gear!!!

[Mollysdad]

You don't need to provision for the entire trip.
Buy enough groceries to last two days. Then stop along the way at a WalMart or any grocery with a big parking lot. Take a break from driving, pick up more stuff. It's America, not Outer Mongolia.

[daleyocum]

Originally Posted by turk123

We even bought traveling clothes. We've several times gone to a Columbia outlet store and bought their shirts and shorts. Why? They dry very quickly at the laundromat and sorting is easier. Waiting an hour and a half for your 8 pairs of jeans to dry is not my idea of spending a sunny day in paradise. Making that trip to the laundromat shorter and more often reduces the number of clothes you need to take.
.

Interesting idea about buying clothes optimized for the trailer that are optimized for quick drying and, I assume, can all be washed in same load and dried together. I’d rather not go to the laundry more than once every 12-14 days so we’d need that much clothing to make that work. Expensive but maybe worth it.

[banderabob]

Two days before leaving we centralize everything we will be taking from a mostly standard list (clothes, electronics, reservation pages, etc) including non perishable food, in our dining room. One day before departure we park the AS by the House and plug into 110 to cool the fridge and freezer, and load everything from the dining room. Also item such as chairs, grill, camp tables in the truck. On the morning of departure (from a list), we load all perishable foods from house fridge to AS fridge. Our longest trip was 2 months in the interior of Mexico, so the pile in the dining room started earlier, and was obviously bigger.