5 Things To Know Before Leaving San Jose On Your First RV Road Trip

As you get ready to leave San Jose, California, on your very first RV road trip ever, you have every reason to be excited about your trip, especially if you’re going to be seeing areas of the country that you never have before but always wanted to.

And you also have every reason to put careful planning and preparation into your trip instead of making is spontaneous. Even the most experienced of RV travelers understand the critical importance of planning and preparation.

Here are five things that you need to know before you leave San Jose on your very first ever RV road trip:

#1 – Write A Detailed Budget On A Spreadsheet

Before you pack or make official reservations or anything like that, the very first thing that you need to do is carefully plan out your budget.

The easiest way to budget yourself will be to create a spreadsheet where you can calculate your projected expenses for everything from renting your RV (more on this soon), your fuel, your food, staying at RV parks and campgrounds, spending money, and so on.

Yes, setting a budget like this and actually writing it out may seem remedial, but it’s important for you to track your expenses so you don’t overspend on anything.

#2 – Don’t Overspend On Your Rental

When you begin researching RV’s in your area to rent, one of the biggest factors in your decision will be the price per night to rent the RV.

It’s important that you don’t overspend, and according to Outdoorsy, the average RV rental price in the San Jose area is $191 per night, so you shouldn’t have to spend much more than that.

In addition to the cost of the rental itself, you’ll also likely need to pay a fee to reserve the RV, as well as a security deposit that will be refunded to you if you return the RV in the same condition as you took it.

#3 – Plan Ahead If You Need Internet

If you need to get any work done while you are away on your RV trip, then you will need to plan ahead to ensure that you always have access to Wi-Fi. This is especially critical for those of you who work from home and will be bringing your business with you on the road.

While you can stop at coffee shops, libraries, and restaurants that have Wi-Fi, and while you can confirm that the campgrounds or RV parks you’ll be staying at have Wi-Fi as well, you still can’t guarantee that you’ll always have access to a strong signal. The Wi-Fi at most RV parks, for example, tends to be rather weak and spotty. Fortunately, you can remedy this by bringing your own Wi-Fi router with you.

#4 – Decide What Activities You Want To Do Beforehand

Rather than make your RV trip spontaneous, you should plan out what activities you want to do beforehand and perhaps even craft an entire schedule.

For instance, are there any natural or historical landmarks that you would like to pay a visit to en route to your final destination? Are there any cities that you would like to stop by and explore?

And when you do arrive at your RV park or campground, what kind of outdoor sports and activities do you want to do when you arrive? Kayaking? Swimming? Mountain biking? Hiking? Fishing? The opportunities really are endless.

#5 – Spend The Week Before You Leave Packing and Preparing

You’ll be making a mistake if you decide to pack up everything on the night before you leave (or even worse, on the morning of).

Instead, just pack a little here and there in the week before your trip. During this week, you can take small but consistent actions to prepare. You can make reservations, plan your route, set aside money, prep your RV and practice driving it, pack your clothes and food and kitchen items, choose which games you want to bring, craft your schedule, and so on.

Embarking On Your Road Trip

Yes, there’s a lot of work that needs to be put into your trip preparation before you actually leave, but it’s an effort that’s going to be well worth it in the end, because the better you plan and prepare, the smoother and more relaxing your trip is going to be.