Forgetting to secure items in your RV on travel days is a hard lesson to learn. Unfortunately, some people have to experience this tragedy several times before they do anything about it.
These incidents can cause serious damage to your motorhome and lead to a messy situation. Believe us, you want to do everything you can to avoid them.
Today we present some of the messiest things motorhome owners forget to secure during their trip.
Let’s get our hands dirty!
Fellow RVer asks the community about messy travel days
You can get angry or laugh at yourself when you make a mistake. Fortunately, a fellow traveler decided to take the positive route and laughed at the situation. They then asked a Facebook group for full-time RVers with more than 100,000 members about the messiest mistakes they’ve made while traveling.
The discussion the post sparked reminds us that mistakes can happen. You’re not alone if something doesn’t go as planned. RV life can be chaotic in many ways, but it’s how we respond to that chaos that matters.
How can you avoid clutter while traveling?
To avoid clutter while traveling, you need to make a special effort. Take your time when packing and securing your equipment.
Get everything off the counters and into a safe place. Anything you need to secure will get tossed around during transit. We’ve created an RV departure checklist to make sure we don’t overlook anything.
Another important step is to confirm that you have closed your cupboards and drawers. Otherwise, they could open due to the force of moving objects during transportation and your belongings could fly around. Unfortunately, this is a common mistake. We have experienced this too.
To prevent the contents of your fridge from overflowing, use these double RV fridge bars. You can adjust these tie bars depending on the size of your fridge. When your refrigerator doors are opened, they provide some support to prevent items from spilling out.
The strangest things motorhome owners forget to secure when traveling
When it comes to clutter in your motorhome, we urge you to learn from the mistakes of others.
This way, you can avoid a surprise when you open the door to your motorhome. Here are some of the worst mistakes caused by motorhome owners who forget to secure their belongings.
Washing powder
The incident that sparked the whole discussion involved a person who forgot to secure the detergent. However, it quickly emerged that he was not the first person to make this mistake. Many others shared that they had experienced a similar situation.
The best way to avoid this costly mistake is to store the detergent in a safe place. Place it against a wall and stack other items around it. This way you can prevent it from slipping, shifting or gaining enough momentum to tip over.
No matter how much detergent is spilled, it’s not a fun mess to clean up. However, if you want to be positive, your RV will smell fresh like laundry in the foreseeable future.
Contents of the fridge
Many other commenters reported finding the contents of their fridge on the floor when they arrived at their destination. Instead of sitting at the campsite enjoying a cold drink, they had to clean up a mess of condiments and broken eggs.
We’ve already introduced you to double fridge racks for motorhomes. While these can help keep your belongings inside the motorhome, the fridge door can still be opened. If this happens, the temperature can drop and some food can spoil.
Fridge locks are an inexpensive and effective way to secure the door. This prevents a mess and keeps your food safe.
Pro Tip: Take a look at these helpful ways to keep yourRV fridge under lock and key on travel days!
Paper shredder
With so many people working remotely, some RVers are turning areas in their RVs into workspaces.
Many of them have a document shredder as part of their setup. This allows them to avoid leaking personal or sensitive information when disposing of documents. However, these tiny scraps of paper can be a major problem if they are not secured.
One member shared that his paper shredder had tipped over while he was out and about. The mess decorated the floor like a fine layer of fresh snow. Unfortunately, this remote worker had to take care of the cleanup instead of enjoying his campsite or the great outdoors.
Broken picture frames
Hanging pictures in your motorhome can be a great way to decorate and personalize the interior. However, one motorhome owner had the unfortunate experience of finding broken glass all over his motorhome. The glass came from a picture frame that crashed to the ground while the motorhome was being transported.
When glass breaks, it can shatter into a million pieces and land anywhere. Considering you’re on the road and the shards are likely to fly around, you don’t know where they’re going to land.
If you choose to hang pictures, we recommend covering them with plastic covers instead of glass. But even with plastic, it is advisable to take them off before you set off. Better safe than sorry.
Don’t forget: Before your next RV trip, consider purchasing these 10 problem-solving products to make your traveling days easier!
Coffee in the microwave
The chaos of travel preparations can mean you don’t finish your morning cup of coffee before it gets cold. You could warm it up in the microwave while you finish packing your motorhome.
However, if you’re not careful, it’s easy to forget that your coffee is still in the microwave.
Unfortunately, several members reported that they too had made this simple mistake. Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do to prevent these types of incidents. You have to slow down and be aware of what you are doing. Trying to multitask can be your downfall. Unlike milk, it can be worth crying over spilled coffee.
Beer
Coffee isn’t the only drink that can make a mess. One member reported that a can of beer had come loose in their motorhome while they were driving. Unfortunately, they didn’t see it before they opened the slide out of their motorhome.
The force of the moving slider was enough to puncture the can and send the beer flying in all directions. Not only did they waste a perfectly good beer, but they also had a mess to clean up.
Flooded bathroom
A motorhome driver reported that when he arrived at the campsite, he found that the bathroom in his motorhome had flooded while he was driving. Objects in the bathroom fell down and hit the tap handle on the sink. The tap kept running until it filled the tank and overflowed. The water sloshed around and soaked pretty much everything inside.
The easiest way to avoid this situation is to turn off the water pump. When it’s off, nothing comes out when you open a faucet or try to flush the toilet. This way you can avoid seriously damaging the inside of your motorhome.
Motorhome messes you don’t want to clean up
None of these messes are ones you want to clean up. The damage they can cause gives us a stomach ache just thinking about them. Some might be enough to send your vehicle to the garage, or you might have to change your travel plans to deal with the situation.
Whether you use our motorhome departure checklist or create your own, always take the time to secure your belongings on the day of travel.
Have you ever discovered a mess in your motorhome when you arrive at the campsite?