RV Travel Day Checklist
Choose trailer or motorhome and this page builds a moving-day list in the order you actually do it: inside, utilities, outside walk-around, hitching or cockpit, a final pull-forward check, and then the arrival sequence at the next site from pick-the-spot to pedestal test to slides out. Tick items as you go; the counter at the top tells you what is left in each section, and the print button gives a blank copy with square boxes for a clipboard. It is written for newer owners who have not yet built the habit, and for anyone who has ever driven off with the step down. Nothing is stored and there is no sign-up; the list resets when you close the page.
Tick as you go. Ticks are not saved after you leave the page.
How it works, how to use it, and what it does not cover
The list is built from one master set of items, each tagged for the rig type it applies to and the phase it belongs in. Choosing trailer adds the hitching block and the tongue-jack and stabiliser items; choosing motorhome adds the leveling-jack, generator and tow-car items instead. Within each phase the sections run in the order a walk-around naturally goes: start inside where things fall, do the utilities while you can still see them, walk the outside clockwise, then the hitch or cockpit, and finish by pulling forward a truck length and looking back, because that is when the forgotten chock and the loose hose reveal themselves. The arrival phase starts before you park: walk the site on foot first, look up for branches and down for the slope, and find the pedestal and sewer so the rig stops where the hoses reach.
To use it on the day, open the page on a phone, pick the rig type, and tick items as each is physically done, not when you remember doing it. The status line shows how many are left in the current phase. If two of you share the job, one reads and one does; the reader ticks only when the doer calls it back. When everything in the departure half is ticked, do the pull-forward check anyway. For a paper copy, the print button hides the page chrome and prints every item with an empty box, which survives rain and dead batteries better than a phone.
Two items deserve a sentence of explanation. The pedestal test before connecting is on the arrival list because campground wiring faults and low voltage damage RV electrics; an EMS or a plug-in tester shows open ground, reverse polarity and voltage before your rig is exposed to them, and Progressive Industries' units cut power below 104 volts and above 132. The brake-controller manual test on the trailer departure list is there because a trailer with no brakes feels normal until the first downhill; sliding the manual lever at walking speed should produce a firm tug from the trailer alone.
What it does not cover: your rig's specific systems. Some motorhomes need the engine running to retract jacks, some trailers have a slide that must go in before the awning, some refrigerators must be switched to a travel mode, and most manuals have an order of operations for slides and leveling that overrides anything generic. Propane-on-while-driving is a personal and sometimes legal decision (tunnels and some ferries prohibit it), so the list says to decide, not what to decide. It is not a maintenance schedule; tire pressure is on the list because it changes daily, but bearing repacks, roof seals and battery water are not. It does not know your campground's rules on generators, quiet hours, pets or grey water, which are on the site's own page and are worth reading on the arrival pass.
Data last verified 2026-10-28. Prices, hours and rules change; confirm with the official source before you go.
Sources
- etrailer: how to hitch a travel trailer (coupler, chains, breakaway, lights)
- Equal-i-zer hitch FAQ: weight-distribution setup and tongue weight
- Progressive Industries EMS manual: pedestal voltage and wiring faults it blocks
- NPS Yellowstone campgrounds: generator hours and campground rules as an example of arrival checks
- BLM camping: stay limits and leave-no-trace rules
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Why is the checklist split into departure and arrival?
Because the two halves fail differently. Departure mistakes are expensive and public: an antenna left up, a step left out, a hitch pin forgotten, a slide run into a tree. Arrival mistakes are slower and quieter: a site that floods, a rig levelled before it was positioned, a pedestal that was never tested before the shore cord went in. Doing the two lists as separate passes, in order, stops the arrival list being rushed because you want to sit down, and stops the departure list being rushed because check-out is at 11.
What is different between the trailer and motorhome versions?
The trailer and fifth-wheel version adds the hitching sequence: coupler latched and pinned, safety chains crossed, breakaway cable attached to the truck and not to the chains, weight-distribution bars tensioned, tongue jack fully raised, brake controller tested with a manual pull, and the jack-and-stabiliser retractions that motorhomes do not have. The motorhome version adds the tow car or dolly checks, the generator shutdown, and the leveling-jack retraction, and drops the hitching steps. Both share the inside, outside, utilities and cockpit items.
Can I save my progress?
Not between visits; the page deliberately stores nothing and sets no cookies. Ticks last while the page is open, which is a travel day. If you want a copy you can keep, use the print button: the printed version comes out with empty boxes so it works as a paper list clipped to the door, and the online page can be reopened on your phone for the next move.
What should I add that is not here?
Anything specific to your rig that has bitten you once. Common additions are a locking fuel cap, a satellite dish or Starlink mount, a bike rack strap, a rear-camera check, a roof-vent cover that must close, a water filter housing that must drain, a pet, and the campground gate code. The list is a floor, not a ceiling, and a walk-around with a second person who did not do the packing catches most of what any list misses.
Why does the list say to test the pedestal before plugging in?
Because a miswired or low-voltage pedestal can damage a converter, an air conditioner compressor or everything at once. The standard arrival habit is to switch the pedestal breaker off, plug a surge protector or electrical management system into the pedestal, switch the breaker on and read it, and only then connect the RV cord with the breaker off again. Progressive Industries' EMS units refuse power under 104 volts or over 132 volts and on open ground or reverse polarity; a plug-in tester does the same job for less money if you read it before connecting.