14 Best RV Camping Tips for Seniors

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Many seniors have an awesome opportunity after they retire to go RV camping and explore the country! The options are limitless as you can drive wherever you want and see whatever you want to see. As a result, it should be no surprise to hear that the RV industry has been booming in recent years. Specifically, RV camping has become especially popular among seniors. So, to help make the journey even easier we came up with the 10 Best RV Camping Tips for Seniors!

As much fun as RVing is, it takes up a lot of time. Therefore, it can be difficult for people to make time to go RVing while they are still working. However, once you retire you have all the time in the world, so you can spend your time RVing if you want. That being said, many seniors have never gone RVing before, so they may need some help getting started.

14 Great RV Camping Tips for Seniors

When seniors retire, they have freedom on a level they have not had in their entire lives. When you are a kid you are told what to do and where to go. Then when you are an adult, you have responsibilities like working and taking care of kids. In both stages of life, you are restricted in what you can do in some ways. However, once seniors retire, they have unprecedented freedom. As a result, many of them take advantage of this time by renting an RV and traveling around the country. It might be difficult to plan out your trips if you have never gone RVing before, so here are a few tips to help seniors on their RV camping trips.

1. Consider a Motorhome for Maximum Convenience

Motorhomes are very popular among seniors for several reasons. These rigs combine the vehicle and living area in a single unit. This will save you from needing to unhitch and hitch every time you get to a new campground. This is even more of an advantage if you are planning on moving around from campground to campground often. Additionally, you can tow a smaller car behind your motorhome with a simple hitch that is easier to connect. Then you can use that car when your RV is parked at the campground, allowing you to travel around the area with ease.

Additionally, having a motorhome makes it easier for you to access the living area, even when you have a short stop. So, if you pull over to refuel at a gas station, you can quickly hop out of your seat and over to the bathroom. It is also great for a quick nap if you need to pull over on the side of the road to rest. All of these things are also possible in bad weather.

Here are just some of the advantages of a drivable motorhome for seniors:

• Easier to Drive
• Easier to level and set up
• Easier to pull over and stop
• You can use the restroom in the Motorhome while traveling
• You can tow a smaller vehicle behind you for exploring.

2. Get A Handrail for the Entry Steps

A big downside to RVs is that they are much higher off the ground than your average vehicle. The wheels are much larger so it could be more difficult to get into the RV. You might need to take a big step to get inside, which can be difficult for some people.

Additionally, the entry steps can be hard to balance on as they can be a little wobbly. This might make some seniors uncomfortable, but there are ways to solve this problem.

You could purchase a handrail to help you get up the stairs. Now, there are some RVs that came with a built-in rail, but they are not incredibly common. If your RV does not have a handrail, you should get one so that you can enter and exit your RV safely.

Additionally, RV handrails are adapted for outdoor use, and they are easy to remove and store if you want to do that. But, we think Stromberg Carlson makes the best RV handrail because it is stable and it folds against the RV so you don’t have to remove it and store it somewhere.

3. Keep a Headlamp Near the Door

When you are out at a campground in the middle of the woods during the night, it unsurprisingly is difficult to see. As a result, you will not be able to go for a nighttime walk if you want. However, if you keep a headlamp near your door you will be able to leave your RV and safely explore the area at night.

This is especially important if you are traveling in the winter months because daylight savings time ends and it gets dark so early. So, if you need to go to the office of the campground at 6 PM it will already be dark. Having a headlamp will be very valuable in this situation.

Headlamps are better than flashlights because you can keep your hands free. A properly adjusted headlamp will allow you to take every step safely. You will never take a step without knowing exactly where your foot will land. Finally, it is a good idea to keep your headlamp close to the door so that you do not forget to use it.

4. Consider Purchasing a Satellite Phone

When you get an RV you will not realize how many places you are going to visit, but you will be traveling all over the place. Therefore, you will sometimes end up in areas where your cell phone has no service. So, you will need a way to communicate with others when this is the case. The best solution to this problem is to purchase a satellite phone.

These phones rely on a direct connection to satellites, so they have reception anywhere on Earth. They are expensive to use as they do not have regular phone plans. As a result, you will only want to use them during emergencies.

With luck, you will never need to use it, but you never know what is going to happen on the road. You could break down, get stuck in a ditch, or some other emergency can take place. You never know, so it is better to be safe than sorry.

5. Travel in a Caravan

As much fun as RVing can be, it can get lonely if you are traveling for an extended period of time. Seniors will most likely be traveling with their spouses, but you will not have much regular companionship beyond that. The people you meet at campgrounds will not be your friends. Even if you get along with them, you will only have a brief relationship with them before you head to your next destination. However, if you travel in a caravan you will have more companionship on your trip around the country.

A caravan is a group of RV’s traveling together from one location to another. Caravans are usually events that are organized around routes. However, if you are willing to spend the time to organize your own caravan, you can do that as well.

The best way to find a caravan is to look in Facebook groups and clubs. Finally, you need to keep in mind that you will have to make sacrifices when traveling in a caravan. You will need to adjust to the pace of the group if you want to travel together. So, you might have to stay somewhere longer than you wanted, or you might need to leave earlier than you would prefer.

6. Get Your America the Beautiful Seniors Pass

A great idea for seniors is to get your America the Beautiful Seniors Pass. This pass will let you get into any National Park in the United States for free. You will also have access to national forests and BLM forests that have n entry fee associated with visiting them.

Luckily, you can easily order it online and have it delivered fairly quickly. Alternatively, you can go to wherever national park passes are sold. United States citizens and legal residents over the age of 62 are eligible to purchase a lifetime pass for $80 or an annual senior pass for $20. Compared to the $80 annual pass, that is quite the deal.

7. Stay Organized

Staying organized is more important than almost anything for seniors on the road. It does not matter how old you are, staying organized will allow you to keep things straight. Your RV is not a huge space, but you would be surprised how easy it is to lose things if you are not careful. However, if you stay organized and have a place for everything, you will not need to worry about losing anything again.

It is also important to make sure your travel itinerary is organized. Make sure you have your campgrounds booked in advance and have an idea of what you are going to do each day. You do not need everything planned out to the T, but you should have a general idea of your travel plans.

8. Do Not Be Afraid to Go Slow

When you are on the road, do not feel like you need to travel fast. We are not talking about driving speed here either. As a retired senior you have all the time you want to explore the country. So, do not rush yourself out of an area if you want to spend a few extra days at a national park.

Additionally, when it is time to check out from a campground, it is important not to rush. Even if you have a deadline to meet, you should take your time. Go through your checklists so that when you leave, you know that you have everything you entered with. Speed can lead to mistakes and leaving things behind.

9. Make Sure Your RV Is Well Lit

Nothing will truly prepare you for how dark it can get at a campground the first time you are at one. It gets pitch black at night except for a few lights coming from the inside of people’s RVs. Therefore, you will want to make sure your RV is well-lit at night while you are still awake.

Fortunately, you can easily purchase a few battery-operated LED lights to install in your RV. Good places to add them include the inside of cabinets, above kitchen counters, and under shelves. So, when you need to find something in darker areas you will not need to strain your eyes to find it.

10. Find a Job

Hearing that seniors should get a job after they have retired might sound crazy, but many of the jobs you can get while RVing can be fun. Many national parks, state parks, and campgrounds look for employees during the high season.

Some RV Campgrounds offer payment, and others offer a camping spot in exchange for a part-time job. These places will usually hire more reliable and experienced seniors to work for them. Most of these jobs are simple and easy to do like a camp host.

You might not be interested in getting a job while you are traveling, but if you plan on staying at the same campground for a while, it can help save you some money. RVing can get expensive, so having a free camping spot will provide some financial relief.

For much more info about this topic please see our article called 19 Best Work Camping Jobs for Retired RVers.

11. Take Advantage of AARP and Senior Discounts

While there are senior discounts available for those without an AARP (American Association of Retired Persons), having an AARP membership extends those discounts exponentially. The number of discounts available out there, especially the ones associated with RV living, is plentiful to the extreme.

While we can’t list every one of them here (that would take a book and a lot of time), these discounts cover several major categories that are more than beneficial to RVers.

• Restaurant Discounts
• Internet Discounts
• Discounts on Groceries
• Health and Wellness Discounts
• Discounts on Retail
• Discounts on Entertainment

That’s just a general overview of some of the discounts you can take advantage of. AARP has a massive list that covers every discount under the sun. If you’re not an AARP member, taking advantage of the wealth of discounts available to seniors, you’re wasting a lot of money.

12. Stick with the 330 Rule

One would think that sitting down all day would be the least exhausting thing in the world. That’s simply not the case when it comes to driving. Long-distance road trips are brutal, especially as we get older and those always-dependable muscles, bones, and tendons no longer prefer a sedentary position.

The 330 rule helps with that a lot, more so if you stick with it daily. The rule itself is pretty simple: Drive for 330 miles or drive until 3:30 pm—no exceptions. Besides avoiding road fatigue and exhaustion, the 330 rule helps you prepare better since you’ll find yourself setting up for camp early each day.

You’ll have plenty of time in the late afternoon to chill out and relax. It’s also healthier. There’s a reason office jobs can be one of the most unhealthy jobs in the country. Sitting still for too long is simply not good for your body. Driving sleepy or exhausted also comes with its own excessive risks, especially hauling a giant travel trailer or motorhome on the interstate.

13. Stick with a Centralized Healthcare Provider

One of the best RV camping tips for seniors is to stick with a centralized healthcare provider. Since living the RV life means being constantly on the move, a centralized provider will have all of your medical data in one place, accessible with ease from anywhere in the country.

Any doctor you see will be able to pull your medical records from a single provider and make informed decisions concerning your health. It helps in terms of getting your prescriptions and dosage right as well as making accurate assessments.

It also reduces costs. With a combination of government subsidies with no need to go through all of the additional tests and lab work (since everything is right there and available), your healthcare costs will be more affordable in the long run.

14. Get a Good Night’s Sleep

This can’t be reiterated enough. The importance of a good night’s sleep grows exponentially as we age, especially when it comes to age-related health concerns and the efficacy of our immune systems.

With RVs, that means making absolutely sure that it’s level. Whether you have an automated system or manual, check and double-check to make sure the RV is level. It makes a world of difference between lying in a bed that’s 5° off and a bed that’s perfectly level.

This is also where the 330 rule comes into play. Ensuring that you are parked with a set-up camp earlier in the day will save you time for some much-needed R&R in the evenings. Sure, the older we get, the harder it is to get a solid eight hours. However, every bit of quality sleep lost is paid for with interest the following day.

It really makes sense if you’re spending a lot of time on the move. Driving while sleepy is as dangerous for you as it is for your passengers and everyone that shares the road with you.

Travel in Luxury with the Best RV Camping Tips for Seniors

After reading, we hope all seniors are prepared for their future RV endeavors. We know there is a lot of information to absorb, but it should be helpful moving forward.

Going on the road in an RV is a great idea for seniors. It allows you to see things you have never seen and go to places you have never visited before. You will have new experiences, meet new people, and enjoy every minute of it. It is the perfect way to start your retirement. You never know, you might just take up the RV lifestyle permanently. So, get your RV, head out on the road, and start your next adventure!

Do you have any other RV camping tips for seniors? What do you think of the RV lifestyle for seniors? Where are you planning on going for your next trip? Let us know in the comments!

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Related Reading:

1. 10 Great Reasons to Travel in an RV After You Retire

2. 27 Smart RV Travel Tips for Seniors

3. 10 Best RV Clubs for Seniors

4. 19 Best Work Camping Jobs for Retired RVers

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