Most serious RV road trouble comes from three things: hitting something you're too tall for, a tire failing, or driving off with something still deployed. All three are mostly preventable with numbers you measure once and habits you repeat every time.

Know your numbers

• Height: measure from the ground to the highest point — usually the A/C, antenna or a roof rack — and keep it where you can see it from the driver's seat.
• Weight: cross a certified scale loaded for travel, ideally per axle.
• Length including the tow vehicle or a towed car.

Low clearances

Posted clearances can be wrong after repaving or in winter; signs can be missing. Gas station canopies, drive-throughs and parking garages catch new owners in the first month. If you are not sure you fit, don't go through — stop and find another way. More: how to avoid low bridges in an RV.

Tunnels and propane

Some tunnels restrict or ban propane, or require cylinders to be shut off; rules differ by tunnel and are posted at the approaches. Know your route's tunnels before you leave: RV propane in tunnels.

Tires: pressure, weight and age

• Set pressure cold — before driving or after a few hours parked. Hot tires read high; letting air out of a hot tire leaves it underinflated.
• Pressure comes from your real weight and the tire maker's load table, not from the maximum on the sidewall.
• Underinflation is the classic cause of blowouts: a soft tire flexes, heats up and comes apart.
• Age: the last four digits of the DOT code are the week and year it was made (3224 = week 32 of 2024). Many owners replace RV tires around five to seven years old regardless of tread.
• Trailer (ST) tires often carry a lower speed rating than car tires — check yours.
• Before each trip: look for cracks, bulges, nails and damaged valve stems; check lug nuts.

Plan RV-sized days

200–300 miles is a good day in an RV; 500 makes setup at the far end miserable. Arrive with daylight left.

The departure walk-around

Roof clear and antenna down, slides in, steps up, every compartment latched, hitch seated with chains crossed and the breakaway cable on the tow vehicle, lights checked by a second person, tank valves closed, inside secured — then one slow walk around the whole rig. Keep it on a card by the door.

How WhimTrav's routing helps

When you enter your own RV's height, weight and length, WhimTrav asks for a route that checks known restrictions against those numbers. If it can't check restrictions for a route — no dimensions entered, or no data — it tells you before you drive, so you know the route is an ordinary car route. Map data is never complete: posted signs and your own judgment always come first.

General information from RV owners' experience, not professional advice. Follow your RV and equipment makers' manuals, posted signs and local rules, and ask a qualified technician about your own rig.