What to do if Your RV Breaks Down
Clint
Breaking down in your motorhome while going down the road can be a very stressful situation. If you are a full-timer and your RV breaks down, it leaves your home completely immobile. If you are not a full-timer, it can ruin your whole vacation. Proper maintenance can help to minimize the risk of your RV breaking down, but even with the best maintenance there is always a chance that something could fail. Here are some tips to help you prepare for this situation and what to do if it ever happens to you.
Be Prepared
It is always good to try to be prepared for anything. Having roadside assistance can help a lot if you ever get stuck in a sticky situation. Make sure you have any phone numbers written down or stored in your phone in case of emergency. You should also pack an emergency kit with all the essentials such as basic tools, a first aid kit, jumper cables, and reflectors for instance.
Get Off the Road
If your RV breaks down while you are on the road the first priority is to get to a safe spot off the road. Turn on your emergency lights and try to get to the right shoulder. It is best to try to get to a spot away from any curves so that you can see any traffic coming and they can more easily see you. If you are on the interstate, pulling off the road on an exit would probably be ideal. Once you are in a safe location, call roadside assistance for help. However if you don’t have it and don’t have a way to call anyone, then wait for a highway patrolman to stop by to help. They will stop when they see motorists in trouble. Finally, if you do decide to leave your RV, make sure you leave it on the side away from traffic.
Once you are safely out of harm’s way (more or less) you should wait for your roadside assistance company to help you out. It is probably not a good idea to try to fix your RV yourself on the side of the road. However, if you know you are in a safe place and know what you are doing, there is probably nothing wrong with trying to fix it yourself. If the problem is serious, then your RV might have to be taken to a shop. Luckily, most shops will still let you live in your RV while it is being worked on. Hopefully you will not have to go through too much trouble, and once your home is fixed you will be free to continue your trip!