RV pre-trip walkaround checklist: what to check before you leave

Why a fixed loop, in the same direction

A walkaround is not an inspection. It is a loop you walk in the same direction every time, so that the same order does the remembering for you. The point is not thoroughness for its own sake: it is that the same six or seven things, done in the same sequence, take three minutes and catch the faults that cost the most.

Jayco publishes its own travel checklist in the owner's manual and says to customise it. That is the right instruction. What follows is that list, arranged the way you actually walk the coach rather than the way a manual is printed, with the tow vehicle added for anyone towing.

Inside, before you close it up

• Everything loose gets put away or strapped down. Jayco: "Secure loose objects inside and outside the RV." Cabinet doors, drawers, the shower door, the television if it is not fixed.
• The fridge door is latched. Keystone names this one specifically, and it is worth naming because a fridge door that swings open at the first corner empties itself across the floor.
• The water pump switch is off. Winnebago's checklist calls this out for a reason: a stray item against the switch, plus a bump, and the pump runs dry for the whole drive.
• Roof vents and windows are closed and latched. Including the range hood vent flap, which is on the outside wall and snaps shut.
• The television antenna is down. Keystone lists it explicitly. It is the single most common thing left standing on a roof.
• Interior lights, the water heater, the furnace and the appliances are off. Jayco's list, in that order.
• The detectors work. Smoke, propane and carbon monoxide, and the fire extinguisher is in its bracket. Test the alarms before the season, not before every trip.
• Nothing is left in the bowl of the toilet and the black valve is shut. Dump before you travel if the tanks are full, because the weight is not in the cargo figure.

Outside, working round the coach

• Tires: pressure against the placard, cold. Look for uneven wear, flat spots, a bulge in the sidewall, or anything embedded in the tread. Keystone's list has you check pressure against the Federal ID sticker rather than the number on the sidewall, and check the spare while you are down there.
• Lug nuts, torqued in a star pattern. Jayco says check them after the first two hundred miles and at the intervals in your manual, because a new wheel settles.
• Every light, all the way round. Running lights, brake lights, turn signals, and the marker lights on the corners and the top. Winnebago does this as part of the final walk with the lights on.
• The awning is fully retracted, and its arms are latched. Jayco lists "retract and secure awning".
• Every compartment door and baggage door is closed and locked. Then the second pass again, because this is the one that gets missed.
• Steps are stowed, and the door is locked. Keystone: stow the entry steps and engage the deadbolt. Jayco: secure and lock the entrance door.
• The slide rooms are fully in. Not mostly in. A room that is partly out is not sealed, and it is not held the way it is held when it is all the way in.
• Leveling jacks and stabilisers are up. Jayco: "Retract leveling jacks and step." Confirm they are all the way up rather than just off the ground.
• The shore cord, the water hose and the sewer hose are disconnected and stowed. Including the water connections at both ends, which is where they get left.
• The propane is off at the tank. Jayco's checklist turns the tanks off before leaving the campsite, and lights a burner afterwards to clear the line.
• Nothing is left on the campsite. Chocks, blocks, the mat, the dog tie-out, the trash. Jayco's last line is the one people forget: "Ensure everyone, including pets and children, is accounted for."

The roof, which is the part nobody walks

The roof is not part of the loop for most people, and it is where two of the most expensive mistakes live.

• Clear the debris off the roof and the slide roofs before you close up. Keystone singles this out: "Clear all debris (sticks, pine cones, snow, etc.) from the main roof and slide-out roofs. Closing a slide-out with debris on the roof can cause unwanted damage and repair expenses."
• The antenna is down. It is on the inside list because it is operated from inside, but you confirm it from here.
• The vent lids are shut. A vent left open is a hole in the roof at highway speed.
• Sealant, once a season rather than once a trip. Jayco puts "inspect seals and reseal as needed" under maintenance. Walk the roof while you are on it and look at the sealant around every penetration.

If you are towing: the hitch and the tow vehicle

This is the half of the walkaround a motorhome owner does not do, and it is the half where the faults are dangerous rather than expensive.

• The coupling is seated and the latch is closed. Jayco's procedure runs chock the wheels, raise the tongue above the ball, open the latch, back under, lower onto the ball, then close the latch after it is completely seated.
• The breakaway cable is attached to the tow vehicle. Jayco step 9, and it goes on before the safety chains.
• The safety chains are crossed under the coupling and attached. Jayco step 10.
• The weight-distribution bars are on, if you have them. Jayco step 7, fitted as the hitch maker directs.
• The tongue jack is fully retracted. Jayco step 8, and it is a real one: a jack left down catches on the first speed bump.
• The wiring harness is plugged in and the lights on the trailer answer the truck. Test them with someone watching rather than trusting the connector.
• The brake controller is set for the load. Test the trailer brakes by hand at walking pace before you get on a road.
• The tow vehicle's own tires, fluids and lights. Jayco lists all three under maintenance.
• The mirrors are set for the trailer, not for the truck. Set them before you need them.

The last thirty seconds

Before you pull out, stand back and look at the coach and the tow vehicle together. Winnebago's checklist calls this the final walk around and says four eyes are better than two: "Starting from the front and making a complete 360-degree circle around the entire setup is very important." Then get out and do one more lap anyway.

The loop is the point. Done in the same order every time it takes three minutes, and it is the difference between arriving somewhere and arriving somewhere with the awning still out.

Sources

• Jayco Towable Owner's Manual, 2027, section 14, Travel Checklist, and section 3, Pre Travel Information (the hitching procedure, steps 1 to 10).
• Keystone RV, Essential Pre-Travel Checklist for First-Time Campers, for the tire and lug nut checks, the roof debris warning, and the interior securing list.
• Winnebago, Road Ready Checklist for Towing Your Travel Trailer Safely, for the final 360-degree walk around, the lights check, and the water pump switch.
• Lippert, RV Trip Checklist for First-Time Owners, for the two-pass exterior walkaround and the towing component list.