The RV Documents We Never Thought About Packing

There is a familiar ritual that happens before almost every camping trip.

We load the refrigerator. We check the pantry. Clothes find their way into drawers and closets. Chairs go into storage compartments. Tools get tucked away. Someone remembers the coffee. Hopefully, someone remembers the coffee maker.

Whether we are traveling hundreds of miles or spending the weekend at a campground close to home, we prepare the RV.

I dare say nearly every camper does.

But here is a question we did not think much about when we first started camping:

Once the RV is packed, are you really finished packing?

For us, the answer used to be yes.

Then we started traveling farther from home.

We met campers who had been doing this much longer than we had, and somewhere among the conversations about campgrounds, tow vehicles, routes, repairs and places worth visiting, another subject kept coming up.

Paperwork.

I admit, that surprised us.

Who thinks about paperwork when they think about camping?

Apparently, quite a few experienced RV travelers do.

And the more we listened, the more sense it made.

The Things You Don’t Need Until You Really Need Them

Most of the documents we carry while traveling have one thing in common.

We hope we never need them.

That is probably why they are so easy to overlook.

Your vehicle registration isn’t nearly as exciting as a new camping chair. Insurance paperwork won’t improve the view from your campsite. A warranty document certainly won’t make hamburgers taste better over the campfire.

But have a problem 800 miles from home and suddenly that boring folder of paperwork becomes rather interesting.

We learned to think about our traveling documents the same way we think about tools.

You don’t carry a socket set because you intend to break something.

You carry it because something might break.

Paperwork isn’t much different.

Start With the RV and Whatever Is Pulling It

Registration and proof of insurance are obvious places to begin.

If you are towing, that means thinking about both the RV and the tow vehicle. If you are driving a motorhome and towing another vehicle behind it, each vehicle has its own paperwork to consider.

And, of course, there is your driver’s license.

Titles are a little different. While knowing where your titles are stored at home is important, carrying original vehicle titles around in the RV may create more risk than benefit. Copies or secure digital records can provide useful information without putting the original ownership documents in a vehicle that could be damaged or stolen.

Inspection paperwork can matter too, depending on where the RV and vehicles are registered. Requirements aren’t identical from one state to another, so this is one of those occasions when checking with your home state’s motor vehicle agency before a long trip is worthwhile.

None of this is particularly exciting.

Neither is standing alongside the highway searching through drawers trying to remember where you put the insurance card.

Then There Are Those RV Manuals

I know.

Manuals.

Most of us would rather figure something out ourselves.

But an RV is a collection of systems and appliances made by different manufacturers. Furnace. Refrigerator. Water heater. Air conditioner. Converter. Inverter. Leveling system. Generator. Slides. Awning.

Eventually, something is going to do something you don’t understand.

That is when the manual you haven’t opened in three years suddenly becomes fascinating reading.

Many manuals are available online now, and that makes carrying an entire cabinet full of paper unnecessary. But there is a catch.

Internet service doesn’t always cooperate with where RVers like to camp.

There is something particularly frustrating about needing a troubleshooting diagram while your phone displays one lonely bar—or none at all.

We like the idea of keeping important manuals electronically while downloading the ones we may need so they are available offline. For particularly important systems, keeping the paper manual isn’t a bad idea either.

The same thinking applies to warranty information.

If something fails while the RV is still covered, knowing what is covered, whom to contact and what information they will want can save a lot of frustration.

The Papers That Have Nothing to Do With the RV

This was probably the part of those campground conversations that made us think the most.

What happens if the problem isn’t with the RV?

What happens if it is you?

Most of us carry a health insurance card. But traveling away from home adds another consideration: understanding how your particular health plan handles care outside your normal service area.

That is something worth knowing before you need a doctor.

Another remarkably simple document is a current medication list.

Not the bottles sitting in the medicine cabinet.

A list.

Medication names. Dosages. Allergies. Relevant medical history. Physicians and their contact information.

It is easy to assume your spouse or traveling partner knows all of this.

Maybe they do.

Maybe they don’t.

And an emergency is a terrible time to find out.

Legal medical documents deserve consideration as well. Depending upon your circumstances, that might include an advance directive, medical power of attorney or other documents identifying who can make decisions or receive information if you cannot speak for yourself.

Not everyone will need to travel with the same paperwork, and original legal documents don’t necessarily belong in an RV. The point is knowing what you have, where it is and how the appropriate person can get to it.

That is preparation of a very different kind.

Don’t Forget the Passenger With Four Feet

Those of us who travel with a pet know something that non-pet owners occasionally underestimate.

They aren’t luggage.

They are part of the traveling family.

That means they have paperwork too.

Vaccination records are probably the most obvious. Some campgrounds, boarding facilities and other businesses may ask for proof of vaccinations. Crossing an international border with a pet can bring additional requirements, which makes checking the current government rules before leaving home particularly important.

A pet’s basic medical history can also be useful if an unexpected veterinarian visit becomes necessary.

What medications does the pet take?

Any allergies?

Past illnesses or injuries?

Chronic conditions?

Then there is a question we don’t particularly enjoy considering:

If something happens to us, who takes care of the pet?

A card with an emergency contact, feeding instructions and basic care information could become enormously important to someone trying to help.

Some RVers also place a pet emergency notice near the RV entrance so emergency personnel know an animal may be inside.

It is a small thing.

Sometimes small things matter.

Paper or Digital?

This is where RV travel has changed considerably.

Years ago, the answer would have been a folder, binder or perhaps a small file box.

Today, it can be all three—paper, phone and cloud storage.

There is no reason we have to choose only one.

Important paper copies can be kept together in a secure, waterproof container somewhere reasonably accessible. Sensitive information should not be left where anyone walking through the RV can easily find it.

Digital copies provide another layer of protection.

Insurance information, registrations, warranty documents, important telephone numbers, pet records and other paperwork can be scanned and stored securely. An encrypted USB drive is another possibility.

But there is one lesson RV travel teaches repeatedly:

Don’t make Internet access your only plan.

Cloud storage is wonderful until you are sitting in a campground where your connection isn’t.

Anything you might reasonably need during an emergency should have an offline option.

There is another consideration too.

A digital copy is convenient, but it isn’t necessarily a legal substitute for an original document. Requirements vary according to the document and jurisdiction. Digital backups should be thought of as backups unless you know an electronic version is accepted.

Around the Campfire

Do we need to carry every important document we own?

Certainly not. The goal isn’t to move the filing cabinet into the RV. Think about what could reasonably be needed while you are away from home: licenses, registrations, insurance information, emergency contacts, health information, pet records and important RV information. Leave irreplaceable originals securely at home unless there is a genuine reason they need to travel with you.

What about passports and birth certificates?

That depends entirely on the trip. If you’re crossing an international border, taking a cruise during your travels or doing something else that requires particular identification, bring the documents required for that journey. Otherwise, highly sensitive originals are usually better protected at home.

Should we keep everything on our phones?

Phones are wonderfully convenient, but they can be lost, broken, stolen or left sitting on the charger when you need them. We prefer redundancy. Keep appropriate paper copies, secure digital backups and essential information available offline.

What should be easy to reach?

Think about what you might need while standing beside the road rather than sitting comfortably at the campsite. Driver’s license, vehicle registration, insurance information and roadside-assistance contact information should not require unloading half the RV to find them.

Should we review the documents before every trip?

For a weekend close to home, that may be unnecessary. Before a major journey, though, it is worth checking expiration dates, insurance information, pet vaccinations, emergency contacts and medication lists. A document isn’t particularly helpful if the information on it is three years out of date.

Final Thoughts

When we first started camping, preparing for a trip meant thinking about what we would eat, what we would wear and what we might need once we reached the campground.

Traveling farther taught us something.

Preparation isn’t only about making camping more comfortable.

Sometimes it is about making an uncomfortable situation a little easier.

Nobody wants to imagine an accident, a breakdown, an unexpected trip to the doctor or an emergency involving a pet. That isn’t why we go camping.

But carrying the right information doesn’t mean we expect something bad to happen.

It simply means we don’t have to start looking for answers if it does.

Perhaps that is what those experienced campers were trying to tell us.

They weren’t carrying folders full of paperwork because they worried about everything that might go wrong.

They carried them so they could spend more time enjoying everything that was going right.

And somewhere along the way, we began doing the same.

After all, the purpose of being prepared isn’t to worry more about the journey.

It is to worry less once you’re on it.