RV Roadside Safety Tips and Supplies

There’s no great place to experience an emergency when traveling in your RV. Tire blowouts, engine failure, and other emergencies often occur in the most inconvenient spots on the road. A responsible RVer is prepared for emergencies no matter where they happen, ready to quickly diagnose the situation, pull off the road, and set up their visibility markers and call for assistance. In this video lesson Carol Jackson from RV Inspection Specialists introduces several important RV roadside safety tips and supplies you should consider in the event of an emergency. What should you pack, where should you properly pull over, and how should you handle the situation once you’re off the road?

RV Roadside Emergency Equipment

To help you better prepare your vehicle for the unexpected, Carol begins her lesson by teaching you what to include in your emergency supplies. First things first, you should always have a visibility vest on board your RV, stowed in one of the vehicle’s curbside compartments. This is an extremely important detail for all of your emergency supplies; you don’t want to risk retrieving equipment from a driverside compartment when you’re feet from traffic on a busy highway.

Next, you should invest in a combination of visibility markers that you will place behind your vehicle once you’ve parked on the shoulder. Three of these markers should be set out, the first 10 feet behind the left rear corner of your coach, and the others at 100 and 200 feet behind the center of your coach. Markers help warn incoming drivers that a vehicle is parked up ahead and experiencing an emergency. Carol prefers a combination of LED flares and safety triangles to traditional flares, which are fire hazards and burn out after 15 to 20 minutes of use.

How to Pull off the Road During an RV Roadside Emergency

When navigating off the road in an emergency, there are several things you should keep in mind. Most importantly, be mindful of soft surfaces, tall grasses, and drop-offs. These can affect the way your vehicle steers and slows down. You should also immediately turn on your flashing hazard lights to signal other drivers to take care around you. Once you’re off the road and stopped, call for RV roadside assistance or police and wait inside the vehicle until help arrives. Do not flag down other drivers or accept unsolicited assistance unless absolutely necessary.

What Else to Carry

In addition to the above equipment, Carol likes to stow other important supplies in case of RV roadside emergencies. Her supplies include a jump box with an onboard compressor, which is ideal for flat tires on tow vehicles and trailers, and a go bag that can be used for emergencies and camping. Carol’s go bag contains such items as a first aid kit, gloves, a battery-powered weather radio, various flashlights, emergency blankets, bottled water, hand/foot warmers, a cell phone charger, cables and straps, and duct tape. Again, all of these supplies should be stored on the curbside of your vehicle.

With Carol’s help and a small investment to shore up your emergency supplies, you should have no issues navigating RV roadside trouble. Try to remain calm, stay in the vehicle until help arrives, and take your time diagnosing the problem. Follow protocol, and you’ll be just fine!