RVing Tips for Single Women
The RV life offers all folks the chance to see their state, country and continent at a wonderfully leisurely pace. However, lone female travelers will want to choose an RV and a camping style that will allow them plenty of privacy but still feel connected to friends and family. Good travel and safety process ensure that everyone feels comfortable when you head out solo!
RVing Tips for Single Women:
Single women need to make safe decisions all the time but especially when traveling alone. Choosing the right type of RV is a great start to a safe and enjoyable traveling experience.
Buy a Motorcoach
RVs come in two basic formats: You can either pull your new house, as in a 5th wheel, a casita, or a bumper pull, or you can drive your new home. If you choose to buy a pickup with a camper in the bed, try to get a camper that allows you a pass-thru into the cab that you can use in an emergency. These RV tips may limit the size of your rig, but single women will feel safer if you can move from the bed to the driver’s seat without going outside.
If you’re moving from the trailer to the hauling vehicle, it becomes obvious to an observer that you’re traveling alone. Additionally, hauling a trailer quickly destroys your ability to stealth park, or hide in your RV when you’re in the city. Finally, if you’re a solo RVer of any gender, the whole process of backing in would be much harder as a single trying to back in your trailer.
Study Up
One of the most important RV tips is to study up on all your RV systems. Learn how to power up the generator and hot water heater Know how to jumpstart or charge your own starting battery. Too often, single women can end up stranded.
Know how to monitor and check the safety systems of your rig.
Make sure you also take classes on maintaining your rig. Even if you don’t have the strength to change a tire, do learn how to check the pressure. Learn how to check your anti-freeze, your oil level and your transmission fluid. Learn where you can fill up your washer fluid and try to keep your fuel tanks above 1/4 on every trip. Running out of gas is frustrating, but running out of fuel in your RV can be dangerous.
Find a Group
There are many single nomad groups as well as female nomad groups. You may be working while on the road or completely retired. You may have days when you really want to be completely alone in the wilderness. The right group or tribe will leave you to your own devices when necessary and embrace you when you come back but do try to set up notifications among your RV friends.
This is about more than being worried about violence. If you plan a hearty hike to a new waterfall in the Pacific Northwest and twist your ankle on the trail, having someone waiting on a check-in can be the difference between getting found by a ranger before the mosquitoes and whatever else is in the woods chew on you all night. Check-ins with the right people don’t have to be invasive.
Avoid Theft: Don’t Be a Target
Travel with a dog if possible.
Travel with a dog or put a barking app on your phone. If you hear something weird at night, bark. Anyone looking for things to steal in an RV park is counting on
- quiet
- a quick getaway
- easy things to grab and go
Don’t leave gear around your van at night. In a brand new site, consider not going to bed until you’re ready to drive away immediately. If you have a solar panel and a solar generator, try to get them out and charged up in a space with little traffic. If you notice someone being way too curious about your gear and your campsite, let the host know and ask to move. A friendly fellow camper is one thing; a nosy pest who wants a tour should hit your “creep” button. Tell them they can’t come in until your boyfriend cleans up his mess.
Self-Defense
Often, the best self-defense is to be a little unfriendly, at least at first. If you get invited to the fire and offered a beer, make sure you have your own beverage in a single bottle. It may just be water, but they don’t need to know that. When possible, try to have coffee with your new acquaintances and wine with your old friends. Anyone who tries to pressure you to use any product you’re not comfortable with should be avoided.
If you choose to carry a firearm, make sure you’re very good with it. Be prepared to shoot or don’t carry one. After that, nearly anything can be a weapon. A pointy pair of scissors can deliver enough of a scratch to get someone to let go and a hot cup of water can make someone run away in pain. If you have to get close enough to someone to hurt them, drive off and replace your chair, awning or cooler later.
For RVing tips for single women looking for love, check out our article on Dating for Single RVers!
