New Aire Campsite arrival/departure Checklist

[2019Prism]

Does anyone have a campsite arrival/departure checklist specific to a New Aire RV?

[Wiscampsin1]

Although not specific to your New Aire here's a link to a series from Angie at NIRVC. She is awesome and extremely knowledgeable and thorough. Watch these and take notes. You'll probably develop your own procedure as you get more familiar with your coach but this will give you an idea of what she does, and does well. DW and I have our own check lists and responsibilities, she takes care of the inside and I do the outside. Then we switch and double check each other. Congrats and enjoy your New Aire!!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...6NlFa9nxonsmiC

[OMMM4747]

Although generic checklists are a good starting point, they are just that, a starting point. Your checklists should be specifically tailored to your coach's equipment and your manuals' directives on their use and operation -- and how much it is you actually want to check and accomplish ... a cursory look or extensive?

I created checklists for my coach 3+ years ago after reading the manuals and they continue to evolve to this day based on real-life lessons learned and lessons learned by others on this forum.

Good luck

[workingonit]

Iphones have an app called Notes. Not sure what the Samsung equivalent is, I just don't remember. We have our checklists on the Notes app. I made the checklist by recording exactly what I do when we prep to leave home or a site. I just use it in reverse for setup if I use it at all.

[David 70]

Samsung also has the notes app. It is a Microsoft app so anything that will run Microsoft will use it, tablets laptops, and phones.

[Dutch Star Don]

I know it's exciting to get a new coach and the desired to buy and develop things just for it. However, the lists get old and you're soon skipping them.

We've been RVing for 50 plus years. My wife and I have it down to a science. There's not much of a list you need when you arrive. You're going to have to open and pull things out or you won't be able to use them.

Just some things and methods to think about.......

WHEN YOU ARRIVE

As I said, you HAVE to do certain things to use the coach. Pull in or back into your spot. Get out, attach your shore connections. Doing it before the slides are out will save your back and ensures you have shore power while operating the slides. Make sure the driver's side slide is going to CLEAR the shore power pedestal when opened.

On my coach, all of my important controls are in the cabinet above the steering wheel. Once I open that cabinet, I turn on the Oasis to electric, start the satellite if you have one, set the steps to stay out, turn the under-slide lighting switch on and then operate the slides. You're pretty much all set for the coach stuff. Deploy the jacks or air leveling and the coach is ready.

My wife likes to sweep and then use a Swiffer to clean the floor. Moving the slides in and out makes the floor dirty. Once the floor is clean, we pull my recliner out and move the ottomans to their spot. If we're there for a few days and with friends, I pull out the table leaf and two extra chairs.

WHEN WE DEPART

My wife and I have our own things we do. She cleans up the bathroom and puts everything away. That includes putting down the shower seat and locking the shower door. She works her way forward and stows small items. We use a pool noodle in the microwave. It's just a little taller than the inside height and we place it vertically inside the microwave, which keeps the glass plate from jumping. Soap and spoon caddy on the counter lives in the sink while traveling. We both make our drinks for the ride and then lock the refer. The morning of departure, we lock the refer no matter if the other person has gotten their drink, just so we don't miss it.

I move to the front cabinet and stow the satellite, turn off the Oasis and the DirecTV box. I turn the steps to retract and turn off the under-slide lighting. I start the coach and let it start to air up while on HIGH IDLE. I go to the rear bath, brush my teeth and then walk forward double checking everything is in its place.

Once aired up and I hear the air tanks "spit" I bring the FWS slide in, the kitchen slide in and my wife then brings in the bedroom slide.

I shut the coach down go outside and disconnect all the shore cords. I connect the toad or check the connections if I connected it the night before, complete my loop around the coach and we're ready to roll.

Sooooo..... it's a long post and there are no specific bullet points or check list, but you can see we just created a rhythm for our coach. We follow a sequence of opening and closing and adjust as needed if I'm doing something else or she's doing something else.

The most important thing, even with a checklist, if you make one.....don't get distracted, especially when connecting the toad.

[OMMM4747]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

However, the lists get old and you're soon skipping them.

I will respectfully disagree. Checklists allow me (a) to get reacquainted with my processes before the beginning of the season and (b) ensure I don't miss steps.

Although I will grant you that I have most of my steps memorized, I still go through my checklists when I think I'm done to ensure I haven't missed anything. Checklists also allow me to pick up where I left off if I'm interrupted, get distracted, or find myself spending extra time resolving an issue.

I've been using procedure checklists for 40+ years. For me at least, they work and I have the discipline to not skip them. I also figure that as I age and CRM (can't remember sh**t) kicks in, my checklists will be a welcomed and useful crutch.

Safe travels

[Dutch Star Don]

So does that mean you're a pilot????

[Country Road]

I think that a checklist for your coach is very important for the first year or so.

Once you’ve learned your coach, having a checklist isn’t going to matter if you get sidetracked.

I won’t repeat anything already said, but the DW and I also have a system. There’s only a handful of things that are really critical to take care off. We all know what they are.

There’s one thing I do that I haven’t heard mentioned. It’s a small thing. Upon arriving at a sight and extending my Travelers dish, I put my ignition keys on top off the satellite antenna box.

To anyone who always uses a checklist, good for you if it helps.

[OMMM4747]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

So does that mean you're a pilot????

Yes, but it's not just a pilot thing. All aircrew, ship crew, space crew, maintainers, munitions, support personnel, airlines, cruise and cargo ships, etc., all use checklist. Why? Because humans are the weakest link in the error chain and checklists help mitigate that liability. Simply stated, checklists work. But if you ask any of us trained in their use you'll find they're not idiot proof! Despite their written guidance, procedural errors still occur from the least to the most experienced crews. Think about that the next time you're strapped into a passenger jet and hand your fate over to the folks that maintain and operate the aircraft. Hopefully they ran their checklist correctly and didn't skip any crucial steps.

My checklists are on my iPad and I don't carry it w/me as I'm doing things but I always reference it once done to ensure I haven't missed anything. I find more times than I care to admit that I have to go back and check or accomplish something I missed. Why? Because unlike flying several times a week and staying 'current' with those procedures, I don't RV as frequently and am not as 'current' with my RV's procedural steps.

I haven't broken anything [yet] as result of a dumb-a** mistake. But admit that would not be the case if not for my checklists. If you have ever forgotten to do something, or broken anything that was otherwise preventable, maybe a reminder would have helped mitigate the oversight.

Use them; don't use them. To each his own.

Safe travels ya'll

[workingonit]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

I know it's exciting to get a new coach and the desired to buy and develop things just for it. However, the lists get old and you're soon skipping them.

We've been RVing for 50 plus years. My wife and I have it down to a science. There's not much of a list you need when you arrive. You're going to have to open and pull things out or you won't be able to use them.

Just some things and methods to think about.......

WHEN YOU ARRIVE

As I said, you HAVE to do certain things to use the coach. Pull in or back into your spot. Get out, attach your shore connections. Doing it before the slides are out will save your back and ensures you have shore power while operating the slides. Make sure the driver's side slide is going to CLEAR the shore power pedestal when opened.

On my coach, all of my important controls are in the cabinet above the steering wheel. Once I open that cabinet, I turn on the Oasis to electric, start the satellite if you have one, set the steps to stay out, turn the under-slide lighting switch on and then operate the slides. You're pretty much all set for the coach stuff. Deploy the jacks or air leveling and the coach is ready.

My wife likes to sweep and then use a Swiffer to clean the floor. Moving the slides in and out makes the floor dirty. Once the floor is clean, we pull my recliner out and move the ottomans to their spot. If we're there for a few days and with friends, I pull out the table leaf and two extra chairs.

WHEN WE DEPART

My wife and I have our own things we do. She cleans up the bathroom and puts everything away. That includes putting down the shower seat and locking the shower door. She works her way forward and stows small items. We use a pool noodle in the microwave. It's just a little taller than the inside height and we place it vertically inside the microwave, which keeps the glass plate from jumping. Soap and spoon caddy on the counter lives in the sink while traveling. We both make our drinks for the ride and then lock the refer. The morning of departure, we lock the refer no matter if the other person has gotten their drink, just so we don't miss it.

I move to the front cabinet and stow the satellite, turn off the Oasis and the DirecTV box. I turn the steps to retract and turn off the under-slide lighting. I start the coach and let it start to air up while on HIGH IDLE. I go to the rear bath, brush my teeth and then walk forward double checking everything is in its place.

Once aired up and I hear the air tanks "spit" I bring the FWS slide in, the kitchen slide in and my wife then brings in the bedroom slide.

I shut the coach down go outside and disconnect all the shore cords. I connect the toad or check the connections if I connected it the night before, complete my loop around the coach and we're ready to roll.

Sooooo..... it's a long post and there are no specific bullet points or check list, but you can see we just created a rhythm for our coach. We follow a sequence of opening and closing and adjust as needed if I'm doing something else or she's doing something else.

The most important thing, even with a checklist, if you make one.....don't get distracted, especially when connecting the toad.

For me, setting up is something my wife can do with not much exposure. The real deal is breaking down and not forgetting something critical before you hit the road. You go with your memory and that's probably fine for you but for me getting complacent and forgetting something could mean someone dies on the road.

[MarkMaxPayne]

Originally Posted by OMMM4747

Yes, but it's not just a pilot thing. All aircrew, ship crew, space crew, maintainers, munitions, support personnel, airlines, cruise and cargo ships, etc., all use checklist.

Many surgeons also started using them in the operating room well over a decade ago with the lead surgeon playing the role of pilot and another attending playing copilot as they went through the list. This lowered patient readmittance rates due to higher success rates and lower infection rates...

If you don't want to skip something, checklist is the way to go. Otherwise, it is too easy to skip a step at some point or another. On my phone I use an app called ChecklistPro as well as OneNote.

Best,
-Mark

[Dutch Star Don]

I NEVER said you can't use a checklist.....I said.....I know it's exciting to get a new coach and the desired to buy and develop things just for it. However, the lists get old and you're soon skipping them.

If you can't function without a list, make all the lists you want. HUMAN NATURE says you'll soon rush through them, knowing that you did all those things. Simply "WALKING" the coach as I suggested lets you see everything.

Millions of people have and drive RV's. For the past 52 years of RVing, I've yet to see someone looking at a checklist or no ANYONE who uses a checklist.

Use what you want, I suggested to the OP that it's fun to make things like lists and even special tools for something like moving jack pads, but it soon gets old and discarded.

If you have your idea of what's needed, POST it. I didn't see ANY of you post a single list, where my post was very comprehensive and could have easily been converted to a list.

[NCC-1701A]

The "walk around" on departure is my most critical step. I check every baggage door to be sure it is locked and securely closed. It's easy to just generally look down the side of the coach so I focus on individual items...main awnings, window awnings, slides. Anything left on the picnic table? In the campsite? All hoses and cords stowed. Visual check that jacks are up and suspension is up. No fluids under the coach (leaks of coolant, oils). I also check the engine bay to ensure some rodent has not built a nest that will catch fire.

Like DS Don, my checklist is currently in my noggin, but I'm getting to the age where having it written is probably not a bad idea. Whatever works.

I guess I've never had a model or even brand specific list. There might be a reason for that if something is really unique, but I guess I've never found that need.

One item on arrival that I recently read an example of is to check the site for tire puncturing items before pulling in. In the example the individual found literally a handful of screws and various sizes of rusty staples, among some other small objects. I always check the site first to note big things I need to be concerned with before pulling in like branches, poles, picnic table, but never looked to see if something was laying on the pad that might lead to a flat.