The excitement to finally take your rig out is crazy. The trip can’t come fast enough but you’re also wondering if you know what to do.
RESERVATION
We booked our reservation in advance and that will be helpful to you too. Many places you can book online.
They will want your dates staying, rig’s length, any slides, type of RV, amp wattage (usually 30amp or 50amp), type of hook ups (full hook-ups, partial hookups, no hookups), # of people, any pets, and your contact information.
*On your first trip, be sure to get full hookups which means water, sewer and electric.
We recommend KOA for your first trip since they are family-friendly, plenty activities and usually plenty amenities to test the lifestyle. We knew we wanted to try it out right away so we booked a site at the Santa Cruz /Monterey Bay KOA. You may recall this KOA being featured on the CBS show “Undercover Boss.” We figured it was close to home just in case it was an epic fail or we forgot something.
HEAD TO THE RV PARK
We were so excited to pick up our first RV, a red 18ft Winnie Drop travel trailer. It was the perfect size for our jeep wrangler to pull. We scheduled our walk thru to pick up our RV at 11am on a sunny California Saturday. We left the RV dealership at about 2pm and headed out for our rookie trip which was about 1 hour from where we lived.
CHECK-IN AT THE OFFICE
I remember pulling into the camp ground and we were not sure what to do next. There was a line of RV’s waiting to check in.
We parked in the checkin line and walked into the KOA office. My first impression of the check-in office and camp store was just being blown away. We couldn’t believe there was so much amazing stuff to buy in the camp store.
This was our first time at a camp ground. The staff was very friendly and helpful telling us where our camp site was and giving useful information on how to get to the site and parking information.
PARKING & SET-UP
We started heading to our camp site and I was a little nervous since it was a back-in site (for new RVers there are back-in sites and then pull through sites). Back-In sites you back your rig into and pull-through sites, you simply pull into a large spot without really needing to park.
I’ve backed up trailers before but never an RV and with people around. We found our camp site and Britta jumped out of the jeep to guide me in. Boom, first try we got the RV in the spot with no problems. Proud moment for us. Next we made sure it was leveled then unhitched it from the jeep. Since we had just picked it up from the dealership the sewer hose, waters hose and blocks were still in the store package.
Setting up camp for the first time, we didn’t have a good routine yet and honestly that never crossed our minds. But here’s a list we made to be our
Setting Up Campsite Routine
-Park The RV
-Level The RV (either automatic with your rig or manually and can use a picture hanging leveler)
-Plug In the Power (your rig is either 50 amp or 30 amp.)
-Hook Up Grey Tank Hose, Black Tank Hose, Fresh Water Hose
-Extend Slide-Outs and Awning (if you have them)
-Turn on the fridge
-Turn on A/C or Heat
-Unpack chairs, fire pit, coolers and food
This was another proud moment for us. We were excited and ready for our first night of camping.
WHAT DO YOU EAT
There was one major thing we forgot. Since our RV was brand new, we didn’t have any food yet. So we jumped in the jeep on a quest to find a store nearby. We found a grocery store about 10 miles from our camp site.
The first meal I wanted in our RV was ribeye steaks and a salad. We also bought food for breakfast the next morning. With our RTIC Cooler filled with food, we headed back to the campground.
You can buy food close by your campground (check to see if there are place around first) or bring it with you.
TAKE A TOUR OF YOUR CAMPGROUND
Once we got back to the campground, we decided to walk around and see what this KOA had to offer. It was amazing to see there was a bounce ball and play ground for the kids close to our site. The cabins were very nice from the outside at least and some of them came with gas grills. The pool was packed and we met so many nice people as we were walking around.
I must say we really felt like we made the right decision!
HERE’S A VIDEO TOUR OF THE RV AND OUR CAMPSITE
THANK YOU SANTA CRUZ KOA
The Santa Cruz KOA is a top notch camp ground – great for families or couples like us who just want to get away for the weekend. It’s close to beaches in California and if you want to explore, it’s a great basecamp to explore the Monterey-area California coast line. Overall, I would say that our first RV trip was a successful trip and we couldn’t wait for the next one.
Thank you Santa Cruz KOA for making our first RV experience a lifelong memory.
Create. Dope. Adventures.
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