• Do one thing at a time and take your time: These were our trip mantras. First, maintaining an RV is a bit of work, and the first time out it takes some getting used to. There are a lot of bells and whistles and many things going on at once. Also, driving in an RV takes longer. Sometimes -- especially when there are many steep grades on mountain roads -- it takes twice as long. Accept it. Try to relax and enjoy the views.

• Don't distract the driver: Once the RV is on the road, everybody else needs to deal with whatever comes up and keep distractions to a minimum. If you're the driver, tune everybody out. The driver's only responsibility should be safe driving.

• Have a parking/loading plan: Some cities considers RVs to be commercial vehicles; you can park it to load it but can't park it overnight. Check your area for restrictions.

• Get only as much RV as you need: The RV we rented was a Class C, 31 feet long and listed as sleeping eight, although we wouldn't have wanted that many people in it overnight (at one point we had four people; six would have been crowded but tolerable). Next time I'd like to try a fifth-wheel trailer or a pop-up camper -- definitely something a little smaller. On the other hand, it was nice to have that slide-out when we were at the campgrounds, where it was delightfully roomy. It also had more than enough storage capacity for this trip.

• Make a checklist of things to do each day: We got into a routine of checking propane, gas and holding tank levels each morning, and the kids were in charge of making sure the slide-out was in. I also walked all the way around the RV before driving off, because each campground was differently configured, some presenting challenges. (Boulders! Trees! Dogs! Children!).

• Never drive down anything with an exit you can't see: This was one of the best pieces of advice someone gave me. In small towns where I needed to negotiate unfamiliar places, I parked where I knew I could see the escape route and then walked down to the end to see if I could eventually get out without having to pull a 27-point turn, or worse, back out.

• Don't forget how tall you are: Our RV was 13 feet high, which is up there. There were a couple of gas stations in small towns that were off-limits, and we were an inch shy of getting turned away from a tunnel.

• You can't outrun high winds: Utah and Arizona are well known for their dust storms; we passed a semi-trailer that had been knocked on its side. Your best bet is to pull over if possible. If not, drive slowly.

• Turn off the water while you soap up: This includes the dishes, your hair in the shower, washing your hands and shaving. We learned this the hard way while at a campground that lied to us about full hookups (for the record, that also means sewage or, at the very least, a dump station on-site). We were about to spend several days on Lake Powell, hadn't showered in days and the holding-tank level indicator said we were one-third full on gray water. So the three of us gals took showers. Next thing you know, the water in the bottom of the shower backed up, which would have meant driving with a river of water coming down the center of the RV. I'm not even going to tell you what we had to do. It was bad.

• Your rear end swings wide: The day we left Camping World on our trip, another family bringing an RV back hit a pylon turning in. You have to pull forward a little bit more and then make the turn (particularly when turning right), and always watch your backside in the side mirror as you go.

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