How to Prepare an RV for Transport
An RV is a house that has to survive highway forces, and preparing one for transport is mostly about the house rather than the vehicle. Cabinets open, contents shift, water sits in lines and awnings unroll. The mechanical side is usually fine. What arrives broken is what was inside.
Know What You Have
The category matters because the transport method differs completely.
A towable, meaning a travel trailer or fifth wheel, is usually moved by hitching it to a suitable tow vehicle and driving it. There is no trailer involved because the RV is the trailer.
A drivable motorhome, Class A, B or C, is either driven by a transport driver or carried on a lowboy or specialized trailer if it does not run or is too tall to drive legally in its condition.
Height, width, length and weight decide everything downstream. Measure them rather than quoting the brochure, and include the air conditioners, vents and any roof-mounted equipment in the height, because that is where the real number lives. Many RVs are over 8 feet 6 inches wide and over 13 feet 6 inches tall on a trailer, which puts the move into permit territory.
Empty and Secure the Interior
This is where most damage originates and it is entirely preventable.
Remove everything that is not fastened down. Dishes, glassware, bottles, electronics, decorations, anything on a shelf. What stays should be inside a closed, latched cupboard, and cupboards that do not latch positively should be taped or strapped shut.
Refrigerator and freezer doors get propped slightly open after being emptied and cleaned, or latched shut if the unit has a transit latch. Interior doors, including the bathroom and any slide-out partitions, should be secured so they cannot swing.
Retract every slide-out fully and confirm it is locked in the travel position. A slide that creeps out at highway speed is catastrophic. If a slide has been unreliable, say so before the move.
Roll and secure the awning, and lock the awning arms. Awnings are the single most common external casualty.
Water, Waste and Propane
Four systems, each with its own reason.
Fresh water. Drain the tank and the lines. Water is heavy, it sloshes, and in cold weather it freezes and splits pipes. If the move crosses a freeze, winterize properly with antifreeze rather than just draining.
Waste tanks. Empty and flush both gray and black. This is not optional; a full black tank on a long move is a genuinely unpleasant failure.
Water heater. Drain it. It is a separate tank and it is easy to forget.
Propane. Close the valves at the tanks. Many carriers require tanks to be turned off, and some require them removed or certified empty, particularly for anything moving by trailer. Ask what the carrier requires rather than assuming.
The Exterior Checklist
Walk the outside methodically.
Close and latch every external compartment, and lock them. Retract the steps. Secure or remove antennas, satellite dishes and anything on the roof that lifts. Check the roof itself for loose sealant or lifting edges, because 65 mile an hour airflow finds every weakness.
Remove or secure bike racks, ladders, generators and cargo carriers. Detach anything hanging on the rear that was never designed for sustained highway loading.
Tape or otherwise secure vent covers if they are the type that can lift. Confirm the entry door is locked, not merely closed.
The Mechanical Part
Less involved than people expect, but not nothing.
Check every tire, including the spare, and inflate to the sidewall specification. RV tires frequently age out before they wear out, and a trailer that has been parked for two seasons is exactly the profile for a blowout. Look at the date codes.
Check wheel bearings on a towable and have them serviced if there is any doubt, because a bearing failure on the highway ends the trip badly.
On a drivable unit, top up fluids, confirm the battery holds charge, and make sure it starts and drives reliably. If it does not, declare that when you book: a non-running motorhome needs different equipment entirely.
Test the lights on a towable with the tow vehicle connected, and confirm the breakaway cable and safety chains are present and sound.
Documentation and Handover
Photograph the whole exterior in daylight from every side, plus the roof if you can safely reach it, and the interior. Get the roof specifically, because roof damage is the hardest to argue about later.
Confirm the carrier’s cargo insurance limit against the value of the RV. Standard limits are frequently well below what a large motorhome is worth, and higher coverage is arranged in advance rather than after a problem.
Be present at both ends if you can, or nominate someone who understands the unit. Whoever signs the bill of lading accepts its condition, and on an RV the condition report should cover the roof, the slides and the awning specifically rather than “no visible damage”. Our guide to wide and oversize loads covers the permit thresholds if yours crosses them.
Common Questions
Do I need to empty the water tanks? Yes, all of them including the water heater. Water is weight, it shifts, and it freezes.
What about propane? Close the valves at minimum. Some carriers require tanks removed or certified empty. Ask before the truck arrives.
What breaks most often? Awnings, followed by interior contents that were not secured and roof-mounted items that lift at speed.
Will it need a permit? Frequently. Many RVs exceed 8 feet 6 inches wide or 13 feet 6 inches tall once on a trailer. Measure including roof equipment.
Can a non-running motorhome be moved? Yes, but it needs different equipment. Declare it when you book rather than at pickup.
Get a Quote
Call Ship A Car, Inc. at (866) 452-3657 for heavy haul and specialized freight with the measured height, width, length and weight, and whether the unit runs and drives, or price it with the specialized transport calculator.
