Here’s a simple tip: Know the height of your RV.
A customer came in the other day a couple hours early for their appointment and they asked the receptionist where they could go get a bite to eat. They had come in from West of San Antonio and they were deathly afraid of driving in the big city. Ann nicely gave them the restaurant list and then they asked her “which of these overpasses on the freeway was high enough for their RV?”. That was a new one for us to hear. These people had traveled thousands of miles in the 5 years they owned their motorhome and they had always made it a point to avoid the overpasses. Years ago they had seen a big class A peeled back like a sardine can and they were determined it was not going to happen to them. Well, this made me think. How many of us actually know the height of our RV? At PPL we’ve replaced many AC units that were destroyed by an overpass or overhang at a service station.
Of course, RV Nana started doing some research. How do you measure your RV? The most common way I’ve heard is to get on the top of the unit and measure from the highest point on the AC or antenna down to the ground. I’m not a big fan of climbing on the roof, so I happen to like the article I read about measuring from the ground to the top of the RV and then adding 18” to 2 feet to that measurement. Another person preferred being on the safe side and suggested a 3 foot addition. Regardless of how you establish the height, write it down. I like putting it on a sticker on the dash area to remind myself. The clearance height is normally posted on overpasses, bridges, buildings, etc. And, don’t forget to measure your fifth wheel when it is hooked up to the truck. Hopefully, this will save you a headache and a lot of money.