As sailor’s we learned to titivate before departure. It’s an old-fashioned word that means “to tart up,” as in batten the hatches and secure all before getting underway. For RV travel, we do the same thing. This takes on special importance when we travel on remote roads in the Southwestern U.S. and in Mexico. The process of preparing takes only a few minutes. The advantage is that we experience far fewer unpleasant surprises on arrival.
A fellow RVer with whom we traveled once discovered that a bottle of pancake syrup had opened and spilled out of the RV coach cabinet and down onto the floor. Whenever possible, we like to learn from others' experiences and avert gooey mishaps.
We secure hanging clothes in the shirt closets with bungee cords to keep hangers from jumping off the closet rods. For those overhead and lower cabinets and drawers inclined to open during travel, we make a similar non-permanent arrangement with small stretch cords that are secured with a plastic ball on the end.
Pots and pans get nested with paper towels or dish towels between them to keep pan surfaces from wearing against each other. Anything ceramic is also nested with cushioning.
The pantry is another spot with potential for stored items to collide during travel. Bottles of vinegar, oil and other glass-storage foods are at risk. The answer is clean old socks. After the heels or toes of athletic and dress socks wear out, we snip off and save the ankle tube portion for use. Just pull the knitted tube over a glass bottle. If this fix feels too homespun, you can purchase and use knitted sports wristbands with a similar effect.