The Stress Free Man Comic Guidebook

Stress Free Digital Guide: Comicbook Edition 1

We made this comic as a fun alternative way to help provide guidance and education covering most of the common basic situations. The following panels show both the right and wrong way to handle the same situations. We hope you enjoy and have a STRESS FREE EXPERIENCE rather than be STRESSED OUT. Please contact us in real time with any questions: 619.935.3733.

Save our contact info: www.StressFreeRVs.com, 619.935.3733

Be Stress Free Man, not Stressed Out Man.

Why this guidebook exists.

We've handed keys to thousands of renters. The same handful of questions come up every single time. This is the answer to all of them, in pictures.

Before you leave the yard.

Walk around the rig. Check tires, lights, levels, and the connection to your tow vehicle. Five minutes here saves an hour on the side of the highway.

Sign here, here, and here.

Rental agreement, SRA e-signature link, trip acceptance link, pre-trip guest list and information online form, driver's license, insurance docs, and the walk-through inspection form(s). We need all before you leave. It protects you and protects us.

There's a trailer behind you. Drive accordingly.

Safe, slower speeds, longer braking distance, wider turns. Use both side mirrors. Change lanes deliberately using turn signals. Most issues happen in the first hour while you're still adjusting to the size of the rig.

Your RV is taller than your car. It also has an air conditioner, antennas, and vents on the roof to be mindful of. Always measure in advance and double-check to be safe.

Watch overpasses. Do not attempt drive-thrus. No parking garages. Careful at gas station canopies, and avoid tree branches. When in doubt, take the longer safer way around. A scraped roof costs a lot more than the detour.

Before going in reverse, ALWAYS have a second person guide you.

Have someone outside the vehicle guide you in. Roll your window down. Agree on hand signals before you start. If you can't see them in your mirror, they can't see you either. Stop and reset. Having a spotter applies any time you have to use side streets, narrow roads, pull out of parking areas, gas stations, and whenever you start the engine from a stopped position.

Get level before you do anything else.

An unlevel RV means slide-outs are at risk of failing or not working, doors won't close properly, a refrigerator that won't cool right, floors that may wobble or slant, and a long night in a tilted bed. Use the leveling blocks before you disconnect the tow vehicle or extend the slides.

Make sure you're level, stabilizer jacks are extended properly, check your surroundings, then push the extend button(s) and stand back.

Walk around the rig first. Make sure nothing's in the path: patio chairs, kids, pets, the picnic table, fencing, posts, or other interfering items you didn't see. Measure out a minimum 3-foot distance from the exterior sides, then extend slowly and listen for anything that sounds wrong.

Keep the sewer hose and fresh water hoses separate.

Fresh water hose connects to the “city connection” spigot. Sewer hose connects to the campground's septic cleanout. Don't cross-thread, don't reuse hoses across systems, and wear gloves for the sewer side. Always. Make sure to lay out your septic rails first, then place the septic hose on the rails and connect to your exterior cleanout on the ground BEFORE connecting to the RV or trailer. Once fully connected, pull the black waste lever first, then the grey lever, and check if there is a second grey lever to pull as well. Wait until waste clears, then push all waste levers back in and repeat daily.

Check the tank monitor sensors regularly on the control panel.

Black tank, grey tank, fresh water. Empty black first, then grey. The grey rinses the hose on its way out. If a sensor reads wrong, it's usually toilet paper stuck on a probe; a hot water flush usually clears it. Also check the propane and battery sensors daily.

30-amp, 50-amp, and don't skip the surge protector.

Check the rig's amp rating before you plug in. Use a surge protector at every campground. Campground electrical can be unpredictable. If a breaker trips inside the rig, you've usually got too many appliances running at once. If you hear a “pop” or things aren't working, check, reset, and test the GFCI outlet. Turn off the air conditioner when using the microwave. Hair dryers are not allowed. They draw far too much power and will likely short the system. Please use the campground or resort facilities and outlets for high-power needs like hair dryers.

Out for shade. In before wind. Use when in use, retract until you return.

Pull it out when you arrive if you'd like. Bring it in before storms, strong winds, or overnight. Any time no one is under the awning it must be retracted. Whoever is last needs to retract before leaving the RV or trailer. Awnings are the most common damage we see. They are fragile, expensive, not covered by insurance, and almost always avoidable.

Return on time. Late fees are real.

Your return window is in your contract. Late fees aren't a money grab. We schedule to prevent delays and wait times along with assigning staff and cleaning services. There's likely another renter waiting for that exact rig. Communicate early if you're going to be late. We'll do our best to accommodate, and in return we ask that our guests be respectful the same way. Our earliest start time is 10:00 AM and our last call for accepting returns is 4:00 PM. We are unable to offer after-hours pick-up or drop-off services.

Bring it back the way you got it.

Empty waste tanks, fuel and propane refilled, trash removed, personal items accounted for, interior tidied. We handle the light cleaning, sanitizing, sweeping, and surface wipe-down at no charge. Anything that needs attention, just tell us. Way easier to fix it before the next renter than to discover it after.