RV Setup and Departure Checklist
Setup has a correct order and doing it out of order means doing it twice. Departure has a correct order too, and getting that one wrong is how people drive off with the steps down.
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The short answer
Setup order that never needs redoing: level, chock, unhitch, stabilize, power, water, sewer. Leveling has to happen before you unhitch, because the tow vehicle is what gets you up onto the blocks. Chocking has to happen before you disconnect, because that is the point at which nothing else is holding the trailer.
Part of our first-season starter kit guide, and the companion to the essentials checklist. That one is about what to own; this one is about what to do with it.
Arriving: the nine steps in order
1. Walk the site before you position
Thirty seconds on foot saves ten minutes of repositioning. You are looking for which way the pad slopes, where the pedestal and spigot are, how far the sewer inlet is, and whether there is a branch at the height of your roof air conditioner.
2. Position the trailer
Door side toward the usable space, and the sewer inlet within reach of your hose. Getting this wrong is the difference between a 20-foot hose being generous and being four feet short.
3. Level side to side, while still hitched
Blocks go in front of or behind the low-side tires and you drive onto them. This must happen before unhitching, because the tow vehicle is what provides the power to get up there. Full detail in how to level a travel trailer.
4. Chock the wheels, before disconnecting
Once you are level, chock both sides. This is the step people postpone and it is the one with a real consequence: the moment you disconnect, the chocks are the only thing holding the trailer on a sloped pad.
5. Unhitch, then level front to back
Tongue jack onto a pad, disconnect, then use the jack to bring the trailer level front to back.
6. Stabilizers down, onto pads
Stabilizer jacks stop the trailer rocking when you walk around inside. They are not lifting devices and they are not leveling devices — see stabilizers versus levelers if that distinction is not yet obvious.
7. Power — test the pedestal first
Plug the surge protector into the pedestal on its own and let it check the supply before the trailer is connected to anything. If it reports an open ground, reversed polarity or low voltage, you want to know that while your appliances are still isolated. Detail in the electrical hookup guide.
8. Water, through the regulator
Regulator at the spigot, hose to the trailer, then open the tap slowly. Regulator at the spigot rather than at the trailer means the hose is also protected from the pressure spike.
9. Sewer last, valves closed
Seal into the site inlet, support the run so it falls the whole way, and leave both tank valves shut until you actually dump. Leaving the black valve open on a full-hookup site drains the liquid and leaves the solids — the most common first-season tank mistake. See how to hook up an RV sewer hose.
The four the sequence depends on
Steps 3, 4, 7 and 9 each need one specific piece of hardware, and the sequence does not work without them.
Best for Most first trailers
Camco FasTen Leveling Blocks (10-pack)
The default first purchase for a travel trailer: interlocking blocks you stack into a ramp, cheap enough to buy two sets.
Best for The non-negotiable basics
Camco Heavy-Duty Wheel Chocks (pair)
The chock that stops the trailer rolling. Not the one that stops it rocking, which is a different product, and you need both.
Best for 30-amp rigs, no compromise
Progressive Industries EMS-PT30X Portable EMS (30 amp)
A full electrical management system rather than a surge protector: it watches voltage and wiring and cuts power before a bad pedestal reaches your rig.
Best for Seeing when the tank is done
Camco RhinoFLEX Clear 45-Degree Sewer Adapter
The clear elbow: the cheapest way to know a black tank is genuinely empty rather than probably empty.
Leaving: the checks that matter
Departure is where the expensive mistakes happen, because it feels like the trip is over and attention has already moved on. Work through these in order and do the walk-around even when you are certain.
Departure sequence
| Order | Do | What goes wrong if you skip it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dump black tank, then gray | Gray water is what rinses the hose clean |
| 2 | Disconnect and stow the sewer hose | Driving off still connected. It happens |
| 3 | Disconnect water, drain the hose | A full hose freezes and splits in cold weather |
| 4 | Disconnect power, stow the surge protector | Left behind on the pedestal, and it is the priciest item you own |
| 5 | Raise stabilizers fully | Ground contact under tow bends the jack |
| 6 | Hitch up, chains crossed, brake plugged in | The chains and breakaway cable are the backup if the coupler releases |
| 7 | Remove chocks — all of them | You will feel it, and the chock will not survive |
| 8 | Retract the steps, latch the door | The single most common departure mistake |
| 9 | Roof vents shut, antenna down | An open vent at highway speed tears off |
| 10 | Full walk-around of the trailer | This is the step that catches the other nine |
Hitching up correctly
Step 6 above is the one with real consequences, and it has its own sequence: coupler seated and latched, latch pinned, safety chains crossed under the coupler, breakaway cable attached to the vehicle (not to the chains), electrical plug connected, then a lights check before you move. Our hitching guide walks it properly, and the towing safety checklist covers the pre-drive checks.
Questions people actually ask
What order should I set up a travel trailer at a campsite?
Level, chock, unhitch, stabilize, power, water, sewer. Leveling must happen while still hitched because the tow vehicle gets you onto the blocks, and chocking must happen before disconnecting because that is when nothing else is holding the trailer.
Should I level or chock first?
Level first, then chock. Chocks placed before leveling get in the way of driving onto the blocks, and you would have to move them anyway.
Do I connect power or water first?
Power, and test the pedestal with the surge protector before connecting the trailer to it. If the pedestal has an open ground, reversed polarity or low voltage, you want to discover that while your appliances are still isolated.
What do people most often forget when leaving a campsite?
Retracting the entry steps, and leaving the surge protector on the pedestal. Both are caught by one slow walk-around of the trailer before getting into the tow vehicle.
Should I dump the black tank or the gray tank first?
Black first, then gray. The gray water flows through the same hose afterward and rinses it, which is the whole reason for the order.
Sources
Read next
First-Season Starter Kit
Travel Trailer Essentials Checklist
A first-trip checklist for a new travel trailer, grouped by utility with the commonly forgotten items called out.
Leveling & Chocks
How to Level a Travel Trailer (Step by Step for Beginners)
The full arrival sequence for leveling a towed trailer, in the order that means you only do it once.
Towing & Security
How to Hitch a Travel Trailer (Step by Step)
The full hitching sequence with the latch and jack checks that prevent a trailer coming off the ball.
Sewer & Water
How to Hook Up an RV Sewer Hose (Step by Step)
The full sewer connection and dumping sequence, in order, with the two checks that prevent the story you tell for years.
Reviewed September 25, 2026. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.