Complete Campsite Setup Checklist

8 Steps from Parked to Camp-Ready

Over the seasons, every experienced RVer builds their own setup routine. While some first-time campers may not realize it, the order of these setup tasks can be the difference between relaxing under your awning or spending an extra hour re-doing things. Chock before you unhitch. Level before you extend the slides. Get the sewer hose connected and supported before you ever pull a valve. Do the steps out of sequence and you end up re-doing work or worse: cleaning up a mess nobody wants to clean up.

Here’s the campsite setup checklist we run every time we roll into a site, along with the gear that makes each step faster.

Step 1: Walk the Site Before You Park

Before your fully park your rig, get out and walk the pad. You should check these four things: 1) which way the site slopes, 2) where the power hookups and water spigot sit, 3) how far the sewer outlet is from where your RV’s outlet will end up, and 4) whether any low branches will catch your roof or awning.

That sewer-distance check matters more than people think. Ever park your RV and realize you didn’t have enough hose? Checking this first determines your whole sanitation setup in Steps 6 and 7, so better to pace it off first while it’s easy.

Step 2: Position the RV Efficiently

Line up your rig so the utility bay lands close to the hookups. If you camp with a partner, a spotter saves a dozen pull-forward-back-up cycles. If you camp solo, a self-positioning wheel guide like the Lynx Stop ‘N Chock takes the guesswork out. Set up the chock where you want the tire to stop, and roll onto it.

Step 3: Level Side-to-Side

Check your bubble level or phone app across the width of the rig. If one side sits low, stack Lynx Levelers in a pyramid on the low side and drive up. Each interlocking block adds about an inch of lift, the blocks are rated for 40,000 pounds, and the whole 10-pack weighs under 10 pounds in its carry bag. Made in the USA and backed by a 10-year warranty, this is the one piece of leveling gear that outlasts the RV it came with.

An unlevel RV isn’t just an annoyance for sleeping and cooking. Absorption refrigerators need to be close to level to run properly, and tank sensors misread on a slope.

Step 4: Chock the Wheels

Always chock before you unhitch. The Stop ‘N Chock pulls double duty here: the same guide that positioned your tire in Step 2 interlocks directly with Lynx Leveler blocks, so your chock sits flush against the tire even when the wheel is riding on a leveler stack. It meets the SAE J348 wheel chock standard, which is more than can be said for the scrap lumber a lot of campers still use.

Step 5: Stabilize and Connect Power and Water

Drop your stabilizer jacks (fun fact: Lynx Leveler blocks work as jack pads too, spreading the load on soft ground), then connect shore power. Connect the surge protector first, then the pedestal breaker. Hook up city water with a pressure regulator inline. Now you can let out those slides.

Step 6: Set Up the Sewer Hose

Here’s where most setups go wrong. A sewer hose lying on the ground follows the ground, meaning every dip becomes a low spot where waste pools and sits between dumps. Accordion-style cradles can help, but they still depend on the terrain beneath them.

A lifted  RV sewer hose support like the Levitator solves it differently: the hose is suspended in the air on an aluminum pipe, running one continuous downhill slope from your outlet to the sewer connection. The ground underneath, whether it’s gravel, grass, mud, or slope, no longer matters. The kit includes the mounting bracket, clamps, snap & lock poles, tie-downs, and a 15-foot UV-resistant sleeve, and it works with any standard RV sewer hose. It’s designed for sites where the sewer outlet sits between 4 and 15 feet of your RV’s connection, which covers the majority of full-hookup pads.

Step 7: Treat the Tanks

After setting up your sewer hose, drop a holding tank treatment in the black tank before first use. Walex Commando is the deep-clean option. This solution is an enzyme formula that breaks down waste and paper buildup, restores misreading tank sensors, and lubricates the valves and seals. One dissolvable packet, no measuring, no mess. If your tank sensors have ever claimed “full” on an empty tank, this is why seasoned RVers keep a box on board.

The Final Walkaround

Before you crack a chair and call it done: walk the rig one more time. Chocks tight against the tires, cords and hoses out of walking paths, sewer run sloped downhill with no sags, tank valves closed (black stays closed until dump day). Two minutes now saves a headache at 2 a.m.

The Checklist, Printable Version

•  Walk the site (slope, hookups, sewer distance, overhead clearance)
•  Position accurately (Stop ‘N Chock as a wheel guide)
•  Level side-to-side with Lynx Levelers
•  Chock the wheels before unhitching
•  Stabilize, then connect power and water
•  Suspend the sewer hose with a Levitator support
•  Treat the black tank with Walex Commando
•  Final walk-around

Set up right the first time, and camp maintenance mostly disappears. Level it, chock it, float the hose, treat the tank — then go enjoy the reason you came.