Rookie Mistake 101
Yup, I've been making some real rookie mistakes. That's how you learn, right?
When I arrived at the campground in Maine a couple weeks ago, it was almost dark, I was very tired, and it was the first time I'd parked at a campsite. There was just enough light to see where the campsite was most level and I pulled the camper into that area. Sure enough it was level right to left. (There is actually a little level attached to the front of the camper so you can tell.) Next, I wanted to make sure it was level front to back. (There's a level on the side of the camper to help with that.) It's important to level the trailer pretty well if you're going to use the propane to run the refrigerator. These little camper refrigerators will be damaged if you run them on propane when they aren't level. So I was focused on getting the camper level front to back, which I realized would involve unhitching it from the car. I went through the process of unhitching, got in the car and pulled a couple feet away. From the car I heard a different sound. Getting out, I saw that the camper was now right up against the car's hitch. Which it shouldn't have been. Hmmm. It was too dark, I was too tired and the camper was now level. So I put the chocks under the wheels and went to bed. In the morning, I could clearly see that the foot under the tongue of the camper had carved a groove about 6 feet long into the dirt of the campsite! It slide 6 feet because I didn't put the chocks under the wheels before unhitching. Real rookie mistake. Won't do that again. Fortunately no harm to camper or car. Whew! However, now the camper was so close to the woods surrounding the campsite that there was no way I could get my car in front of it again to hitch it up when I was ready to leave in a few days.
Fortunately, I have road side assistance for the car and camper. I called them, and they sent Steve with a big winch truck. Steve arrived and surveyed the scene. He's a pretty big guy, and obviously experienced with camper troubles. He was a little surprised the camper had slid because the campsite had only a slight slope. Then he started pushing and tugging on the tongue of the camper, grabbing hold of the safety chains to get a good hold, and little by little he moved the camper right around so that the front was now facing uphill instead of downhill. Easy as pie to hitch onto the car the next morning. Who knew one big guy could tug her around like that! Thank you, Steve!!
NOTE: Some folks who follow this blog have had trouble leaving a comment. If you're receiving these posts within an email message, look for the link to Lisa's Travels at the bottom of the post. If you click there, it will take you to blogspot where you can go back to previous posts, and make comments. At least I think that works. Let me know if it doesn't?
When I arrived at the campground in Maine a couple weeks ago, it was almost dark, I was very tired, and it was the first time I'd parked at a campsite. There was just enough light to see where the campsite was most level and I pulled the camper into that area. Sure enough it was level right to left. (There is actually a little level attached to the front of the camper so you can tell.) Next, I wanted to make sure it was level front to back. (There's a level on the side of the camper to help with that.) It's important to level the trailer pretty well if you're going to use the propane to run the refrigerator. These little camper refrigerators will be damaged if you run them on propane when they aren't level. So I was focused on getting the camper level front to back, which I realized would involve unhitching it from the car. I went through the process of unhitching, got in the car and pulled a couple feet away. From the car I heard a different sound. Getting out, I saw that the camper was now right up against the car's hitch. Which it shouldn't have been. Hmmm. It was too dark, I was too tired and the camper was now level. So I put the chocks under the wheels and went to bed. In the morning, I could clearly see that the foot under the tongue of the camper had carved a groove about 6 feet long into the dirt of the campsite! It slide 6 feet because I didn't put the chocks under the wheels before unhitching. Real rookie mistake. Won't do that again. Fortunately no harm to camper or car. Whew! However, now the camper was so close to the woods surrounding the campsite that there was no way I could get my car in front of it again to hitch it up when I was ready to leave in a few days.
Fortunately, I have road side assistance for the car and camper. I called them, and they sent Steve with a big winch truck. Steve arrived and surveyed the scene. He's a pretty big guy, and obviously experienced with camper troubles. He was a little surprised the camper had slid because the campsite had only a slight slope. Then he started pushing and tugging on the tongue of the camper, grabbing hold of the safety chains to get a good hold, and little by little he moved the camper right around so that the front was now facing uphill instead of downhill. Easy as pie to hitch onto the car the next morning. Who knew one big guy could tug her around like that! Thank you, Steve!!
NOTE: Some folks who follow this blog have had trouble leaving a comment. If you're receiving these posts within an email message, look for the link to Lisa's Travels at the bottom of the post. If you click there, it will take you to blogspot where you can go back to previous posts, and make comments. At least I think that works. Let me know if it doesn't?
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