Trailer Tips For The Campground. Practice Makes Perfect

Of course there are other things to consider when you arrive at the campsite. Water, electricity, sewer, jacks, hitches and awnings. The first time you get to a campsite you will be required to know all about these things so let us get started.

• When we purchased our first trailer we knew nothing, so we drove from the dealer to the nearest large parking lot not far away. I made certain nothing was near and tried backing up. Nothing seemed to make the trailer go where I wanted it to go. My wife got our and tried to help but I could not see her in the mirrors. I got our and showed her where I wanted to go but try as I could, the trailer would not listen to me. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a gent heading our way from a trailer that was parked way over on the other side of the lot. He watched for a moment and then approached. He told me to place my hand palm down on the bottom of the steering wheel. That way when you back up you move the hand in the direction you want the back of the trailer to go. I tried it and instantly it did.
• The spotter. He gave my wife a job called the spotter. He pointed out that if I could not see her in the mirror on the opposite side of the truck, and she could not see me in the mirror, we could not park the trailer safely. Great lesson.

  The campsite was another matter. We had purchased the trailer late on a Friday afternoon. As soon as we hooked it on the sales people closed up and went home. We knew nothing about how things worked. Arriving at the site we were lucky as it was a pull through.

• Electrical hookup. We found a little door in the back. Inside was the heavy cable all coiled up. It had a heavy plug. Pulled it out all of the way and plugged it into the box on the service post. Inside the little door was another short piece of the same cable. It had a different end on it. It was used for lighter hookups in other parks.
• Water was easy. The hose was in the front side storage compartment. Simply a good garden hose. Hooked it up at the service post. Turned the water on and heard a yell from the kitchen. Apparently the water tap inside had been opened and my wonderful wife got soaked.
• Sewer. That was a problem. We searched and searched but there was no way we had a hose to hook up the sewer to the sewer. Searched every compartment to no avail. Finally checked with the office and the lady assured us we must have the hose somewhere. She told us to check the back bumper. Sure enough, when we checked we found the plastic caps on the ends pry out and safely tucked inside was the hose. We hooked it up to the sewer outlet, pulled the handle and whoosh
• Leveling the trailer was fairly easy as we had prepared for the job. The trailer had four scissor jacks permanently fixed to the frame. We had tried it at home and it was a lot of work to jack the thing up. Went to the hardware store and bought a 24 amp portable drill and a socket to fit the jacks. That drill would lift the trailer right off the ground if need be.
• Propane. Very simple. Opened one valve in one tank and the fridge and stove came on automatically.

Joe and Irma MacMillan have spent many years backpacking, skiing, and simply enjoying life in the mountains of British Columbia. Their website Whistler Outdoors is full of tips on snowboarding, camping, kayaking, rafting, camp cooking and fishing. They met on a blind date in 1957 and are still married. Take a look at their story here About us

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