Lessons learned on the fly

[Dee4j]

Ya......and how about the hitch ball?? How many pair of pants do you have with a black stain, right at that level??

We now put a tennis ball on ours. .......most of the time.... :J

I've used a ziploc sandwhich bag.....nothing worse than busting your knee on the hitch

[bhauber]

I got a new one. Make sure the inside sink is turned off when sanitizing the water system. My camper ended up being a wading pool.

[CajunCamper]

It's always easier to crank your pop up open after you release the four little latches holding your roof down.

CajunCamper

[jmcanzo]

remove your TV keys from the roof of the pup BEFORE popping up and spending hours looking for them!

[kjrjr]

I have only been doing this a couple of years now, but I learned to make sure both stabilizing jacks are completely up, especially if the park has speed bumps.

I've also learned on my new pop up which has big out sized tires and is way off of the ground, to 1. plug in the external A/C corD before you raise the outlet 10 feet off of the ground, set the bunks and seat the door. And similarly, 2. un fold bag awning and set supports before raising the roof 10 feet into the air, setting the bunks and seating the afore mentioned *&@!# DOOR!

Oh and one more thing about stabilizer jacks... use them! If you don't, dont climb into the back bunk with all three kids and the wife to watch a dvd. I think the term is pop up wheelie. Funny afterward, not at all during.

[austinado16]

remove your TV keys from the roof of the pup BEFORE popping up and spending hours looking for them!

Now that made me laugh!

This thread should be a sticky with a note:  All Noobies Read This!

This one doesn't apply to my Starcraft, but I saw a Coleman being towed through a CG last summer with the stepper door in the down position.  Imagine tearing that off.....as you bury it into the side of a parked car or catch it something.

And one for those without much/any trailer backing experience.  Go practice in the mall parking lot.  Otherwise, the rest of us get quite a show watching you and the wife scream at each other while you take 30min to stab the camper into the site.

[waygard33]

Besides learning many of the lessons mentioned here, I've also learned or am trying to learn and practice patience.

How many times have you seen someone backing a trailer into a tight spot, everyone is watching, it's not going well, and suddenly the driver starts screaming at their spouse or kids that they're NOT HELPING!....Yikes! :eyecrazy:

I've learned that you have to laugh at yourself once in a while. Be patient...take a deep breath...keep the blood pressure down...and remember that these types of situations are just part of the overall camping experience which is supposed to be fun and relaxing.

I still cringe thinking about the fun I had 2 summers ago when trying to back my large pup into a very small space, between multiple large douglas firs and the space was going very much the wrong direction for backing the pup. The line of cars behind me was backing up as I had the road blocked, my father in law was my main spotter and although he means well, he just wasn't up to the task. The crowd was gathering and for some reason, I was sweating... :yikes:  I'm happy I never yelled at anyone, although I thought about running over my father in law. I just kept thinking that sooner or later, come hell, high water, or darkness, I'd be in that spot, cracking open a relaxing beverage of my choice. When I did make it about 10 minutes later...the applause was greatly appreciated.

Here's a pic of that spot. Doesn't look so bad from here.


Wayne in Oregon

[CajunCamper]

Before popping up make sure your electrical cord can reach the electric outlet box.

CajunCamper

[Camp&Fish]

I'll add a couple of my own, and I've only been out once with my new PUP.  First one: make sure the plug from the PUP to the TV is long enough that it won't unplug when you turn (both directions).  Second:  Put the galley down ("Why won't the bed slide back in!?").  Third:  Read the signs at the park or campground.  I pulled a waygard33, but without the audience.  When we got to the section where we were camping (a loop), I didn't see the sign pointing one way only.  So, I wound up backing into a horseshoe-shaped pull-through site......in the dark.  Surprisingly, I made it just fine in less than ten minutes, even though I'm relatively inexperienced in backing trailers and the tress made for very little wiggle room.  I still don't know how I pulled that off.

Kevin

[weathertop]

Unload the front trunk and turn on the propane before the exhausted and colicky baby has finally fallen asleep and been put down in the front bunk.

[WV Hillbilly]

Make sure you remove your can of beer or other drink from the roof before cranking up!  When you can't find your beer your DW will say you're had enough! :eyecrazy:

[mrp116]

When leveled on a severe slope, lower the top before removing the BAL leveler.

[Dee4j]

well how about unhitching hooking up all the connections and finging out you parked too close to the pole that prevents you from backing into the hookup box and you can't get your slide out all the way  :banghead:

luckily.no one here to witness

[Gracy]

Wayne in Oregon

That is a tight spot!!!!!  You have a beautiful PUT!!!

[Tiffany]

We took our new-to-us PUP out for our first trip in it (an overnighter) the day before yesterday and learned a couple of valuable lessons:

1.)  Don't set EVERYTHING up and then realize you're parked too far away from the hookup for the water hose to reach.

2.)  Don't have your face too close to the water heater when you're lighting it.  (one of my husband's eyebrows is now a little thinner than the other)

You'd think this stuff is just common sense...  I call it "half heimer disease" 'cause it's halfway to alzheimers.