If you're an RV newbie or just want to do some solo camping like myself you need a checklist
because if you're not used to it hitching up your travel trailer can be a little intimidating.
It's so important that you do things in the right order and you don't miss a step because
when you're towing your travel trailer down the road you need to know that you've got it properly
hitched. If it's not properly hitched that can be dangerous. And be sure to stay to the end
because I'm going to share my travel trailer tear down cheat sheet checklist with you.
The first thing on the list is we need to disconnect from any hookups. It's very rare
that I camp with water or sewer hookups and I often don't even camp with electric hookups
but regardless of whatever hookups you've used disconnect them and store them away.
Number two on the list is we need to make sure that our wheel chocks
are in place. They should already be in place from when you set up your campsite but it's an
important safety measure just to make sure that they are in place. The next thing we need to do is
raise the stabilizers and then put the stabilizer blocks away.
Next, we need to unlock the ball coupler latch and you do this by pulling the latch up
and back. Okay next on the list is we need to raise the hitch jack
and we want to raise it so that it's higher than the hitch ball. Looking good.
Now I need to back up my tow vehicle so that the hitch ball aligns directly underneath
the ball coupler and this is definitely the hardest part about tearing down and hitching up
my travel trailer when I'm leaving a campsite. I need to get that hitch ball right underneath
the ball coupler and I need to make sure that my tow vehicle is perfectly aligned with my trailer
and this time it took me a few tries to get it aligned.
The best tip that I can provide is to take your time and get out of your vehicle to verify the
ball and the coupler are aligned especially if you don't have a backup camera. Next,
we need to lower the hitch receiver onto the ball until the ball settles securely onto the coupler.
Next on the checklist is to latch the coupler into place and you do this by
pulling the latch up and forward. Next, we need to secure the safety pin in the ball coupler.
Next, I have to attach my weight distribution bars.
With my weight distribution bars I need to keep putting it in and pulling it back
up to make sure that it is indeed securely locked into place.
You definitely want to make sure that your weight distribution bars are secure.
You may need to raise your hitch receiver to latch your weight distribution bars to your trailer.
Lock and secure the weight distribution bars.
Check. Insert the weight distribution bar safety pins. Check. Raise the tongue jack up all the way.
Attach the safety chains to the tow vehicle. There's a couple things you want to keep
in mind when you are attaching your chains and first you want to twist them as needed
because you want some slack but you want to make sure that there is a three to five
inch clearance above the ground. You also want to crisscross them and you want the chains to go
underneath the tongue of the trailer not the top. Now we need to attach the seven way pin
and the breakaway controller. You'll notice that the seven way pin has a flat surface on one side
and that side is the side that you insert on the top part when you insert it into your tow vehicle.
When attaching the breakaway controller it's a good idea to loop it through the
ball coupler safety pin before you attach it to your vehicle.
This is also a really great time to close and shut off your propane tanks. Now it's
time to pick up and store away any levelers and our wheel chocks. Last Thursday I did a
video that showed you how I set up my campsite and during that video leveling it from side to
side well it didn't go very well. It was kind of a fiasco. If you haven't watched
that video I highly recommend that you do. There are going to be things that
are going to come up that are unexpected and you just need to work through them.
The next step is an important one. You want to do a final walk around of your
travel trailer you want to make sure that your doors are securely closed and locked,
your windows are closed, make sure your tires look good,
just get in the practice of doing a final walk around and getting familiar with your camper
so that if anything looks out of the ordinary or anything doesn't look right you can spot it.
If you're an RV newbie or you want to do some solo camping like me a checklist is a must. Having a
checklist has been a lifesaver for me. Now I've got two things that you need to do next. First,
pause this video and go to this website address right here. This is my website and download
your free travel trailer teardown and hitch up checklist. Then come back to this video and watch
this video next because this video is a video that will show you how I set up my campsite. And in
this video when I was setting up my camper there were some unexpected challenges. I'll also share
with you how to get your free travel trailer setup checklist. I'll see you over in this video next.