My wife and I just got back from our first RV trip. The purpose of this trip was to connect with our RV Driver Training instructor and to learn more about our RV.
RV Training
We learned about RV Driving School a couple months ago and decided that this would be a great opportunity for us to learn some tips and tricks from an experienced driver. They offer three types of training:
- Combination /2 person – 2 day 6 hour each day lesson
- Single/1 person – 2 day 4 hour each day with a “ride along” companion
- Refresher – 3.5 hours 1 day. This is only for individuals who have had a previous lesson from our school.
We decided that the single program sounded like our best option with my wife as the driver since she has had less experience pulling a trailer, and I would be the “ride along.”
We filled out the contact form on the web site and was put in contact with a local trainer, Matt Genasci, who was a retired Firefighter and a current holder of Class “B” CDL License. We coordinated a weekend where we would meet at a theater parking lot near a local RV campground.
On the day of the training, he meet us at the campground and after the initial introductions, we completed he proceeded to do a safety walk thru with my wife around the camper and the truck. We then went to the theater parking lot and did some serpentine drills through the various parking barriers and islands. We then did some highway and inner city driving.
On day two, we did some backup drills in the theater parking lot, pulled in and out of a gas station, weighed the truck and trailer at a scale, and spent some time traveling windy and narrow roads out in the country.
Overall, my wife found the training useful for several reasons. Foremost, training with a third party allowed tension caused by first learning how to drive to be diffused through the instructor. Though I deeply love my wife, there would have been a lot of tension and possibly some unpleasant conversations if I attempted to be her instructor. He had a very good encouraging and calming voice, and was able to push her try things that made her uncomfortable. Overall, he made the class flexible based on what she and he thought would help her overall.
First Camping Trip
Our trip to the campground did not start uneventful. When I first tried to hook up the trailer to the truck, the tongue jack would not elevate. I soon discovered that the battery was dead and that the tongue jack light switch was in the on position. Since the I did not have the battery disconnect switch on, I assumed that this must have drained the battery. The dealership had given be a Interstate battery, so I went to a local auto parts store to have the battery checked (Advance Auto Parts). They said the battery was dead, and because they actually did not carry the Interstate brand, they sold me a Autocraft battery.
The next hurdle was getting the Hensley hitch connected to the truck. I had to raise/lower the tongue jack, and adjust the weight distribution bars to angle the hitch connection so that the stinger would properly seat. This took awhile but we eventually found the right combination.
After overcoming these two obstacles, I was was able to get the travel trailer from the storage facility to the campground without incident. Since we arrived rather later, we were not able to get much more done that connect electricity and extend the slide. It was also the first evening that we were able to sleep on the new bed with the added bed pad. (I found the bed still too hard, but my wife found it perfect for her.)
After completing drivers training, we spent the following afternoon playing with the trailer such as the water connections, water heaters and pumps, TV and stereo, air conditioner, thermostat, x-chocks, propane tanks, and refrigerator.
We meet friendly neighbors on both sides of our trailer that captured us in conversation and prevented us from spending as much time studying the trailer. This is probably the thing that I look most forward while camping though.
Overall, we had an excellent, but very short, first time camping adventure. Some of the funny and/or lesson learned moments included:
- Power. I had reserved a campground with both 30 and 50 amp power. When I opened what I thought was my power box for my site, I could not find a plug that my 30 amp connection. I eventually found that my site had two different power boxes, one for 30 amp and one for 50 amp. I also found out why my air conditioner would not turn on as we adjusted the thermostat. I found that even though the power was plugged in and the lights were able to come on in the trailer, I actually needed to turn on the circuit breakers on the power box.
- Wet Weather. My wife suggested that we bring in the slide prior to the rain that night so that the top of the slide would not be wet when we had to bring it in. We are fortunate to have a trailer that is 95% usable with the slide in so this made sense. This made even more sense when we found that the rain had knocked down a lot of tree buds that would have been all over the top of the slide.
- RV Gray/Black dumping. The “stinky slinky” or drain hose did not fit in my back bumper. I discovered that I will probably have to buy a separate container for this hose. I also found the importance of having a clear elbow to easily see when the tanks had finished draining. I had to resort to listening and feeling the hose to determine when the tanks were empty. I also learned that maybe I should have some rubber shoes when working around dump sites as it is wet, and probably not by something I want to think about.
- Hensley Hitch. It is important to measure the height of the stinger, and the number of turns of the weight distribution rods, that easily allow the stinger to slide out of the receiver. It does not take much for the stinger to get stuck. It is also important that I get a can of spray silicone and use it. The hitch groaned more than it should of, so I need to invest in a grease gun to make sure everything is lubricated well.