This is the best video ever! I have researched every tiny detail out of fear. And you just wing it and are still alive!! Thank you so much for this!!!!
We aren’t sure if this video hides the fact that we are a hot mess or confirms it. LOL. Either way, sometimes you just have to jump in and have fun. All the best and we can’t wait to hear your story. Pam & Lee.
you guys are doing what my wife and I did many many years ago, brings back a lot of funny memories and good times. you’re not starting off any different than the rest of us. good job I love your videos keep up the good work and enjoy
Thanks Cyrus! It’s good to know that we aren’t alone in our mistakes. 👍 Pam and I really appreciate your encouragement! Having fun is the definition of RVing. 😀
LOVED this video! My wife and I are planning to plunge into the RV lifestyle in the next year or so and have been doing a TON of research for many months. Your willingness to show the mistakes you made on your maiden voyage to help others avoid them is greatly appreciated.
That was painfully funny to watch because it brought back soooo many memories! Everyone is a newbie the first few times and always learning after that. You two did it right by keeping your cool and just working through everything. Safe travels
Glad you put out this video, it isn't often we post or admit our faults. I did get a little PTSD from it, but it was very educational. I'm purchasing my first RV, but it won't be my first trailer and they aren't the same. Good video
Hi Don! Congratulations on the purchase. You’re a hero, we can’t rewatch that video without laughing at ourselves. Man we were completely clueless. The whole point of the video is to show everyone we all start somewhere and it’s ok to mess it up. Learn from it, make adjustments, and hit the road! Our whole channel is built on humility. We make the mistakes so others don’t have too! 😀 All the best and keep us posted on your adventures. Best, Pam & Lee
Good video! It gets easier once you learn your rig. Weve pretty much all been there. Have fun and know theres almost always someone nearby to lend a hand or advice.
Thank you! You are spot on. We love the RV Community and how supportive everyone is. A few parks ago, a manager stopped by and asked us if we had a tire valve stem remover (valve stem tool). It just so happened that I had gone to Auto Zone and bought a bunch of random tire repair stuff and put it in our Viar Pump bag just in case we ever needed it. Come to find out, there was a couple coming into the park and their tire valve stem was damaged. Quick change and done. You never know where the road of life will take you. Pay it forward!
tip.. when backing into your spot come to a stop. put your truck in neutral let go of the foot brake and use trailer brake only to stop again. Then set e brake as tight as it goes while still holding trailer brake. Then shift to park. This eliminates strain between the trailer and truck and also eliminates unnecessary weight on the transmission parking pawl. Any time you don’t use an e brake with a heavy load all that weight is sitting on your trans parking pawl and kingpin and makes it much harder to unhitch. After this process lift trailer with landing gear until the plate is about a half inch or so above the hitch. Then make sure your hitch is locked in the open jaw position. Almost all 5w hitches can lock in open jaw position. Then open tailgate unhook emergency breakaway and 7 way light plug. Then pull away from trailer as soon as you’re chalked blocked.
The ford hitches are a little different. I'm on my 3rd one, all have done the same thing. The trailer brake only + e-brake trick works sometimes and sometimes it doesn't. Wife and I have a good system, once I have the weight off the truck, the wife already has her butt in the seat and ready to go forward, or backward a smidge. Sometimes the handle releases with no issue, sometimes it needs the truck to go a touch forward, or reverse. It's aggravating when I'm by myself, I'll unlock the jaw and just stepping onto the running board is all it takes for the jaw to slam shut. It's very sensitive. I see a lot of hitches that release the jaw with ease no matter what position the king pin is in. I'm watching this guy in the video go through the same thing, he steps on the running board and click… the jaw locks.😂😂😂 I tried bungy cords, but that doesn't work, ya gotta move the truck a smidge, or have somebody hold the handle open.
Thanks for the support Bernard! We appreciate it! You said it best: "Keep on learning". We have no problem making mistakes....it's when we repeat those mistakes. That's the part we try to avoid. :) Hopefully, others can see that no matter how many UA-cam videos you watch, you will still make mistakes on your first attempt. Trust us, we watched a bunch. You see how that turned out. All the best and travel safe!
You did just fine, slow and thinking as you went. No one starts as a pro, that comes with experience. How you and your wife got along during the experience was top shelf all the way. You will be fine, but yes make a list for yourself and always do it in order that way your spidy senses will kick in when something seems off.
Thanks for the support! We figured, if we can show people that the way you handle situations is more important than knowing everything about RVing on Day #1, then it might help others. We thought we were prepared, until we hitched up the rig. Dozens of online videos, spreadsheets, and blogs don't do very much unless you've actually towed something this big before. Classic case of Knowledge vs. Experience. Good thing we asked the RV Park owner to come out and supervise the tow. Love that you mentioned "Spidy" senses. Pam gets them all the time and she is always correct. Now, when she mentions something I am all ears. Thanks again and safe travels.
Thanks for the video! One note of caution for yourself or anyone watching the video is that you should never store your "poop hose" and fresh water hose in the same compartment, or at least wrap one of them in a plastic bag of some sort. Those hoses always have residual liquid in them and it looks like the poop hose was on top of the fresh water hose. We keep ours in separate compartments and sanitize our fresh water system every year, we don't drink the water but we like to keep the option open to do so, not to mention it's the water you wash dishes with. I realize the "poop hose" is used to flush the system out not necessarily to transport poop, but consider the ground it typically gets unraveled onto (dump station).
Hi Aaron. Great tip and you are 100% correct. They are both water hoses, but you can never be too careful when it comes to sanitizing what you are drinking or bathing in. Especially, when we have little kids. Thanks again for the great tip and all the best from all of us here.
Thank you. Expecting to know everything about an 18,000 lb travel trailer packed full of electrical and hydraulic systems from Day 1, is completely unrealistic. The truth is, you just take small steps and listen to the ones that have been doing this for a long time. The RV Community is the single best part of RVing. We laugh at this video and hope it will show others it's OK not to be perfect on the first day. Safe travels! Best, Pam & Lee
And that's why I don't want a big one when the wife and I finally buy ours :) This is also the greatest newbie video ever ,,, and a great help. Thanks!
When unhooking, always chock the trailer wheels FIRST before anything else. Then lower landing gear SECOND. Disconnect trailer plug and unlock hitch LAST. When hooking up, do in reverse order.
Thanks, you just started our new RV checklist. 👍 Now we just need a Level Mate Pro to tell us if we are level in the beginning. It’s tough finding out the rig won’t auto-level due to excessive slope. Then we have to re-hitch and start all over. Painful!
@@discoveryboundrv we've all done it! lol Checklists absolutely help, and I have to avoid having a conversation with the neighbors when I'm in the middle of hooking/unhooking or I'll lose focus and potentially make an expensive mistake! Looks like you've developed a good system now though. 👍 Just found your channel and am enjoying your adventures!
Hi Valerie. LOL. Thank you. That’s “Tidbit”! 🐶 He is our little Shih Tzu and we take him everywhere. His older brother “Rocky” is back there too. 😀. He definitely steals the show. As we are looking confused…he’s looking fabulous.
You need to chock your tires front and back both sides, before you do anything related to disconnecting. A checklist would be a good idea. Lots of info on other UA-cam channels for connecting/disconnecting.
We agree! Having a rig this big and using a small chock doesn't work. Both sides and bigger chocks are an absolute requirement. Since then, our checklist has grown to be very useful. We get so many great ideas from the RV community that our list keeps growing. It's so amazing to receive such great tips and guidance from the ones who have been there and done that already. Always looking for new ways to make this process easier and quicker (but not cutting corners.) Thanks again and safe travels.
Dear Lord, this video gave me so much anxiety. In the event that anything EVER goes wrong with your rig I hope your insurance company doesn't see this video!
Listen you might be an RV newbie, however, your video making and editing skills are on point my friend. On the other hand, we’re newbies also to RV life and as UA-camrs, we’re clueless on both 😂😂. You guys are naturals, great personalities!! Beautiful family! Smooth roads and fast Wi-Fi. Hope to see you guys on the road. On the mean time, we’ll keep enjoying your videos!!!!
Hi Eli and Family. First off, Big belated Happy Birthday wish from all of us here. Ft. Myers and San Carlos looked like an awesome time. Secondly, we love the diamond back truck cover. We haven't decided which one to move to next since we are looking to put in an extra fuel tank in the bed. More to follow on that. You guys are awesome and keep the videos coming. If you look at our first 5 videos and our latest 5 videos you will see a big difference in video editing. Honestly, be creative, love the process, and watch a couple of hundred hours of Peter McKinnon. LOL. As UA-camrs we are all connected by the love for telling our stories and we will definitely catch up on the road! You guys Rock! All the best.
@@discoveryboundrv I honestly do love the RV community!! So far everyone has been absolutely great. We appreciate you guys taking your time, to watch our videos. I promise I’ll get better. Everything sounds great in my head, but when I’ve to put it into words and start recording, I’m a total mess 😂😂. I’m very happy with the Diamondback, however, if you’re putting an extra fuel tank, is not going to work. I can’t wait for that video. Family we wish you guys nothing but the best and lots of success! Supporting you guys from Miami. Hope we can meet on the road, in the near future. My wife makes the best Cuban coffee. Smooth roads and fast Wi-Fi…. 😂😂👍🏼👍🏼
That was a funny but good video. It's my wifes and my first time owning a camper so much to learn. So watching your video gave me a relief that I'm not the only one not knowing what to do at campsite. Happy camping.
We all start off our RV adventure learning and even after many years....we are all still learning. :) We originally wanted the video to be a how-to setup video. Then we quickly realized that we had no clue what we were doing. We had the basics down, but every rig is different and nobody can fully prepare you for the rig you have. Hopefully, our first RV setup disaster will help others realize we are all in this together. We wish you guys all the best and safe travels. Keep us posted on your journey. Pam & Lee
Thanks Marcus! We have a lot more to learn as well. Just when we think we know it all, our RV reminds us we don’t. More adventures coming. Safe Travels!
Love the vid. Was having flashbacks to 25 years ago when I was a know nothing newbie. Haha. I've learned alot over the years & am still learning to this day. You'll pick up a little more knowledge every trip. Safe travels to ya all sir !!
Thank you! It's funny how much you don't know when you start off RV'ing. It doesn't matter how much you prepare. You can watch a ton of How-To and RV Setup videos, but until you do it yourself, nothing matters. You said it though, every trip gives you a little bit more knowledge and makes things a little bit easier. We definitely don't have all the answers, but hopefully our disaster of a setup can help other people not make the same mistakes. Thanks again and travel safe.
Hello! Thank you for sharing and reminding us all what we should be checking for. One thing I have learned is that auto level almost always raises the rig up first then levels it which can cause problems. If you use the manual option that can be controlled and you might be able to level without having to hook the trailer back up. Cheers!
Hi Michael! Thanks for the great tip. We were so new at this that we were nervous about ANY movement the Rig made. All we could say is "Don't Drop the RV". LOL. You are correct, we should have used the manual part and wouldn't have needed to disconnect. These are more lessons learned the hard way. Thanks for sharing.
I was cringing the whole time you were unhooking without chucks. Third time we did ours, we forgot to do that and it rolled snd smashed down on the truck. I was under the nose but did not get hurt because I’m short.
Don’t feel bad about having trouble releasing your kingpin. I had a Curt hitch and constantly had the same problem. I switched to a B&W hitch and that problem went away.
Hi Thomas, the King Pin is the single biggest worry that we have no matter what we do. We have a thousand questions every time we hitch up the rig. Is it locked? Did it seat correctly? Will it come loose? Where’s the darn lube plate? Lol 😆 It’s only when it starts making those loud CLANK sounds that we are like “Yep, we’re dropping the rig!” Glad your new hitch works better. I think ours is fine, we are just newbies and need to learn how to use it.
@@discoveryboundrv one thing that will help is after you have the camper chocked, shift into neutral and let your truck roll back just a little. That will take some of the pressure off.
It's your video and I think I'm more bugged by the weirdos negging you than you are lol. 😂 I don't have anyone around me to help me figure this shit out and I really appreciate the unvarnished way you just post it warts and all. It's ***SO*** helpful. I don't care about the success stories nearly as much as I care about the fails and the lessons learned. You guys didn't get scared and just did it. That's how we it's done! Thanks!
Thank you! You get it. There are thousands of videos showing people how to do it the right way. Trust us, We watched a whole bunch of them. We even got the park owner to help us. Then we turned the camera on and clearly we still had no idea what we were doing. The goal is to fail small and learn fast. 😀 Safe travels and thanks for the great comment. Best, Pam & Lee
Congratulations on a job well done. When I first got my tractor i loaded with the ramps all the time. Now i just drive on and off using my front bucket
Thanks Robbie! The learning curve is steep and swift. Once you do it a few times, everything becomes second nature. Sounds like I need to take your tractor training course. :) Best.
Thank you! That video totally went off the rails from what we initially thought it would be. We started off saying, lets show people how to set up a big 5th Wheel. Then it quickly turned into, what in the world are we doing. :) First time towing is such a wild ride for all RV'ers. We are glad we could share our first time setup disaster. LOL.
if you want to unhook faster, after you raise legs and get weight off, put it in reverse, to take pressure off of pull bar, not much, of course you blocked the wheels right
I wish I was there to help you and teach you the right way. You Guys are funny the way you are operating. Always thinks what you’re doing and talk about it with your wife. Good luck and good camping ⛺️
Thanks Joe! We wished we had someone to give us a few tips before we hitched up the first time. We had no clue about the pressure on the King pin. We learned the hard way. :) Now we get to show people what it’s really like. Glad we didn’t do any damage. We were lucky. If you see us doing something crazy, let us know. We are still learning and need your experience. All the best Joe and Thanks again. 👍
We love sharing our MOST humbling video with the world. Hopefully, someone will learn "what NOT to do" from our mistakes. Otherwise, you could make a drinking game out of all the times we messed up in just one tow and setup. Thanks for reaching out and safe travels on the road. :)
We camp a lot here in Montana at different campgrounds. Main problem is most of these camping spots were made right after WWII. All the sites are very small and they probably never envisioned people having 40’ fifth wheels or 30’ bumper pulls. I have a 25’ bumper pull and have a difficult time backing into some of these real tight spots. Worst of all, someone came up with the dumb idea to put big rocks or fence posts on the corners of these spots.
No body’s born with this skill Some learn faster then others But after a lot of yrs pulling a fifth wheel and now full time living I only offer one piece of advice. Yes your truck will pull that trailer at 80 mph But it’s not how fast you can go it’s how fast you can stop!! Live by those words your family’s life is in your hands!!!
What some fond memories watching this video. Remember at one time we where all newbies. It took me at least a year or so to ask other campers for there tips and tricks AKA the right way to do a proper set up. In the process we have become friends with lots of fellow camper. Thumbs 👍👍 👍 👍
Hi Stanley, thanks for sharing. We love hearing the RV community coming to the rescue. It's so funny how quickly everyone realizes that we all make the same mistakes. RV neighbors aren't laughing at us....they are laughing with us. Because they remember making the exact same mistakes. You are 100% correct, we all started at the bottom. Glad we can help others. Pay it forward. We met a lady in Florida that purchased a brand new Class C and everything she had was brand new in boxes. She was walking around trying to find someone to show her what to do. Apparently, the dealership was quick to sell her everything, but didn't have time to show her anything. RV Community to the rescue! :)
Great video! Enjoyable (and stressful!) to watch. I’m about to go through this same learning curve when it comes to RVs. I have lots of experience pulling trailers, but just bought my first RV. Care to share that checklist!?!? Lol
Beautiful truck (for a Ford, I'm a GM guy :-)) Beautiful 5th Wheel but an ADORABLE Shih Tzu! My girlfriend and I have three of them and they are, hands down, the best breed ever! Thank you for posting and best of luck to you and yours in your RV travels!
Hi G Money. We completely agree. That little fuzzball is called "Tidbit". He's a character and we love him. He is actually from Spain. We got him when we were in Dubai. He's definitely an international traveler. The only criteria for a truck is torque and horsepower. :) As long as we're not on the side of the road, it's a great day. LOL. I like the new GM's, but love the new Ford 10 Speed turbo diesel and 1050 lbs of torque. It comes in handy pulling 43 feet of rig across America. Pam said I could have any truck I wanted but she gets to pick the color. That's why the truck matches the RV. :) Thanks again and safe travels. P.S. give your 3 little ones a treat from all of us here.
With such a long Rig..that is so close to the ground..i would avoid all non concrete Roads,or farm Roads that a not even.....a Navigation device could warn you....better then to be sorrow..if damage it....🤔
OMG 😳. My heart ❤️ is pounding so fast watching this video. And my hands are sweaty watching this first timer. Lol 😂. All gets better and clearer as you learn what steps to do and what order.
@@discoveryboundrv My first time setting up camp my neighbors started shaking their heads. That night i was talking with them and they said i was going around in circles and not get much done. I just didn’t know what when where and what goes first. Lol 😂 the next trip I went with some camping friends and what a differents that made in learning the check list items.
We love the RV community. Everyone is so eager to help and share their knowledge. That’s one reason we started the channel. Maybe we can help someone by showing them how not to do it 😂🤣
This is so good for me because I'm about to head out by myself in a fifth wheel for the first time in head of course the country. Now I see what I would be doing if I didn't watch this video.! Now I know, I need to make a checklist! 😂😂😂
Hey! 200th subscriber here! Y’all sure have patients and composure, at least with what I have seen so far! I loved the wife’s response to reaching the hitch, just throw your wife in the back of the truck!
Congratulations 🎉 🎉 and Thank You! Reaching the hitch has been a consistent problem since the beginning. Rain, snow, wind, and all, we always struggle with that. Throwing Pam back there is my back-up plan. 😀 You have to creative when you RV. LOL
So, this is how my wife and I looked when we were newbies. But, not exactly. 🤣 I had an advantage back 12 years ago when we started. I had been driving semi-trucks for 25 years at that time. It helped a little.. But, things will always go wrong. Good luck..
Hi Hoss! With 25 years of Trucking experience, I should have called you to pull that rig out. Thank goodness for the F-350. Having the right equipment is the first step to RV success. Safe Travels!
I’m not 6’2” so l climb up on the tire to release the pin! I also have something I can mount on the tire to climb on to reach the handle. I have to say you being a newbie pulling a north point fifth wheel of that length is ballsy! Kudos also for not trying to pull that behemoth with a 1/2 ton. Pretty sure you should have a power cord for your Furrion system, I don’t think it has batteries. Oh! By the way, at some point your going to forget to lower the tailgate and try to drive out, CHECKLIST!!!
Hi Bud, that's a great device. I think I have seen those around and they really do work. I am about 1 inch from not being able to get my fingers on the pin. The problem is when it's raining. I am basically hugging the dually and get soaked. I started climbing on the tire recently. I did see a step that people mount just forward of the back tires. Let me know if you have experience with that. Safe Travels.
Lol i have a list just for my utility trailer my wife would be loosing her shit if i came out and said i really dont know what to do now ....lmao....your wife is so calm. Good for you!
Hi Paulo. Thank you for sending this message. We laughed so hard reading it and how honest you are. It's so true. Pamela kept it together pretty well. We feel it's better to show everyone what REALLY happens vs what is expected. We're not professionals or seasoned RV experts, so we don't try to be. Looking back, walking into our first tow without a checklist was not our finest moment. Definitely RV Newbies! LOL.
Snap pads & air bags are unnecessary. You need chocks for each wheel (4), and pliers to reach the hitch latch safety clip. You should also watch some videos about how to use your specific jack controller, and hitch.
Enjoyed the video but it sure was painful to watch.. as in... a reminder when we all started out as newbies. A checklist in the beginning is a must. By the sound of the first pull on the hitch handle, I knew you were going to have difficulties. There's a certain sound to a Reese, Ford-installed hitch. They are a powerful hitch but a BEAST when you want it to let go. That part wasn't 'newbie'. That part doesn't get very much better, speaking from experience to this day. I keep a step-stool in the truck bed to easier reach and wrangle the hitch pin.
Thanks for the background on this. I am always wondering if these minor complications are just a nuisance or I am actually doing something wrong. We learn best our own mistakes and guidance of others. So we appreciate your support. Our checklist was created about 4 days after that video. Right about the second time we got stuck. :)
Hooking up is the one time you need to see out your back window. Flop that bed cover down and keep the kingpin centered in the back sliding window. You'll nail it every time. My back seat has a center headrest that I use.
LOL. Happy Anniversary!! Pam was laughing at your comment and said "See...we're not the only ones!" It's fun to show everyone what ACTUALLY happens on your first tow. Clueless, confused, and confident in the wrong approach. We look back on this video and say: "Well, we didn't drop the rig.....so it was a good day." :) All the best and travel safe!
Did you notice the Casita next door at the end? Easy Peasy to drive/park/camp! I have one, I practiced towing in busy city, and a car pulled in front and started to back up. My breaks worked Great!!
Hi Lois! That Casita is so amazing. Such a fun way to travel around. Glad your brakes worked or else that would have been a bad intro to RVing. :) We have definitely thought about down-sizing, but with 2 dogs and 2 kids we love having the space. Well, once we are parked and all set up that is. Safe Travels!
Soon you'll be a pro at setting up and tearing down. You have a big setup so try to get pull thrus when ever u can. I noticed that your bed rail clearance is a little tight watch thar you should have min 5" clearance. But consider a gen y pin box that will give you better clearance
We completely agree! Pull thru's are the best, especially over 40 feet long. When we bought our Rig, we had no idea about truck & trailer clearance issues. Check out Episode 18 (We Crushed the Rig) and you will see exactly what happens without the 5" clearance. :)
This is a great video especially for first time campers. Even when you pick up your travel trailer or fifth wheel or whatever they don’t always tell you everything you must do.
@@discoveryboundrv yes. A lot of it I’ve learned from watching others and learning from their mistakes. And of course I have also learned from mine. Definitely not perfect! I’m at the point where I’m teaching my wife how to drive and do everything I do as you never know what could happen and if anything did happen to me she would need to know how to hook up and do everything I do to get us going safe down the road.
That’s incredible. It’s so important that both of you can jump into the seat and hit the road when needed. Not sure if Pam is ready for those lessons yet, but I will definitely start small and work that way too. You never know what’s going to happen out there.
This was painful to watch. Sorry your dealer didn't educate on setup. I am glad you corrected the issues. I carry plastic pads to correct for the angles to mount under the leveling jacks. Good luck on your adventures.
Thanks for sticking through the video. It’s painful for us to watch as well. Our orientation was a bit less than you would expect. 😋 Nothing like learning the hard way. It’s the main reason we posted this one. Hope it helps other people. Thanks for letting us know about the plastic pads! Safe Travels!
Hi Justin! Thanks for watching our humble and slightly embarrassing Day 1 attempt at towing a 5th Wheel for the first time ever. It WAS the worst possible RV spot in the world. And, we probably should have watched a few more UA-cam videos on RV setup. 😋 All the best and safe travels!
Congratulations on your first tow. Let us know how it goes. We watched a bunch of videos on how to do it the right way and we still learned a lot on that first tow. As they say, Nothing beats experience.
The wife is right the fifth wheel is to high. You want just a little weight on the fifth wheel and have the camper side off the fifth wheel. No daylight between the fifth wheel and the camper. The king pin is binding up with the jaws on the fifth wheel with the camper being to high.
This was great, seeing how it is your first time. Now I'll know what to do and not to do my 1st time. I don't have a 5th wheel just a bumper pull but I'm sure it'll be the same check list. Great video
Thank you! Keep in mind that we watched all the UA-cam videos, had our plans, and thought we knew it all. Then we hitched up and it all went out the window. The important part is that nobody knows everything on Day 1. We all love camping, so this is half of the fun, right! :) Travel Safe and we can't wait to hear about your first day!
Thanks Jesse. We wanted to show everyone that it’s more important to work together as a team and solve problems than be expected to know everything from the start. We had fun and that’s what counts. 😀
When you pick up a trailer with a semi, you back up till you hear the jaws lock, and with out the air lines connected one of the trailer axils breaks will be locked, because of the spring loaded duel chamber that requires air to release the spring pressure that works as a safety system if the air line breaks,the breaks will lock up instead of having no breaks, and is obviously used for parking breaks , so with the trailer breaks engaged you pull forward to make sure that the jaws are locked, then you hook everything up, Now when you un hook, you need the trailer breaks locked up and back up slightly to take the pressure off the jaws before you un latch the Jaws, un hook everything and pull forward, The semi trailers are usually set to be slightly low so that the truck slightly picks the trailer up a little of course the trailer breaks must be set to do this, ,
That’s a great tip. 👍 We spent so much time wondering why the hitch won’t release after we arrive. It’s those small techniques that make all the difference.
Hi Daniel. Thanks for sticking through that episode. We didn't know how bad it was until we put the video together. Pam and I looked at each other and just laughed at how terrible we did. She said this is our how NOT to RV video. However, in our minds, we were PRO's! LOL :)
Congratulations guys this is the reason I am starting a RV consultant business because dealerships just don’t spend enough time with customers a lot of questions after the purchase like how do you dump the tanks lol. Good luck it’s all a journey.
I am also new to the travel trailer scene. As a matter of fact my first shake down trip is to this campground. There is so much information during the walk through to attempt to comprehend. Dealerships do not spend enough time. Even after recording our walk through I have many unanswered questions. I am now feeling pretty confident that I will be good. I have watched videos, have checklist, and feel prepared for our trip.
Hi James. That is such an amazing concept. We can tell you first-hand that after we signed our RV Finance paperwork, our dealership closed the door and turned their heads away to the next customer. We didn't get any support following that. Our walk-around was assigned to someone who just started and didn't know the RV's. I would say that with the rise in RV sales, there is huge void in RV education, especially the basics. We wish you all the best moving forward with your consultancy business. When we made this video, we actually thought we were making a How-To RV Setup video. We actually did a lot of preparation. It wasn't until we actually started hooking up the Rig that we quickly realized it doesn't matter how much you prepare. Experience is the only thing that matters. Hopefully, the video will help to show others it's more important to work together as a team rather than expecting to have all of the right answers on Day #1. (You don't know what you don't know, right.) Having a consultant to help guide people to better understand their own rig is invaluable. All the best!
Thanks. We knew we were in for trouble so we turned the camera on. 60 RV parks later, it’s fun to watch it again. Let’s just say we won’t be booking that spot any time soon.
We made plenty of mistakes on our first few trips but luckily I had experience pulling boats and trailer. I’m sure you know this by now but for others, the settings are 1-10 and is a percentage of the brake you apply on truck. Setting of 5 is 50%.
Hi Kyle. Great tip and thanks. We had the Ford factory install the hitch when we ordered the truck. We thought it would be the best bet. It seems like there are many other options that might work better for different people. We will look into the B&W hitch. Thanks for sharing. Best.
If you ever have a hard time getting the jaws on the 5th wheel hitch to release the trick with is also to get all the tension off the jaws. You don’t necessarily have to lift to where you get a gap, just get most the weight off. Sometimes (with the rv chocked) you just have to put the truck in neutral for a moment, or even just a tiny smidge reverse. Pushing against it is fine but any pull on the jaws and the won’t (and shouldn’t) release.
And having the trailer just a smidge low it better than too high when you go to hook up. Your (wife?j was totally right about doing a tug test ( landing gear - what you called front stabilizers) just off the ground, use the manual control lever to apply the rv brakes (and you can leave em chocked) and give it a little pull with the truck.
Watching further yeah your jaws weren’t unlocking because it had tension. You don’t really need a gap. It has a ramp for a reason, you’re supposed to pick up some of the weight as you back under it. RV you can’t do like semi and just pick the whole thing up backing into it though. As you do it more you’ll learn what it looks like. It’s not like a bumper ball at all :)
Thanks for the great information on this! Your experience is definitely warm welcomed and I appreciate your support. Having never hitched anything with a 5th Wheel before, I feel that this is the single most important lesson that everyone should be taught by a professional at least once. Most times, RV'ers will get an orientation on the RV from the dealership, but not the safety tips or process when hooking up. If anything goes wrong during hitching, then major issues can occur very quickly and put others in danger. This video was shot the day after our F-350 arrived and we were so excited to hitch up the rig and hit the road. We watched a few videos and thought we were professionals. We quickly learned that nothing beats experience! I hope that people will read your comment and let your experience guide them through a safe hitching process. Great information and thank you again for sharing. All the best and Safe Travels!
OMG you were scaring the Sugar Hotel 1 Tango out of me! Did you hear me screaming at you? lol (going into our 32nd year of pulling an RV) You did well in the end! Really nice rigs!
Hi John! Yes, we heard you. LOL. We saw your comment and started laughing. Well played! We like to show people our mistakes and that it doesn't matter how many UA-cam videos you watch in preparation for towing an RV. It will all fall apart at some point. We feel it's more important to work together as a team. I say that, while watching a couple pulling in next to us who are definitely NOT a team. :) At 32 years of RV experience, we could learn a lot from your feedback! All the best and travel safe.
we've pulled a travel trailer for years. now we are on our 1st 5th wheel so I had a pretty good idea of what we were getting into, however, newbie bat hit this guy. Hooking up at dealership and pulling home...not an issue. Got home (in the dark of course), and disconnecting the camper. we had the front stabilizers down and well, lets say we didn't raise it high enough to clear the 5th wheel hitch. pulled out and bam, camper came down on the truck. well, really the truck leaf springs released and "raised" into the camper. thank God nothing major to either truck or camper. Now I know not to make that mistake again. it could have been way way worse. I've seen videos of serious dmg to stabilizers, truck bed rails, the 5th wheel overhang. ugh. I had a mental checklist in my head from my previous camper (i could unhook that blindfolded), but new trailer, new checklist. Just take it slow and think every step, "what could happen if I continue?". Nice video guys. enjoy the life!
Hi Peter. Your "Newbie" story is amazing! Thank you so much for sharing your experience. We are so thankful that nothing major happened to the truck or your 5th wheel. You were very lucky, indeed! The RV community is so diverse and there are so many things that happen and they are all good lessons to learn. You are 100% correct, take it slow and steady. When in doubt, knock on your neighbors door and ask for help. We have discovered that most RV'ers love to help others. We got a call from a guy we met after he left the RV Park and he asked us if we could come tow him back. 2 hours away didn't matter to us at all. We jumped on the opportunity to help out. :)
Mad kudos. I had a good coach. Would never had tried it at first without him. Good job. Had me on pins and needles hopping you didn’t hurt that nice rig!!?
Hi Donovan. Thanks for sticking through that video. The gentleman in the beginning is the RV Park owner and we asked him to help oversee the tow out of that spot. We agree with you. Don't tow on DAY 1 without a good coach. However, after he left we were back to square one. :) Amazing enough, we watched a bunch of RV Newbie videos, RV Setups, and more. We "thought" we were good to go. LOL.
@@discoveryboundrv we have seen a lot of things watching folks out here and we are always lending a hand. That’s our feelings on being out with these rigs. At least your out now and rolling. Best of luck to you guys!!!!
A couple lil hints for help. 1) back up on your pin a lil better to decouple. 2) get a nice plastic bag and keep drinking and poop hoses completely separate. I guess I should’ve ckd your post date but I didn’t. Maybe you’ve figured out by now? Beautiful rig! I’m envious. Happy camping
Keeping the hoses separate is an absolutely great idea. We have an IKEA (blue) plastic bag that we put the hoses in. Both of them. Now we are going to put them in different bags for extra precaution. Thanks for the tip! Travel Safe!
Agree 100%. My buddy did the 4Lo thing in his F350 King Ranch at the paved storage facility & snapped the axle. I just looked at him & said "Live n' Learn".
I do not have a rig but watching you all I needed a breathing bag, lol. Please UA-cam is your friend and whatever manuals you may have available. Overall you did it.
Hi Annie, you're hilarious. We love it. Thank you for making it through that video. We look back on it sometimes and just laugh. We thought we had watched enough UA-cam videos when we woke up that morning. We said, if they can do we can too. Apparently, that was a big NOPE! ( as you can see...) We probably won't have any more videos this clueless in the near future, but we will definitely be making a lot of mistakes. Hopefully, Lee won't drag the stairs again. :) Thanks again and all the best.
Thank you. I’m sure you would have prepared a lot more than we did. In our minds it was easy….until we hitched up. Mitch was the guy helping us out. He was the park owner. Without him, I don’t think we would’ve ever got out of that spot. Safe travels!
Hi Anthony. This video was a HARD lesson learned! You are 100% right. We went out and purchased a set of Midland walkie-talkies and they work amazing. A lot of people recommend using your cell phones, but our ventures out West proved that cell phones don't always have reception. Using radios is such an easy solution. We love them. Great tip and thanks for sharing. All the best and travel safe!
I hold trailer brake and then put truck in reverse to take the bind off the fifthwheel . On semi's we set trailer brakes then back inch to take bind off
Hi Robert. You are the first to confirm that the process between RV's and 18 Wheeler's are the same when it comes to releasing the pressure on the 5th wheel. I never thought of holding the trailer brakes. I just throw it in reverse. Incredible tip and thank you for sharing that. We are updating our checklist. :) Safe travels!
Thanks Robert! It’s not everyday you get to see a video full of RVing the wrong way. Very humbling. We learned a lot on that day and we hope others can learn from our “many” mistakes. 😀 Safe Travels. Best, Lee
Hi Andrew! Great eye in spotting that! You are absolutely correct. The Jayco Northpoint comes with two 5-Gallon fresh water jugs that are connected to the kitchen and the Fridge. We rarely use the city water for anything other than showers. However, with the recent flood of water filtration systems on the market, we may look into an upgrade. Keep you posted. Safe Travels.
So many rv dealers will just sell you a camper and send you on your way. Do not make the dealer your teacher and don't let your first trip be a learning experience. Spend hours learning and researching trucks, camper, towing, and camping. Be educated. Know all you need to and on your first trip don't buy everything the dealership says you need for your camper. Most of it you won't need. Do your first few trips close to home cause you'll forget things and it's much less stressful. Take your time. Learn slowly. And enjoy.
Hi Gerard! Thanks for watching. Its good meeting people that can relate. Day 1 towing and setting up is a HUGE effort. We had NO idea. As you can see. 😋 Just like you said, a checklist is a MUST! All the best and Safe Travels!
Hi Greg. You’re not wrong. Big learning curve when we bought that rig. Money will always come and go. Building memories with the family is priceless. Safe travels! Best, Lee
I have nothing but admiration for you both for how calm you were. Best video I have seen in a long time . Thankyou
This is the best video ever! I have researched every tiny detail out of fear. And you just wing it and are still alive!! Thank you so much for this!!!!
We aren’t sure if this video hides the fact that we are a hot mess or confirms it. LOL. Either way, sometimes you just have to jump in and have fun. All the best and we can’t wait to hear your story. Pam & Lee.
you guys are doing what my wife and I did many many years ago, brings back a lot of funny memories and good times. you’re not starting off any different than the rest of us. good job I love your videos keep up the good work and enjoy
Thanks Cyrus! It’s good to know that we aren’t alone in our mistakes. 👍 Pam and I really appreciate your encouragement! Having fun is the definition of RVing. 😀
LOVED this video! My wife and I are planning to plunge into the RV lifestyle in the next year or so and have been doing a TON of research for many months. Your willingness to show the mistakes you made on your maiden voyage to help others avoid them is greatly appreciated.
That was painfully funny to watch because it brought back soooo many memories! Everyone is a newbie the first few times and always learning after that.
You two did it right by keeping your cool and just working through everything.
Safe travels
Glad you put out this video, it isn't often we post or admit our faults. I did get a little PTSD from it, but it was very educational. I'm purchasing my first RV, but it won't be my first trailer and they aren't the same. Good video
Hi Don! Congratulations on the purchase. You’re a hero, we can’t rewatch that video without laughing at ourselves. Man we were completely clueless. The whole point of the video is to show everyone we all start somewhere and it’s ok to mess it up. Learn from it, make adjustments, and hit the road! Our whole channel is built on humility. We make the mistakes so others don’t have too! 😀 All the best and keep us posted on your adventures. Best, Pam & Lee
Good video! It gets easier once you learn your rig. Weve pretty much all been there. Have fun and know theres almost always someone nearby to lend a hand or advice.
Thank you! You are spot on. We love the RV Community and how supportive everyone is. A few parks ago, a manager stopped by and asked us if we had a tire valve stem remover (valve stem tool). It just so happened that I had gone to Auto Zone and bought a bunch of random tire repair stuff and put it in our Viar Pump bag just in case we ever needed it. Come to find out, there was a couple coming into the park and their tire valve stem was damaged. Quick change and done. You never know where the road of life will take you. Pay it forward!
tip.. when backing into your spot come to a stop. put your truck in neutral let go of the foot brake and use trailer brake only to stop again. Then set e brake as tight as it goes while still holding trailer brake. Then shift to park. This eliminates strain between the trailer and truck and also eliminates unnecessary weight on the transmission parking pawl. Any time you don’t use an e brake with a heavy load all that weight is sitting on your trans parking pawl and kingpin and makes it much harder to unhitch. After this process lift trailer with landing gear until the plate is about a half inch or so above the hitch. Then make sure your hitch is locked in the open jaw position. Almost all 5w hitches can lock in open jaw position. Then open tailgate unhook emergency breakaway and 7 way light plug. Then pull away from trailer as soon as you’re chalked blocked.
Too big and heavy vs not enough truck to handle it.
The ford hitches are a little different. I'm on my 3rd one, all have done the same thing. The trailer brake only + e-brake trick works sometimes and sometimes it doesn't.
Wife and I have a good system, once I have the weight off the truck, the wife already has her butt in the seat and ready to go forward, or backward a smidge. Sometimes the handle releases with no issue, sometimes it needs the truck to go a touch forward, or reverse.
It's aggravating when I'm by myself, I'll unlock the jaw and just stepping onto the running board is all it takes for the jaw to slam shut. It's very sensitive.
I see a lot of hitches that release the jaw with ease no matter what position the king pin is in.
I'm watching this guy in the video go through the same thing, he steps on the running board and click… the jaw locks.😂😂😂 I tried bungy cords, but that doesn't work, ya gotta move the truck a smidge, or have somebody hold the handle open.
Love your attitudes! Keep on learning, and ENJOY LIFE! CCONGRATS on the New Rig!
Thanks for the support Bernard! We appreciate it! You said it best: "Keep on learning". We have no problem making mistakes....it's when we repeat those mistakes. That's the part we try to avoid. :) Hopefully, others can see that no matter how many UA-cam videos you watch, you will still make mistakes on your first attempt. Trust us, we watched a bunch. You see how that turned out. All the best and travel safe!
You did just fine, slow and thinking as you went. No one starts as a pro, that comes with experience. How you and your wife got along during the experience was top shelf all the way. You will be fine, but yes make a list for yourself and always do it in order that way your spidy senses will kick in when something seems off.
Thanks for the support! We figured, if we can show people that the way you handle situations is more important than knowing everything about RVing on Day #1, then it might help others. We thought we were prepared, until we hitched up the rig. Dozens of online videos, spreadsheets, and blogs don't do very much unless you've actually towed something this big before. Classic case of Knowledge vs. Experience. Good thing we asked the RV Park owner to come out and supervise the tow. Love that you mentioned "Spidy" senses. Pam gets them all the time and she is always correct. Now, when she mentions something I am all ears. Thanks again and safe travels.
Thanks for the video! One note of caution for yourself or anyone watching the video is that you should never store your "poop hose" and fresh water hose in the same compartment, or at least wrap one of them in a plastic bag of some sort. Those hoses always have residual liquid in them and it looks like the poop hose was on top of the fresh water hose. We keep ours in separate compartments and sanitize our fresh water system every year, we don't drink the water but we like to keep the option open to do so, not to mention it's the water you wash dishes with. I realize the "poop hose" is used to flush the system out not necessarily to transport poop, but consider the ground it typically gets unraveled onto (dump station).
Hi Aaron. Great tip and you are 100% correct. They are both water hoses, but you can never be too careful when it comes to sanitizing what you are drinking or bathing in. Especially, when we have little kids. Thanks again for the great tip and all the best from all of us here.
So everybody isn’t a expert Great video guys! Thanks for sharing your experience and it made me happy how well you and your wife interact together
Thank you. Expecting to know everything about an 18,000 lb travel trailer packed full of electrical and hydraulic systems from Day 1, is completely unrealistic. The truth is, you just take small steps and listen to the ones that have been doing this for a long time. The RV Community is the single best part of RVing. We laugh at this video and hope it will show others it's OK not to be perfect on the first day. Safe travels! Best, Pam & Lee
I love that you showed all the mistakes! We're a few months from our maiden voyage ourselves!
Us to 😵💫
"What's the first thing we have to do".... 😳 "i have no idea" 😂😂😂
And that's why I don't want a big one when the wife and I finally buy ours :) This is also the greatest newbie video ever ,,, and a great help. Thanks!
You guys made my blood pressure go up 50 pts. lol 😅
When unhooking, always chock the trailer wheels FIRST before anything else. Then lower landing gear SECOND. Disconnect trailer plug and unlock hitch LAST. When hooking up, do in reverse order.
Thanks, you just started our new RV checklist. 👍 Now we just need a Level Mate Pro to tell us if we are level in the beginning. It’s tough finding out the rig won’t auto-level due to excessive slope. Then we have to re-hitch and start all over. Painful!
@@discoveryboundrv we've all done it! lol Checklists absolutely help, and I have to avoid having a conversation with the neighbors when I'm in the middle of hooking/unhooking or I'll lose focus and potentially make an expensive mistake! Looks like you've developed a good system now though. 👍 Just found your channel and am enjoying your adventures!
It has made is second guess what we want to do in retirement.
Well done but totally upstaged by your little dog observing you from the back seat! Watch his face - priceless!
Hi Valerie. LOL. Thank you. That’s “Tidbit”! 🐶 He is our little Shih Tzu and we take him everywhere. His older brother “Rocky” is back there too. 😀. He definitely steals the show. As we are looking confused…he’s looking fabulous.
That settles it. I’m getting a Class A over a 5th Wheel 😂😂 Great video, thank you for posting this!
You need to chock your tires front and back both sides, before you do anything related to disconnecting. A checklist would be a good idea. Lots of info on other UA-cam channels for connecting/disconnecting.
We agree! Having a rig this big and using a small chock doesn't work. Both sides and bigger chocks are an absolute requirement. Since then, our checklist has grown to be very useful. We get so many great ideas from the RV community that our list keeps growing. It's so amazing to receive such great tips and guidance from the ones who have been there and done that already. Always looking for new ways to make this process easier and quicker (but not cutting corners.) Thanks again and safe travels.
Dear Lord, this video gave me so much anxiety. In the event that anything EVER goes wrong with your rig I hope your insurance company doesn't see this video!
Listen you might be an RV newbie, however, your video making and editing skills are on point my friend. On the other hand, we’re newbies also to RV life and as UA-camrs, we’re clueless on both 😂😂. You guys are naturals, great personalities!! Beautiful family! Smooth roads and fast Wi-Fi. Hope to see you guys on the road. On the mean time, we’ll keep enjoying your videos!!!!
Hi Eli and Family. First off, Big belated Happy Birthday wish from all of us here. Ft. Myers and San Carlos looked like an awesome time. Secondly, we love the diamond back truck cover. We haven't decided which one to move to next since we are looking to put in an extra fuel tank in the bed. More to follow on that. You guys are awesome and keep the videos coming. If you look at our first 5 videos and our latest 5 videos you will see a big difference in video editing. Honestly, be creative, love the process, and watch a couple of hundred hours of Peter McKinnon. LOL. As UA-camrs we are all connected by the love for telling our stories and we will definitely catch up on the road! You guys Rock! All the best.
@@discoveryboundrv I honestly do love the RV community!! So far everyone has been absolutely great. We appreciate you guys taking your time, to watch our videos. I promise I’ll get better. Everything sounds great in my head, but when I’ve to put it into words and start recording, I’m a total mess 😂😂. I’m very happy with the Diamondback, however, if you’re putting an extra fuel tank, is not going to work. I can’t wait for that video. Family we wish you guys nothing but the best and lots of success! Supporting you guys from Miami. Hope we can meet on the road, in the near future. My wife makes the best Cuban coffee. Smooth roads and fast Wi-Fi…. 😂😂👍🏼👍🏼
That was a funny but good video. It's my wifes and my first time owning a camper so much to learn. So watching your video gave me a relief that I'm not the only one not knowing what to do at campsite. Happy camping.
We all start off our RV adventure learning and even after many years....we are all still learning. :) We originally wanted the video to be a how-to setup video. Then we quickly realized that we had no clue what we were doing. We had the basics down, but every rig is different and nobody can fully prepare you for the rig you have. Hopefully, our first RV setup disaster will help others realize we are all in this together. We wish you guys all the best and safe travels. Keep us posted on your journey. Pam & Lee
Don’t forget to chock the wheels so it doesn’t roll, before you detach from the hitch. Thanks for the video!
Love watching and learning.
Thanks Marcus! We have a lot more to learn as well. Just when we think we know it all, our RV reminds us we don’t. More adventures coming. Safe Travels!
Love the vid. Was having flashbacks to 25 years ago when I was a know nothing newbie. Haha. I've learned alot over the years & am still learning to this day. You'll pick up a little more knowledge every trip. Safe travels to ya all sir !!
Thank you! It's funny how much you don't know when you start off RV'ing. It doesn't matter how much you prepare. You can watch a ton of How-To and RV Setup videos, but until you do it yourself, nothing matters. You said it though, every trip gives you a little bit more knowledge and makes things a little bit easier. We definitely don't have all the answers, but hopefully our disaster of a setup can help other people not make the same mistakes. Thanks again and travel safe.
Hello! Thank you for sharing and reminding us all what we should be checking for. One thing I have learned is that auto level almost always raises the rig up first then levels it which can cause problems. If you use the manual option that can be controlled and you might be able to level without having to hook the trailer back up. Cheers!
Hi Michael! Thanks for the great tip. We were so new at this that we were nervous about ANY movement the Rig made. All we could say is "Don't Drop the RV". LOL. You are correct, we should have used the manual part and wouldn't have needed to disconnect. These are more lessons learned the hard way. Thanks for sharing.
I was cringing the whole time you were unhooking without chucks. Third time we did ours, we forgot to do that and it rolled snd smashed down on the truck. I was under the nose but did not get hurt because I’m short.
Don’t feel bad about having trouble releasing your kingpin. I had a Curt hitch and constantly had the same problem. I switched to a B&W hitch and that problem went away.
Hi Thomas, the King Pin is the single biggest worry that we have no matter what we do. We have a thousand questions every time we hitch up the rig. Is it locked? Did it seat correctly? Will it come loose? Where’s the darn lube plate? Lol 😆 It’s only when it starts making those loud CLANK sounds that we are like “Yep, we’re dropping the rig!” Glad your new hitch works better. I think ours is fine, we are just newbies and need to learn how to use it.
@@discoveryboundrv one thing that will help is after you have the camper chocked, shift into neutral and let your truck roll back just a little. That will take some of the pressure off.
It's your video and I think I'm more bugged by the weirdos negging you than you are lol. 😂 I don't have anyone around me to help me figure this shit out and I really appreciate the unvarnished way you just post it warts and all. It's ***SO*** helpful. I don't care about the success stories nearly as much as I care about the fails and the lessons learned. You guys didn't get scared and just did it. That's how we it's done! Thanks!
Thank you! You get it. There are thousands of videos showing people how to do it the right way. Trust us, We watched a whole bunch of them. We even got the park owner to help us. Then we turned the camera on and clearly we still had no idea what we were doing. The goal is to fail small and learn fast. 😀 Safe travels and thanks for the great comment. Best, Pam & Lee
Congratulations on a job well done. When I first got my tractor i loaded with the ramps all the time. Now i just drive on and off using my front bucket
Thanks Robbie! The learning curve is steep and swift. Once you do it a few times, everything becomes second nature. Sounds like I need to take your tractor training course. :) Best.
hahahaha, You guys are hilarious in a good way! Glad you guys learn through the process on your first towing. Enjoy RV safely and may God Bless. 🙂
Thank you! That video totally went off the rails from what we initially thought it would be. We started off saying, lets show people how to set up a big 5th Wheel. Then it quickly turned into, what in the world are we doing. :) First time towing is such a wild ride for all RV'ers. We are glad we could share our first time setup disaster. LOL.
if you want to unhook faster, after you raise legs and get weight off, put it in reverse, to take pressure off of pull bar, not much, of course you blocked the wheels right
You know those thingys for the tires 😆
I wish I was there to help you and teach you the right way.
You Guys are funny the way you are operating.
Always thinks what you’re doing and talk about it with your wife.
Good luck and good camping ⛺️
Thanks Joe! We wished we had someone to give us a few tips before we hitched up the first time. We had no clue about the pressure on the King pin. We learned the hard way. :) Now we get to show people what it’s really like. Glad we didn’t do any damage. We were lucky. If you see us doing something crazy, let us know. We are still learning and need your experience. All the best Joe and Thanks again. 👍
Love this video... We love watching mistakes... Makes us feel better about how much we screw up stuff ourselves.. 👍 😁 Just Subbed..
We love sharing our MOST humbling video with the world. Hopefully, someone will learn "what NOT to do" from our mistakes. Otherwise, you could make a drinking game out of all the times we messed up in just one tow and setup. Thanks for reaching out and safe travels on the road. :)
You were brave to post this. This is painful to watch but this is how you learn.
We camp a lot here in Montana at different campgrounds. Main problem is most of these camping spots were made right after WWII. All the sites are very small and they probably never envisioned people having 40’ fifth wheels or 30’ bumper pulls. I have a 25’ bumper pull and have a difficult time backing into some of these real tight spots. Worst of all, someone came up with the dumb idea to put big rocks or fence posts on the corners of these spots.
That’s a great point! There are a lot more older parks across the country than newer parks with wide roads and big spaces. Best, Lee
No body’s born with this skill
Some learn faster then others
But after a lot of yrs pulling a fifth wheel and now full time living
I only offer one piece of advice.
Yes your truck will pull that trailer at 80 mph
But it’s not how fast you can go it’s how fast you can stop!!
Live by those words your family’s life is in your hands!!!
Hi Ray! Good Copy on that! Definitely words to live by and we completely agree. Thanks for the advice. Safe Travels!
What some fond memories watching this video. Remember at one time we where all newbies. It took me at least a year or so to ask other campers for there tips and tricks AKA the right way to do a proper set up. In the process we have become friends with lots of fellow camper. Thumbs 👍👍 👍 👍
Hi Stanley, thanks for sharing. We love hearing the RV community coming to the rescue. It's so funny how quickly everyone realizes that we all make the same mistakes. RV neighbors aren't laughing at us....they are laughing with us. Because they remember making the exact same mistakes. You are 100% correct, we all started at the bottom. Glad we can help others. Pay it forward. We met a lady in Florida that purchased a brand new Class C and everything she had was brand new in boxes. She was walking around trying to find someone to show her what to do. Apparently, the dealership was quick to sell her everything, but didn't have time to show her anything. RV Community to the rescue! :)
Great video! Enjoyable (and stressful!) to watch. I’m about to go through this same learning curve when it comes to RVs. I have lots of experience pulling trailers, but just bought my first RV. Care to share that checklist!?!? Lol
Beautiful truck (for a Ford, I'm a GM guy :-)) Beautiful 5th Wheel but an ADORABLE Shih Tzu! My girlfriend and I have three of them and they are, hands down, the best breed ever! Thank you for posting and best of luck to you and yours in your RV travels!
Hi G Money. We completely agree. That little fuzzball is called "Tidbit". He's a character and we love him. He is actually from Spain. We got him when we were in Dubai. He's definitely an international traveler. The only criteria for a truck is torque and horsepower. :) As long as we're not on the side of the road, it's a great day. LOL. I like the new GM's, but love the new Ford 10 Speed turbo diesel and 1050 lbs of torque. It comes in handy pulling 43 feet of rig across America. Pam said I could have any truck I wanted but she gets to pick the color. That's why the truck matches the RV. :) Thanks again and safe travels. P.S. give your 3 little ones a treat from all of us here.
With such a long Rig..that is so close to the ground..i would avoid all non concrete Roads,or farm Roads that a not even.....a Navigation device could warn you....better then to be sorrow..if damage it....🤔
OMG 😳. My heart ❤️ is pounding so fast watching this video. And my hands are sweaty watching this first timer. Lol 😂. All gets better and clearer as you learn what steps to do and what order.
It was pretty stressful!! As you said it gets better after a few times. We can’t even watch this video without cringing. 😆😂🤣
@@discoveryboundrv My first time setting up camp my neighbors started shaking their heads. That night i was talking with them and they said i was going around in circles and not get much done. I just didn’t know what when where and what goes first. Lol 😂 the next trip I went with some camping friends and what a differents that made in learning the check list items.
We love the RV community. Everyone is so eager to help and share their knowledge. That’s one reason we started the channel. Maybe we can help someone by showing them how not to do it 😂🤣
@@discoveryboundrv That’s exactly right. Learn and pass it own. Help your fellow campers. 👍
This is so good for me because I'm about to head out by myself in a fifth wheel for the first time in head of course the country. Now I see what I would be doing if I didn't watch this video.! Now I know, I need to make a checklist! 😂😂😂
Hey! 200th subscriber here! Y’all sure have patients and composure, at least with what I have seen so far! I loved the wife’s response to reaching the hitch, just throw your wife in the back of the truck!
Congratulations 🎉 🎉 and Thank You! Reaching the hitch has been a consistent problem since the beginning. Rain, snow, wind, and all, we always struggle with that. Throwing Pam back there is my back-up plan. 😀 You have to creative when you RV. LOL
So, this is how my wife and I looked when we were newbies. But, not exactly. 🤣
I had an advantage back 12 years ago when we started. I had been driving semi-trucks for 25 years at that time. It helped a little..
But, things will always go wrong.
Good luck..
Hi Hoss! With 25 years of Trucking experience, I should have called you to pull that rig out. Thank goodness for the F-350. Having the right equipment is the first step to RV success. Safe Travels!
I’m not 6’2” so l climb up on the tire to release the pin! I also have something I can mount on the tire to climb on to reach the handle. I have to say you being a newbie pulling a north point fifth wheel of that length is ballsy! Kudos also for not trying to pull that behemoth with a 1/2 ton. Pretty sure you should have a power cord for your Furrion system, I don’t think it has batteries. Oh! By the way, at some point your going to forget to lower the tailgate and try to drive out, CHECKLIST!!!
Hi Bud, that's a great device. I think I have seen those around and they really do work. I am about 1 inch from not being able to get my fingers on the pin. The problem is when it's raining. I am basically hugging the dually and get soaked. I started climbing on the tire recently. I did see a step that people mount just forward of the back tires. Let me know if you have experience with that. Safe Travels.
You guys scare me I hope you have gotten better just keep practicing and double checking every time happy trails.
We hope so too! :) Every RV park is a new opportunity to improve. Thank you and safe travels.
Lol i have a list just for my utility trailer my wife would be loosing her shit if i came out and said i really dont know what to do now ....lmao....your wife is so calm. Good for you!
Hi Paulo. Thank you for sending this message. We laughed so hard reading it and how honest you are. It's so true. Pamela kept it together pretty well. We feel it's better to show everyone what REALLY happens vs what is expected. We're not professionals or seasoned RV experts, so we don't try to be. Looking back, walking into our first tow without a checklist was not our finest moment. Definitely RV Newbies! LOL.
Definitely needed to see this. Because im a newbie
OMG you guys! Thanks for posting all the mistakes that I do!
LOL. Thanks Lorna! The funny part is that we didn’t know we were making them at the time. 😀 Glad we aren’t the only ones. All the best, Pam & Lee
Snap pads & air bags are unnecessary. You need chocks for each wheel (4), and pliers to reach the hitch latch safety clip. You should also watch some videos about how to use your specific jack controller, and hitch.
Enjoyed the video but it sure was painful to watch.. as in... a reminder when we all started out as newbies. A checklist in the beginning is a must. By the sound of the first pull on the hitch handle, I knew you were going to have difficulties. There's a certain sound to a Reese, Ford-installed hitch. They are a powerful hitch but a BEAST when you want it to let go. That part wasn't 'newbie'. That part doesn't get very much better, speaking from experience to this day. I keep a step-stool in the truck bed to easier reach and wrangle the hitch pin.
Thanks for the background on this. I am always wondering if these minor complications are just a nuisance or I am actually doing something wrong. We learn best our own mistakes and guidance of others. So we appreciate your support. Our checklist was created about 4 days after that video. Right about the second time we got stuck. :)
Hooking up is the one time you need to see out your back window. Flop that bed cover down and keep the kingpin centered in the back sliding window. You'll nail it every time. My back seat has a center headrest that I use.
Lol, this was my wife and I last weekend over our 5 year anniversary. Word.. for word lol. GJ
LOL. Happy Anniversary!! Pam was laughing at your comment and said "See...we're not the only ones!" It's fun to show everyone what ACTUALLY happens on your first tow. Clueless, confused, and confident in the wrong approach. We look back on this video and say: "Well, we didn't drop the rig.....so it was a good day." :) All the best and travel safe!
Did you notice the Casita next door at the end? Easy Peasy to drive/park/camp! I have one, I practiced towing in busy city, and a car pulled in front and started to back up. My breaks worked Great!!
Hi Lois! That Casita is so amazing. Such a fun way to travel around. Glad your brakes worked or else that would have been a bad intro to RVing. :) We have definitely thought about down-sizing, but with 2 dogs and 2 kids we love having the space. Well, once we are parked and all set up that is. Safe Travels!
Soon you'll be a pro at setting up and tearing down. You have a big setup so try to get pull thrus when ever u can. I noticed that your bed rail clearance is a little tight watch thar you should have min 5" clearance. But consider a gen y pin box that will give you better clearance
We completely agree! Pull thru's are the best, especially over 40 feet long. When we bought our Rig, we had no idea about truck & trailer clearance issues. Check out Episode 18 (We Crushed the Rig) and you will see exactly what happens without the 5" clearance. :)
This is a great video especially for first time campers. Even when you pick up your travel trailer or fifth wheel or whatever they don’t always tell you everything you must do.
Hi Martin, you are spot on. Our first time orientation at the dealership was not very informative at all. Thank goodness for the RV community!
@@discoveryboundrv yes. A lot of it I’ve learned from watching others and learning from their mistakes. And of course I have also learned from mine. Definitely not perfect! I’m at the point where I’m teaching my wife how to drive and do everything I do as you never know what could happen and if anything did happen to me she would need to know how to hook up and do everything I do to get us going safe down the road.
That’s incredible. It’s so important that both of you can jump into the seat and hit the road when needed. Not sure if Pam is ready for those lessons yet, but I will definitely start small and work that way too. You never know what’s going to happen out there.
This was painful to watch. Sorry your dealer didn't educate on setup. I am glad you corrected the issues. I carry plastic pads to correct for the angles to mount under the leveling jacks. Good luck on your adventures.
Thanks for sticking through the video. It’s painful for us to watch as well. Our orientation was a bit less than you would expect. 😋 Nothing like learning the hard way. It’s the main reason we posted this one. Hope it helps other people. Thanks for letting us know about the plastic pads! Safe Travels!
This was a good genuine rv video. I liked it lot!
Hi Justin! Thanks for watching our humble and slightly embarrassing Day 1 attempt at towing a 5th Wheel for the first time ever. It WAS the worst possible RV spot in the world. And, we probably should have watched a few more UA-cam videos on RV setup. 😋 All the best and safe travels!
This makes me feel so much better and worse all at the same time as I’m about to embark on my first tow!
Congratulations on your first tow. Let us know how it goes. We watched a bunch of videos on how to do it the right way and we still learned a lot on that first tow. As they say, Nothing beats experience.
The wife is right the fifth wheel is to high. You want just a little weight on the fifth wheel and have the camper side off the fifth wheel. No daylight between the fifth wheel and the camper. The king pin is binding up with the jaws on the fifth wheel with the camper being to high.
RV Dog, you're the man! We never realized that a little weight was the key to success. We have added it to our process. Thank you!
This was great, seeing how it is your first time. Now I'll know what to do and not to do my 1st time. I don't have a 5th wheel just a bumper pull but I'm sure it'll be the same check list. Great video
Thank you! Keep in mind that we watched all the UA-cam videos, had our plans, and thought we knew it all. Then we hitched up and it all went out the window. The important part is that nobody knows everything on Day 1. We all love camping, so this is half of the fun, right! :) Travel Safe and we can't wait to hear about your first day!
Nice job watching dog was fun too . Well behaved
Hi Ryley. Say hello to Tidbit. He is our little Shih Tzu. He is a great travel companion and loves sitting in the truck. 😊
Congratulations U2 For Your Accomplishment in how to Fugure Your Rig Out.. its Amazing sharing this together how exciting..
Thanks Jesse. We wanted to show everyone that it’s more important to work together as a team and solve problems than be expected to know everything from the start. We had fun and that’s what counts. 😀
Yes ! Working together Y'all Do it so Smooth & Cool ..
When you pick up a trailer with a semi, you back up till you hear the jaws lock, and with out the air lines connected one of the trailer axils breaks will be locked, because of the spring loaded duel chamber that requires air to release the spring pressure that works as a safety system if the air line breaks,the breaks will lock up instead of having no breaks, and is obviously used for parking breaks , so with the trailer breaks engaged you pull forward to make sure that the jaws are locked, then you hook everything up,
Now when you un hook, you need the trailer breaks locked up and back up slightly to take the pressure off the jaws before you un latch the Jaws, un hook everything and pull forward,
The semi trailers are usually set to be slightly low so that the truck slightly picks the trailer up a little of course the trailer breaks must be set to do this, ,
After backing in put chalk’s down and backup just a hair to take pressure off the hitch. I have to do this a lot myself.
That’s a great tip. 👍 We spent so much time wondering why the hitch won’t release after we arrive. It’s those small techniques that make all the difference.
Talk about edge of your seat entertainment. I was sweating the whole time. lol!!
Hi Daniel. Thanks for sticking through that episode. We didn't know how bad it was until we put the video together. Pam and I looked at each other and just laughed at how terrible we did. She said this is our how NOT to RV video. However, in our minds, we were PRO's! LOL :)
Congratulations guys this is the reason I am starting a RV consultant business because dealerships just don’t spend enough time with customers a lot of questions after the purchase like how do you dump the tanks lol. Good luck it’s all a journey.
I am also new to the travel trailer scene. As a matter of fact my first shake down trip is to this campground. There is so much information during the walk through to attempt to comprehend. Dealerships do not spend enough time. Even after recording our walk through I have many unanswered questions. I am now feeling pretty confident that I will be good. I have watched videos, have checklist, and feel prepared for our trip.
@@BigS610 Stay positive take everything slow remember getting there is half the fun and check things twice lol safe travels my friends.
Hi James. That is such an amazing concept. We can tell you first-hand that after we signed our RV Finance paperwork, our dealership closed the door and turned their heads away to the next customer. We didn't get any support following that. Our walk-around was assigned to someone who just started and didn't know the RV's. I would say that with the rise in RV sales, there is huge void in RV education, especially the basics. We wish you all the best moving forward with your consultancy business. When we made this video, we actually thought we were making a How-To RV Setup video. We actually did a lot of preparation. It wasn't until we actually started hooking up the Rig that we quickly realized it doesn't matter how much you prepare. Experience is the only thing that matters. Hopefully, the video will help to show others it's more important to work together as a team rather than expecting to have all of the right answers on Day #1. (You don't know what you don't know, right.) Having a consultant to help guide people to better understand their own rig is invaluable. All the best!
@@discoveryboundrv Thanks guys safe travels.
Great Video, thanx for sharing all the things I would've never knew to do as a newbie!
Beautiful rig and Awesome video. I recently did a similar video! Thank you for sharing all your information😎👍
Thanks. We knew we were in for trouble so we turned the camera on. 60 RV parks later, it’s fun to watch it again. Let’s just say we won’t be booking that spot any time soon.
We made plenty of mistakes on our first few trips but luckily I had experience pulling boats and trailer. I’m sure you know this by now but for others, the settings are 1-10 and is a percentage of the brake you apply on truck. Setting of 5 is 50%.
reccomend a B&W hitch. no question if it locked. also never a problem to unhitch even when there is pressure on it.
Hi Kyle. Great tip and thanks. We had the Ford factory install the hitch when we ordered the truck. We thought it would be the best bet. It seems like there are many other options that might work better for different people. We will look into the B&W hitch. Thanks for sharing. Best.
If you ever have a hard time getting the jaws on the 5th wheel hitch to release the trick with is also to get all the tension off the jaws. You don’t necessarily have to lift to where you get a gap, just get most the weight off. Sometimes (with the rv chocked) you just have to put the truck in neutral for a moment, or even just a tiny smidge reverse. Pushing against it is fine but any pull on the jaws and the won’t (and shouldn’t) release.
And having the trailer just a smidge low it better than too high when you go to hook up. Your (wife?j was totally right about doing a tug test ( landing gear - what you called front stabilizers) just off the ground, use the manual control lever to apply the rv brakes (and you can leave em chocked) and give it a little pull with the truck.
Watching further yeah your jaws weren’t unlocking because it had tension. You don’t really need a gap. It has a ramp for a reason, you’re supposed to pick up some of the weight as you back under it. RV you can’t do like semi and just pick the whole thing up backing into it though. As you do it more you’ll learn what it looks like. It’s not like a bumper ball at all :)
Thanks for the great information on this! Your experience is definitely warm welcomed and I appreciate your support. Having never hitched anything with a 5th Wheel before, I feel that this is the single most important lesson that everyone should be taught by a professional at least once. Most times, RV'ers will get an orientation on the RV from the dealership, but not the safety tips or process when hooking up. If anything goes wrong during hitching, then major issues can occur very quickly and put others in danger. This video was shot the day after our F-350 arrived and we were so excited to hitch up the rig and hit the road. We watched a few videos and thought we were professionals. We quickly learned that nothing beats experience! I hope that people will read your comment and let your experience guide them through a safe hitching process. Great information and thank you again for sharing. All the best and Safe Travels!
Chock the wheels before unhitching and chock both sides of the tires.
OMG you were scaring the Sugar Hotel 1 Tango out of me! Did you hear me screaming at you? lol (going into our 32nd year of pulling an RV) You did well in the end! Really nice rigs!
Hi John! Yes, we heard you. LOL. We saw your comment and started laughing. Well played! We like to show people our mistakes and that it doesn't matter how many UA-cam videos you watch in preparation for towing an RV. It will all fall apart at some point. We feel it's more important to work together as a team. I say that, while watching a couple pulling in next to us who are definitely NOT a team. :) At 32 years of RV experience, we could learn a lot from your feedback! All the best and travel safe.
we've pulled a travel trailer for years. now we are on our 1st 5th wheel so I had a pretty good idea of what we were getting into, however, newbie bat hit this guy. Hooking up at dealership and pulling home...not an issue. Got home (in the dark of course), and disconnecting the camper. we had the front stabilizers down and well, lets say we didn't raise it high enough to clear the 5th wheel hitch. pulled out and bam, camper came down on the truck. well, really the truck leaf springs released and "raised" into the camper. thank God nothing major to either truck or camper. Now I know not to make that mistake again. it could have been way way worse. I've seen videos of serious dmg to stabilizers, truck bed rails, the 5th wheel overhang. ugh. I had a mental checklist in my head from my previous camper (i could unhook that blindfolded), but new trailer, new checklist. Just take it slow and think every step, "what could happen if I continue?". Nice video guys. enjoy the life!
Hi Peter. Your "Newbie" story is amazing! Thank you so much for sharing your experience. We are so thankful that nothing major happened to the truck or your 5th wheel. You were very lucky, indeed! The RV community is so diverse and there are so many things that happen and they are all good lessons to learn. You are 100% correct, take it slow and steady. When in doubt, knock on your neighbors door and ask for help. We have discovered that most RV'ers love to help others. We got a call from a guy we met after he left the RV Park and he asked us if we could come tow him back. 2 hours away didn't matter to us at all. We jumped on the opportunity to help out. :)
Nothing like jumping right into it, right up to your eyeballs in a 5th wheeler no less.
LOL. You said it! We learned real fast that we didn’t know a whole lot.
Thank you for the video! We are just starting too, was helpful!
Hi George! We hope you “maiden voyage” was a LOT better than ours! LOL. Safe travels on the road! Best, Lee & Pam
Thanks. Had fun watching. Hope diesel goes down for you. Enjoy.
Mad kudos. I had a good coach. Would never had tried it at first without him. Good job. Had me on pins and needles hopping you didn’t hurt that nice rig!!?
Hi Donovan. Thanks for sticking through that video. The gentleman in the beginning is the RV Park owner and we asked him to help oversee the tow out of that spot. We agree with you. Don't tow on DAY 1 without a good coach. However, after he left we were back to square one. :) Amazing enough, we watched a bunch of RV Newbie videos, RV Setups, and more. We "thought" we were good to go. LOL.
@@discoveryboundrv we have seen a lot of things watching folks out here and we are always lending a hand. That’s our feelings on being out with these rigs. At least your out now and rolling. Best of luck to you guys!!!!
Sophia so kind she had her choice of any candy in the store and just got a few little pieces. She so sweet.
A couple lil hints for help. 1) back up on your pin a lil better to decouple. 2) get a nice plastic bag and keep drinking and poop hoses completely separate. I guess I should’ve ckd your post date but I didn’t. Maybe you’ve figured out by now?
Beautiful rig! I’m envious. Happy camping
Keeping the hoses separate is an absolutely great idea. We have an IKEA (blue) plastic bag that we put the hoses in. Both of them. Now we are going to put them in different bags for extra precaution. Thanks for the tip! Travel Safe!
4 low on paved surfaces is no bueno. Puts a great deal of stress on the axles and differential. So your aware for next time.
Tha is for the great tip! 👍 Hopefully, we will graduate from being RV Newbies soon. LOL.
Agree 100%. My buddy did the 4Lo thing in his F350 King Ranch at the paved storage facility & snapped the axle. I just looked at him & said "Live n' Learn".
I LOVEEEEEEE THIS!!!! Thk u for doing this video "I FEEL YA"!!
LOL. Hi Mary! Our How-To video quickly turned into a Lessons Learned video when you add a dash of RV Newbie into it. 😀
man, i can relate so much, we are starting out in our adventure also.
I do not have a rig but watching you all I needed a breathing bag, lol. Please UA-cam is your friend and whatever manuals you may have available. Overall you did it.
Hi Annie, you're hilarious. We love it. Thank you for making it through that video. We look back on it sometimes and just laugh. We thought we had watched enough UA-cam videos when we woke up that morning. We said, if they can do we can too. Apparently, that was a big NOPE! ( as you can see...) We probably won't have any more videos this clueless in the near future, but we will definitely be making a lot of mistakes. Hopefully, Lee won't drag the stairs again. :) Thanks again and all the best.
Classic. You did good though! I would have had many more mistakes!
Thank you. I’m sure you would have prepared a lot more than we did. In our minds it was easy….until we hitched up. Mitch was the guy helping us out. He was the park owner. Without him, I don’t think we would’ve ever got out of that spot. Safe travels!
When you want to pull the handle on your hitch always back up and the handle will pull. With forward pressure on the jaws they won't release.
Hi Paul, great tip. Thank you. Safe Travels.
Well done! We do use a checklist also.
Thanks CJ! Our checklist needs a serious improvement! :) Like, actually having a checklist. LOL.
Get some cheap two-way radios. Your spotter should never have to repeat themselves if your about to make contact.
Hi Anthony. This video was a HARD lesson learned! You are 100% right. We went out and purchased a set of Midland walkie-talkies and they work amazing. A lot of people recommend using your cell phones, but our ventures out West proved that cell phones don't always have reception. Using radios is such an easy solution. We love them. Great tip and thanks for sharing. All the best and travel safe!
You guys did great for the first time you doing real good 👍
Thank you Joe! We look back and think we should have done better. But you don't know what you don't know. Right! :)
The fifth wheel hitch is a pain in the arse on a dualie. I had one once....never again.
I hold trailer brake and then put truck in reverse to take the bind off the fifthwheel . On semi's we set trailer brakes then back inch to take bind off
Hi Robert. You are the first to confirm that the process between RV's and 18 Wheeler's are the same when it comes to releasing the pressure on the 5th wheel. I never thought of holding the trailer brakes. I just throw it in reverse. Incredible tip and thank you for sharing that. We are updating our checklist. :) Safe travels!
I don't have a 5th wheel, but thanks for sharing.
Thanks Robert! It’s not everyday you get to see a video full of RVing the wrong way. Very humbling. We learned a lot on that day and we hope others can learn from our “many” mistakes. 😀 Safe Travels. Best, Lee
If I can give you any additional advice, it would be to make sure that your fresh water hose is food grade. I don't think those collapsibles are.
Hi Andrew! Great eye in spotting that! You are absolutely correct. The Jayco Northpoint comes with two 5-Gallon fresh water jugs that are connected to the kitchen and the Fridge. We rarely use the city water for anything other than showers. However, with the recent flood of water filtration systems on the market, we may look into an upgrade. Keep you posted. Safe Travels.
So many rv dealers will just sell you a camper and send you on your way. Do not make the dealer your teacher and don't let your first trip be a learning experience. Spend hours learning and researching trucks, camper, towing, and camping. Be educated. Know all you need to and on your first trip don't buy everything the dealership says you need for your camper. Most of it you won't need. Do your first few trips close to home cause you'll forget things and it's much less stressful. Take your time. Learn slowly. And enjoy.
We all had to learn in the beginning. It soon becomes second nature.
Thanks Gary!
I was LMAO 🤣 because that would be me going RVing for the first time. Note to self. Make a list!
Hi Gerard! Thanks for watching. Its good meeting people that can relate. Day 1 towing and setting up is a HUGE effort. We had NO idea. As you can see. 😋 Just like you said, a checklist is a MUST! All the best and Safe Travels!
I guess its nice to have the money to buy it and then figure it out
Hi Greg. You’re not wrong. Big learning curve when we bought that rig. Money will always come and go. Building memories with the family is priceless. Safe travels! Best, Lee