Forum Discussion

tfirma's avatar
tfirma
Explorer
Oct 14, 2013

Solo Traveling

Hello Everyone!

I was wondering for those folks that have even done solo RVing -- what have been the greatest challenges, and what, if anything, is almost impossible to do when traveling solo?

I'm about to purchase a 25-30ft travel trailer to do some road trips with my dogs and I.

ONE of my concerns, after getting some initial opinions, is just on the unhooking/hookup of the trailer to my towing vehicle. From what I understand, it's VERY helpful to have someone guiding from behind... Would a rear-view camera help me to do this on my own?

Any other thoughts about doing things solo -- either from the operations side OR even just the experience side? :) Thanks to everyone for any and all thoughts!

Tom
  • Tin_Pusher's avatar
    Tin_Pusher
    Explorer II
    Oct 14, 2013
    What I like about a fifth wheel. You can see the whole hitch all the time :)
  • naturist's avatar
    naturist
    Nomad
    Oct 14, 2013
    allen8106 wrote:
    I'm married and have two kids but I ALWAYS do the hooking and unhooking by myself. It's not that hard. Sometimes on a travel trailer you have to adjust a couple of times when backing up to the hitch but it's no big deal really.


    I'm married, no kids left at home, and I, too, do the hooking/unhooking by myself. And yes, it does take a bit longer to make two or three "stabs" at the hookup, but it's no big deal. And a camera is unlikely to be enough help to make it worth the cost. Much better, and a whole lot cheaper, if it does prove to be too much, is one of those line-the-two-balls-up systems that mounts a pair of balls temporarily such that you can see 'em and line up on the balls instead of the hitch.
  • 2012Coleman's avatar
    2012Coleman
    Explorer II
    Oct 14, 2013
    Jerrybo66 wrote:
    Even experienced drivers have trouble sometimes hooking up. You can get a "helper" that works great. It's an extendable gadget with a magnet on one end and a tennis ball on the other. There are two. One sticks to the ball, the other on the hitch. You line up the balls until the one on the hitch ball falls off. You're right on..... Good luck..
    You can get this at Harbor Freight. I used them for a while, but then purchased an iball wireless camera on Amazon. The ball thing still tells me how high the TT's toung has to be, but hooking up by yourself is really very easy. There are also a number of mirrors you can get.

    See this link

    or

    this link
  • tfirma's avatar
    tfirma
    Explorer
    Oct 14, 2013
    Wow, these are all fantastic replies - thank you very much everyone!
  • Jerrybo66's avatar
    Jerrybo66
    Explorer
    Oct 14, 2013
    Even experienced drivers have trouble sometimes hooking up. You can get a "helper" that works great. It's an extendable gadget with a magnet on one end and a tennis ball on the other. There are two. One sticks to the ball, the other on the hitch. You line up the balls until the one on the hitch ball falls off. You're right on..... Good luck..
  • 4aSong's avatar
    4aSong
    Explorer
    Oct 14, 2013
    allen8106 wrote:
    I'm married and have two kids but I ALWAYS do the hooking and unhooking by myself. It's not that hard. Sometimes on a travel trailer you have to adjust a couple of times when backing up to the hitch but it's no big deal really.


    X2

    A bit of practice and it all comes together. I seem to always do better when I have no assistance.
  • allen8106's avatar
    allen8106
    Explorer
    Oct 14, 2013
    I'm married and have two kids but I ALWAYS do the hooking and unhooking by myself. It's not that hard. Sometimes on a travel trailer you have to adjust a couple of times when backing up to the hitch but it's no big deal really.

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