How to set-up a t@b teardrop trailer in 10 minutes

SoundGuy wrote:

HappyCamperWives wrote:
We live full time in our teardrop, moving every week so we are no experts but def not a weekend warrior either.

Full timing in a teardrop is pretty impressive but I have to ask since you skipped over this in your video - how do you safely chock your T@B so it doesn't inadvertently roll away on you? And what's your preferred method for leveling side-to-side? Inquiring minds would like to know as obviously both are very important issues you can't possibly avoid if you're full timing and always moving from place to place with your trailer. ;)

I'd also agree with comments from others about it being a poor idea to plug into a hot pedestal without first turning off the pedestal breaker. AND, particularly since you're full timing AND moving from one location to another on a regular basis I'd highly recommend you invest in a good surge protector / EMS to help protect your teardrop's electrical system from the many source power vagaries you're bound to run into to. Plug directly into these sources and it's only a matter of time before you'll regret not investing in an EMS such as those offered by Progressive Industries, whether portable or hard wire.

Not only do I use a EMS, I also use a "good" water pressure regulator. I stayed at one CG in Texas one time that stated right on their paperwork their "water pressure is sometimes as high as 90 psi....use a pressure regulator".

If you camp in enough different places over a period of years, you will encounter just about every potential problem there is.

"6P"

SoundGuy wrote:

HappyCamperWives wrote:
We live full time in our teardrop, moving every week so we are no experts but def not a weekend warrior either.

Full timing in a teardrop is pretty impressive but I have to ask since you skipped over this in your video - how do you safely chock your T@B so it doesn't inadvertently roll away on you? And what's your preferred method for leveling side-to-side? Inquiring minds would like to know as obviously both are very important issues you can't possibly avoid if you're full timing and always moving from place to place with your trailer. ;)

I'd also agree with comments from others about it being a poor idea to plug into a hot pedestal without first turning off the pedestal breaker. AND, particularly since you're full timing AND moving from one location to another on a regular basis I'd highly recommend you invest in a good surge protector / EMS to help protect your teardrop's electrical system from the many source power vagaries you're bound to run into to. Plug directly into these sources and it's only a matter of time before you'll regret not investing in an EMS such as those offered by Progressive Industries, whether portable or hard wire.

Few things: We use just those yellow blocks to not roll away, recommend anything else? We use leveling blocks but in this space we didn't need them so hard to show in the video. We do turn off the electricity before but need to write that in the video description. A surge protector? Good idea! Need to invest in that too.

HappyCamperWives wrote:
We live full time in our teardrop, moving every week so we are no experts but def not a weekend warrior either.

Full timing in a teardrop is pretty impressive but I have to ask since you skipped over this in your video - how do you safely chock your T@B so it doesn't inadvertently roll away on you? And what's your preferred method for leveling side-to-side? Inquiring minds would like to know as obviously both are very important issues you can't possibly avoid if you're full timing and always moving from place to place with your trailer. ;)

I'd also agree with comments from others about it being a poor idea to plug into a hot pedestal without first turning off the pedestal breaker. AND, particularly since you're full timing AND moving from one location to another on a regular basis I'd highly recommend you invest in a good surge protector / EMS to help protect your teardrop's electrical system from the many source power vagaries you're bound to run into to. Plug directly into these sources and it's only a matter of time before you'll regret not investing in an EMS such as those offered by Progressive Industries, whether portable or hard wire.

2012Coleman wrote:

hohenwald48 wrote:

2012Coleman wrote:
If you did a little checking, you could have found the OP's website and read:

OP's Website wrote:
Hi! We are spending the next year traversing the United States in a 15ft camper trailer, living minimally, meeting interesting people, and learning about the meaning of life. We are excited to explore the natural world, cook delicious food, and document our adventures.

The website is very well put together, and looks like some good info. Cut them some slack - everyone was a newbie once.

Soundguy - I'm guessing that the 3 spirits haven't visited you yet... :W

Should a "newbie" be making a how-to video? Especially when it contains information that could possibly be dangerous? I'm seeing more and more of this these days. You really should know more about the topic and not just how to work a video camera and post on youtube.

Point taken, constructive criticism expected - emphasis on the word constructive.

Haha well let's be honest, we didn't post to a forum expecting everyone to be nice.. we expected the opposite.. BUT again, we want to help, we want honest feedback, and we want to learn. All of which happened! No offense taken, we're all friends here right? :P

hohenwald48 wrote:

2012Coleman wrote:
If you did a little checking, you could have found the OP's website and read:

OP's Website wrote:
Hi! We are spending the next year traversing the United States in a 15ft camper trailer, living minimally, meeting interesting people, and learning about the meaning of life. We are excited to explore the natural world, cook delicious food, and document our adventures.

The website is very well put together, and looks like some good info. Cut them some slack - everyone was a newbie once.

Soundguy - I'm guessing that the 3 spirits haven't visited you yet... :W

Should a "newbie" be making a how-to video? Especially when it contains information that could possibly be dangerous? I'm seeing more and more of this these days. You really should know more about the topic and not just how to work a video camera and post on youtube.

Point taken, constructive criticism expected - emphasis on the word constructive.

I can say this for sure. If you disconnect before setting the chocks you can be in for a real treat. You will not do it twice. :)

Hey everyone!

Thanks for the feedback, well noted. Still working on fixing the problem, it took 15 hours to upload the last one so stay tuned.

If you hate our videos that's ok! But if you liked it, anything else you'd like to see? We live full time in our teardrop, moving every week so we are no experts but def not a weekend warrior either.

Thanks again everyone.

I had a "neighbor" roll in to a CG last winter where I was staying. The sites were almost level, but very slightly downhill to the front. He only chocked one wheel. When he pulled his truck away from the camper, the trailer rolled forward the side that was not chocked, and pivoted around the chocked side. Bottom on the jack slid sideways off his wood block, landed on the soft ground and sunk in to where the coupler was nearly on the ground.
I went over with blocks of wood and my hydraulic bottle jack to help him get it lifted back up. Goes without saying someone could have been hurt had they been in the way. He learned his lesson to chock both sides before unhitching.
Safety is first thing...not speed. Take the time to do things right.

2012Coleman wrote:
If you did a little checking, you could have found the OP's website and read:

OP's Website wrote:
Hi! We are spending the next year traversing the United States in a 15ft camper trailer, living minimally, meeting interesting people, and learning about the meaning of life. We are excited to explore the natural world, cook delicious food, and document our adventures.

The website is very well put together, and looks like some good info. Cut them some slack - everyone was a newbie once.

Soundguy - I'm guessing that the 3 spirits haven't visited you yet... :W

Should a "newbie" be making a how-to video? Especially when it contains information that could possibly be dangerous? I'm seeing more and more of this these days. You really should know more about the topic and not just how to work a video camera and post on youtube.

qtla9111 wrote:
I've never seen a trailer go down a hill and I am not 20 years old either. Oh, I'm sure it happens, but my point is that these guys did a great job of making a video and it's the usual rv forum comments.

Maybe start out by saying something like, "great job on the video. sometimes though, a trailer can get away from you if you don't chock it first."

Let's face it. When someone has chocked up more that 10,000 posts just in one forum, they're not out camping in the wilderness. They're sitting at home wishing they were out camping.

It happens a lot more than you think. Insurance companies know about this all too well. Most who've been there don't rush to the internet to post about their embarrassing situation, however, one brave soul did so just a few months back. His X-Chocks let go and the trailer rolled forward several feet. The only thing that stopped it was the truck parked in front of trailer. SoundGuy's post was very direct, as are most, but he has a valid point. The trailer should be immobilized before any other steps are taken, especially on a trailer equipped with a jockey wheel. While a site may appear level, there may enough of an incline/decline to allow the trailer to roll on its own. When weight starts moving it's very difficult to stop even with lightweight trailers. Once the trailer is uncoupled it's free to roll away or, God forbid, roll into you.

The video was posted as a how to and will serve as an instructional video. There were a few steps that were not in line with best practices so the criticism is warranted. I myself noticed that the trailer was not checked for side to side level which is just as important as front to back. The site in the video didn't look like it would've been a problem, but you never know so it's best to double check. Could some have been a little bit nicer about it? Oh yeah lol, but the OP seems to have taken it in strides.

I think the video was done well and they did a good job with the information and knowledge that they had. Folks are now giving them more knowledge and hopefully they'll use it to correct the mistakes in the video. Who knows, someone else might pick up some good tips from this discussion.