Setting Up Our Trailer

Below are the steps we go through in setting up our travel trailer upon arrival at a campground. Please note that we have a 30 foot bumper-pull trailer; steps for setting up other RVs -- such as motor homes, fifth wheels, and folding trailers -- will be different.

As I continue to develop this section of the website, the steps below will link to expanded descriptions of each step. Also, at the time I'm writing these steps, I'm sitting in the comfort of my home in San Angelo, and my trailer is about 400 miles away near Willis, Texas. After we arrive at our trailer, I will snap some pictures to illustrate many of the following steps.

• Selecting a site
• Positioning the trailer within a site
  • Leveling the trailer
  • Side-to-side leveling
  • Front-to-back leveling
  • Unhitching the trailer (which actually occurs before leveling front-to-back)
• Setting stabilizing jacks
• Connecting electrical
• Connecting water
• Connecting sewer
  • Connecting cable (if applicable)
• Slide-out
• Switching on the water heater
• Setting the fridge
• Making your site homey
• What happens inside

Donna and I have become quite proficient in both preparing to leave a campground and in setting up our trailer. Unless their are extenuating circumstances, such as equipment failure, a very unlevel site, or a very tight site, we can usually complete the process easily in under an hour. We work well together as a team, and we each have our duties to complete. While I'm working outside, Donna is usually getting things ready inside.