About Towing A Travel Trailer

Let's look at a photo of me hooked up to my trailer and analyse many factors. 

First if you look at trailer behind van,  trailer is fairly level hooked up.  It's not nose down or nose up.  That means the trailer weight is evenly distributed.  Often that means taking things off counter or other places and putting them inside trailer on floor centered over the axles. 

Now look at height of van and height of trailer.  While there is some difference,  it's very little.. and if i add the oldstyle cartop carrier to van,  it smooths the aerodynamics of the van trailer hookup. 

Trailer is single axle,  18ft plus tongue,  and low ground clearance.  That means higher speeds cause tail wag. A semi truck and trailer generates enough air disturbance when passing to push trailer sideways.  The solution is to slow my speed slightly as truck comes up to pass and increase speed about 5-10 mph as end of semi passes front of my bumper. 

If a on ramp is the cuved and banked circle onramp, then i go slower and turn much more gradually than I would in a car.  At the end of curved ramp, speeding up will bring trailer rear in line with the van. In fact,  anytime you find trailer rear end veering to one side or other,  speeding up will bring it in line with van. 

When going up a hill or mountain,  you'll find me in right hand lane with the heavy loaded semi trucks. Flashers on. Pretty much the slower the better.  I can climb the  upgrade faster but what goes up must come down. Coming down a long steep downgrade  i want to use my brakes as little as possible and for as short a period as safe. Overheating brakes leads to locking up brakes or brakes on fire.  Many downgrades have narrow shoulders and curves. I absolutely don't want to pull over on a downgrade if i can avoid it. 

Hooked up,  I've 3 sets of axles,  each with a single set of tires.  That means although a flat is inconvenient,  blowing a tire could be deadly.  The tongue can act as a lever to flip trailer or van.  

Safety chains 

Cross safety chains under tongue and securely hook to tow vehicle.  Last year was the first time i ever had a trailer jump off the ball.  I was using a rented uhaul truck with a ball.  The ball was just barely too large and had i been doing anything but moving trailer less than 20 miles locally, i wouldn't have done it.  

Other critical tips

Start off slow. 

Steer in gradual turns.  

Before stopping,  try to take foot off accelerator gradually and allow trailer weight to slow the rig up before braking to a stop.  Under no circumstances slam brakes on or stop suddenly.  If needed steer 45 degrees right or left to avoid a hazard. 

Do not press on in heavy rain or windy conditions.  Stop and wait until conditions are safer to proceed. 

When backing up,  drop your hands on steering wheel to the bottom.  Get out and check lineup or position when backing or parallel parking.  And yes I've done both and comfortable doing either. 

While this is by no means a complete guide, this will help you avoid some common mistakes that can lead to a wreck or fatal accident.  The goal is to arrive at your destination intact with no close calls.

Good coffee to you,  see you down the road,

Lou

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Musing on the change in electronics and internet and how that's affected my nomadic life

Looking back on recent history (my lifetime);

Advertising killed OTA tv for a while.  The move to cable tv was  "it's worth paying to not have so many commercials. "

Then cable fell out of favor for streaming plans because of limited or commercial free broadcasts on streaming. 

The other day while going through my files,  i ran across my membership cards to  blockbuster and family video.  I fondly remember when going to the video store (yes vhs video tapes)  was a highlight of the week.  The cost of 4 vhs tape rentals was about the same as 2 tickets to a movie theater.  And yes,  it was a big deal to make popcorn,  snacks,  and sandwiches for video nights.  And yes, it was sometimes a get together with friends to watch movies. 

I was a happy subscriber to Netflix early days of dialup.  I would not so patiently wait for the DVD s to arrive in the mail.  I worked going through the catalog to have a good waiting list so that my movies were uninterrupted by waiting for the ones i sent back to be logged in and my new ones sent.   There were subscription tiers of 2, 4, 8 DVDs that you could have at one time.  Somehow,  even though i promised myself only one a night,  i became a binge watcher decades ago.

I have subscriptions to 2 video streaming platforms.  And both allow limited or no commercials and downloading of videos to watch later.  I skipped right past the redbox DVD rentals. 

Currently i have approximately 20 videos of 5 most favored shows on my phone.  I enjoy being able to watch series from season 1 episode 1 to current. 

There is a plethora of streaming services including many "cable channels." Most offer what hulu did in their early days.  A selection of free content that anyone can watch.  Even current shows are available.  Some,  the day after they air,  some for a week only after airing,  some the previous seasons only.   Many offer login with your cable tv provider.  Services vary,  tiers of service vary.

I have a older flat screen LED non smart TV and a blu-ray DVD player in my van.  I've yet to hook them up and use them for two reasons -- power consumption and i am content with watching things on my small screen. 

My 4 laptops and netbooks sit up in over the front seats storage area unused for the most part.  My Samsung phone can often do almost anything required.  I no longer even own a tablet.  I may pick up one that's offline mode only to watch things on a bigger screen.

I no longer own a hotspot wifi device. Again,  my phone can share internet access through bluetooth or wifi connection.  I can mirror (cast)  onto a bigger screen if needed. 

The beauty of my system is that even though I've just added a set of batteries and a 100 watt solar panel,  my starter or house battery alone has kept up for years on charging up my electronics.

Have a happy weekend.

Good coffee to you,

Lou

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Good Morning From My Van

Kira enjoys her morning nap after first morning potty walk. 

Good coffee to you. What's today like in my van (that is waiting for fuel pump replacement)? 

We woke at 830 a.m. to a chilly 45 degrees.  The desert gets very cold at night, then by 10 a.m. it's sunny and comfortable.  

Mornings in a camper van aren't much different than traditional style in a bricks and sticks house.  Get up,  go to the bathroom, walk the dog,  make coffee,  fold the door curtains and fold up the bedding.  

I'm still trying to balance repair tasks and totally rearranging interior of van at the same time.  It's getting better but interior still a disaster in terms of things having their own place

Kira decides napping in the dog bed next to me is a better option 

Add a chihuahua who always wants to be right in the middle of everything (might be food involved)..

But finally I've a spot on the couch to sit and a spot on the end table to set my coffee.  Ah coffee,  nectar of the gods,  my sanity potion.

As usual,  I'm in waiting mode.  A friend coming to charge my battery,  small check tonight at 11 p.m., the fuel pump to pay electronically tonight plus labor.  So I'll do a bit of housework and organizing. 

I've a fresh bunch of bananas one of the panhandlers left on the corner,  and a full, unopened cherry Pepsi.  While I am a purist on my cola,  i won't turn down a free,  full,  unopened cold pop. 

I think breakfast will be peanut butter with Fiji apple preserves (on sale $1.09) on whole wheat,  with a banana and a big kosher dill pickle on the side, accompanied by my second cup of coffee. 

A simple no cook breakfast.  No dishes to wash,  a couple of paper towels and a paper plate for the trash,  a knife and a spoon to wipe clean.  That's living my dream.  

No,  I'm not living the dream,  I'm living my dream.  Life still happens whether in a traditional house or full time in an RV. 

So, good coffee to you,  from Kira and Lou in my big green vintage class b plus van. It looks to be a wonderful day today. 

~Just Lou~

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