Backing into a Campsite – Step-By-Step Process

in this episode of giammarucci on the road we'll go over the basics of how to back up your travel trailer into a campsite solo while this video is targeted to those who are new to rving there will be plenty of tips for the more experienced the goal of this video is to improve your confidence when having to back up your rv solo while this video is not geared toward backing in while having someone guide you improving your ability of backing in solo will benefit your skills and confidence hey everybody i'm john marichi i'm an avid traveler and teacher and love to explore in 2016 i decided to travel by rv and have never looked back i've had my share of problems along the way and being a teacher by nature i've tried to turn these problems into help for others whether you're new to rv travel or experienced you're in the right place so let's jump in besides using a public dump station the most stressful thing i deal with when traveling with my travel trailer is backing into campsites this is compounded if the campground loop road is narrow or the campsite sits at a perpendicular angle from the road in due course you will likely run into difficult campsites to back into if you learn a way to back into sites that lowers your risk your stress level will be better for it you'll improve over time and you'll generally enjoy rving more backing into campsites takes time to master while it may take time there is a process to follow to help speed you along the learning curve which we'll get to shortly first let's cover some basics many campgrounds have pull-through sites that allow you to avoid the difficulty of backing in altogether this is a real advantage and saves considerable time and stress the disadvantage is usually cost as many pull-through sites cost more than back-in sites also there are usually fewer pull-through sites at campgrounds as they can take more campground real estate back-in sites are the most common type of campsites at campgrounds in general there are two types the ones that are set at a diagonal to the campground loop road and those that are set perpendicular at roughly 90 degrees to the campground loop road by far the easier of the two to back into are the campsites that are set at a diagonal to the campground loop road the problem with a campsite where the site entrance sits perpendicular to the road is that you must turn the back of the trailer at much more of an angle on your initial turn if you're not careful you can cause damage to the back of your tow vehicle by hitting the trailer or weight distribution hitch if you cut too tightly i found this out the hard way backing into a difficult site at silver springs state park in ocala florida after cutting a back in turn too tightly i ended up putting a crease in my truck's rear bumper from contact with the trailer's weight distribution hitch another issue is dealing with a narrow campground road this leaves very little room for the front side of the tow vehicle to unwind the first back in turn so be aware that tight campground loop roads and perpendicular campsite entrances are more difficult to back into if possible when planning your trip try to look at these dynamics on a satellite map so you know what you're in for also some campsites can be very loosely defined and it can be tough to see the site's boundaries it may be that camping neighbors have crowded your site with their vehicles or gear not even knowing they have stuff on your site obstacles like vehicles and gear as well as trees and low hanging tree limbs can be a real risk to your rv and or tow vehicle finally the time of the week and season you camp will likely make a difference on how you grow in your confidence my counsel to those just getting started is to try and start out on an off season weekday if possible usually these times will be much less busy the last thing we need when getting started with developing our backing in skills are close neighbors all around eyeing our every move it's tough enough to learn with no one around so think about being a contrarian if possible okay with some preliminary things out of the way let's begin to walk through a process of backing into a campsite we'll go over a six-part process part one is the site survey part two your starting position part three the cut back turn part four the unwind and follow part five the pull forward and part six the push back to your marks we'll highlight these six steps as we go through the process before we do a deep dive into the process let's look at a back-end done right in this case i have already done the site survey and placed my cones at the back of the site where i want to end up i've also placed a cone at the front corner of the site to mark my pivot point here i am at my starting position watch as i cut the trailer into the site by turning the tow vehicle's wheels in the opposite direction that i want the rear of the trailer to go i start to straighten the wheels once the trailer is turning in from this angle you'll notice the trailer wheels begin to pivot slowly around the front campsite cone this is the most important time in the process so you'll need to take it slowly and try to align the turn properly come close to the cone with the trailer wheels but be careful not to hit it after i achieve the pivot around the cone and the back of the trailer is heading into the campsite i then unwind the turn by turning the steering wheel toward the campsite to straighten out the trailer notice the front driver side of the tow vehicle pivots away from the campsite and toward the opposite side you especially need to be careful of this when unwinding the turn i then very slowly follow the trailer into the site but as usual not exactly where i want to end up this is where you need to regularly check your mirrors to avoid any obstacles next notice that i back up slowly a good distance on the site and end up stopping a few feet away from my cone marks the trailer is crooked on the pad at this point and will end up at an angle if i don't straighten it up so i'll pull the trailer forward so i can back it in straight to my marks next i pull forward considerably across the road with the tow vehicle into the opposite sight i do this so i can push back to where i want to end up as i push back to my marks i can see the cones in both mirrors now that the tow vehicle and trailer are straight so it isn't too difficult to stop at my marks okay so after the high level walkthrough let's get into the details of the process used part one is the site survey you want to pull up and park in front of the campsite to survey the site at some campgrounds with wider loop roads you can pull slightly off the road and park this is a bit more difficult if stopping means you're blocking a busy campground loop road the reason to do a site survey is so you can note any obstacles unevenness or where utilities are the goal is to come up with where you want the rv to end up on the campsite especially be aware of campsite utility poles and any other non-movable obstacles also be aware of space you may need to accommodate the rv slide next place a marker at the front corner of the campsite to have a reference point for your first turn next mark where you want the back corners of the rv to be on the site if you're on a full hookup site remember to keep in mind the placement of the sewer outlet on your rv use two orange cones colored wheel chocks or colored levelers to mark both back corners of where you would like the rv to rest on the site part 2 is the starting position pull the tow vehicle and rv past the campsite drive entrance enough to where the back corner of the rv is parallel to the cone at the front corner of the campsite drive entrance this will allow you to begin your back in with plenty of room to execute your first back in turn part three is the cut back turn turn your tow vehicle steering wheel in the opposite direction to where you want the back of the trailer to go this is counter intuitive and takes a bit of getting used to if i turn my steering wheel to the left while going backwards the back of the tow vehicle and front of the trailer will move in the same direction pivoting the back of the trailer in the opposite direction this is because the tow vehicle is attached to the trailer at a single point at the trailer's tongue the force in one direction on the tongue will pivot the back of the trailer in the opposite direction next move the tow vehicle very slowly back as the back of the trailer moves toward the campsite as a tip you'll likely need to use the opposite mirror from the way you're turning your steering wheel i sometimes stop and adjust my mirrors to make sure i can properly see the back of my trailer part 4 is the unwind and follow once you are moving the back of the trailer in the right direction pivoting around the front campsite cone you will need to unwind your turn which will move the front of the tow vehicle toward the opposite side of the road this is where you can get into trouble if you're not careful especially given a narrow campground loop road with trees shrubs or vehicles near the road across from your site when you unwind the first turn what happens is the trailer begins to move in the opposite direction from the first back in turn this is usually needed in most situations however the front of your tow vehicle will turn toward the far side of the loop road quickly when doing so if there are serious obstacles near the road there's a real risk of hitting them with the front of the tow vehicle next once you allow the first back and turn to unwind you'll be straightening up the trailer on the campsite pad many times at this point in the process i find that i have either overshot or under shot where i wanted to be on the campsite pad if you are fortunate and there is considerable length to the campsite pad you can back up away on the pad before you pull forward to straighten things out part five is the pull forward pull forward as much as possible straight out of the campsite if there is an open space directly across the road pull the tow vehicle forward into that site giving yourself plenty of room to back in straight on some occasions mainly due to obstacles across the loop road you may have to pull out completely and go around the loop road again for a do-over i've had to do these many times so it is nothing to be ashamed of especially on a very difficult backing part 6 is the push back to marks once the rv and tow vehicle are pulled out straight back in again using your colored cones as guides try to get the back corners of the rv aligned with the cone marks since you have already mapped out where you need to end up you shouldn't have issues with slide outs having room the reach of your electrical cord water hose or sewer connection okay that'll do it for now if you found this video helpful please click the like button you can find more helpful information on jomarucci.com including the process document that accompanies this video you can also follow me on facebook at jon marucci on the road thanks for watching stay safe this is john marucci in so long for now you

Channel: John Marucci

Views: 257,713

Keywords: how to back up a trailer, rv newbie, keystone bullet travel trailer, keystone bullet 243bhs, how to back up a travel trailer, rv living, rv life, how to back a travel trailer step-by-step

Id: rzdzJWX-dbY

Length: 12min 59sec (779 seconds)

Published: Sat May 07 2022