Blaze a Trail With Me

When I first decided to travel alone I thought all the steps were overwhelming. I wrote them down on a checklist on a notebook and I double checked it every time before and after. Pretty soon it became routine. Here are the steps. I'll do my best to explain them.

This is a concrete spot. I prefer these because they are level. There are also dirt and gravel options in some places.

The is what the electric outlet on the trailer looks like. It just coils back in there when you aren't using it. You pull it out as far as you need it. I've never been anywhere it wouldn't reach.

The box where you plug it in looks similar to this. There are 30 and 50 amp options. Your trailer will be one or the other.

These are your plug in options. I have a 30 amp. The plug will only fit the 30 amp side. Before I plug it in I make sure all the switches are switched off.

This is what the water connection looks like. The top is for filling a fresh water tank if you are going to camp somewhere without a city water hookup. Mine holds 40 gallons. The gold thing is a water regulator. It keeps the water regulated so it won't burst your pipes in the trailer, a nice even flow. I leave it connected all the time.

The other end is connected to the water spout. When you turn it on, make sure there aren't any open spouts in the trailer to over flow. I also recommend a water filter.

The sewage hose is stored in the bumper. (I will get better pics of that.) There are caps on both ends. When I remove it from the bumper I remove the caps and store them in the bumper. One end (It will be clear which end.) is connected to the trailer, here. See the valve to the right. There are two like this. One on each side. One is for the black tank (think toilet) and the other is for the grey tank (all other water, like sink and bathtub). They both hold 30 gallons. When I am hooked up at a camp site I leave the grey tank open all the time. Once every couple of days, when my buttons (pic of buttons coming soon) say it's full, or before I break camp, I close the grey and open the black. Once it stops flowing, I close it again until I need to empty it again. Every couple of empties I also flush the tank (Ok, I realize I need more pics.). There is a separate HOSE and connection for flushing the black tank out. You never use your drinking hose (The white one) for this. EVER. EEWW, nasty.

The other end connects in the ground like this. I take the cap off and screw it in. A lot of times I need a hose adaptor to get it screwed in.

Most importantly there should be a slant. Your trailer connection highest tapering to a connection lower in the ground. We won't the shit to flow downhill, yes? YEEEESSS. I started out without this and bought it. I really like it.

At some point I need to level the trailer. I have blocks of wood to help. Inside I have a leveler. It's super easy on these level concrete pads though. I have these stabilizing bars that I have to take off. My jack is electric which is helpful. Above the jacks is my propane tanks. I only need them for my heater, and cooking. You will notice a lock at the top there. It locks the hitch to my ball. These bars hold a lot of pressure (see them winged out here). By maneuvering my car and using a tool with the right leverage I don't need a lot of muscles to take them off my car. I've always been able to do it alone.

This how my hookup. The one to the left is for my brakes and brake lights. The green hook is my emergency cutoff in case I should come unhitched. It will put the brakes on. Then there are my other chain hooks. All of this has to be undone so that I can leave the trailer somewhere.

Once I am level front to back, I need to be stabilized from side to side. It cuts down on the wobbling and gives me stability. It's important that a lot of pressure isn't put on these. Just a little pressure. I have tool that brings them down and I have these pads.

This is where my cable wire hooks up on the box if that is an option at your park. I recommend 50 feet at least of cable wire. 25 just doesn't cut it.