… begins with 6-feet.<\/p>\n
Yes, folks, I have, for the first time, attached my big beast of a tow vehicle and have hauled my fifth wheel.\u00a0 Six feet.\u00a0 And I did it without causing any kind of personal or property damage.\u00a0 Is there a merit badge for this?<\/p>\n
We had to reposition the coach on the campsite to get both sewage outflow pipes within 10 feet of the sewer.\u00a0 Last weekend, after using a plastic tote to empty the rear gray water tank manually – for the second time – I vowed to never do it again.\u00a0 Emptying a 60-gallon tank requires about 10 back-breaking, smelly trips through mosquito-infested weeds.\u00a0 Think Humphrey Bogart in African Queen<\/em>.\u00a0 A nasty, nasty job.<\/p>\n So this week I bought a new flexible drain hose and a hose support thing called a “Slunky” (because it looks like a rectangular Slinky) to support the hose.\u00a0 Jett and I took them up to the campsite on Saturday after Jett returned from VA (she delivered the grandkids to the loving arms of their father) and had a peaceful day and night.\u00a0 On Sunday afternoon I prevailed on Jett to do the move.\u00a0 She was still exhausted from the two weeks with the kids and the trip to VA, but it had to be done.\u00a0 Besides, it was good practice.<\/p>\n So we closed up the coach just as if we would be hauling it a hundred miles. Close the windows and vents.\u00a0 Secure anything that could fall. Clear the floors.\u00a0 Close the slides.\u00a0 Empty the tanks.\u00a0 Stow the hoses.\u00a0 Remove the tripod stabilizer.\u00a0 Raise the rear stabilizer legs.\u00a0 Lower the tailgate.\u00a0 Prepare the hitch.\u00a0 Back the truck in VERY CAREFULLY.\u00a0 Snap the pin into the hitch.\u00a0 Attach the umbilical.\u00a0 Disconnect the electric cable.\u00a0 Disconnect the TV cable.\u00a0 Disconnect the hose.\u00a0 Remove the chucks.<\/p>\n Finally… gently pull the coach forward about 8 feet.\u00a0 Remove the leveling lumber.\u00a0 Reposition the leveling boards.\u00a0 Put the truck in reverse and push the coach back about 2 feet onto the boards.\u00a0 Check the level.\u00a0 Pull forward.\u00a0 Adjust the boards a bit.\u00a0 Back it again.\u00a0 Done!<\/p>\n Then reverse all the steps to open it up again.<\/p>\n The whole process took nearly 2 hours.\u00a0 It wasn’t fun but it was certainly educational.<\/p>\n I now feel like a veteran OTR fifth-wheel hauler.\u00a0 I have logged 6 feet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" … begins with 6-feet. Yes, folks, I have, for the first time, attached my big beast of a tow vehicle and have hauled my fifth wheel.\u00a0 Six feet.\u00a0 And I did it without causing any kind of personal or property damage.\u00a0 Is there a merit badge for this? We had to reposition the coach on … Continue reading