Circle check! Before you move anything! Double Check everything.. but most important.. NEVER allow anyone to rush you.. that is what my years and years of experience have tought me..
I always doublecheck after my husband has everything set to go. So far I've found the hitch unlocked, the brake cable not connected and a chock under one of the wheels.
1. Always remember to have TT keys BEFORE you leave home. 120 mile roundtrip back to get them is not any fun!
2. Always put the slide in BEFORE you have the TT hooked up to TV and all stablizers up. Manually pushing the slide in is a lot harder than just pushing a little button. It did give our camping neighbors a good laugh.
3. Like others have said, make sure the slide AND the awning have enough room to come out BEFORE you get all set up.
4. The most important lesson we have learned is to get to the campground and get all set up on THURSDAY before everyone else gets there on Friday. That way no one can see us make a fool of ourselves and we get to watch everyone else. We also leave on Tuesday for the same reason. Our camping trips are always from Thursday thru Tuesday.
If you have a bag awning on a pop-up, don't feel superior that the front of your awning is perfectly level while all of the idiots around you can't get it right and always had one side higher than the other. You'll feel sad after a storm when you have a bunch of gallons of water that bend the front channel of your awning, rendering it useless. Oh, and since those are twist-to-pinch awning poles, careful of the fingers because water is HEAVY.
If your idiot cousin is watching you back your pop-up into a site w/ your brand new dually (< 300 miles on it), listen to him when he shouts that you're jack-knifed. While he's a true idiot, he's right and you might just be very jack-knifed (thankfully, I did listen this time and didn't make contact).
If you can't decide to pull forward onto your leveling blocks or back onto them, keep in mind that that extra foot might very be the difference in your slide-out bed opening fully vs. running into the tree.
Do go practice. Getting to the campground and hoping no one is watching isn't the time.
2013 Sabre 36QBOK
Truck: 2012 Ram 3500 Crew Cab DRW w/ 4.10 gears and 8' bed
FW Hitch: B&W Turnover Ball + Companion hitch
Nights Camped: (2013: 10, 2012: 52, 2011: 28) Blog about learning to RV, mishaps and adventures
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