It sure appears that the Original Poster had as much fun on the forums as they did RVing. We haven't heard a peep from them since their intial post on their first day of being a forum member. They got their one slam against Good Sam in, and like a puff a smoke, they dissapated into the wind.
Did you pick the big FW so you could fulltime when you retire? Or maybe have a unit large enough to ssnowbird in comfort? Either way you will begin to get used to towing and even backing it into a site when needed if you keep trying.
I don't agree with the fellow who said campground reviews online are not a good way to go. Word of mouth is fine if you aren't traveling any distance. Having said this we now live in Idaho as you do and found we were limited on which state parks we could stay in with a 36' FW so we downsized now that we no longer fulltime RV. In addition, I will say one of our favorite Idaho SPs is Three Island Crossing because there are sites big enough for the 36 footer.
Keep trying but relax more and go with the flow.
Fulltime RVer May 1997-June 2007
2013 Winnebago Vista Model 27N
(I am not reading all the comments before responding, so apologize if I end up repeating what others have said)
let your wife try driving. if she enjoys the camping, she might enjoy the driving. for us hubby is primary driver, he prefers, but I am secondary. if he is tried or not feeling well, I take over.
as for backing up. take it to a big empty parking lot and practice, lots. that's how I learned with two of our rigs.
unless you are an expert at parking and backing up, it is impossible to do by yourself without one or more spotters. even after towing for over 15 years, 5 years with our current rig, hubby has me get out. at minimum I stand at the back corner of the site where he wants the driver side back corner of the rig to be, so he has a easy visual of where to head with the rig. depending on the site I do also walk right next to the rig to watch for low clearance trees. some couples prefer walkie-talkies to communicate when backing into a site. we tried that once, didn't work for us. we have come up with our own system of using flashlights to signal in the dark or hand motions in the daylight. otherwise I just yell at him.
as for the packing. we put together a master packing list, it is saved on hubby's laptop. for each trip it is updated with specific stuff for that trip (mainly food), printed and as we load we cross off what has been put it. it takes the thought and worry out of packing. the back of the list then turns into the resupply list while we are camping, where we list what needs to be restocked before the next trip. When we get home the list goes on hubby's desk for when he prints the list for the next trip, he can add the resupply list to it. we typically print the list a week to a week and a half before we leave. That gives me time to shop for what we need. Then i start loading laundry baskets with stuff that needs to go into the trailer. when a basket is full, one of us carries it out and crosses off the list.
depending how often you go out will depend on how much stuff you will want to have duplicates of in the trailer. hair brushes, tooth brushes, tooth pastes, shampoos, soaps, cleaning supplies, are all kept in the trailer for the season. I put clothes in for each trip, I know some families that have a separate set of clothes that just stay in the trailer. As for food, as the beginning of the season I get smaller sized bottles of condiments that we use regularly (ketchup, mustard, salad dressing, ice cream toppings, jellies) for the trailer. if we have two weeks or less between trips we keep the fridge on in the trailer and the staples stay in it. if we are going to be home for 4 weeks, I empty the trailer staples into a bin and put it in the back of our house fridge and we turn the trailer fridge off. there are also dry-good staples that stay in the trailer for the season (brownie mix, pudding mix, jello mix, syrup, pasta, sauce, tea bags, chocolate mix, s'more fixings, ice cream sundae toppings).
so take a look at what you pack, how often you are going out, and see what stuff you can keep a second set of in the trailer.
Set-up can be over whelming depending on what extra supplies you have. We try and travel low-key. no awning mat, just a small door mat. rarely do I put a table cover on the picnic table. most of what gets put out at this point are toys for our kids and our chairs. I try and travel with as much stuff as possible in the place that it will live for the trip. so that we don't have to move a lot of stuff to set up. we take out what we need, and put it back when we are done. so if hubby doesn't need the grill or the extra camp stove, it stays put away in the compartment it travels in. that also helps make packing up less time consuming.
Don't give up on camping yet. with some trial and error of different systems to organize your travels it should become very relaxing. I also find the stress from our jobs does spill over to our camping time. there are times that we will be part way into a camping weekend and a stressed as we are during the work week. once we recognize it, we will take 5 to refocus and focus on destressing and relaxing mentally.
Good Sam Life Members. Camping with two young children in a 2007 Pilgrim fifth wheel (278BHSS) pulled with a 2002 F350.
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