I remember the day. It was warm and bit cloudy, no wind and mostly clear.
It was the first trip we were to make with our new-to-us fifth wheel.
Our SHAKEDOWN cruise!
The days before that were important.
Not having the experience of towing a trailer, except my 3 horse slant, and of course I was very apprehensive.
My brother is a very seasoned truck driver, so I asked him to give me a lesson or two.
We hooked up and headed to the local Home Depot to use their parking lot.
We went in and around the islands and then came the time to BACK UP!
Oh Lord!
I had him do it for me once so I could watch him and what he was looking at while backing.
Positioning the rig before the shift lever is moved is the most important.
Now it was my turn, gulp!
Around we went in the parking lot and the contractors were watching from their vantage points.
I picked a set of spaces to use as my “camp site”.
“Crank the wheel” lil brother said as I backed slowly.
The Cougar obeyed and moved her tail in the direction of the site. “Now straighten up and get under the trailer” he said as the tandems were tracking into the lines. Just a foot or two over so I was instructed to pull forward and try again.
Nailed It!
I got this now!
Back to the date of departure.
We headed out and up a fairly good grade. King took it like a champ. The rest of the trip were very comforting as nothing I had imagined manifested.
We got to Plomosa Road and found a very nice spot by ourselves. This was special as there were literally 1000’s of rigs here for the annual Quartzite Big Tent RV event.
We set up and unhooked like we knew what we were doing, lol.
Great shakedown. I am one happy camper.
Incidentally, Cougar has been code named “the Cat House” and of course “King” is ruler of the roost.
Upward and onward!