There are one... or more... toughest tasks to learn as a new Airstream owner.
My first experience at towing was at the age of 7, maybe 8 years old. My 5 year old brother in a red wagon being pulled by a rope tethered to my tricycle. It was my apprenticeship to my first Airstream in 2006. This first attempt did not work out very well and the "braking system" was still primitive and lacking. I am much, much older and not the wiser for it today.
Now looking back at my last eight years of towing A trailer, there is a check list of the most difficult to the easiest skills required to be a competent Tow Vehicle "Operator" attached to a... Trailer, any trailer. Those of you with a John Deere riding mower and pulling a trailer full of mulch and garden tools can be the best training a Newbie Airstream Owner can practice in your front yard.
My first mile pulling an Airstream from the dealership was full of doubt and not knowing... what to expect. Especially when I made a wrong turn, before the highway in Denver, and found myself in a crowded parking lot for an apartment complex. This was within five minutes of watching the Service Representative waving... goodbye... Newbie. Be safe. If the sweat was not enough, getting into an immediate skill deprivation with a trailer does cloud the pride of ownership to... WHY? But, I managed to get out, find the second right turn onto I-470 South.
My number one by the greatest margin is.... BACKING UP A TRAILER into the parking space at the RV parking lot. Had I the John Deere riding lawn more and utility trailer to practice backing up, I would have had a clue how. How to back up, looking into the side mirror and getting the "hang of it". The riding lawn mower with utility trailer is even more difficult to master. One mistake and you are jackknifed at 90 degrees... plus some. Pull ahead, back up. Pull ahead... repeat until you figure it out. Well, I did it with a 23 foot trailer, which remarkably is EASIER to back up than the riding mower practice course. Much easier.
So... I put backing up MY number one most difficult for a Newbie to learn.
(1) Backing up
(2) Entering a gasoline station... wisely to get IN and to get OUT
(3) Learning that going UP a dip is easier than going DOWN into a dip in the road.
What advice can you give to any Newbie towing a trailer? How did you master this difficulty? Did you have some way to practice, BEFORE pulling an expensive shiny aluminum fuselage made in Jackson Center, Ohio.
This is dedicated to Ted and Kathy in Littleton, Colorado with their FIRST AIRSTREAM, but also their first experience going from Point A to Point B with his wife and my wife riding in the back seat talking non stop AND Ted driving with me... wide eyed and bushy tailed on THEIR maiden voyage in heavy Denver, Colorado traffic. Ted did a wonderful job. The ladies enjoyed their swapping... some kind of information, while Ted was getting first hand everything you would want to know and what to watch out for.... look out!
This little story is for them to remember their maiden voyage and also how my wife and I felt on our first wrong turn and many more to follow over the years. Now as seasoned Airstreamers, we have brought another couple on line and on their way to help the next Newbies on their maiden voyage.
Our "wrong turns" today have a totally different name. It is called... BOONDOCKING. When Ted and Kathy are ready... we will be there to help them on their way to getting lost, as well.
My first experience at towing was at the age of 7, maybe 8 years old. My 5 year old brother in a red wagon being pulled by a rope tethered to my tricycle. It was my apprenticeship to my first Airstream in 2006. This first attempt did not work out very well and the "braking system" was still primitive and lacking. I am much, much older and not the wiser for it today.
Now looking back at my last eight years of towing A trailer, there is a check list of the most difficult to the easiest skills required to be a competent Tow Vehicle "Operator" attached to a... Trailer, any trailer. Those of you with a John Deere riding mower and pulling a trailer full of mulch and garden tools can be the best training a Newbie Airstream Owner can practice in your front yard.
My first mile pulling an Airstream from the dealership was full of doubt and not knowing... what to expect. Especially when I made a wrong turn, before the highway in Denver, and found myself in a crowded parking lot for an apartment complex. This was within five minutes of watching the Service Representative waving... goodbye... Newbie. Be safe. If the sweat was not enough, getting into an immediate skill deprivation with a trailer does cloud the pride of ownership to... WHY? But, I managed to get out, find the second right turn onto I-470 South.
My number one by the greatest margin is.... BACKING UP A TRAILER into the parking space at the RV parking lot. Had I the John Deere riding lawn more and utility trailer to practice backing up, I would have had a clue how. How to back up, looking into the side mirror and getting the "hang of it". The riding lawn mower with utility trailer is even more difficult to master. One mistake and you are jackknifed at 90 degrees... plus some. Pull ahead, back up. Pull ahead... repeat until you figure it out. Well, I did it with a 23 foot trailer, which remarkably is EASIER to back up than the riding mower practice course. Much easier.
So... I put backing up MY number one most difficult for a Newbie to learn.
(1) Backing up
(2) Entering a gasoline station... wisely to get IN and to get OUT
(3) Learning that going UP a dip is easier than going DOWN into a dip in the road.
What advice can you give to any Newbie towing a trailer? How did you master this difficulty? Did you have some way to practice, BEFORE pulling an expensive shiny aluminum fuselage made in Jackson Center, Ohio.
This is dedicated to Ted and Kathy in Littleton, Colorado with their FIRST AIRSTREAM, but also their first experience going from Point A to Point B with his wife and my wife riding in the back seat talking non stop AND Ted driving with me... wide eyed and bushy tailed on THEIR maiden voyage in heavy Denver, Colorado traffic. Ted did a wonderful job. The ladies enjoyed their swapping... some kind of information, while Ted was getting first hand everything you would want to know and what to watch out for.... look out!
This little story is for them to remember their maiden voyage and also how my wife and I felt on our first wrong turn and many more to follow over the years. Now as seasoned Airstreamers, we have brought another couple on line and on their way to help the next Newbies on their maiden voyage.
Our "wrong turns" today have a totally different name. It is called... BOONDOCKING. When Ted and Kathy are ready... we will be there to help them on their way to getting lost, as well.
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