To UNHOOK or NOT

[Randall55]

Looking for some sage advice.

For the most part the majority of my camping has been at extended stay campgrounds by this I mean staying for about three to four nights. So unhooking the tow vehicle in order to use it as a runabout was a requirement.

Now I'm planning a fairly extensive road trip which will include a number of one nighters at either a boondock or at a campground and was wondering what I should do. Should I unhook and do the normal routine as per an extended stay; or should I stay hooked to the tow vehicle for a quick departure in the morning?

If I stay hooked up do I need to lower the stabilizing Jacks for the trailer as I will more that likely be extending my slide out and awning that being dependant on the time we get to the sight. Also do I need to hook up to shore power and water as well as the black and graywater hook up or should I treat that as a need basis?

Any assistance in this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks and stay safe.

[Tightwadted]

depends a lot on the lay of the land. Can you be level while hooked up? if so, go for it. with my 5vr if i can sty hooked up, certainly will, put down the stabilizers/jacks, hook up the shore power, don't bother with the sewer/fresh water connections if you don't need to, if you do a number of nights like this in a row then dump and fill as the need arises/opportunity presents itself. JMHO

[Elwood58]

When doing one nighters we normally stay hooked to our toad and just plug into power. If tanks need a fill or dump we take that as it comes. This may be especially important when boondocking. The ability to just drive away is a great security benefit.

[Martian]

We do a lot of overnighters on the journeys to and from and if the site is fairly level we put down the landing gear and tongue jack and our goes the slideout. Electric and water get hooked up and if a tank needs or will need to be dumped, the sewer hose gets hooked up too. The stinky slinky is on an as needed basis. Since 1995 I believe we unhooked the 7 way twice for an overnighter. Both times we found it during a pre trip light check. Very uneven or unlevel sites call for a different approach. We make reservations months in advance and can usually reserve a level pull thru for the overnighters. More than an overnighter and it is a back in and unhook as that leaves the pull thrus for those that need them.

[Gordon Dewald]

Stay hooked up as appropriate. Connect to the required amenities as available. I find it fairly easy to connect the sewer dumps and generally make a point of starting the day with full fresh water and empty black and gray tanks.

[profdan]

If it's just an overnight stay, we usually try to stay hooked up, unless the trailer is not sufficiently level. Nor do we put down the stabilizer jacks. But the trailer is a little shaky as a result.

The goal is to make a quicker getaway in the morning.

[Nwcid]

As others have said, I typically stay hooked up to the tow vehicle. With my current set up I typically have to unhook, but I am working on ways to fix that.

What you choose to do outside of that will depend on your set up. If I am putting my slides out I really prefer to have my landing gear down. I am not sure what gear you have, but I have auto levelers that I run in manually just to stabilize the trailer.

Same with services. If you ned them and want them, hook up. If you do not need or want them, do not hook up. This is a reason we mainly boondock. We do not need or want any services campgrounds offer so spending $25+ per night to have a place to park does not work for use.

[4thgenceli]

Outside of Moab for a night's rest before continuing home I didn't unhook. We found some BLM to crash on, found a semi-level spot (had to put the trailer on some blocks to level side to side), threw down 5 legs and called it a night.

[Dave Pelletier]

Originally Posted by Tightwadted

depends a lot on the lay of the land. Can you be level while hooked up? if so, go for it. with my 5vr if i can sty hooked up, certainly will, put down the stabilizers/jacks, hook up the shore power, don't bother with the sewer/fresh water connections if you don't need to, if you do a number of nights like this in a row then dump and fill as the need arises/opportunity presents itself. JMHO

X2

Dave

[Jay D.]

Originally Posted by 4thgenceli

Outside of Moab for a night's rest before continuing home I didn't unhook. We found some BLM to crash on, found a semi-level spot (had to put the trailer on some blocks to level side to side), threw down 5 legs and called it a night.

this, we stay hooked up. alot of times if we just pull into a wide spot or some other place for the night. no hook ups needed, just put the stabilizers down, slide out, and gen pluged in., tv if available. kick back and relax.
Jay D.

[Marine359]

For overnights, we don’t unhook. Just try to find a level spot, use ellipticals as needed, slap on the X-chocks and lower the tongue jack. We don’t bother with hookups if we know our final destination will have them; just run on batteries. But we always try to empty waste tanks or be near empty, as want to stay way clear of GVWR.

[scbwr]

As long as your trailer is at least level enough to safely operate your fridge (assuming it is a propane/electric model), there is no problem staying hitched. We did it many times with our last rig (Winnebago trailer and Toyota Tundra). It makes it possible to get up in the morning and make a speedy exit.

[xc-mark]

your #1 concern is your refrigerator ,it needs to be reasonable level or the system can be damaged by running it out of level for any more then just a few mins. If your 2"~4" out of level front to back your fine leave it connected. if its 1~2' front to back re-think leaving it connected for over night. side to side isnt as important , assuming your refrigerator is on the side wall like 98% of the coaches are.

[profdan]

Marine, you mentioned "ellipticals" for quick leveling. What is that? Thanks in advance for the info!