Most of them the hard way!!

When you first start traveling with your home dragging along behind you, little things can suddenly crop up that quickly become big things. Here’s a few that we’ve learned along the way so far:

• Never get in a hurry!! This one lesson covers so many situations that I make it the very first thing in the list – it happens so often and so innocently – you get up a little late, or in my case, get off work a little late, and the rest is history. If you find yourself rushing at any point in the move process, STOP! It’s ok to be late, but it’s not ok to lose your phone, keys, or have an accident.
• Never get short tempered!! This usually happens when you forget #1 above. Marc and Trish said it very well – “Don’t let little things become big things!” And losing your temper can ruin the trip for everyone, including you and the most important person in your life sitting next to you. BTW – it’s bound to happen once in a while, so everyone be prepared to apologize quickly, calm down (take a deep breath – whatever it is, it’s not that important), and move on. You still have work to do.
• Never set up in the dark (goes along with avoid late arrivals at all costs). You will get in trouble with 1 and 2 above!! Trust me. If you’re getting in to a park late, find a spot to park and go to bed. Set up in the morning. Don’t even extend the pop outs or awning, and we can all go a night without water and electric hook-ups (it’s fun to “rough it” every now and then).
• Flip side – don’t over plan a trip. Leave openings to chase that beautiful scenic view, visit the historic site, or stop at a great restaurant you just saw on the billboard. We very rarely make reservations.
• Double Check EVERYTHING! Especially your hitch. Walk around the rig twice with two sets of eyes before pulling out. I also have a rule that I’m on the ground while my wife pulls out in the truck for the first 50 feet. It’s amazing what you find!
• Count your keys and cell phones before and after a set up or take down. It is so easy to misplace these critical items and sometimes you’re 400 miles down the road before you realize you left the cell phone and keys sitting on the bed rail of the pick up truck when you left that morning (learning by experience sucks, and now I have a cheap flip phone to remind me – oh, and a loving wife who loves to remind me as well).
• Did I say Don’t Ever Get in a Hurry
• Make a Check List for Departure and Arrival – – Even if you don’t pull it out every time you move, the exercise of going through everything a few times to build the document will help make moving day go more smoothly. Then cross check each other, have the outside person walk through the inside and vice versa. If you catch yourself getting in a hurry or skipping a step, pull it out then for sure. It will force you to slow down and think.
• Anything in the Trailer, or Storage Compartment that isn’t restrained will move, always to an undesired location, at the worst possible time!! Proof: We have left coffee cups on the counter, computers on the table next to the chairs, cell phone on the bed rail of the truck (that again!!), and the list goes on. In Physics, there’s a law of Entropy that says the universe and everything in it is moving towards the lowest possible energy state. A loose coffee cup will never fall into the upper cabinet where it belongs. Nature always tends to disorder. Order is a very high energy state that is not achieved without a great deal of work and attention to detail.
• Never travel on Friday’s – Parks fill up fast on Friday night, making it difficult to get a walk up spot. Tuesday and Wednesday will be our travel days.