Took Our Sweet Time
By Jim Bauer
@porwest (112717)
United States
October 23, 2022 5:20pm CST
It is a rule for me with the camper behind us. Take it easy. Take it slow.
Even though we are pulling a Keystone Passport Elite with a 1/2 ton F-150 Ford pickup truck (V-8) for the moment (I may upgrade to an F-250 in a year or two), and all the numbers add up and say we can pull about 7400 pounds (the camper is 7080 dry), I want to play it safe.
There is no place we are ever going to go to that I want to be in a rush to get there. So, we take it slow and steady and I don't try to push it.
Both going to the campsite this weekend and coming back, we had very strong, high winds. Upwards of 30 miles an hour. It taxed the truck for sure and put stress on the camper. Even with the sway bars I knew I was pulling heavy, and she let me know several times who was boss.
Camper is getting blown to the left, it was wanting to pull my truck to the right.
It is a matter of keeping in mind that what I am pulling is quite a bit heavier than I am. And so, it is going to take command. To me, it kind of feels like it is not the truck directing the trailer, it's the trailer directing the truck, and all I am left to do is try to do my best to keep the trailer where I want it to go.
I kept it at around 55-60 during this run because that is what felt most comfortable with the wind. People zoomed past me and around me, and I don't care. I wanted to get from point A to point B in one piece so I can enjoy many more camping trips in the future.
But I have to admit, that wind was one hell of a lesson in and of itself since the last four or five times I have pulled it I did not have to deal with it, and it made a major difference.
Learn, learn, learn. That's all we are going to do with this thing.
12 people like this
11 responses
@1creekgirl (44560)
• United States
24 Oct 22
I hadn't thought of those ramps in years. We saw them every year we drove to Arkansas.
2 people like this
@NJChicaa (127116)
• United States
24 Oct 22
@1creekgirl My ex and I did the 13 hour drive to Asheville from here a day or 2 before Thanksgiving. Massive snow storm. We drove through mountains with those runaway ramps and I was horrified. I live at sea level!
2 people like this
@porwest (112717)
• United States
24 Oct 22
I am finding it takes some getting used to. It weaves and bobs and jumps and jolts. It can make the nerves a bit edgy. But every time I pull it I know more what to expect. The camper really is in control, and the only thing I can do is try to keep it where I want it.
@LindaOHio (222222)
• United States
24 Oct 22
I give you a lot of credit. I would not want to drive one of those.
1 person likes this
@porwest (112717)
• United States
27 Oct 22
@LindaOHio But that means I have to all the work. lol
1 person likes this
@kaylachan (84704)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
24 Oct 22
That's the smart thing to do. One day you'll have it all figured out.
1 person likes this
@kaylachan (84704)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
26 Oct 22
@porwest I agree, but at the same time we become pros at the things we do most often.
1 person likes this
@RebeccasFarm (91299)
• United States
24 Oct 22
Good you are having a grand time glad to know it Jim. Yes it is learning all the time.
1 person likes this
@RebeccasFarm (91299)
• United States
26 Oct 22
@porwest I am just glad you made it without any mishaps in that wind.
1 person likes this
@porwest (112717)
• United States
27 Oct 22
@RebeccasFarm Me too. It was pretty treacherous. But we got her done and like I said, without killing ourselves, so I am calling it good.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 Oct 22
You did the right thing. No sense of urgency will ever trump being careful out there on the highway with your camper. That beauty won't do you any good flipped over in a ditch or upside down on a highway because you wanted to shave a few minutes off your drive time.
1 person likes this
@Nakitakona (59987)
• Philippines
27 Nov 22
There's a lot to learn from experience. By the way, how many campers are there in the campsite?
1 person likes this
@porwest (112717)
• United States
2 Dec 22
@Nakitakona My tent camping days are long gone. I need certain amenities and luxuries these days.
1 person likes this
@Nakitakona (59987)
• Philippines
1 Dec 22
@porwest That's so many. It's indeed a day of campers. I remember when I joined the Boy Scout outdoor camping. There were so many of us. We put our respective tents.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
24 Oct 22
I pulled a trailer twice in my life. One trip of about 30 miles pulling a loaded flatbed trailer and the other trip was about 900 miles with a U-Haul trailer about half loaded... The first trip went fine, no problems at all. The second trip was bringing Pretty and all her accumulated stuff home from college in Pennsylvania. We did run into a few problems on that long trip. But, we still made it home in one piece. (I blew a rear tire after the trailer broke loose from the hitch. U-Haul sent a team out and fixed the trailer but told me the blown tire was my problem. It was a brand new tire! The trailer tongue pierced the tire!)
I haven't needed to pull anything since then and really don't want to, either.
@RasmaSandra (97912)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
24 Oct 22
Well best of luck to you with all that hauling and pulling, I hope you enjoy you camping trips.
1 person likes this
@1creekgirl (44560)
• United States
24 Oct 22
Hopefully your learning will go along with the fun part. Glad you're taking it slow and careful.
1 person likes this
@porwest (112717)
• United States
24 Oct 22
I have to admit I white knuckled it a little bit. The wind would gust and blow the camper and the next thing I knew the truck was being pulled. Then the swaying would start and I would have to let off the gas to stop that.
It was a bit unnerving honestly. All a part of the game though according to everything I have read or watched on YouTube. It is simply what you have to get used to.
1 person likes this
