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Old 07-19-2021, 07:47 AM   #1
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General Unhooking question

When stopping for an overnight at a camp spot is it necessary to completely unhook? Is it better to just bite the bullet and unhook and rehook the next morning? Thanks for all advice. Regards
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Old 07-19-2021, 07:57 AM   #2
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If your entire towing set up fits into the camp site while still hooked up, I wouldnt disconnect for an over night stop. See plenty of over nighters that stay connected. Now, if something was going to be sticking out into the roadway while connected, I would disconnect.
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Old 07-19-2021, 08:04 AM   #3
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depending on the age and hook up of the electrical plug on the tow vehicle, you might want to disconnect the 7 pin plug to avoid the possibility of draining your TV battery... newer TV usually don't need that precaution but if you use the interior power on the trailer it could drain both batteries.
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Old 07-19-2021, 08:14 AM   #4
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Sometimes, the RV spots are very uneven. If you are planning on opening up slides, it may put some stress on the slide mechanism.

We just hook up electricity. Leave trailer hooked up and disconnect pigtail.
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Old 07-19-2021, 08:17 AM   #5
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I've camped for the weekend without unhitching sometimes. If I'm off the road with no plans to drive anywhere and the truck and trailer are still fairly lined up I'll just leave it hitched. Makes it real easy to pull out on Sunday morning.
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Old 07-19-2021, 08:24 AM   #6
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I just made a 2900 mile trip from Arizona to Michigan and the only time I disconnected was when I stayed for a few days anywhere. I would get a long drive thru to fit everything in. I might drive on blocks to level it out side to side and then put down the landing gear. Also I would disconnect 7 pin plug. In the morning I would be on my way in a short time.
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Old 07-19-2021, 08:30 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by Semperfi24 View Post
If your entire towing set up fits into the camp site while still hooked up, I wouldnt disconnect for an over night stop. See plenty of over nighters that stay connected. Now, if something was going to be sticking out into the roadway while connected, I would disconnect.
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Old 07-20-2021, 09:45 AM   #8
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For an overnight stop, I don't disconnect if I am not going anywhere after arrival at the campsite and the site is level enough. I don't mind putting out 1 Lego block for side-to-side while still connected, but the tongue jack must get us to fore-and-aft level without a lot of stress on the tow vehicle.

I do disconnect the 7 pin, and connect shore power if available.

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Old 07-20-2021, 09:56 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by welfarecop View Post
When stopping for an overnight at a camp spot is it necessary to completely unhook? Is it better to just bite the bullet and unhook and rehook the next morning? Thanks for all advice. Regards
What are you asking about unhooking?

The 7 pin plug?
The towing hitch/coupler?

As mentioned, if you are able to fit your site and be reasonably able to level your R/V without putting any undue stress on the coupler/hitch, then by all means stay hitched. We do it all the time for overnighters and have done so for 45 years. Even if I have to compress the springs slightly on the tow vehicle (or raise it slightly) I stay hitched. If you need to raise or lower to the point of wheels off the ground or damage to the tow vehicle suspension to get level, then unhitch.

Also as mentioned, if you are not sure how your 7 pin plug responds to your tow vehicle's receptacle, then you might want to unplug your 7 pin plug if you have no shore power connection. This will keep the R/V (when using 12v items) from draining the tow vehicle's battery. Some tow vehicles disconnect the 7 pin receptacle with relays via the ignition switch and you don't have to disconnect the plug... but... some don't . Again, you need to know how YOURS works.
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Old 07-20-2021, 10:16 AM   #10
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Here is my check list for quick overnights provided the site is long enough to keep my truck connected:


1. Lower tongue jack to take weight off the truck
2. Disconnect umbilical from truck
3. Deploy stabilizers
4. I don't have slide outs but I would deploy those next if I did
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Old 07-20-2021, 10:36 AM   #11
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Originally Posted by timfromma View Post
Here is my check list for quick overnights provided the site is long enough to keep my truck connected:


1. Lower tongue jack to take weight off the truck
2. Disconnect umbilical from truck
3. Deploy stabilizers
4. I don't have slide outs but I would deploy those next if I did
X2. That's what we did when we had a trailer.
We added one thing. We'd chock the wheels of the trailer. I've heard of people who didn't do that and when the brakes on the truck didn't hold ended up in a difficult situation.
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