one night stand

wnewman53 · 02-06-2019, 08:34 PM

I thought that might get some attention. planning trip to Florida in a couple of weeks. My question is, what is consensus on doing a full setup for just overnight? I will be towing vehicle and don't know if you can level with tow vehicle attached to put out slides. don't want to unload and unhook car for overnight. Any thoughts?

CampingGator · 02-06-2019, 08:46 PM

We don’t unhook, but we do level.

EdJunior · 02-06-2019, 08:47 PM

For just an overnighter (we have done a couple of these), you just need to be able to get a spot that is as level as possible to begin with. You can make slight adjustments with the jacks, and as long as you get close, and can live with a bit of tilt in the bed, it's no problem. We did disconnect the power from the truck, and used shore power at the site, but otherwise just got as level as possible and slept. Didn't have any problems.

TLAK · 02-06-2019, 08:48 PM

I often set up for over nights without unhooking as long as the site is fairly level back to front so the car won't push or pull. The only problem I ever had was when I left the brake buddy on too tight and it activated the tail lights. In bright evening sun I didn't notice the lights and went to bed before it got dark, so the battery ran down over night. So now I level the RV, then set the parking brake on the car and pull the brake buddy back from the pedal, then run the car motor 10-20 minutes to charge up the battery. Never an issue since.

Kimber45 · 02-06-2019, 08:50 PM

OP has a motorhome I think and is talking about a tow behind, not a travel trailer and unhooking that. Sounds like a lot of work to sleep. I guess it would all depend on how early you arrive or how late you arrive. I would do the bare minimum and just crash and sleep.

wnewman53 · 02-06-2019, 08:56 PM

my thought was to level manually as much as possible. need somewhat of a good night sleep. Thanks for the advice.

CC Traveler · 02-06-2019, 09:08 PM

We routinely do not disconnect our tow vehicle for overnight stays and use Auto-Level with no issue as long as the site is reasonably level and your tow bar or dolly allows for some pivot / swivel movement. Heading to Florida in a few weeks also. See you along the way maybe.

wnewman53 · 02-07-2019, 05:49 PM

FR3Traveler thanks for advice. What part of Florida are you all headed? Wife and I were going to Destin area but she said to cold now going further south to Orlando. Safe travels.

CC Traveler · 02-07-2019, 06:15 PM

We are going to Jacksonville, Winter Haven, FROG Rally in Seffner 21-24 March at LazyDays RV, Sarasota, Tallahassee and finally Pensacola before we head back home. Looking forward to a vacation.

EdJunior · 02-07-2019, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kimber45

OP has a motorhome I think and is talking about a tow behind, not a travel trailer and unhooking that. Sounds like a lot of work to sleep. I guess it would all depend on how early you arrive or how late you arrive. I would do the bare minimum and just crash and sleep.

Oh...I reread. You are correct. Ooops. But the level part still holds.

-lenny- · 02-08-2019, 12:28 AM

So if we are talking about a motorhome, what impact does the TOAD have on levelling? Park wherever you are staying, level your rig and enjoy. Am I missing something? I do travel in a 5th wheel, so I do not have this experience. But for what it’s worth I do level our rig in a Walmart parking lot without disconnecting.

wnewman53 · 02-08-2019, 07:43 AM

Lenny
I was concerned about additional weight of tow dolly hooked up when leveling. Just wanted to get some advice before having a problem. Thanks everyone.

Witch Doctor · 02-08-2019, 09:19 AM

People are giving you some information that will not relate to you. There are 2 ways to tow a car, with a tow dolly hooked to your motor home, you better know how much play you have when you level, if your bringing the rear up over 3" you better stop and look. A tow dolly and a tow bar are 2 different things. You will not have the same play with a dolly. If it were me I would get a spot to handle both the car and RV. Pull in and drop the dolly off the ball, then pull up a foot and level. It would be easy when you leave to just back up the foot and rebook up. Remember your dolly is on a ball not much play there.

Teetime · 02-08-2019, 09:53 AM

It's recommended that you should level and stabilize before you extend any slide outs.

JohnD10 · 02-08-2019, 10:18 AM

You also have to make sure your site for the night is long enough.

rk06382 · 02-08-2019, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wnewman53

I thought that might get some attention. planning trip to Florida in a couple of weeks. My question is, what is consensus on doing a full setup for just overnight? I will be towing vehicle and don't know if you can level with tow vehicle attached to put out slides. don't want to unload and unhook car for overnight. Any thoughts?

I have a Master Tow Dolly 80THD. I do not have a problem leveling and putting the slide out, without unhooking. I did not unhook on a boondock layover at Fred Meyer in Soldotna, Alaska last fall.

But I always make sure the front is lower than the rear and I never lift the rear axle. (Parking brakes are on the rear axle.) Last year I used a bubble level on the floor by the engine cover. This year I am going to install an electronic MadeByJoe RV Level 4.

wnewman53 · 02-09-2019, 07:04 AM

Thanks everyone for the advice, alot to consider. witch doctor, I do have a tow dolly and did not consider play when leveling.

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