Campsite orientation - Fiberglass RV
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Old 07-27-2013, 11:45 AM   #1
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Campsite orientation

Our trailer has the door on the passenger side as do most fiberglass trailers. Most campsites have the table and fire pit on the passenger side when the trailer is backed into the site. In July we had occasion to use a tent site because there were no serviced sites available. The table and fire pit were on the opposite side from the door when the trailer was backed in, which was awkward. We solved the problem by turning the trailer sideways on the pad. Have any of you had similar experience? How did you solve it?
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Old 07-27-2013, 11:56 AM   #2
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My last trip I had a pull-through and didn't really like the idea of having the trailer door facing the street (I have a rear door) so turned the trailer CCW to have the back door face the campsite, away from the street.
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Old 07-27-2013, 12:10 PM   #3
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On our very first trip with our trailer we didn't know ANYTHING. We were just happy to have been able to back up the thing AND THEN we realized we were on the "wrong" side of the table. NO PROBLEM, we just stayed put 'cause we were so exhausted after backing up the trailer! Ha, ha!
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Old 07-27-2013, 12:20 PM   #4
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That's why we have a swivel wheel on the tongue jack so we can rotate the trailer if we want. Doesn't work real good in dirt though!
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Old 07-27-2013, 12:28 PM   #5
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That's why we have a swivel wheel on the tongue jack so we can rotate the trailer if we want. Doesn't work real good in dirt though!
Get Mary to stand on the back bumper, Bob.
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Old 07-27-2013, 12:57 PM   #6
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Rear door floorplans rule...



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Old 07-27-2013, 01:12 PM   #7
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Rear door floorplans rule...
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Old 07-27-2013, 01:44 PM   #8
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Old 07-28-2013, 10:18 AM   #9
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This is the reason I haul along my trailer dolly; on paved lot, I don't even have to back- in just drop and hook, and move it to where SHE wants it.
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Old 07-28-2013, 10:29 AM   #10
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Preferences and reality necessarily go together. My preference is the door open toward the picnic table (that assuming there is a picnic table). I really don't much care about the fire pit, rarely have a fire.
On the rare occasions where there's a picnic table and the position of trailer aren't to preference then so be it. If I really cared I'd drag out my roll up table and put it where I wanted it. One must keep thing is perspective. The trailer placement vs table/fire pit is pretty low on my concern list.
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Old 07-28-2013, 12:27 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman View Post
The trailer placement vs table/fire pit is pretty low on my concern list.
Byron:

In this particular site on one side of the paved area (passenger side when backing in) there was an open area with some grass but no place for a table. On the other side was a table and large gravel area. I was the person backing the trailer and happy enough to walk around it, but my wife wanted some privacy and the door close to the table. I turned the trailer.
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Old 07-28-2013, 01:04 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by Brian Van Snell View Post
Byron:

In this particular site on one side of the paved area (passenger side when backing in) there was an open area with some grass but no place for a table. On the other side was a table and large gravel area. I was the person backing the trailer and happy enough to walk around it, but my wife wanted some privacy and the door close to the table. I turned the trailer.

I've seen something close to that a couple of times, but it's not common. Mostly in older campgrounds that were designed for tents without any considerations for trailers. I've only encountered that once where I wasn't able to either move to another site or have enough room to do what I wanted. The last place I camped at (about 2 weeks ago) the table and the fire pit were behind the trailer.
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Old 07-28-2013, 01:36 PM   #13
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We just encountered that with a double site, we were on the right hand side & our table & firepit were on the wrong side for our trailer door etc. First time I have experienced that .
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Old 07-28-2013, 03:07 PM   #14
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We've had a double site in a provincial campground several times. It requires some coordination to position the trailers with the tow, but we've managed.
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Old 07-28-2013, 05:06 PM   #15
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We do like baglo when camping with friends, and jockey the RVs around so they somewhat face each other, and have at least one fire pit located in an appropriate spot. Often we only need one table too.

We alone, many times I have jackknifed the trailer to a nicer orientation to the site, and if the site is level and hardpacked, will use the jack wheel to move it a bit too.
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Old 07-28-2013, 05:34 PM   #16
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Those that can pickup the tongue, by hand and rotate the trailer have it made. Once I drop my trailer, hookup to services... I'm done. But my camp chair moves!
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Old 07-28-2013, 06:23 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bobbie Mayer View Post
My last trip I had a pull-through and didn't really like the idea of having the trailer door facing the street ...
At the Annual Lake Casitas Rally the "Bass" campground is a large circle with an open lawn in the middle and most of the campsites in the outer ring across the access road from this lawn. About 6 campsites are semi-circular pull-through bordering this lawn in the middle along one side of the circle, with the fire pit and picnic table between the lawn and the campsite driveway. The utility pedestal is between the access road and the campsite driveway. I have come to like one of these pull-through sites (#8) in an odd sort of way.

My Fiber Stream's body is not level on its frame but leans about an inch toward the passenger/curbside. If the site is perfectly level side-to-side I need to put each passenger/curbside wheel on one yellow leveling "Lego" brick to bring the refrigerator and floor to level. It looks weird on a RV Resort concrete pad, but it works.

The 1st time I pulled into site #8 the "correct" way I noticed 2 things wrong:
  1. The trailer was 2-1/2" out-of-level toward the passenger/curbside
  2. As a gregarious person, I felt I was turning my back to all of the other campers.
#1 means 3 layers of Lego bricks to level the refrigerator and a stepladder to enter the trailer. I did not have a stepladder with me nor enough Lego bricks to stack 3 layers high long enough for 2 axles.

So I left the site and drove around entering the access road from the "wrong" direction and pulled the Fiber Stream into the site backwards. The trailer was perfectly level, no Legos required! And I could set up my awning to face the access road and visit with anyone out walking their dog or just walking.

This however has its own consequences. I now have a 50' - 30amp extension cord to reach the pedestal, 50' of TV cable to reach the pedestal, and 50' of white hose to reach the water spigot. And I ignore the fire pit and picnic table behind the trailer.
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Old 07-28-2013, 06:59 PM   #18
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Campsite Orientation Improvement Action Plan

I call it the Campsite Orientation Improvement Action Plan. Sometimes I get a spot that just begs to have the camper rotated for an even better view, especially with a stream in the back yard.

The first photo shows the camper as backed straight in. I was not able to jackknife it as there was no more room on that side. Instead, I just swung the hitch around by hand as there was a slight slope there. To get it back out later, I put a medium grade chain on the hitch, hooked it to the pickup and just pulled it back around.

I was tempted to do the same at the other site, but that was in a developed National Forest site and the host may not have been too pleased with the marks in the sand.
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Old 07-29-2013, 11:24 AM   #19
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Originally Posted by Donna D. View Post
Those that can pickup the tongue, by hand and rotate the trailer have it made. Once I drop my trailer, hookup to services... I'm done. But my camp chair moves!
That's that's my wife Kathrine lets me go camping with her. When I can no longer swing the Scamp it's off to the Farewell Bend Campground for me.
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Old 07-30-2013, 12:44 AM   #20
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I picked this beautiful campsite which really wasn't trailer friendly. I wanted to sit under my awning and look out to the lake so I worked for about 20 minutes jack-knifing the Scamp into postion. As you can see there was a tree that caused a little difficultly but I did it.
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