In or Out!!

 

"I do the outside. Your mom does the inside. That's what works for us."

~Billy Leatherwood~

 

If you travel in pairs and you're wondering how to split up tasks to make your RV setup more efficient, this blog is for you. Although, this takes some practice! Let's talk about it. 

When I was a kid, my dad told me exactly what you see in the quote. Only thing is, he was talking about household stuff. Turns out, it works for RV life, too. Admittedly, Gina and I are still ironing out the wrinkles in our routine (mostly because I keep stepping outside the box), but we get better and faster with every setup. 

This applies mostly to back-in sites, but it can be applied to pull-thru's.  Just eliminate the jeep disconnect.

1. Once we're at the site, we determine the best place to unhook the jeep. Gina gets out, starts the jeep. I get out and unhook. She backs away, secures the jeep and heads for the RV pad where she directs me into the spot.  Her job is to make sure we're reasonably square, haven't backed in too far, and our rear jacks don't fall above any concrete bumpers. 

2. At this juncture, we basically switch. I go outside to hook up power, water, and sewer. I place the jack pads then come inside. In the meantime, Gina has been preparing to deploy the slide, removing things like paper towels and knives from storage and placing them on the counter, etc. 

3. I take my place in the driver seat while Gina monitors the level bubble and we deploy the hydraulic jacks to level the rig. Once level, Gina deploys the slide. And we're done.

4. Sometimes, depending on location, I'll go out and put down our large pad, outdoor rug, and deploy the awnings.  

When we're leaving, this whole process works pretty much in reverse, but you can add dumping the tanks, which I do. Then Gina drops the pod in the toilet and adds water. She then brings in the slide. The last step is to start the rig and let the system air up so we bring in the jacks and have brakes!

Just a couple things I'd like to run past you if you're the outside person. When you're hooking up to electric, be sure the breaker is off before you plug in. Connect the pedestal end only, turn on the power and make sure your surge protector displays the colors to let you know the wiring is safe. Then, turn the power back off, hook up to the rig, and turn it back on. Try to avoid hooking your rig up to a hot source without verifying it first. And turn it off before you unhook it.

Also, if you're the outside person, stay with what you know. Gina is good-humored about it, but I've been known to come inside and start doing stuff to "help out." It rarely does help and it messes with the routine. I've also been known to hook the jeep up to the Blue Ox on my own (which is basically Gina's job) and I've been known to leave the emergency brake on (which makes a hell of a racket) and failed to unlock he steering wheel, which is also problematic.

So, because I've been prone to be where I don't belong and then done it wrong, we've developed a system of double-checking each other on both inside and outside stuff. It takes about 30 more seconds and saves lots of trouble down the road.

Look, the bottom line is, if you're working as a team, you'll be much better off if you divide the chores in ways that work for you. This is just what works for us. And we're getting pretty fast! If it doesn't go smoothly for awhile, don't worry. You'll get better and better. 

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Stay safe. Be smart. See ya on the road.