BONUS! Important Safety Tips for Towing a Boat with a Truck Camper

Important Safety Tips for Towing a Boat with a Truck Camper

First, let me start off by saying there are a lot of factors that go into buying a camper. If you decide to buy a Travel Trailer or a 5th Wheel, you need to consider what you will be towing it with. This is especially true if you plan to purchase a boat to pull behind a Truck Camper type RV. That’s why it’s important to read these Tips for Towing a Boat with a Truck Camper.

This decision sounds very easy, but it isn’t. There are a lot of factors that go into play when pulling a trailer that people never consider. Just because someone CAN pull a trailer or a boat with a vehicle doesn’t mean they SHOULD. I, unfortunately, learned this lesson when I was a lot younger and when I thought I was bulletproof.

The Family Reunion

Angie, my girlfriend at the time and now my wife, had a family reunion every year at Pomona Lake in Kansas. For some reason this year I thought it would be fun to do more than just hang out at the shelter and mingle.

The Plan

I borrowed my Dad’s boat. For more than 5 years I pulled this boat with my dad’s truck and never had an issue.

The Trailer Without Trailer Brakes

The Boat was a 21ft Century that weighed in at 4400lbs. A relatively heavy boat for a trailer without trailer brakes.

I never really understood why anyone would need trailer brakes. I always pulled this boat with a ’76 F250 camper special with a slide in camper on it. The truck and camper together outweighed the boat and trailer. You Just had to pay attention while driving and no issues.

On the day we took the boat to the lake, I was using my 1984 Dodge Ramcharger to pull it. This was the first and only time I used it for that boat.

The Trip

The trip we were making was short, maybe a 45-minute drive. About 15 minutes into the drive it started misting outside. I didn’t think much of it and keep on truckin’. I wanted to have a good time and get the boat on the water ASAP, so I was running the speed limit of 70 mph when a semi was in the slow lane running about 60 mph or so.

“No biggie, I’ll just go around, right”?

That is exactly what I did.

The Screw-Up

I started to go around him but when I got beside him, I realized the air the semi was pushing pushed me further to the outside of my lane. I corrected and just speed up to finish getting by.

That was a big mistake!!!

When I got past the semi, the draft between the semi and my vehicle broke and the boat started to sway.

This can be easily corrected if you have a trailer with electric brakes and you can manually apply them, but our trailer did not have them.

I was always taught you must pull a trailer out of side sway. However, I was already running way over a safe speed for the conditions, so instead, I applied some brake.

The Result

This is when I realized the boat weighed all but equaled to my SUV and can easily push it whatever direction it felt like.

We went from the fast-lane shoulder over to the slow-lane shoulder like a bolt of lightning. This happened about three times.

I just knew I was going to roll the vehicle over and dump my Dads favorite toy in the middle of I-35 and then get hit by the semi I just passed.

All the while trying to think about how I could keep from killing the person I loved most sitting beside me losing her mind at what was happening.

By the Grace of God, I was able to downshift at this point and put it to the floor when the boat just corrected itself and we were fine.

The Slow Down and Recall

I SLOWED WAY DOWN for the rest of the drive and kept playing it all over and over in my head. This easily could happen when pulling any trailer, especially an RV Trailer.

Those are the Important Safety Tips for Towing a Boat with a Truck Camper. Next is your 2nd Bonus How to Back up an RV Trailer!

Bonus! How To Back Up an RV Trailer

Just wanting to maybe save a marriage or at least prevent divorce before the first time you go camping when I tell you about How to Back Up an RV Trailer! Yes, what I am about to talk about is one of life’s biggest keep secrets about men. Wait for it. We don’t know how to communicate effectively.

Backup a minute did I really admit that to someone? Yes, yes, I did and while I am mentioning backing up, let’s have a serious discussion about How To Back Up an RV Trailer.

Planning

When it comes to going on a weekend getaway or a vacation at a lake, we plan for it. Yeah, that’s right, we plan. What kind of food do we take beverages, cocktails, clothes? The list goes on and on. The one thing we neglect to discuss or even bring up is when we get to our destination how will we back in?

Before you get to the destination you need a plan. Without it, you could easily wind up in the pitfall many couples have backed themselves into.

It generally starts like this…

Driver Needs Help!

The person driving whether inexperienced or not starts having trouble backing into the spot.  It is at this point that the driver needs a little help.

If your luck is like mine, then half of the park has already noticed you failed your first or second attempt along with what seems like multiple vehicles trying to get by you now. Great more pressure to get out of the way.

Frustration

This is when a well-trained spotter giving you directions would be invaluable to get you backed in slowly but safely. Instead of this happening for some people the driver gets agitated, embarrassed and tries to rush. This can lead to very bad decision making that could ultimately lead to you hitting something, someone, or damaging your camper by jackknifing it.

All the while the untrained spotter who thinks they are helping keeps running from one side of the camper to the other checking for clearance while yelling inaudible sounds and making hand gestures that are a miserable attempt at guiding someone.

This is the point in which many good people have cracked, and their result is what I call the “RV Park Smackdown”.

The “RV Park Smackdown”

Let me be clear, this is not a physical “smackdown” this is a verbal screaming match. Not much better, I know… You hear a husband and wife yelling back and forth not listening to the other, just telling each other what to do. Instead of instructive directions, they argue.

My personal favorite is the comment “just shut the hell up and listen or are you too stupid to listen?” Wow! People seriously, you are there to camp and enjoy family fun! (By the way-so are we).

I can only imagine how small a camper feels when they do get it set up.

By the way, camper walls are not the most insulated, so we do sometimes get to enjoy extra rounds of fighting when they go inside later.

Okay back to the mission at hand.

Helpful Advice Please

Everyone reading this please take note. Yelling instructions at someone in a vehicle that is trying to watch mirrors, cameras, a spotter, and multiple angles while trying to listen to directions a fourth grader could give them isn’t helpful.

Long before you start backing up, sit down and talk this scenario out. The Driver needs to explain what he or she is needing help with.

Hand Signals

I would strongly suggest working out hand signals, maybe even watch a flight deck on an aircraft carrier these guys are awesome at hand signals.

If there are any of you out there questioning and I know there’s going to be at least one of you. Your middle finger is not an acceptable signal even though it is a universal sign.

I would go out and have your designated spotter stand at the back of your rig and explain to them where you need them positioned to keep them in sight. Take the time to stop and look at where it is you want to park at before you attempt to back in and both of you will understand where you need the camper set at.

Technology

Technology like a backup camera would be a great addition for safety and visibility. We recommend the Zeroxclub Digital Wireless Backup Camera System Kits.

Stick to the Plan

I will tell you now that it doesn’t matter if it is the first time you back a camper in or the hundredth if you have someone that is on the same page as you when you are backing up, it will make your life a whole lot easier.

You will be glad you talked this out before you get put in a situation where you need each other’s help and what you get in return are statements like “a little more this way” or “closer in the front” or one of my favorites “I don’t know what you need help with”!!!

We all could use a lesson in humility and backing up a camper will teach you that very quickly if you are not prepared.

Take the time to come up with a plan and stick to it when you arrive! Stay safe out there everybody!

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