Single person full timing in an Airstream?

[LucasS]

I spent two years "half timing?" (two weeks on two weeks off) for certain jobs all the time first in my 34' 1998 Bounder, and more recently in my 36' 2000 LandYacht XCDP and it's always just myself and my dogs. Well my dog's are no help when it comes to setting up, breaking down, or with anything other than keeping me company...and solo set-up/break-down on my Airstream and toad is actually quite easy. It sometimes surprises other people at the resort...(shout out to Las Vegas Motorcoach Resort while I'm at it...my home away from home for a lonnnggg time) mainly those with TT's (not at LVMC, Class A only...also mostly full timing Prevost owners...some of whom were also solo full timers...we bonded) And one thing in RVing I know that holds true no matter what campground, RV park or resort you're at, if you need help somebody's always willing to give it...easily one of my favourite things about RVing. =) So yes, if I can handle a 36' DP with a H2 toad by myself, you can definitely tow an Airstream solo (but I can't recommend enough looking into drivables with toads as they're MUCH easier to set up and break down by yourself...just think about putting down manual jacks..ugh...)

[Woo]

Thank you everyone for your words of encouragement and all the great tricks and tips. You all have helped to build my confidence that this could be in my future. If you see an AS with cameras all over it, that's probably mine. I appreciate it and I have learned, in a short time, what super people own Airstreams!

[kaa4111]

You have all the time in the world to do each little step. So you back in crooked a couple of times. Who cares? No one at the campground, I can assure you, because they have all done it. When you call to see if their is a space available, tell them you are new and will need help. They will be more than glad to help because they don't want you to run over their utilities. That would be way more work for them than it would be for you!

See you on the road.
Signed....."one more old dog who has learned a lot of new tricks."

[Foiled Again]

I had to add that after Ian Poulin's post. He's the nicest person, but goodness gracious Ian, I hope you hide "dollie" when your nieces and nephews visit! I'm still giggling over the picture in my mind. I trust you'll never do that at Virginia Highland Haven. (HEY, are you going to Falluminum? Wanna see my new truck? 2500 GMC Diesel Sierra... I'll let you drive it!)

Now from a woman's standpoint. Go to a thrift store and buy a pair of broken down work boots - size 12 or larger (Ian COULD help with that). Get them really muddy and then store them in a plastic bag. If you're ever in an uncomfortable camping situation with other humans, leave them lying outside the door, and when you leave the trailer to birdwatch or just dump trash, turn back to the open door and shout "Festis, you lazy S.O.B. just once could you help with.................. instead of spending your whole life cleaning your damn guns!" You won't draw a lot of visitors.

Seriously, If I get a bad vibe, I don't unhitch, but turn around and leave. I've always felt safe in the parking lots of Cracker Barrel, and you can join many fraternal organizations and use their parking facilities (basic to say the least) but I recently joined the Moose - and am possibly the youngest member there (67), but they will welcome you to dinner at the lodge and give you lots of local history too.

I've stayed in Walmart parking lots, truck lots, and primitive BLM land when out west... But I do generally go for a KOA on a first night in a new area or when time is of the essence. When I'm free for a week or more, I'll explore widely and sometimes move camp. I'm surprised at how many towns and cities actually have camping in their parks - often just a dozen or fewer sites.

Of course you do worry about "something bad" but virtually everyone I've met is great. I do carry wasp and/or bear spray. It's legal (be careful you can blind someone with it) and it does keep unpleasant critters away. It does not work on snakes though, so do try to know whether the local ones are poisonous and when in doubt act like they are.

Go for it! And since you've had other RV's you have a leg up on where I was when I started. But I still offer this advice: even Airstreams depreciate faster than you'd think they would. Look for a gently gently used one (My Eddie Bauer had been owned by a doctor who bought it totally on impulse and let it sit in his yard for 9 months before selling it back to the dealership. The bed was unused. Everything was unused. I guess he just had a manic fugue and when he came out of it, decided "Hilton" was as primitive as he wanted to go. His return to his reality - my gain. And it came into Colonial's inventory when I badly needed a new unit.

Paula

[Vaughn Hobbs]

I have owned many travel trailers in my lifetime even an Airstream 25 foot Safari six sleeper.
After a little practice it gets easier.
I am 66 years old and I too would love to own a nice little Airstream maybe a 19 or 22 footer.
I would love to tow and go to many of the places I have visited during my life while on vacations. Only this time I could stay longer and enjoy the slower pace of really seeing the things I previously had to rush through. I'm looking for an Airstream now but most are out of my price range.

[Foiled Again]

Vaughn, You didn't mention what your budget was, but my next choice after an Airstream - especially on the smaller side - would be an OLIVER. It's fiberglass and made like a fiberglass boat. Low maintenance. About $40k new for the bigger one a 22ft trailer. FIVE YEAR warranty!

Oliver Travel Trailers | Fiberglass Travel Trailers

paula

[TouringDan]

Originally Posted by Vaughn Hobbs

I have owned many travel trailers in my lifetime even an Airstream 25 foot Safari six sleeper.
After a little practice it gets easier.
I am 66 years old and I too would love to own a nice little Airstream maybe a 19 or 22 footer.
I would love to tow and go to many of the places I have visited during my life while on vacations. Only this time I could stay longer and enjoy the slower pace of really seeing the things I previously had to rush through. I'm looking for an Airstream now but most are out of my price range.

Vaughn

You only get to go around once. Better find a used small Airstream that is in your price range and just go camping and traveling. Don't wait any longer. Fall is a great time to look for a new trailer.

Good Luck, Dan

Congrats on the new truck Paula! I guess you will be doing a lot more traveling now. I am very happy for you.

Dan

[JCWDCW]

Quote: "GOAL" = Get Out And Look. Practice backing in a large, empty parking lot first. Early Sunday morning in large shopping malls are ideal for this (mind the light poles!)."
Ditto that.. I have traveled with my wife for 20 years, but she, bless her soul, is hopeless at guiding me while backing. Get out and look.... it some times takes a few stops and reconnoiters before I hit the mark, but the satisfaction of a nicely placed trailer on a campsite is worth it!

Advice about putting your hand on the bottom of the wheel really works. You move the wheel toward where you want the trailer to go and you don't have to think about opposites. After a while the whole thing becomes second nature and you will just do it!

When I was first starting out, I kept a long piece of yellow rope handy to mark the path for my driver side trailer wheels. Mirrors are hard to read until your mind finally gets around the reverse image. On a difficult campsite the rope really makes it easy to hit the mark as you back up.
jcw

[Rocinante]

<crabby>
The hand on the bottom of the wheel thing only works they way a neophyte is told it will when the TV and TT are in perfectly straight alignment.

Once the TV and TT are already in a turn, previously established via the "hand at 6:00" technique, that technique doesn't works as simply as a neophyte is led to believe. We were those neophytes last year, and this issue drove us nuts. We'd move the hand to the left, expecting that the rear of the trailer, already bent to the right, would instantly start moving to the left. Nope.

If the TV and TT are already at an angle, the hand at the bottom of the wheel trick becomes a more nuanced dance. Moving the bottom of the wheel to the left can lessen the movement to the right and given sufficient time/distance the rear of the TT will eventually move left, but it won't instantly move the rear of the TT to the left. After a year of camping we understand how that dance works and are decent backer-uppers, but it is not quite as simple as "hey, put a hand at the 6:00 position and move it the direction you want the rear of your TT to go."
</crabby>

GOAL is awesome, as is lots of practice in a big empty parking lots with cones and such so one can learn by experience how the "hand at 6:00" technique works after a rig is already bent into a turn.

BTW, we're going to look for a training class somewhere near us so we can spend some more quality time learning how to be better backer-uppers.

[AWCHIEF]

Never let ego get in the way of safety. Stop, get out and look as many times as it takes to safely get parked. Never let anyone hurry you and force you into making a mistake. And keep in mind that sometimes some one trying to help will just get in the way .

[tjdonahoe]

No doll, people will think you are kinky, especially the store where you bought it from....

[Ramble Can]

Originally Posted by NWRVR

We have a 25' with a RVS camera on the trailer plus the TV has a back-up camera. Married 50 yrs and plan to stay that way so the boss stays in the passenger seat when I back to hook up or into a camp site. Practice, practice, practice before you head to a camp ground the first time. As others have emphasized; slowly, slowly, slowly whenever you are backing and if you have any doubt, get out and look! You will do fine, we all had to learn how to do it. Welcome to the Forum and good luck!

Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

[CraftBeer]

As someone who drives semi-trucks on a daily basis with trailers '53 and some smaller one that are 19, depending on what the customer wants. You can definitely get better at backing with practice. Something that might help you is go to an empty parking lot and set up some cones in the shape of a parking space. Take your truck and trailer and practice getting into the spot until you do it.

Thats how I learned in truck driving school, kept practicing many types of backing situations until you get a feel of how much you need to crank the wheel to make it get into the spot.

[Nelson428]

I usually travel with my parents but, travel alone a good bit of the time as well. Everyone has good advise and I second what everyone has shared. Slow and steady when driving with lot's of stops. Parking seems to be a much slower process, for me, what's the big hurry after all? GOAL= Get Out And Look, I do that a LOT.


J Nelson
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[GuyGene]

Great advice here. Go for it, Woo! You can do it.

[FLMarine]

I full timed in my Airstream for a little over three years and live in it four days a week for my current job. I've also been backing up trailers since I was 13 years old when I would hitch up the boat trailer for my Dad. I've done a lot of solo trailer pulling with my boat, cargo, and Airstream trailers and I rarely have help.

When I pull into a new campsite I will pull in front of it, get out, and inspect it. I'm looking for the path I have to pull my truck forward and then the angle I will have to back the trailer into. I look for any obstacles in my way, tree branches, and a good reference point on where to stop backing the trailer up. I then pull up, get out once more to make sure everything is lined up, and back the trailer up.

Sometimes I won't get out, but most times I get out to double check that everything is looking good and I won't hit anything. Just take it slow and get out a couple of times to make sure you won't hit anything. I'll echo taking out the trailer to a empty parking lot and practice backing it up, turning, etc.

[rodsterinfl]

I am single and travel mostly alone and pull a 25' model.

I have been in tight situations but every time so far, someone has offered assistance. Last year I went to a campground where there was a stump on the opposite side of the site which made trailer backing a challenge with less room to swing on the narrow access road. Someone came over and helped watch that I did not wreck into something! Most of the time though, it is no problem and I do just fine by myself. Mirrors and Camera.

[Bev1940]

I pull my 31' AS solo with no problem ,if you are new to backing a trailer practice in a safe place LOTS like a mall parking lot or any quiet place. I don't have a backup camera ,,,,,yet so follow the GOAL rule a lot, good luck !

[Mike1997]

All of these comments have been from folks with Airstream trailers.....here is a different perspective from an Airstream motorhome owner who is also single.

Growing up in a camping family, my grandparents and parents owned everything from VW pop up campers to full size motorhomes with everything inbetween. Overall after 40+ years of RV ownership in the family, the advice I got before buying was "better to drive some large and tow something small vs drive something small and tow something large".

My first rv was a 27' Champion Telstar class C. Last year I bought a 35' Landyacht diesel pusher for $29,000 with only 40k miles. It was like new and stored in a warehouse since new. Its equipped with a back up camera and I tow a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Its easy to hook up, easy to back up, and easy to level with the hydrolic lifts. On long trips I often make overnight stops at Walmart or truck stops and sometimes never get off the motorhome. Its self contained with a generator and very user friendly.

On being a single traveler....I am 2.5 years away from retirement but have found that my trips are mostly to meet up with friends, relatives, Airstream owners or veteran groups. Basically I never camp alone and with internet and cell service, never feel alone on the road. So far I have stayed at 2 Airstream parks with the goal of visiting all of them...reason is due to the friendly people and new friends made in every campground. One thing I found about Airstreams in general is that other RV owners are always anxious to talk about your rig and see the interior no matter how old it is.

[weather command]

singles airstream club sounds like it should be done!