Lots of really good advice in this thread already, and that's not surprising at all on this forum.
I will add/reiterate a couple things:
1) Stay calm, panicking doesn't help anything or anyone. Think through the problem, and break it down into more manageable pieces if you need to.
2) Stay positive. Hundreds of thousands of people do this every day. You can do it too. So long as you keep the "can-do" attitude, you'll be in much better shape.
3) Read about it. Go to the manufacturer's website and download the instruction or installation manual and read it. Then read it again. Then watch a YouTube video about it, and sit down and read the manual again. If something's unclear at that point, ask a specific question on here, and you'll get more answers than you could ever imagine. And most of those answers come from those of us who earned our experience the hard way!
4) Do not get complacent. As you gain experience, it's harder not to become complacent in what you're doing. You'll say to yourself, "yeah, I got this" or "yeah, I did that", and then you'll realize later you didn't "get it" or "do it". The advice about writing down (and yes, you NEED to write it out; I have mine laminated in the trailer) your process is really good advice. There's a reason pilots have a pre-flight checklist, and there's a reason veteran pilots still use them.
5) Double check it. I like to use the phrase "trust, but verify", and that includes myself. If I can't remember having done something, but I'm "sure I did it", I will take a moment and go double check myself. I've caught many things I thought I did that I actually didn't.
6) Don't allow yourself to be distracted. When you're doing a walk around (and you'll learn what to look for as you gain experience), concentrate on what you're doing. If the wife or the kid or the dog or the neighbor pulls your attention away from that process, consider starting over. I've done walk-arounds hundreds of times on all different types of rigs, and every time, I have to stop and collect myself at the beginning so I will concentrate on what I'm actually looking at or for. This goes back to the point about complacency, and addresses "normalcy bias". We all have a tendency to not register things that are "out of order" because we expect them to be a certain way when we look at them, and our brain filters things out. Don't let that happen; pay attention and actually look at what needs looking.
Wow, sorry that was so long! I didn't mean for that to happen!
Anyway, get out there and go for it!
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-2018 Greyhawk 29MV
-2020 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited (JLU) (Primary Toad)
-1994 Jeep Wrangler YJ (Secondary Toad)
-2014 Jay Flight 28BHBE & Ram 2500 6.4L CC 4x4 (sold)
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