Tips & Tricks to speed up arrival & departure?

[SomersIsles]

Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions on ways to reduce time it takes to set up upon arrival and to pack up for departure. As a hybrid owner and having to deal with the bed set up, sometimes I get frustrated with how long it takes.


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[Jagiven]

Everyone has the same job for every trip. This way everyone knows what to do.

Now the tip for making the beds; I am outside the DW is inside. I unzip the screen and canvas, and make the outer edge of the beds, DW is inside doing her part. For the rear bed, the DW tips up the inner mattress half and I place the fitted sheet on the corner by the shower as she struggles being on the mattress and making the bed.

[jerdog]

Originally Posted by SomersIsles

Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions on ways to reduce time it takes to set up upon arrival and to pack up for departure. As a hybrid owner and having to deal with the bed set up, sometimes I get frustrated with how long it takes.


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We tent camped for years before we got our hybrid trailer. I always look at it like this- it's not much different from setting up a tent and when you are done, you have a nice bed to sleep in that's not on the ground. I admit take down takes almost as much time as breaking down a tent but we wouldn't trade it!

[klassic]

Not knocking anyone here, but with my fifth wheel sitting in my driveway I can depart as fast as I can hook it up to my truck.
Everything is in the trailer. Nothing goes in my truck. There are still empty cupboards inside, because there is so much room. The only thought that needs to go into leaving is if I locked the house.
We can decide if we want to go somewhere and be gone in minutes.
When I get home...unhook and park the truck.

[glsimms]

Originally Posted by klassic

Not knocking anyone here, but with my fifth wheel sitting in my driveway I can depart as fast as I can hook it up to my truck.
Everything is in the trailer. Nothing goes in my truck. There are still empty cupboards inside, because there is so much room. The only thought that needs to go into leaving is if I locked the house.
We can decide if we want to go somewhere and be gone in minutes.
When I get home...unhook and park the truck.

Yeah you guys with the 5'fers, TTs, and MHs' have it made in the shade. While us hybrid owners have to "rough it"!!

But it is what it is......

[Jagiven]

Originally Posted by glsimms

Yeah you guys with the 5'fers, TTs, and MHs' have it made in the shade. While us hybrid owners have to "rough it"!!

But it is what it is......

We can be ready to go in minutes. When we get home from a trip we cleanup, wash and repack our bedding and camp cloths. Before leaving toss in food, hookup and we are out of here.

This past week I was traveling for work. I got home and within two hours we where gone.

[dmward]

Making the beds is a job for hybrids and one of the things we don't miss since went from a 19H to a 28DSBH. But compared to a PUP is less work, which compared to a tent is less work, ...

Been through the all the phases.

One tip for hybrids is leaving the mattress cover or fitted sheet on when you fold in.

[Edd505]

Originally Posted by Jagiven

Everyone has the same job for every trip. This way everyone knows what to do.

Exactly then it can get quick. The Anderson levelers cut my time way down.

[A2Z_Adventures]

We went from a PuP to a TT due to the simplicity factor.

We did leave our bed pre-made before/after the trip. Unless you have to pull the mattress. Then that is a whole 'nother gig. More than likely, it is just part of the the way of the Hybrid life.

We do save time, the more often we set up. Perhaps that will help you out.

[Bassdogs]

Establish a specific set of tasks and execute them in the exact order each time. Pack and unpack loose items the same way each time, that way you can almost close your eyes and reach for the tool, support, etc AND FIND IT without yelling at the wife about where did you put the (*%%(^$%##%] poles. We also used the wife inside and me outside plan. While I was getting the PU ready to open, my wife was helping with the stuff in the back of the truck and watching the young kids and dog. Once raised and leveled, she went inside and started setting up the counters, beds, and what not. By that time I had the power plugged in. A hybrid I suspect is similar except that once parked and disconnected there is immediate access to the interior for the wife to begin the set up. The tear down s/b done in exact reverse order with everything put where it belongs rather than just piled on the picnic table. I have found countless tent stakes, braces, electric adapters, etc in empty sites where we camp.

Plastic totes are a great way to pack and organize your stuff. Get several of the same size that fit in the isles and can be stacked. Easy to open and unpack and quick to prepare for tear down. We always end up with dirty clothes and towels etc that get washed when we get home, and we make sure they are returned to the RV immediately so we don't have to look all over the house to find the camping stuff.

You do your thing and she does her's. If kids are in the equation, they should also have assigned tasks. Otherwise they need to be distracted and kept out of the way so the adults can stay on task. Usually about 30 minutes is all it takes to complete most of the tasks. I don't ask the wife ??'s and she leaves me alone during the process unless something comes up that is important to the opening or closing process. Asking me if I packed the kids frisbie or me asking if she wanted to take a hike when we finished are things that need to wait until an all clear is given and we are ready to CAMP.

[coloradocamping]

This is a timesaver and it makes setting up and tear down easier, especially on hot days. Just bring a cordless drill with a bit that fits your jack stands! Sure beats cranking by hand!

[jerdog]

Originally Posted by coloradocamping

This is a timesaver and it makes setting up and tear down easier, especially on hot days. Just bring a cordless drill with a bit that fits your jack stands! Sure beats cranking by hand!

X2 on that one. My 17a came with two crank handles so I cut the crank off one and now use it in the drill to run the jacks up/down and the other one to snug them up.

[TWP723]

I used to have a pop-up and it used to take forever and a day to get packed up to go. Even longer on departure. Now that we have this beautiful travel trailer, it only takes forever.


My wife needs the entire house clean as well as every thread of laundry done before going away for some reason. If she could, she'd have me paint the house, mulch the gardens, powerwash the cars, scrub the floors, remodel the basement, build a deck, shampoo the carpets, refinance the house, install a pool, adopt 3 kittens, climb Everest, and then...and only THEN..we can leave for vacation. Never seen anything to beat it in my life. She's a straight up fanatic.

[DocBrown]

Well, I have questions and suggestions. Before I start, know that setup and breakdown are as hard as you want to make it. I've seen people with 5vers take 10 minutes, and I've seen them take 2 hours. Same for every other kind of camping unit. It takes us about an hour with our hybrid, that's with setting up a bunch of whirly-gigs and awning lights, putting the table outside, and other things that go outside. When we had our pup, it was 2 hours and back then we didn't do whirly-gigs and lights.

If we stick to the basics, we can be setup and ready to camp in 30 minutes.

Question, how old is your hybrid? Older ones have bars that hold the beds up. Our '03 Kiwi 17a had a setup like that. Our 2013 has cables. Simply drop the bed down and insert the shepherds pole. Done. It takes me longer to hook up the water connection that it takes to drop both beds.

1) We don't "make" beds. We like the KISS principle. We came from a tent, then pop-ups. An unzipped sleeping bag gets laid out flat in the bunk, throw the pillows and a couple of comforters on top. Done. For packing, just drag everything off and fold. Minutes for setup on the beds, minutes to "break" the beds. Personally I've never understood why some folks feel the need to struggle with a fitted sheet on a hybrid or pop-up mattress.

2) As bassdogs said, "you do your thing and she does her's". I do all the outside stuff, she does the inside stuff. We've been camping for over 30 years. We've got this down to a science.

3) As said above, use a cordless drill to raise and lower the stabilizers. I got mine for $16 from a sidewalk sale at Harbor Freight. It stays in the trailer and has been very reliable.

[mike837go]

I'll throw exactly 1 suggestion out there:


Segregate the stuff needed for "landing":
The wheel chocks, leveling blocks, tool for the stabilizers, tool for the WDH, etc.
Keep them where they can be reached quickly. [I build a front stoop out of Trex to limit the amount of dirt and leaves entering the TT. It gets turned upside-down on a chunk of rug just inside the door with the immediate need items placed in the structure.]

Doing that turned a 45 minute process into under 20.






It also allows for packing all of the Outdoor Living stuff without worrying about the "landing" gear.

[North of 49°]

It takes us about 15-20 minutes, but we try to keep the extraneous stuff to a minimum: the lawn chairs only come out when we need them, the barbecue stays stowed until it's time to use it, etc. That way, if we don't use something during the weekend, we won't have to worry about putting it away later. Coming from a hybrid which took us half an hour or more to get it all set up, now when we're done, DW and I look at each other wondering what we've forgotten to do.

[bankr63]

One trick I have for quick arrival is swapping the order of the bins in the external storage bay. When arriving, our fresh water bin is at door so I can stop and fill the tank in a jiffy (we dry camp a lot, no water at the site). But when departing, the sewer hose bin is the last one in usually. Swap them before you leave so things are packed away in the order you need them.

I also start planning for departure day the day before we go to cut down on chores. If it's the last time you'll use it, put it away. Examples would be to give the BBQ a good clean after the last dinner, or pull down the clothes line as you take the last things off on the final afternoon. Fold up and put away the extra guest chairs. Being prepared always makes the pack up go quicker.

Compared to the "old days" in our pup, the HTT setup and breakdown are blazingly fast.

[DocBrown]

Originally Posted by bankr63

I also start planning for departure day the day before we go to cut down on chores. If it's the last time you'll use it, put it away. Examples would be to give the BBQ a good clean after the last dinner, or pull down the clothes line as you take the last things off on the final afternoon. Fold up and put away the extra guest chairs. Being prepared always makes the pack up go quicker.

Ah! This is one of the items I forgot. We do the same, including taking down the whirly-gigs the night before. It saves a lot of time the next morning.

[mike837go]

Originally Posted by DocBrown

Ah! This is one of the items I forgot. We do the same, including taking down the whirly-gigs the night before. It saves a lot of time the next morning.

X2!

Spend the time the evening before, to grieve for the departure, while packing the tokens of the time spent enjoying the event.

[Snake Plissken]

My wife's job is to back me in and then take our 7-year old somewhere to play. I can set up or tear down in about an hour by myself. That includes backing up and hooking up to the camper.