Who else stresses out before a trip?

davidcyndi · 05-23-2013, 04:46 AM

I stress out big time before I pull the trailer. It usually starts 2 days before the trip. I wonder if I will get a flat? I wonder if there will be high wind? I wonder if the truck will get a flat? I wonder if I will have any leaks? I wonder if I will have problems backing into my spot? I wonder if anything is going to break? I hope the kids are going to be good? I hope the dogs will be good? I hope its not to windy to do a camp fire? I wonder if on the drive back home I will get a flat? I hope there isn't any traffic. I mean the list just goes on and on................. Is anyone else like this or am I the only one who does this? All the stress I put on myself makes it not enjoyable. But its not like I can just say "David just chill!" as it just doesn't work like that.

Bob Landry · 05-23-2013, 04:55 AM

There are meds for that.

f6bits · 05-23-2013, 05:08 AM

I only worry about the trailer tires, so I just make sure they're properly inflated.

What kinds of trips are you going on? Ours are pretty local, less than two hours away. We have a longer trip in July, but it's only about double the distance of our farthest trips. I'm not stressing since each direction is equivalent to one of my weekend round-trips.

The more trips I take, the more confident I feel about it.

labs4life · 05-23-2013, 05:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Landry

There are meds for that.

Yep. Hopefully it will get better with time.

byrdr1 · 05-23-2013, 05:13 AM

David,
I get pre trip giddies, I cant sleep the night before but mine is not from worrying. ITS because I am excited to be going camping. MY wife says I get up at the butt crack of dawn(BCD) so I can get everything hooked up and ready to leave. The night before I am up till 12 -1 am then sleep only maybe 4-5 hours and then I drive. Yes I know some of you are thinking he cant be rested. BUT I am so excited I cant sleep.

Rambling: But I will go to bed around 9pm that first night and then up at BCD again as the wife says. I fix my coffee, walk the dog/dogs depending on which one gets up first. and I do most of this outside while sitting around the campsite. If I walk the dog/s we can easily get a mile or more in before anyone else is up. I can have my Internet on phone now and read the Word. Then when everybody starts getting up its breakfast time..

So to answer your question: I don't worry so much about the things you have addressed, BUT I do get antsy the day and the night before a trip. Heck I couldn't sleep last night knowing I was getting off at 11 am to start my long weekend today. I am pulling my camper over for Memorial day cookout at a friends 7-8 acre field, after lunch today.. See the excitement is there NOW.

enjoy your trips,
randy

ohiocougar · 05-23-2013, 05:41 AM

David,

I can totally relate. Although it is the DH that worries about those things and not me. I'm just excited to camp no matter what! Hope it gets better for you.

davidcyndi · 05-23-2013, 05:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Landry

There are meds for that.

LOL

Med free here, hrmm maybe I should give them a try. no thanks

davidcyndi · 05-23-2013, 05:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by f6bits

I only worry about the trailer tires, so I just make sure they're properly inflated.

What kinds of trips are you going on? Ours are pretty local, less than two hours away. We have a longer trip in July, but it's only about double the distance of our farthest trips. I'm not stressing since each direction is equivalent to one of my weekend round-trips.

The more trips I take, the more confident I feel about it.

That's the funny thing. Its not long trips. 1-2 hours at most. This is trip number 4 so hopefully it will start to ease soon.

davidcyndi · 05-23-2013, 05:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ohiocougar

David,

I can totally relate. Although it is the DH that worries about those things and not me. I'm just excited to camp no matter what! Hope it gets better for you.

You are just like my wife. I could tell her we are going to camp in the bog of eternal stench and she would be like woohoo I'm going camping. lol Thanks

davidcyndi · 05-23-2013, 05:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by byrdr1

David,
I get pre trip giddies, I cant sleep the night before but mine is not from worrying. ITS because I am excited to be going camping. MY wife says I get up at the butt crack of dawn(BCD) so I can get everything hooked up and ready to leave. The night before I am up till 12 -1 am then sleep only maybe 4-5 hours and then I drive. Yes I know some of you are thinking he cant be rested. BUT I am so excited I cant sleep.

Rambling: But I will go to bed around 9pm that first night and then up at BCD again as the wife says. I fix my coffee, walk the dog/dogs depending on which one gets up first. and I do most of this outside while sitting around the campsite. If I walk the dog/s we can easily get a mile or more in before anyone else is up. I can have my Internet on phone now and read the Word. Then when everybody starts getting up its breakfast time..

So to answer your question: I don't worry so much about the things you have addressed, BUT I do get antsy the day and the night before a trip. Heck I couldn't sleep last night knowing I was getting off at 11 am to start my long weekend today. I am pulling my camper over for Memorial day cookout at a friends 7-8 acre field, after lunch today.. See the excitement is there NOW.

enjoy your trips,
randy

I'm the only one! LOL, thanks for your insight byrd.

Bob Landry · 05-23-2013, 05:46 AM

We camp to eliminate stress, not create it. I go out the day before, turn on the fridge, check tire pressure, and lug nut torque.(every trip). Everything has been cleaned(and repaired, if needed) from the previous trip. I sleep like a baby the night before, get up refreshed, we go load the trailer and take off. DW and the two Yorkies sleep most of the way and I have a most enjoyable day of driving. I can either freak over what could possibly happen or enjoy the trip as it was intended. I always choose the latter.

SteveC7010 · 05-23-2013, 06:04 AM

We head out for two week trips in June and August to the north end of the Adirondack Park. It's dry camping so we have to plan things like propane, gas for the generator and boat, food fairly well. I like to get all the packing done by the evening before we leave so that we only have to toss personal stuff in at the last minute and hook up the trailer and the boat. We try to be in the campground by 1 PM or so and it's a two and a half hour trip. The casual goal is to get set up and get the boat in the water before dinner.

Neither of us stresses out much any more, but there's still a lot of energy as we get ready to go. We both have detailed check lists that we work off starting about a week in advance, but that includes groceries, etc. Those check lists evolved over many years of camping in tents, pop-ups, TT's etc. DW's list actually started with a list her parents created a long, long time ago. FWIW, I've found that working off a check list eliminates the "get ready" stress because you assure yourself that things are done and done right as you go along.

I generally like to get the Jeep and the truck all hooked up to their respective trailers and all final stuff packed and ready to head out. Then I'll go take a quick shower, walk the dog, shut down the house and do a full walk about of house, yard, trailer, boat, and vehicles. Then a quick radio check and off we go.

Lost · 05-23-2013, 06:04 AM

Don't worry about small things. If you get a flat tire just fix it, if you get a leak just fix it... Whats the worst thing it will cause? maybe a hour of your time to fix it. I myself worry about the important things like what if I run out of beer, what if my beer is warm.
If things are going to happen (and they will) there is nothing you can do. Worrying about what might happen is pointless. Be postive, Just relax and enjoy the experience of family, friends and camping.

Kristi · 05-23-2013, 06:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveC7010

... there's still a lot of energy as we get ready to go. We both have detailed check lists that we work off starting about a week in advance, but that includes groceries, etc. ...working off a check list eliminates the "get ready" stress because you assure yourself that things are done and done right as you go along.

I am a stresser... Working off a checklist calms me a lot, too.

**JRTJH** · 05-23-2013, 06:51 AM

We plan trips years in advance (sometimes).... We may well start heading toward a planned campground, see an elk (or an interesting sign) along the side of the road, decide to detour to another campground, spend a day or two, then head on to our final destination. When we get there, the actual camping at that location begins, and until we get there, whatever happens is not really a stressor as much as a part of the trip. We've found some of our "greatest gems" by wondering, "What's over there?" and turning off the highway to find out.

Yes, sometimes (not many) it gets us in trouble. I well remember being stranded on the side of a mountain, (read my post about it here: http://keystonerv.org/forums/showthr...=pulled&page=3 ) We still have that "what's over there?" curiosity. Only now we usually unhitch to go find out if it looks like a rough or narrow road. LOL Ya know, now, we both look back on that event and laugh about it. Only my daughter (who was 2 then and is 40 now) remembers the bad part. She remembers having to go to the bathroom and "peeing on the trailer" because of the severe downhill angle we were in. So I guess the only "stress" left about that event (a near total loss of truck and trailer) is the memory of a 2 year old who wouldn't go potty outside.

Stress? I just ask myself why? I know there are members of this forum who build an itinerary and feel "behind" if they're more than 10 or 15 minutes off schedule. Others have a general plan and try to stick to it. For me, some of our most memorable camping trips are the ones where we never got to the final destination, but where we did wind up is filled with memories we never could have made if we'd kept pushing on, even though consequences forced us to stop where we were..... Mechanical breakdowns might be the reason for our change of plans, weather, closed roads, unexpected traffic delays, who knows, but whatever might have been the force that changed our plans, the "camping trip" continues and the memories are still just as great, just different.....

For us, the camping trip starts when we pull out of the driveway. Where we go, what we do, what happens along the way are pretty much all a part of that trip. It's all good, just some parts might be better than others, but "it's all good..........

Dhuhn · 05-23-2013, 06:54 AM

I think worrying just makes your trip less enjoyable, you go to relax and if your stressed you won't relax. Enjoy you trips that what you bought your rigs for.

diugo · 05-23-2013, 07:00 AM

I've been fulltiming for over 11 years and I still get a bit stressed every time I drive the rig. It IS eight tons, after all. Big responsibility.

The good news is that the trailer sits still 98% of the time.

dandjh1958 · 05-23-2013, 08:06 AM

For me, it also starts a couple of days before the trip. My stress dreams involve huge summer snow storms and zombie-like raccoons. The anxiety dreams make me chuckle because even if something does happen, I know I can deal with it (except for possibly the raccoons.....). I love camping and I figure over time, the more and more I do it, the easier and easier it will become. Or I will develop dementia and not care at all!

My husband who is a king of OCD only worries that the trailer won't be 100% perfectly straight in the space. Go figure....

Keep a journal and make note of the issues that do arise and then you can confirm that you can handle anything!!!

Happy camping

azlee56 · 05-23-2013, 09:36 AM

You know the reason you do this right? You are being protective of your family....plain and simple. I just purchased the tire monitor system, so I can breathe easier and at least have a warning if something goes on with the tires. I, as the woman of the two, try to solve everything before it happens. Because of this I have road service for all vehicles and RVs and have things along because I want them there. lol The BF is cautious as well, but he doesn't "what if" as much as I do.

My suggestion to you is do your best with the safety areas, make sure you know that you have done the maintenance, the caution of not over loading, and the tire checking. Take a deep breath and know that it is out of your hands and when something does happen then you can have a smile on your face because you will be able to tell about it on here and help someone else! Just look up for trees, listen to the wife when she says stop and let them go pee on your journey. All will be good, just know you are a good dad/husband for worrying about them. Now have a beer.

x96mnn · 05-23-2013, 09:52 AM

It does get better with time/experience. I used to get nervous before a haul and now I don't care at all. Just look forward to getting there and really as soon as I am hooked up and in drive, a huge weight is lifted off me. I work at home so for the most part I am always at work and camping is my vice. Once I am there I only worry about having to go back home.

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