There’s a lot to do on travel days when you live in an RV. One hot take we stand by is that you should always know how to hook up an RV by yourself.

By that we mean, both traveling partners should know how to do every part of all the processes, just in case you have to do it alone.

For instance, we both drive the rig, we both back it into sites, we both know how to hook the trailer up, we both know what needs to happen to pack the inside for a damage-free ride, etc.

Typically, if you’re traveling with another human, you both have certain jobs you gravitate towards (or sometimes you just draw the short straw, like emptying the black tank.)

The majority of the time, we stay in our own lanes and do the same jobs for travel day, but occasionally we mix it up just to make sure we’re staying sharp when it comes to cross-training.

There have been several times our cross-training has paid off just in the short time we’ve been on the road.

The Time Court Went Down for the Count

8 months into our new lifestyle, we were at a cute little campsite on a lake in Georgia having a morning fire when Court bent over to move our fire pit. Like a movie, she began to tip over in slow motion and drop to her knees right there next to the fire side. Her lower back was spasming.

Here’s how it happened from her perspective:

I dropped to my knees and then laid face down in the dirt.

After 10 mins of laying on the ground waiting for the spasm to pass, Beth asked if I wanted help getting up. Yes, she didn’t want to leave me laying face down on the ground next to our fire pit, but also people may be confused as to why I was laying on the ground with giant fire gloves and a Savannah hat on 🤷‍♀️

While I’d hoped for a quick recovery, the next morning I felt even worse.

And unfortunately, the next day was a travel day.

Beth had to pack up EVERYTHING, plus hook the truck to the trailer, and haul us out of there on her own. While it gave me some anxiety that I couldn’t do anything (literally – I had to lay in the back seat of the truck), I had confidence that we had enough experience with each other’s roles that she would do just fine.

Learn how to hook up an rv by yourself

6 Reasons to be Cross-Trained on Travel Days and know how to hook up an RV

1. In case someone gets sick or injured

For the obvious reasons stated above, if your partner gets sick or injured, you’ll need to know how to hook up an RV and do all the necessities of the lifestyle on your own.

2. To cross-check each other’s work for extra safety

You can’t be too safe in checking your connections and tires and other safety aspects when you’re about to haul 6,500 pounds up or down a mountain going 65 mph. It’s always good to have someone who can check your work before you pull away. Our number one goal is always safety on travel days.

3. Learning new skills keeps your brain sharp

“The act of experiencing something new — or even doing something that’s typical for you, but in a different way — can all generate these new brain cells,” says Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a practicing neurosurgeon and associate professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine. “We want to constantly be using new paths and trails and roads within our brain. So why not double the sharpness?

4. Knowledge inspires action, action inspires confidence

The more you know how to do with your rig, the more you can practice; the more you practice, the more confident you become. The more confident you become, the safer you can feel in your hook up and tear down process. We know it’s scary learning how to hook up an RV, drive, and park it, but you’ll feel like such a badass once you master it.

5. To reduce anxiety

For those who are terrified to learn how to drive/haul your rig, you may be wondering, “how would learning to haul REDUCE anxiety? It would increase it!” But the truth is, while you may still prefer that your partner drives, at least you know that you CAN do it if you need to. In the beginning, I didn’t always like driving because I hated figuring out if we were going to fit somewhere or having to figure out our turn radius or where to turn around, but the more I practiced, the more confident I got, and now I actually love hauling our rig!

6. Help others

Being knowledgeable about RV responsibilities also allows you to help fellow RVers! As you build your RV community you’ll learn how nice it is to lean on one another for advice and support. Why not sharpen your brain and help your friends? 

Hopefully this gave you some food for thought when considering learning how to hook up an RV by yourself. If you’re just getting started and you’re wondering what a travel day looks like, check out our Travel Day Checklist (PDF). We also have other crucial tips as you get started here 👉  5 Important Tips for New RVers and Learning How to RV: Avoid These 10 Mistakes.

We hope this article was helpful in getting you a bit more prepared to hit the open road 🙌