Fear of Towing a Fifth Wheel

We finally took our first trip to Nanaimo yesterday towing our Rockwood 2881S fifth wheel!! And yes, we made it to our campsite in one piece.

I’ll be honest… I was very scared the day prior. In fact, sometime last December, we had a serious conversation whether we still think we can do this trip as is or whether we should reconsider how we want to do the road trip. We both had never towed anything and driving a Ford F350 truck already felt so big compared to the Toyota Venza that I had been driving for so long.

So how was it after the first time towing? I almost wanted to run away right before the departure when they told me to get into the truck to get the fifth wheel hitched. First left turn getting out of the dealer’s parking lot was the most scary part as I had no idea how my fifth wheel was following the truck. Highway driving went smoother than anticipated. Driving through trees inside RV campsite and parking was more of a challenge as we both had no experience making tight turns.

I had a two-hour driving lesson the next day with an instructor beside me and Johannes sitting in the back passenger seat. It is not a requirement for House Trailer Endorsement (Code 7), but we both felt the need to learn the basics and best practices from the expert for us to tow and travel safely and to prepare me for the upcoming road test with ICBC. We first started with the pre-trip inspection to check that everything top to bottom and front to back on the truck and the trailer was in working condition and safely stored. We then headed out onto the road and spent a little over an hour driving around near ICBC, school zones, through different speed limited streets and huge parking lots to practice maneuvering and braking. It was definitely a great decision to take this lesson and learn these techniques before I get myself comfortable with my own driving habits.

Fear of towing a fifth wheel hasn’t gone away but a little bit of confidence has made room for excitement that our trip is about to begin!