Want to see more about this area? See Marc’s video - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ehfoTFZ_1NU.html And check out How To Maually Level - ru-vid.comiovt8rbD8Gk?feature=share Thanks to all who helped in AND out 😁 We admitted we made mistakes (like no GOAL). It wasn’t the size of our rig, but how low our end was and how deep the ditch was. We should have lowered our truck airbags which would lover the front and raise rear of the RV. The site where we were camped is frequented by ATVs & Forest Fire Support Trucks - hence more ruts/lines than RVs make (and thank you for helping the channel- EVERY comment - the rude/ignorant/uncalled for- still helps the algorithm 😁)
DON'T BEAT YOURSELF UP. EVERYBODY GETS A FIRST TIME AT EVERYTHING. NOBODY GOT HURT. NOTHING BURST INTO FLAMES AND YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO CALL A TOW TRUCK. AND THERE'S SOMEBODY "OUT THERE" THAT CAN FIX THE THINGS YOU BREAK. HAVE FUN. TRAVEL SAFE. PS. EVERY ADVENTURE IS WORTH IT.
Thanks for sharing the not-so-great sides of RVing... Marc is great, we have had a chance to hang out with him a few times. So glad he was there to help out. We boondock 95% of the time so we know that things don't always go as planned. - Kyle and Michelle
@@DownsizingMakesCents we actually spent our first winter in Florida. We are very familiar with the water management areas as we spent three months hopping around them and only ended up having to pay for camping for three nights when we were in the keys. We're heading back that way winter of 24/25
I can’t believe how people who make a living from filming these “off grid beautiful spots” telling the WORLD, all about said spot, and then complain when those “special spots” are taken over by the masses of people who LEARNED about the spot from the the internet! STOP it all ready! If you want to show it, fine, but don’t tell where you are for Gods sake!!!
@@DownsizingMakesCents I’m sorry if I intimated it was you, it wasn’t. You mentioned your friend and showed his channel and thats who I was referring to. I follow a hiker and he does the same thing! Lol He even complained about a “special” spot he had found that was now a “popular” hike destination, I’m all for taking pictures and sharing those, but if I found a special spot, I would be very tight lipped and selective of who I told about it. Call me selfish, but that’s how I feel.
This is a bit scary but a good lesson for me as someone that is also a newbie and going out soon in an older 31' RV that I just purchased. Your detailed info is great explaining how you solved the problem. Your attitude towards the "event" is inspiring. Attitude is important. Equally important is awareness but you just can't know something until you know it. I won't forget this. It's exactly what I needed to see. I will plan my trips more carefully. Thanks for being real and sharing exactly where you are at in this process....very helpful.
Thank you. We pride ourselves in being real and “owning” our mistakes. GOAL - Get Out And Look is so important. We do it all the time before backing into a campground spot. So, why didn’t we there? Lesson learned. Hopefully our stress will mean less stress for others 😁
Quite frequently, we park the RV on the side of the road (warning flashers on) and inspect the entry points into the location. Then we assess what is the best approach to overcome the obstacle or ditch.
Yeah, we boondocked I think 3 times over the years and we too had incidents much like yours ever single time. So, we swore off boondocking and have always stayed in Rv parks. In fact, tomorrow morning we are heading out the an Rv park for 4 days to go Ski. !
Y'all are so lucky. I'm glad it all worked out. My friends whole back wall came off. It had to be rachet strap it on and. Take it to the shop for over $23,000.00 repair. They are full time as well. So it was a mess. But all good now. But what a Beautiful site Y'all found. Keep Enjoying the journey.
I have camped with Marc....he is the best! So glad you had a successful adventure. Remember, adventures suck when you are having them! Afterwards, they are fun stories to tell....
Luckily, besides the custom sewer hose storage cap, the bumper end needed to be banged back in shape. And we need. New sewer cap. It could have been much worse.
I darn near did the same thing with my brand new 26’ trailer while boon-docking in the desert’s of Nevada. Luckily the damage was to the foot pads of my stabilizer jacks that later I fixed at home. One of my other camper companions didn’t fair as well because when we left he had his black/grey sewage valves broken off. His trailer though shorter than mine sat lower to the ground.
Thank you. This is a big point some people missed - read some rather negative comments about the size of our rig 😡 It’s not the length of our RV - it was how low it sites. I would love a more “off road” RV. But frankly, our rig breaks stuff just driving down a highway 😁
We like boondocking for all the reasons you cited, plus the fact that you don't have a firm schedule ... no reservations you have to be at tomorrow and nobody else can kick you out of your site because they have a reservation for tonight.
Yeah We have seen SOO many big rigs, and not even that big of RVs really get damaged out on BLM-soooo many are stuck and just dig themselves in deep which then tilts them off of hitches, digs them into the ground etc… I think RV parks are more suitable for these rigs!
@@DownsizingMakesCents this is not we have seen over 5y of boondocking. We have rescued sooo many RVs with our 4x4 rv. Stay on the paved roads is what serves them best.
@@DownsizingMakesCents woah that's wild I didn't even know you could do that windsurfing! How cool! Ain't that the truth, live like you want to today, it's all we've got! 💕🤙
Boondocking can create some challenges!! I have a very small RV and I’ve had to go into some driveways sideways!! 😬 Good that you really didn’t damage much ! Camp on !! 👍😁
@@DownsizingMakesCents I also purchased a 7” riser hitch adapter. It puts my bicycles higher up on my platform bicycle rack! It sits behind my RV . Was just too low ! Thanks for sharing.👍
My hat is off to you both for turning your little misadventure into a positive experience and keeping your calm cools. I have done a fair amount of boon docking with my 28ft Outdoors trailer and RAM 3500. So far so good. Where I have gotten into a pickle is not being a good judge of the space necessary to do a safe turn around. Once on the Burr Trail outside of Boulder, Utah I needed to turn around and wasn’t sure how far it would be to the next “for sure” turn around spot on this gravel road. I took a chance in an iffy area and got stuck in sand for a few minutes. All went well but my nerves were shot.
@@jonlieberman997 Jon, Larry always keeps his cool. Me? Not so much. But having our friend Marc - who boondocks A LOT - helped keep me calm. We have a smaller, lighter, higher clearance fifth wheel now. And we learned a lot from this experience. We hope those that have never gone off road but are thinking about it also learned from our mistake. Thanks for sharing your experience- glad isn’t wasn’t worse (we realized later that our frame was cracked - that’s why new RV) Alice
We've been on the road 2 years now, in Australia, almost exclusively free camping or donation camping. Love it. No troubles at all. So much space. So much beauty. And the people are friendlier. I now hate cramming ourselves into caravan parks. The only damage we've incurred was, strangely enough, in a caravan park.
Down sizing makes sense. Fiflth wheel trailers are excessive. Way too much weight and way more than a couple needs. Smaller is so much easier. I would not go over 20-25 feet now that our kids are grown.
Michael, everyone’s wants and needs are different. Traveling full time, after living in a large home, we felt this was the size rig we needed. We have gotten smaller, lighter weight rig recently. Let us know how full timing goes for you Ava your wife in a smaller rig 🤗 Alice
We haven't had problems getting in, but out is a different story! In July 2019 we were in Nomad View Badlands when it started raining, forgot to roll the windows up on the truck (had a floor board full) the next day was when we to leave to go home. The wiring was wet and the horn kept honking. MUD--MUD--MUD!!! It took 2 hours to get to the road only 1 mile away... But we had fun.
Not exactly. If you watched the whole video, we say we should have gotten out and looked (GOAL) and come from the opposite direction. We have traveled full time for almost 4 years- traveling from Florida to Canada and back 3 years and from east coast to west coast Perhaps watch the full video before committing next time
We had just left boondocking outside of Sedona. Plans were a state park on an extremely twisty road which leads into Jerome. Found the road for the campground drive about 1 1/2 miles in found the gates locked. No place to turn around 38'fifth wheel and a dually. My wife had to walk behind the RV while I backed it out onto the main road. Probably a good half an hour going backwards.. Not the highlight of the trip. To make matters worse trying to navigate a big fifth wheel through Jerome is a sight to be seen.
We have a campground checklist. Part of it is if there is a gate? Code? How late can you drive in. We call on the way to the campground, talk to anyone we can find to double check Sorry this happened to you. I stood in traffic midday so Larry could back out of a parking lot we thought we could go around. It was so stressful/ we didn’t film 😁
Get good with your drone, you can fly it closer to the ground and see the ditch, then park on the road and walk the turn and lay of the land. Spend a little time really building a plan before making that commitment to make the turn. Have more than enough equipment with you to get yourself out of problems. Invest in some quality head sets and practice using them before you need them. Be proactive in your drive, looking up, down, know the swing and path of your tires and axles. Be willing to stop and say NO before risking. Very important to pay attention to Railroad Crossings if you have to go up and over them, look at RU-vid vids of Semi Truck trailers hung up on tracks, those Trains will ruin your day.
Seems like Larry needs to worry about driving instead of playing around with technology and gadgets. If you notice, the other fifth wheels are higher off the road than yours. Shouldnt have tried it with a solitude. But that little wreck got you a new trailer.
Oh come on ! Those long long Rvs are obviously going to break in half if you have them articulating uneven terrain . The angle of departure at the back end is too long . The drone is a good idea, but so many ways that AAA isn’t coming
The full video shows three other RVs boondocked there - close to our size, 35’ As we say in the video, it wasn’t the site. We made mistakes. And we had lots of help. But I’m sure there was help from the town down the road if we needed it.
Me and my wife stay at parks with full hookups, we want nothing to do with dry camping or boon docking. After we setup then we go sightseeing to see the great views and whos land are boondockers on. Is it for the view or for the cheap?
that is not the fault of "boon docking" that is the fault of a bad driver. as the driver did not watch were he/she was driving, or even watching what the rd was shaped like, or know the workings/clearances of there rv.
All sizes for all people. We travel full time. Left a large home and didn’t want to quit before giving it a try. But really, the size of the RV was not the problem. How low it was and how deep the ditch was the point. Sorry you missed that
For the good of everyone there should be a drivers test and licenses endorsement before people are allowed to pull trailers. Especially trailers over 16 feet.
Like we said in the video, we have traveled full time 3 1/2 years We made the mistake of not checking the area before driving in - GOAL Our dually is 22’ - are you saying we need a special license for that? 🤔
Yikes. Our first time our, we ripped awning arms off - forgot to pull in the awning. We were used to a really low awning in our travel trailer and then Travato.
I’m curious if this event may have contributed in some way to the bent frame issue you had. Force was applied in the opposite direction to the frame while it was stuck and may have accelerated the fatigue that ultimately caused the steel to yield. This is based on rudimentary observation but as an engineer I’ve had substantial training in metallurgy. Plus I once stayed at a Holiday inn express!! 🤔😉
Edward, cause and effect as you know is complicated. But I agree with your observation. Plus, I think I saw you at that Holiday Inn Express - you took the last bagel 😉 Alice
@@DownsizingMakesCents thanks for the reply Alice! The bottom line is you guys were able to resolve the issue to your complete satisfaction!! I once did the same thing cutting into a ditch with a 26 ft TT that busted a couple things under the trailer but I don’t believe hurt the frame. Blind luck! Oh and that bagel was from the floor under the table and was three weeks stale!! 🤮🤣
@6:53 you're still not fully utilizing the benefits of that 5th wheel. Nearly pass the entry while in the oncoming lane, cut as hard as you can, and whip 'er in. You should find someone willing to loan you a 36-40' gooseneck flatbed and practice getting in tight spots. The axles are likely to be further back, making it harder, but once you have it figured out, a camper with the axles near the middle will be a breeze.
We wouldn’t have had an issue if we came from the other direction. We have learned our lesson. Larry has completely Jack knifed it before. Have gotten into ridiculously tight spots. We just frankly didn’t see the ditch. GOAL for now on
@@DownsizingMakesCents GOAL for sure. Y'all would've made it from the original direction, too, assuming it would've been okay to get off of the gravel road.
Yep boondocking can be fun. We liked mixing it in. We typically did not plan just rolled with it. We only did a day or 2 at a time and then moved on. So made it easy. Glad y'all got unstuck. Sure some how Alice was distracting you when you hit the ditch. Men don't mess up on driving. lol Good seeing y'all.
OMG - hope you didn't do any real damage to your camper. On the plus side, you got some great drone footage of the incident. We'll be first time boon-docking next month when we travel West. Now I'm a little worried. LOL.
Depends on whom you ask. But look up definition of “boonies” - boondocking is with no services anywhere close, not near any amenities Dry camping can have assigned sites, bathrooms close and dump station. It’s just “dry” because you have no hookups
Our mantra. Under 30 feet, getting as high off the ground as possible, tires, "flipping axles" and after market suspensions that don't lower the height. We bumper tow now, but have noticed a lot of fifth wheels of late seem really nicely lifted compared to older ones... So, IF we jump to a fifth wheel, I'm keeping that in mind.
Looking back, we wish we had realized. The other thing is we are going to get a different bike rack that doesn’t hand lower than the bumper We might even get “wheels” for the bumper. This has to wait until we get back to our homeport - Florida
We have been fulltime for 2 1/2 years. 100% boondocking, cant stand campgrounds. The worst time boondocking is better than the best time in a campground. Y'all be safe and see you on the road.
Prolly shouldn't make it a habit to off road that fifth wheel...they weren't really designed for the twisting and bouncing down FS roads... Great video, great content, great editing!
They aren’t designed to even handle potholes 😄 If we handled it the way the other 3 fifth wheels did, it would not have been such a problem Plus, many boondocking sites aren’t as difficult to get as this one. And thanks
FIRST COMMANDMENT of RVing: Thou shalt NEVER drive into an unknown location without a spotter. (A drone does not count) BTW: We have damaged an RV because WE did not have a spotter outside keeping us out of trouble.
Well, I think many RVers (us too) had incidences that created valuable lessons. The lesson should not be not to boondock, but how to reach locations differently without damage....... with your rig.
Nice video! I got stuck like that (but not as badly) when I ill-advisedly pulled off the road into an unpaved turnout and there was too much of a drop-off from the road to the turnout. Fortunately, someone was there and had some of those plastic interlocking blocks that we put under the wheels and made a ramp back onto the road with some boards I carry with me. I didn't think about using the jacks - that's a great tip! Now I carry those interlocking blocks with me. 🙂
Yes. Marc’s yellow leveling blocks really helped. Unfortunately, I think we broke a few 😳 On the way out, we stacked some rocks in the ditch which made it sooo much easier.
🤣 there are some spots I don’t think I would follow Marc in 😁 He was awesome. They all were. Helped us get out, too. Filled in the ditch a bit with some rocks. So much easier
You got really lucky. Another RU-vid RV guy was simply driving through a campground trying to get out with his toyhauler when he crossed uneven ground and drug the rear of his fifth wheel. But, in his case, it actually tore the entire back of the toyhauler off. The back separated from the walls. His uneven ground was not as bad as your ditch, but his rig as MUCH longer so the overhang behind his wheels was longer. Thank you for sharing so we can all learn.
What an amazing boondocking site! I am so glad you guys had such good friends who were prepared with wood, and could help you out of this predicament! That is scary! Got my 37 foot 5th wheel stuck on the bike rack before, but got it out without a problem, praise God! I wonder if you would be willing to share the location of that site, but would totally get it if you don't want to! I live in Colorado, near Rocky Mountain National Park, and am looking forward to exploring Wyoming and Montana sometime in the future. Boondocking is my thing 😊.
My rv is low to the ground. I’ve had issues with getting stuck in asphalt myself. Oh by the way you mentioned that you go to state and national parks all over. Can You give me some advice on how to find these places when I’m traveling. Thank You Would much rather stay at those places verses campgrounds. Thanks so much. And I will definitely look into using my leveling jacks manually. I can see how valuable that can be. See you on the next video.
Big trailers and fifth wheels for me, are big and beautiful, but for me they make nervous even though my husband tows it. For camping to me are too big to park anywhere. I prefer 21 foot and shorter, we do moré boon-docking. And don’t have to worry about your roof being too high to park anywhere. For me as long as I have a comfortable bed and bathroom and a two burner stove incase of bad weather outside.
I would like to downsize but traveling full time, I think I would kill hubby in a 21’ 😉 Larry prefers a fifth wheel because of the ease of towing - no sway
You guys were one of the first RV channels we watched when we went full. We sold our RV last year, moved to Atlantic Canada, and totally out of the RV world. Good to stumble into your channel again. We've been long-time subscribers but not that frequent of viewers.
We loved the Maritimes - any room for us 😉 We will be looking for a winter homebase - spending summers RVing Do you miss it? Glad you checked in 🤗 Love you RU-vid name 😁
@@DownsizingMakesCents We can fit a 45-foot coach on our property. No hookups, though...we bought the house thinking we would take our Cornerstone from Florida back to Canada when we moved back home. But the import taxes were crazy. We don't miss RVing now...we have just as much fun with Airbnb and no maintenance or diesel fuel.
Thanx 4 sharing your mishap. Love your positive attitudes toward the whole situation!!! And, minimal damage with a great recovery!!! We have the heavy duty swivel drag wheels on the back of our TH. They are sacrificial and can help minimize or prevent damage in those types of situations. 👍😃🍻
@@DownsizingMakesCents I forgot to mention this, but make sure your leveling jacks on on the highest setting for maximum ground clearance for them - gamechanger!!!!! All manufacturers typically set them to a lower setting. Fairly easy to do yourself, just make sure you find out the correct torque value for your leveling legs. 👍😃🍻
That entrance from the road needs to be leveled with more dirt to make it easier to get in and out with such trailers. Every RV'er should carry a shovel, then get together to level such problem entrances or turns. Collectively as an RV community, you guys can save each other, headaches, money and time! Great Video!
As a USFS employee and outdoor person I am seeing more and more invasion of remote areas by humanity. Making roads more accessible is ruining the outdoors. If you make things more accessible you open it up to more destruction. You think it’s cool to have eight rvs at that spot? It will never recover now cause more and more will know about it. Y’all are cute but rvs are and should not be 4 x 4’s.
We had that issue in a park in Vermont. The site didn’t fit us by their error. We dug the backend into the dirt. Lifted on jacks and put 2x6 and metal plates to then shift slowly forward til out of the dirt
No, to many people! We were at the end of Steward bay on the sw corner of the lake. I would love to go camp were you were, we usually always camp on dispersed areas.
