We're off, or so we thought!

Aways watch where you park your RV.

That statement should be obvious, however sometimes it just isn't. A few weeks back, we had some serious rainfall and we had scheduled a 4 day trip about 50 miles north of our current location. We were ready for some down time.

Let me describe the area where our RV was parked. Nice grassy area, level spot with trees around one side and the back. Sounds good, right? Well not when it rains for 3 days straight and you are parked on grass. Although we did not see any water puddling, the ground became saturated and with a total gross weight of 18,000 pounds, worry started forming.

We hooked up the truck and let the jacks up. No problem so far. Got done with our checklist. Yup, remembered everything. Had the grandkids load up in the back seat and we were ready to go. Yes! Go about 30 feet and the fear became a reality.

The truck tires began to spin and forward motion stopped altogether. The blood left my face and what I had feared became a reality. We had sunk into the rain saturated soil. We hooked up our other truck with a chain and tried to pull out both the dually and the 5th wheel, but it did not budge. After 3 hours of trying to get out, still pouring down rain, we gave up. Trip cancelled.

The grandkids were disappointed but they did get a laugh as I proceeded to raise the 5th wheel tires and get some wood under them. I didn't want them sinking into the ground any farther then the already were.

Two days later, the ground finally dried out enough to make an attempt to pull out the RV. I raised the 5th wheel tires again, doing each one at a time and got more wood under them. Finally I was ready. I hooked up the dually, checked the hitch connection, electrical connections and yes we were ready. I let the landing gear up and watched the dually tires for any indication of sinking. Whew, looks good.

With fingers crossed, I began pulling forward and we started moving. Hurray, it's working. I pulled the RV around and got it positioned into its original place. Not on the grass, but next to the trees where the ground was much firmer and the tree roots and cover absorbed less water. I never had any issues pulling out of this spot.

So as you go about your merry way, remember to look at the ground where you park. Make sure it can handle the weight of your RV, even when mother nature throws its worse at you. I have learned the hard way and now knowing what to look for, I hopefully will not get stuck in this situation again.

Have fun in your travels.