Lessons in trailer camping

 This is the jack that supports the front of the trailer when the trailer is off the ball hitch of the truck.  It is not supposed to be bent 90 degrees and flat on the ground.  It is supposed to be supporting the front of the trailer. 

But, this is what happens when you chock the wheels on one side and put boards under the wheels on the other side (to make it level on uneven ground) and you unhitch from the back of the truck and the trailer is torqued but you don't know it.  The trailer moves in a little sideways rotation causing the jack to bend and the front to slowly crash to the ground.  It happened in slow motion and there wasn't a darned thing we could do about it.  No one got hurt and the ground is very wet and soft so the trailer wasn't damaged.  We had to sleep all night with the blood draining into our skulls (which probably did us some good!) but other than that the dilemma was how to get it propped back up so we could be comfortable and get it hooked up to the truck when we went home!  Brother-in-law, sons-in-law and a friendly stranger staying at the campground, all pitched in with hydraulic jacks, lumber for supports and lots of advise and suggestions.  All the guys worked on it while the girls did fun things like craft fair shopping and playing dice games.  The guys got the trailer lifted and hitched back up to the truck and then off they went to buy a new jack for the front.  $32.00 later and the problem was solved.  Yay team work!

This is how it is supposed to look.  We aren't at the same location but I didn't have a picture of the trailer after it was fixed.



Husband learned a new trailer lesson and got more chocks for Christmas!   We are looking into a 5th wheel for more stability!  (that won't happen anytime soon but we will look at options for fun!)