Re: [a/s] Principles for Newbies

["Richard P. Kenan" <as5368@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jim:

> One other principle that I think you'll agree
> with is that newbies
> should do 2 things that our friend didn't that caused him to become
> closer to God:
>
> 1. Understand how your hitch and brakes function, and make sure that
> they're working properly. He was under the misunderstanding that the
> brakes should be working because the lights came on when he pressed the
> pedal. And he had apparently not actually checked to see if the brakes
> were working.

Absolutely.  Someone suggested that our WBCCI units should be giving
new trailer buddies some instruction, preferably from someone who has the
same hitch setup.  That seems like a great idea to me.  Of
course, most newbies aren't hauling Airstreams; but something is better
than nothing.


> 2. Practice under controlled conditions. Most
> of us didn't initially learn to drive by taking a car onto a busy highway
> at high speeds, we practiced in a parking lot, then lonely roads, and
> worked up to the highspeed, crowded roads. Yet, I've read 
> innumerable stories right here of folks who hitched up and set off on
> their first trip with (seemingly) not much more than a kick of the tires
> and an adjustment of the radio.

Great advice!  At the International this year, a guy selling some
kind of brake reservoir system made the same pitch, very strongly. 
His statistics say that most trailer/motorhome accidents are caused by
driver ignorance of how their brakes work in abnormal situations - panic
stops.  He recommended, as you suggest above, that we find an old
airstrip or a large, empty parking lot, and try a series of panic stops
from various speeds, just to discover under controlled circumstances how
your rig is going to respond.  Makes sense to me; now, all I have to
do is *do* it.

- Dick
(5368)