Betsy's back on Bridget

With the help of my friends Austyn and Doug, we managed to get Betsy (my camper) back on Bridget (my truck) today. It was touch and go there for awhile. At one point, when the camper was completely jacked up as far as it would go (necessary to clear the truck bed), a gust of wind came up. Austyn grabbed one of the jacks and said "whoa ...." (and he wasn't talking to a horse). The camper was tippy, as in potentially going to blow over. Austyn held on to stabilize her. I'm parked above a steep hill, and I just got a flash of what it would look like if she toppled down it. The wind died down, and then Austyn began the excruciating work of trying to get me to back Bridget into the razor thin margin between the jacks (an inch and a half at most). I kept coming at it at a slight angle, which didn't meet the razor thin requirement. I was getting nervous about my abilities (I think Austyn, calm as could be, was nonetheless nervous on my behalf :-)

Then my friend Doug drove by. Lots of hauling/RV experience. In a slightly panicked voice, I yelled "Hey Doug, I could really use your help!" (note: a huge understatement). Doug came over, also calm as could be, and got on the other side. Now I had two calm people trying to talk me through the razor thin margin. After a couple minutes, Doug came over and asked politely, "Do you mind if I give it a try?"

I jumped out of that driver's seat like a shot. No pride here, people. Doug, with Austyn's help (I don't think I was that useful), backed her in after only two tries. But even with his experience, it was an inch- by-inch process. That is one small margin of error.

After it was over, I realized how dangerous that situation could have been (well, how dangerous it was, actually, and how lucky we were). I need new jacks that are more stable, 25 years newer (the camper is a 1994), more accommodating of big dually wheels, and electric.

"Hello, trailer service people ..."

Nine days until blast off.