# To Help Or Not To Help



## bama29fan (Jun 22, 2009)

that is the question?

We were camping recently and another Outback came in and attempted to back in to a spot a couple spots down from us. It was pretty obvious they were new to the TT gig and made several (about 8) attempts to put the Outback in the site. Not blaming it on the spotter or the driver...but there was not a lot of organized communication between the two of them. I sat there watching the whole thing agonizing over what I should do. They finaly left and found a pull thru spot on the other side of the camp ground.

What should i have done? what would you have done?


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## Joonbee (Jan 18, 2008)

I would have stuck my nose. The ol' howdy neighbor. You can usually tell right away if you got one of those. "I don't need your help" people. If so, go back to our cold one and enjoy the entertainment. If they like the idea then you got a new campin freind and we all need more of them.

Jim


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## rialynn79 (Jul 28, 2009)

ha ha sure you weren't watching me & DH last weekend! Sounds exactly like us... except we didn't give up. (He had to back in between 2 huge rocks... it was a task but he did it... with my expert guidance of course.) We sure could have used an extra set of eyes though... instead we ended up with gawkers who drank their cold ones and snickered at us. Which was fine, I mean I do enjoy being the source of entertainment once in a while.









I say it's always better to ask and offer. If they say no... then as Jim mentioned, enjoy the show.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

After seeing them do this 3...4...5 times, I would have walked over and offered to help.

Some will accept...others won't.


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

Joonbee said:


> I would have stuck my nose. The ol' howdy neighbor. You can usually tell right away if you got one of those. "I don't need your help" people. If so, go back to our cold one and enjoy the entertainment. If they like the idea then you got a new campin freind and we all need more of them.
> 
> Jim


x2


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## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

x3. It was when we were new to trailering and to Outbackers that someone at our Fall Rally told me that you don't offer to help someone. I disagree! Offer the help and they can accept or not, either way you still get your cold drink out of it.


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

I pretty much never do anymore. People have to much of an attitude usually. To many people don t take it as a simple offer of help but that they are incompetant.

Now, lets take this a step further. You offer to back the trailer in as a kind gesture. You hit the tree or the rock and damage the trailer. The best of us have had 'oops' with our own trailers. Now what position have you put yourself in, you certainly can t just say 'sorry' and walk away.


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## OregonCampin (Mar 9, 2007)

I would have offered to help, but not offered to drive. Sometimes it takes a few trips to figure out what the driver needs from the person directing. I know it took us a few screaming matches to finally get it right. Now we don't even speak....not like the DH could hear me over the diesel anyway!









When we had family from out of town come to go camping with us they were completely amazed at how fast and effecient we could get the truck put into our spot with no words passing between us. If they had only been around a year ago!


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## johnp (Mar 15, 2004)

I only butt in if I see something bad is going to happen. Last year I got to a campground long after dark an I put a light on the electric post took a quick look around for potential problems and put on the backup cam and begin to back in.Well here comes Mr.knowitall saying he will back me in. Don't need him but whatever, can't hear him but can see him on the monitor. Put the rv where I wanted it and he says "your all set" I thank him. Later our friends tell us he was bombed out of his skull and back not only his trailer into a tree but let his other friend drive off the side of a site. So sometimes beware you never know how good the help your getting is.

John


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## battalionchief3 (Jun 27, 2006)

I would have offered to instruct him in backing it in. As a man among men, instruction and teaching would be better then helping....


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## DMG (Apr 28, 2009)

I'd offer the extra set of eyes.

I've been there and it's no fun. Took my DD's camping and had them trying to help me back in. They didn't understand how to direct me and we became quite a spectacle for our camping neighbors. It really would have been nice to have one of them come over and offer a hand.

I've also had people come out in the pouring rain to help me out so the DD's could stay dry.

Not eveyone has an attitude. I'd appreciate a extra set of eyes if I was having trouble. That's how you meet nice folks!


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## mountainlady56 (Feb 13, 2006)

By all means, I would say, please offer to help. The worst they can do is say "no" or "we've got it". But, after that many attempts, I think they would have welcomed some help. Or, perhaps, on the other hand, they would have been too frustrated to accept the help.
I recently discovered, much to my thrill(!) that the backup camera on my Class C also has sound where I can hear my son assisting me in the back-up process!
If you don't have that? I would suggest getting a pair of walkie-talkies or use your cell phones to talk back/forth during the back-up process. Those things are LIFE savers!!
Darlene


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## Livin4weekenz (Aug 26, 2007)

I too would offer help and often do especially at night I can be seen on my way with a lantern and a set of 2 way radios.. they help a bunch


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## Dadof4 (Mar 30, 2007)

Two weeks ago at Zion a guy was trying to back his diesel pusher into a pull through spot. I could see he was struggling and that he couldn't communicate with his wife. I grabbed my radios and ran over to let them use them but it was too late. He cut the apex too close and ran his awning into a 7 diameter inch tree. I tried to help him bend the tree away from the RV but he gave up quickly and got his saw. I didn't stick around to see him cut down a tree in front of the campground host's site at a national park. Cold drink time indeed.


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## rock hill (Apr 17, 2009)

Joonbee said:


> I would have stuck my nose. The ol' howdy neighbor. You can usually tell right away if you got one of those. "I don't need your help" people. If so, go back to our cold one and enjoy the entertainment. If they like the idea then you got a new campin freind and we all need more of them.
> 
> Jim


this is exactly what I do, they ususally get it themselves eventually, and it makes for something to watch, I also watch as they go through setup, I keep my checklist in my mind, and it is kinda like more practice of what not to do, or see something that may be useful.


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## ember (Jan 17, 2008)

I jump right in and offer our radios, and IF I don't get yelled at Stacey joins in and gives them an extra set of eyes!! We have always towed something!! hay wagons, equiptment trailers, etc, BUT a thirty foot box getting backed into a trailer site at our local fairground, that was already FULL except our site!! was a new and unnerving experience, and we were very glad of some guidance of a seasoned camper!! After we got backed in, one of the guys stayed and walked us through the setup, and added other useful pointers as well!! We always try to pass it forward!!


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## rdvholtwood (Sep 18, 2008)

wolfwood said:


> I would have stuck my nose. The ol' howdy neighbor. You can usually tell right away if you got one of those. "I don't need your help" people. If so, go back to our cold one and enjoy the entertainment. If they like the idea then you got a new campin freind and we all need more of them.
> 
> Jim


x2
[/quote]

x3


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## 2lman (Nov 24, 2008)

I was this guy earlier this summer. Had a brain fart and if someone would have came along and simply suggested that I turn around and not try to back down the blind side, I would have been gratefull. I did have a couple of ladies offer help when they were walking by. I declined so they walked around the front of my truck and leaned on a fence with their buns in my turning radius. It took a lot of restraint to not smack them with my mirror on the way by.

The big thing for me was trying to get the wheels right at the edge of a concrete patio while kids on bikes, drunks on golf carts and walkers were trying to get around me.


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## bama29fan (Jun 22, 2009)

I have always helped fellow campers with anything and everything else i can. i have given them extra borads and help backing up on the boards to level it up, given newbies sets of awning lights because they didnt have any, filled flat tires with my air compressor, etc, etc. But i haven't jumped in to help someone back up (yet). All the other things i've done seemd more like the neighborly thing to do that wouldn't make the other people feel inadequate. Where as backing the camper up (or not being able to) can make a person seriously doubt themselves and their abilities. Not to mention the male pride thing in front of his wife or girlfriend.

Maybe I'm thinking about it too much from my point of view rather than theirs. I know when we bought our bigger camper my mom, dad, neighbors all said your gonna have a heck of a time getting it backed up in the driveway, in tighter spots, its gonna drag the ground, are you sure you wanna get a camper that big, yada, yada.

So when i first brought it home and put it in the driveway on the first try my chest stuck out farther than Dolly Parton when i got out of the truck. I could tell my wife was also proud and enjoyed rubbing it in their faces (they all were outside to observe...nosy neighbors).

So i guess the biggest thing for me is not stepping on the other persons pride and maybe somehow embarassing them in front of their spouse. Or making the spotter feel inadequate for not being able to give good directions

Plus by the time you get over there to help the couple is already on edge and most likely arguing and each blaming the other....not a good time to butt in as if to say....you 2 look like a couple of fools in need of help


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## bama29fan (Jun 22, 2009)

2lman said:


> I was this guy earlier this summer. Had a brain fart and if someone would have came along and simply suggested that I turn around and not try to back down the blind side, I would have been gratefull. I did have a couple of ladies offer help when they were walking by. I declined so they walked around the front of my truck and leaned on a fence with their buns in my turning radius. It took a lot of restraint to not smack them with my mirror on the way by.
> 
> The big thing for me was trying to get the wheels right at the edge of a concrete patio while kids on bikes, drunks on golf carts and walkers were trying to get around me.


Blind side back-ins are pain in the a**. and it seems like most of the spots we get are that way. It is so much easier (for me anyway) to back in and be able to look out the drivers window at the camper tires


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## GoodTimes (Mar 9, 2009)

All I can say is God Bless the people who came to our rescue on our first 2 trips!


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## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

The big thing for me was trying to get the wheels right at the edge of a concrete patio while kids on bikes, drunks on golf carts and walkers were trying to get around me.
[/quote]

wouldn't it be easier to run over them?


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## Water Witch (Jun 8, 2009)

If anyone ever sees me at a campground, PLEASE HELP ME! I need all the help I can get! I bow to anyone's superior knowledge & ability!!!


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## Rob_G (Feb 16, 2006)

Here's a little anecdote that happened to by bud with his Keystone Fuzion 5'ver...

He was on his annual 4th of July trip and was somewhere in the middle of Arkansas. As he's tooling down the highway, his F-350 Dually just looses all power. Pulling a 14000lb trailer I guess you know right away when your TV isn't working properly.

Being mechanically inclined, he pulls over real quick and pops the hood. Turns out he blew some hose that was connected to his turbo unit. I know for me, that's no big deal. I call AAA and get it happening rightaway, but for my bud, he's a penny pincher. "I'm not going to pay for a sumthin' that I can fix myself" He figured out the hard way that AAA might not be a bad idea... but I digress.

He's sitting there on the side of the road when all of a sudden a guy pulls up and says what's going on? In today's day and age, of course my bud was a bit apprehensive about some whack job pulling up as he's vulnerable. The guy must've noticed this apprehension and quickly stated that, hey... I gotta camper too and I've been in this situation. I'm just looking to give you a hand.

After my bud explains what happened, the newly found friend said, not a problem. I'm from the area and there's a Ford dealership 10 miles away. Just tell me the part and I'll pick it up. My bud gave him the info and before he could give him the cash, the guy hurried off.

25 min later, the guy returns with the right hose. It took 10 min to replace the hose and the truck was running like new again. When my bud asked his new friend how much he owed him, the guy replied no charge. He stated, that this same thing happened to him. When the guy helped him, he just asked that the next time he saw a stranded camper on the road, stop to help him in the same way I've helped you. My bud's new friend then asked the same of my new bud.... when you see someone stranded, help them in the same manner I helped you.

I thought that this was a great way to look at the situation, and have done the same to others in distress.

I guess the moral of the story is the Golden Rule.... do unto others as you would have them do unto you.


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## amyk (Feb 13, 2009)

Our OB was the first TT I've ever towed, and we left the day after we bought it for a cross-country trip (talk about cajones huh?? lol), but at almost every stop (and even on camping trips since we've returned home) I almost every time get an offer of assistance---sometimes I need it, and sometimes I don't, but I am always grateful for their offer. I don't know if it's because they see a woman driving and her teenage daughter directing, but many times the help has come in handy (and other times I just ignore what they are saying and listen to my daughter lol)

But no matter what, I have always thanked the person, but never actually let anyone drive/back-up my rig (too much liability if damaged) and usually end up with some friends for the stay ;-)


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## JerseyGirl86 (Mar 30, 2009)

amyk said:


> Our OB was the first TT I've ever towed, and we left the day after we bought it for a cross-country trip (talk about cajones huh?? lol), but at almost every stop (and even on camping trips since we've returned home) I almost every time get an offer of assistance---sometimes I need it, and sometimes I don't, but I am always grateful for their offer. I don't know if it's because they see a woman driving and her teenage daughter directing, but many times the help has come in handy (and other times I just ignore what they are saying and listen to my daughter lol)
> 
> But no matter what, I have always thanked the person, but never actually let anyone drive/back-up my rig (too much liability if damaged) and usually end up with some friends for the stay ;-)


Amy, you are my hero!









I am quite a sight backing the rig up into my driveway, let alone driving cross country!


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