Our Hideout travel trailer is a gem. It is the correct size for my wife, Garnet, and me to attach to the Dodge Ram, drive to the campsite, maneuver into the camping spot and set up.

The rear window is large and it is called a rear lounge. Whenever we have a view, we position the trailer so we can look out at a segment of the Columbia Basin. This is not always possible, of course, but we do the best to plan ahead and find a view of the surrounding landscape.

The Washington State Park System makes this an easy task. A few years ago we wanted to camp at Steamboat Rock State Park. A search of the campsites revealed Site 87 provided a view across a portion of Banks Lake to the basalt cliffs of the Grand Coulee.

Check this out by typing Steamboat Rock State Park into Google and clicking on the State Park site selection tab. A map of the campsites will come up. Keep looking until you find Site 87.

Click on the number and the specifics of the site will be visible: electrical, water and sewer hook-up; 50 amps electrical service; partial shade; pad length 50; allowed equipment includes single tent/shelter, van/camper, small trailer up to 18 feet, large trailer/motor home 18-32 feet, XL trailer/motor home 32 feet plus; Pad width 10; maximum occupants eight; this is a back-in site; the pad is paved; there is a fire pit; adjacent to Banks Lake and a beach; there is a tent pad. This site has above average pedestrian traffic, because of the beach and rope swing over the water.

This is a bunch of information about Site 87, plus, and perhaps most important, by clicking on a small photo, a large photo appears giving a clear idea of the campsite and view out the picture window.

Many of the Washington State Park campsites are researchable in this manner, making finding the ideal campsite a reasonable task.

Preparing for travel

Attaching the trailer to the Ram has become routine. Remember, I'm not the most mechanically minded person in the world. However, preparing for travel has become easier for me.

The slide-out is retracted, tires checked for the correct pressure and step placed in travel mode.

The tongue is raised, the ball backed into place and the tongue lowered. The safety chains are attached, sway bars installed, electrical plug connected and lights tested. A walk-around inspection is conducted before turning a wheel, just as a double check to make sure nothing is forgotten and every connection is in the proper place.

We work as a team to back the trailer in place. The backing chore is much easier than in the beginning. We haven't yelled at each other during this process for about three years now.

If the trailer isn't level, a simple drive forward for a wheel length, placing boards on the ground and backing up again is necessary.

Our set-up time take around 30 minutes. Garnet works on the inside as I connect the sewer, electricity and water. The stabilizers are extended, the Ram disconnected and the tongue lowered to a level position.

There are gobs of accessories for use on travel trailers and we have a few of them. One of the most useful for us is a T-type of device to hook up the water supply. The hookup to the park water is in the middle, with the water supply to the trailer on one end. The other end is a regular water faucet. This enables me to supply water to the trailer on one end and have water available outside the trailer by simply turning the faucet handle.

A new trick was learned while watching a neighboring trailer prepare to depart a campsite. The driver backed up onto the back chock in order to remove the front chock. He said it made the trailer much more stable.

The procedure was reversed upon arrival. The back chock was put in place, the trailer backed hard into it, the emergency brake applied, the front chock put in place and the emergency brake released. This procedure will be applied on our first camping trip.

Finding tips for travel trailer use and maintenance is rather exciting for me. The end goal and hopefully result is making the overall camping experience more pleasurable.