How to Set Up an Accessory Camper

Camping can be a great change of pace in your life, and there's no better way to do it than with an accessory camper. Having a camper along for the trip gives you some of the comforts of home, but still lets you feel the freedom being in the wild provides. To set up your camper, follow the steps below.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

Accessory (popup) camper
4 Solid stones or bricks
2 Leveling jacks
4 Blocks of wood

Step 1

Find a good spot to put your camper. A flat surface is best, but that may not be possible to find. You also need to consider your proximity to the water and electric hookups are when selecting your spot.

Step 2

Place the leveling jacks on the ground, and put blocks of wood underneath them to prevent your jacks from sinking. You want have two leveling jacks on either side of the front of the camper, and two on either side of the back.

Step 3

Raise each jack until the camper is level. Check the levels on the jacks to make sure they are indeed level, because having a level camper is the most important part of the entire setup.

Step 4

Remove the camper from the trailer hitch, and drive the car forward so the car will be out of the way.

Step 5

Use the crank to open the camper's top. Unless you have an automatic crank, you will need a crank jack to turn it. This should take about 10 minutes. Next, you can set up your outdoor canopy, if you have one.

Step 6

Locate the water and electric hookups, and connect them to your camper. Go inside to make sure the water and power are working. If not, you might have connected them poorly, or there may be something wrong with the source itself.

Step 7

While inside, make the beds and arrange things the way you'd like them to be. You can't really do this before setting the camper on leveling jacks, because things are bound to shift in the process.

Then, you can remove food from your car and place it inside the camper. Make sure you don't have anything that could attract bears (such as scented deodorants or toothpaste). If you have anything a bear might want, hang it in a tree to prevent any bear from trying to get into your camper at night.

Tips & Warnings

Use four solid stones or bricks and place them behind each of the camper's tires. This is the safest way to prevent rolling.

Resources

RV Education

Article Written By Kelsey Childress

Kelsey Childress runs a freelance creative business called Awen Creative that specializes in SEO Web content, social media marketing and blogging. She has been writing for online and in-print publications for over six years, and has a bachelor's degree in English literature and creative writing from Kansas State University.

Editor's Pick

5 Top North American Wildflower Hikes

Springtime brings a sense of new beginnings and new life as flowers begin to bloom and fill the air with their sweet and pleasant fragrance. Luckily we can see wildflowers all summer long, since spring hits at different times throughout North America. See flowering cactu...
More National Parks...
Popular Article

National Park Substitutes: Great Spots Without the Crowds

Coping with crowds at national parks can get tiresome, especially during the peak tourist season. If you want to escape from the herd, or just take a breather from the bustle of bigger attractions, the United States has plenty of less-visited but still worthwhile spots t...
More National Parks...
Featured Destination

Prevent Yourself from Getting Lost While Hiking

When you're hiking you're going to want to make sure you stay found. What I mean by that is that you've put an itinerary in the car, you know the area that you're hiking to, you know the route and the trail you plan on being on, you know what the trail markers are going ...
More Camping Basics...