Trailer and RV Camping
Weekend and holiday trips with a tent trailer, travel trailer, fifth wheel or motorhome. How the types compare, the weight numbers that matter before you tow, towing basics, setting up and levelling, power, water and sewer hook-ups, propane and alarms, and how to handle our wind on the site and on the highway.
On this page
From tent to trailer
Very few people start camping with a fifth wheel. Most work their way up, a step at a time, as their family, their back and their idea of a good weekend change. Gary’s path is a typical one:
“From a tent, to the back of a truck, to another tent, to a tent trailer, to an older trailer, to a small motor home, and now an annual campsite with a nice 36-foot fifth wheel on it, but it doesn’t go anywhere.”
Each step trades something. A trailer is drier, warmer, quieter and more comfortable than a tent, especially in wind and rain. In return you take on towing, storage, maintenance, insurance and registration, and you’re more limited in where you can go. This page is about using a trailer or motorhome for weekend and holiday trips. Living in one for the season is its own topic, coming in our future RV Living section.
What it means for you: rent or borrow the type you’re considering for a weekend before you buy. Tow it, back it into a site, level it, hook it up, sleep in it, and empty the tanks. You’ll know quickly whether it suits you.
The types, compared
| Type | What it is | Good for | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tent trailer (pop-up) | A low box trailer that folds open into a canvas-sided camper with beds at each end. | Light, tows behind many vehicles, fits a garage, beds off the ground, cheaper to buy. | Canvas is noisy and cold in wind, condensation, set-up and take-down time, drying canvas after rain. Fabric sides give no lightning protection. |
| Travel trailer | A hard-sided trailer on a ball hitch at the back of the tow vehicle. Ranges from small teardrops to long family trailers with slides. | Hard walls, quick set-up, bathroom and kitchen in most, wide range of sizes. | Longer ones need a properly rated tow vehicle and often a weight-distributing hitch. Tall, flat sides catch crosswinds. |
| Fifth wheel | A trailer that hitches into the bed of a pickup, over the rear axle. | Very stable to tow, lots of space, split-level layout. | Needs a pickup with a fifth-wheel hitch and enough payload. Tall and heavy; height clearances matter. |
| Motorhome | A self-propelled RV. Smaller van and cab-chassis types up to bus-sized coaches. | No hitching, passengers can move around at stops, easy to set up. | You can’t unhitch to drive into town unless you tow a small car. Engine maintenance on top of house maintenance. |
| Truck camper | A camper unit that sits in a pickup bed. | Goes where trailers can’t, no towing. | Heavy for the truck; check payload carefully. |
The weight numbers
Most towing problems start with weight. The figures that matter are printed on the vehicle’s and trailer’s certification labels and in the owner’s manuals. Learn these terms before you buy a trailer or a tow vehicle.
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Dry or unloaded weight | The trailer as built, without water, propane, batteries, food or gear. Real camping weight is always higher, often by hundreds of kilograms. |
| GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) | The most the trailer, or the tow vehicle, may weigh fully loaded. Never exceed it. |
| Cargo carrying capacity | How much you can add to the trailer: water, propane, gear, food. Fresh water weighs about 1 kg per litre, so a full tank adds up fast. |
| Towing capacity | The heaviest trailer the vehicle is rated to pull, as set by its manufacturer for that exact configuration. Check the manual, not a brochure. |
| Tongue weight or pin weight | The downward load the trailer puts on the hitch (ball) or in the truck bed (fifth wheel). It counts against the tow vehicle’s payload. |
| Payload | What the tow vehicle can carry: people, gear in the vehicle, the hitch, and the tongue or pin weight. It’s often the first limit a family runs into, well before towing capacity. |
| GCWR (gross combined weight rating) | The most the tow vehicle and trailer together may weigh. |
Don’t tow at the edge of the ratings. A combination that’s legal on paper can still be a handful on Highway 3 in a 60 km/h crosswind. Weigh the loaded rig at a public scale, compare every number with every rating, and leave a margin.
Towing basics
Towing is a skill. Even experienced drivers find the first few trips tiring. Here are the basics; your vehicle’s and trailer’s manuals, and your hitch’s instructions, are the final word.
As a rule of thumb, vehicle owner’s manuals commonly call for a tongue weight of about 10 to 15% of the loaded trailer’s weight on a conventional (bumper-pull) trailer. Fifth wheels put more weight on the hitch. Too little tongue weight can make a trailer sway.
The hitch
- Match every part: the receiver class, the ball mount, the ball size and the coupler must all match each other and be rated for the load.
- Weight-distributing hitches spread tongue weight across the axles of a tow vehicle and trailer. Many travel trailers need one; follow the vehicle and trailer manuals. Some also include sway control.
- Fifth-wheel hitches must be rated for the pin weight and installed properly in the truck bed. After hitching, do a pull test and look to confirm the jaws have closed on the kingpin.
Every hook-up
- Coupler or jaws locked, with the pin or clip in place.
- Safety chains attached, crossed under the tongue, with enough slack to turn but not drag.
- Breakaway cable attached to the tow vehicle (not to the chains), so the trailer’s brakes apply if it ever separates.
- Electrical plug connected, then check running lights, brake lights and both turn signals with a helper.
- Trailer brakes tested with the brake controller at low speed before you leave the yard.
- Jack fully raised, wheel chocks removed and stowed.
- Mirrors adjusted so you can see down both sides of the trailer. Many rigs need towing mirrors.
- Walk around once more: steps up, doors and hatches latched, antenna down, slides in, awning secured, propane off if your manual says to travel with it off.
On the road
- Slow down. Stopping distances are longer, and everything happens slower. Give yourself much more following distance.
- Swing wide on turns. The trailer’s wheels cut inside the tow vehicle’s path.
- Know your height and length. Write them on a note on the dashboard. Gas station canopies, tree branches and campground gates all catch people out.
- If the trailer starts to sway, ease off the accelerator, hold the steering straight, and if you have a brake controller, apply the trailer brakes alone gently. Don’t slam on the vehicle brakes or steer sharply.
- Stop and check the hitch, chains, tires and load after the first few kilometres and at every stop. Feel the hubs; one much hotter than the others can mean a brake or bearing problem.
- Practise backing up in an empty parking lot before your first trip. Hold the bottom of the steering wheel: move your hand the way you want the trailer to go. A helper with clear hand signals is worth having.
Trailers must be registered, and Alberta requires working brakes on trailers above a set weight. Towing heavier combinations or using air brakes can also bring extra licence requirements. Check with an Alberta registry agent what your trailer needs and what your licence covers.
If you’re carrying bikes, our cycling guide covers racks, tongue weight and RVs.
Before every trip
Tires
Check pressure cold, on the trailer and the tow vehicle, to the figure on the label. Look for cracks and bulges. Trailer tires can age out before they wear out.
Lights and brakes
Running lights, brake lights, signals, and trailer brakes with the controller. Carry spare fuses and bulbs.
Batteries
House batteries charged, connections tight, and a charged battery pack for phones.
Propane and alarms
Tanks filled and secured, leak check done, CO and smoke alarms tested, fire extinguisher in date.
Water and tanks
Fresh water as needed (or carry less and fill at the campground to save weight), holding tanks empty.
The kit
Levelling blocks, chocks, drinking-water hose, pressure regulator, power adapters, sewer hose and gloves, tools, and the manuals.
Check the forecast for wind along your whole route, not just at the campground. Highway 3 west of Lethbridge, Highway 6 toward Waterton, and the long, open stretches north and east of the city are all exposed. If strong crosswinds are forecast, leaving a few hours earlier or a day later is often the safest choice.
Arriving and setting up
- Walk the site first. Look for the pedestal, water tap and sewer connection, overhanging branches, stumps, soft ground, and where the slide-outs and awning will go.
- Think about wind and sun. If you have a choice, point the nose or the narrow end toward the prevailing wind, which here is usually west or southwest, and keep the awning side out of the worst of it.
- Back in with a spotter. Agree on hand signals first. If the spotter goes out of sight in the mirror, stop.
- Chock the wheels on both sides before you unhitch.
- Level side to side with blocks under the wheels, then unhitch.
- Level front to back with the tongue jack or front landing gear.
- Lower the stabilizers until they’re snug. They stop rocking; they aren’t built to lift the trailer.
- Hook up power, water and sewer as described below.
- Open slides and awning once you’ve checked the space around them.
- Turn on propane and check appliances, then test the CO and smoke alarms.
Levelling
A level trailer is more comfortable to sleep in, keeps doors and drawers from swinging, and lets fridges designed to run level work properly. Many absorption-type RV fridges need to be close to level to work and stay healthy; check your manual.
- Use a level on the floor or a counter, or levelling indicators on the trailer.
- Side to side first, with blocks. Drive or back the low side’s wheels up onto levelling blocks or ramps. For tandem axles, block both wheels on that side together.
- Then front to back with the jack, after unhitching (for a travel trailer) or with the landing gear (for a fifth wheel).
- Motorhomes level with blocks under the wheels or built-in levelling jacks. Follow the manual.
- On soft ground, put boards or pads under jacks and stabilizers so they don’t sink, especially after rain.
- Re-check after rain or a few days on soft ground.
Hook-ups: power, water and sewer
Power
Campground sites are unserviced, powered, or fully serviced with water and sewer too. Powered sites in Alberta usually offer 15, 30 or 50 amp service; Park Lake Provincial Park, for example, lists 15 and 30 amp sites.
- Know your trailer’s service and carry the adapters you need. An adapter lets you plug in, but it doesn’t increase what the pedestal can supply.
- Turn the pedestal breaker off before plugging in or unplugging, then on again.
- Watch the load. Air conditioner, electric heater, kettle, microwave and hair dryer at once will trip a 15 or 30 amp breaker.
- Consider a surge protector or power monitor between the pedestal and your cord.
- Look after the cord. Don’t run it through standing water or where it can be driven over.
- Generators: Alberta Parks doesn’t allow them on powered sites except during an outage for medical equipment, and limits when they can run at other sites. Never run one inside, under or close to the trailer.
Water
- Use a hose meant for drinking water, kept only for that, with the ends capped when stored.
- Fit a pressure regulator at the tap. Campground water pressure can be high enough to damage RV plumbing.
- Consider an inline filter for taste and sediment. It doesn’t make untested water safe; see water treatment.
- Know the source. Some campgrounds have water that isn’t for drinking, or boil-water advisories. Read the signs and the park’s page. Waterton’s Belly River campground, for example, has no potable water.
- Carry a small kit of fittings so you can connect to different taps.
Sewer and dumping
- Wear disposable gloves, and keep a separate hose for rinsing the sewer gear.
- Dump black water first, then grey. The grey water rinses the hose.
- Keep the black tank valve closed until the tank is at least partly full, even on a full-service site, so solids flush out with the liquid.
- Use the dump station on your way out if your site isn’t serviced. Never empty tanks on the ground.
- Grey water counts too. On public land, Alberta’s rules say to take waste home or to a dump station, and campgrounds expect the same.
The water hookup kit
Every water hookup follows the same order: tap → protection → pressure → filter → hose → RV. Build it the same way every time and you avoid blown fittings, leaks, poor flow and bad water.
At a campground tap
- Tap (the spigot at the pedestal).
- Backflow preventer. It protects the park’s water supply, and some campgrounds require one.
- Pressure regulator, ideally an adjustable one with a gauge. Aim for about 40 to 50 psi. Campground pressure can spike well above that and burst RV fittings.
- Filter: a sediment filter, then a carbon filter, or at least one inline carbon filter.
- Drinking-water hose.
- 90° elbow at the RV’s city-water inlet, so the weight of the hose doesn’t crack the inlet.
No hookup: tank and pump
On a dry site you can fill from a water tank in the truck with a 12-volt demand pump: tank → pump → hose-barb-to-hose adapter → hose → RV. Use proper hose clamps on the barbs and put a shutoff valve right after the pump.
The minimum kit to carry
- Adjustable pressure regulator with a gauge
- 90° elbow for the RV inlet
- Y-splitter with shutoffs (one side to the RV, one for rinsing or filling jugs)
- Two or three adapters: female-to-female and male-to-male
- Inline shutoff valve
- Inline filter and a spare cartridge
- Two drinking-water hoses, about 7.5 m and 15 m (25 ft and 50 ft), plus a spare
- Hose-barb adapters and clamps for a pump setup
- Spare hose washers. A missing washer causes most drips.
Before the first fill each season, sanitize the fresh water system and hoses following your RV maker’s instructions.
Propane, alarms and fire
Propane runs the stove, furnace, water heater and often the fridge. It’s safe when it’s looked after, and dangerous when it isn’t.
- Check for leaks before each trip and after any work on the system. A soapy-water solution brushed on the fittings bubbles at a leak. If you smell gas, turn the tanks off, open the doors, get everyone out, and don’t use switches or flames.
- Turn propane off when it isn’t in use, as Halifax Fire advises, and follow your manual on travelling with it on or off and on refuelling.
- Have appliances serviced and cleaned regularly. A sooty flame or a furnace that smells is a warning.
- CO alarms expire. Every RV with fuel-burning appliances should have a working carbon monoxide alarm. Check the expiry date and test it regularly.
- Smoke alarms: photoelectric types suit small, enclosed spaces and give fewer false alarms from cooking. Test it every trip. Remove or store the battery over a freezing winter so it doesn’t fail early.
- Fire extinguisher by the door, in date, and everyone knows how to use it.
- Two ways out. Know where the emergency exit window is, and make sure children can open it.
Never use the stove or oven to heat the trailer, and never bring a portable fuel-burning heater, barbecue or generator inside. The furnace is vented to the outside; those aren’t. See carbon monoxide.
Wind on the site and the highway
Our wind is the thing newcomers to RV camping here are least ready for. Awnings, slide toppers, tent-trailer canvas and tall, flat trailer sides all catch it.
Awnings
- Roll the awning in whenever you leave the site, go to bed, or the wind rises. A gust can arrive with no warning, and an awning can be torn off, bent, or thrown over the roof in seconds.
- Lower one end slightly so rain runs off rather than pooling.
- Use tie-downs or stakes if you leave it out in light wind, but don’t trust them in strong gusts.
- Look out for neighbours. If someone’s awning is flapping while they’re away, it’s kind to let the campground staff know.
Tent trailers
- Point the narrow end into the wind if you can, and lower the roof in a severe wind warning.
- Canvas is cold and noisy in wind. Sleep with warmer bedding than you’d use in a hard-sided trailer.
- Dry canvas fully after a wet trip to prevent mildew.
On the highway
- Crosswinds push a trailer sideways and can set up sway. Slow down, keep both hands on the wheel, and leave more room around you.
- Watch for gusts at gaps in shelter belts, on bridges, at coulee crossings and when big trucks pass.
- Empty trailers are lighter and can be pushed around more than loaded ones.
- Know when to stop. Pulling over somewhere safe, pointing into the wind, and waiting it out is always an option.
Lightning and RVs
Environment and Climate Change Canada says pop-up campers with fabric sides and fibreglass RVs are not safe in lightning, because a strike can go right through them. Steel or aluminum RVs are acceptable, but can still be affected when plugged into shore power or with jacks down on the ground. A hard-topped metal vehicle is the safe choice. See lightning.
Opening up in spring
A trailer that sat all winter often has visitors: mice. Their droppings can carry hantavirus, a rare but serious disease in Alberta. The Government of Alberta’s advice for cleaning up a closed space:
- Open doors and windows and leave for at least 30 minutes before you start.
- Never sweep or vacuum droppings or nests dry. That puts the virus into the air.
- Soak droppings, nests and dead mice with one part bleach to nine parts water, or a household disinfectant, and leave it for five minutes.
- Wear rubber gloves, wipe up and bag everything, wash the gloves before taking them off, then wash your hands.
- For a heavy infestation in a poorly ventilated space, call Health Link 811 for advice first.
Then flush and sanitize the fresh water system following your manual, check the roof and seals for winter damage, test every alarm, check propane fittings, and charge the batteries.
Sources
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Lightning safety when camping (pop-up and fibreglass RVs, shore power and jacks): canada.ca
- Halifax Regional Municipality, Tent and trailer camping fire safety (CO alarm expiry and testing, photoelectric smoke alarms, propane leaks and shut-off, winter battery removal): halifax.ca
- Health Canada, Infographic: Carbon monoxide (no generators, barbecues or camping stoves indoors): canada.ca
- Alberta Parks, Generators in campgrounds: albertaparks.ca
- Alberta Parks, Park Lake campground (15 and 30 amp powered sites): albertaparks.ca
- Parks Canada, Belly River campground, Waterton Lakes National Park (no potable water): parks.canada.ca
- Government of Alberta, Camping on public land (waste and dump stations): alberta.ca
- Government of Alberta, Reducing the risk of hantavirus: alberta.ca
- Your vehicle’s, trailer’s and hitch’s manuals and certification labels are the final word on weights, hitching, levelling, propane and appliances.