Setting Up Camp

Dedication: I’m writing this for all the wannabe Alto owners who have never towed an RV or camped in a trailer. Maybe you have never backed up into a spot. Well, I had done exactly NONE of those things before I picked up my Safari Condo Alto 1743. I figured it out, and you will too.

Arriving at the Campground

Look for the check-in, either at a ranger station, entry building, or camp host campsite. There are usually signs that point to where check-in is, and big parking areas or pullouts where you can leave your rig, if needed.

Don’t worry about having your site number handy. I never do. They find you by last name 99% of the time. Make sure you confirm checkout date and time (it varies a lot, from 11AM to 3PM in most places) and get a map of the campground. I usually ask the person to draw the route to my campsite on the map, because they often have tips about approaching a tricky site.

Arriving At Your Site

Now, go slowly and follow the map to get to your site. When you approach it, slow down and see what it looks like. There is absolutely no shame in circling the campground if you overshoot your site or if you need to try backing in again. Trust me on this. My personal record is four times through a loop before I managed to get in!

Pull-Through Sites

If you have a pull-through site, there is no backing involved, you just drive in like you own it. Because you do. This is the easiest possible way to get into a site. It’s a bit like winning the lottery. So much less work. 

You will still need to level, chock, and unhitch, so read those parts of the Manually Backing In section below. 

Back-In Sites

Take a few minutes to look over the site, whether you’re going to back in or use the CM to do it.

• Locate the water and power outlets if your site has them.
• Check the location of trees, picnic tables, fire pits and other obstacles. Sometimes the picnic table needs to be moved, for example, to provide enough room for the Alto.
• Check the ground for potholes, bumps, sharp objects, and anything else that might impede your progress.

Using the Caravan Mover

If you have the Caravan Mover and want to use it, pull off to the side of the road that your site is on. There’s usually enough room on the road for someone else to squeeze by, especially if you put one side of your rig’s wheels off the pavement and in the dirt. Now, get out of the tow vehicle and set up the CM for work:

• Attach the CM rubber wheels to the lower end of the jack under the tongue.
• Inside the front storage hatch, insert the big red key and turn it all the way to the right.

• Grab the CM remote control and hold down the Select button for 7 full seconds.

• Now, hold down the two Rollers In buttons for a full four seconds, or until you hear both sides of the motors behind the CM’s rollers start to move the rollers into position.
• While you’re waiting for the CM rollers to fully engage, remove the weight distribution bars, if you have them.
• After the CM noise stops, check that the CM rollers are firmly pressed against the Alto’s tires.
• Now, unlock the hitch and move the lever so it is pointing straight up. This lets you start the process of disconnecting your tow vehicle from the Alto. (No, you don’t need to chock the wheels, the CM rollers are holding the Alto in position.)
• Crank the tongue jack until it rises above the ball of the tow vehicle. Now your tow vehicle and the Alto are separated.
• Use the CM remote control to move the Alto where you want it to go. You have about 15-20 minutes of battery power so don’t feel like you have to get it right the first time.
• Check the level of the Alto, front to back and side to side. Some people don’t care much about this, but propane fridges and me care a lot. You can use a portable level, little bubble levels mounted on the front and side of your Alto, or a phone app to ensure things are level, your choice. If you’ve driven onto a nice lovely concrete pad, chances are your Alto is perfectly level. If you’re on dirt or sandy ground, chances are you’ll need to drive one wheel up onto blocks or use something like an Anderson leveler to make both sides even. Then check the front to back, which usually means raising or lowering the tongue using the jack.
• After you’ve leveled out, chock the tires! This ensures your Alto isn’t going anywhere. Chock both tires, unless you have an Anderson leveler, which is like a chock for that tire.

• Now, you can go back to the CM remote control and disengage the CM rollers. That’s the center button just above the Select button.
• Turn and remove the big red key inside the storage hatch and safely stow the CM remote control.
• If you have an R-series Alto, you can now raise the roof.
  Note: The Alto must be level to raise (and lower) the roof.
  Tip: If you are using an awning that goes into the keder rail, it’s easier to thread it through the rail BEFORE you raise the roof.

Manually Backing In

Ok, you’ve pulled ahead of your site just a bit and looked around. Now you’re ready to back in.

First, take off the weight distribution bars, if you have them. (Note: If you have the CM wheels and are not using the CM, put them on the tongue jack now, just leave them fully retracted. It’s harder to get the CM wheels on without the WD bars for me). Warning: The standard Safari Condo advice is not to back with the WD bars on because if you hit a pothole or rock or something, it might torque or bend the Alto’s lightweight aluminum frame.

Now, back that Alto right in your site. If you’re a goddess of backing up, you’ll do it on the first try. If you’re like me, there can be a lot of going back and then going forward. I’m not going to provide instruction on backing up, there are a ton of YouTube videos for that.

After the Alto is in position, you’ll need to level it and chock the tires before you unhitch from your tow vehicle.

• Check the level of the Alto, side to side. Some people don’t care much about this, but propane fridges and me care a lot. You can use a portable level, little bubble levels mounted on the front and side of your Alto, or a phone app to ensure things are level, your choice. If you’ve driven onto a nice lovely concrete pad, chances are your Alto is perfectly level. If you’re on dirt or sandy ground, chances are you’ll need to drive one wheel up onto blocks or use something like an Anderson leveler to make both sides even.

• After you’ve leveled side to side, chock the tires! This ensures your Alto isn’t going anywhere. Chock both tires, unless you have an Anderson leveler, which is like a chock for that tire.
• Lower the tongue jack to the ground, using a wheel, jack stand, blocks, or pieces of wood for it to rest on. If you’ve put CM wheels on the jack stand earlier, great; I usually use them because it makes hitching up way easier to use the CM. The tongue jack and some kind of stand/wheel on it provides the all-important third point of stability for the Alto (the tires are the other two points).

Setting Up Camp

Get out that big yellow power cable and your surge protector, if you have one (and you probably should). Plug in the surge protector and check that the lights or messages indicate good, solid power, then plug in the yellow cable. Run the cable to the Alto and then plug it in. This involves lining up the plug to the holes, pushing it in, and then screwing the narrow black ring on the power cable to the Alto’s matching threads. This makes sure the power cable isn’t easily jerked out by someone tripping on the cable. Yes, it’s bright yellow but people still trip over it.

Time to fill up the fresh water tank. If you have an external, portable water filter (usually a blue Camco filter), put that on the faucet, then attach the hose. Run the water through the hose for a minute or so (water the plants and trees) to get any old water or funky fumes out of there before you push it into the water inlet in the Alto.

If you want a permanent connection between faucet and Alto, attach the metal regulator to the Alto end and then screw the hose into that.

Now you can lower the front and back stabilizers to keep the Alto from rocking as you move around inside it. If the ground is rocky or sandy, using leveling blocks or pieces of wood between stabilizer and ground helps. 

Relax and Enjoy!

You’re done with the hard stuff. Now you just need to set up chairs and tables and grills and anything else you brought, and then sit down and enjoy your new campsite!

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Always walk through life as if you have something new to learn and you will.

Vernon Howard