Cathy
I bought a 17b in May. My first camping trip was the Escape Rally in Osooyoos and my friends made fun of me because I spent most of it sleeping. It was quite a stretch of road for my first trip and to tow for four hours. One of my friends rode with me on the trip there. On the way back I did it alone but followed another friend just in case something happened.
My second trip was at the end of June to the Oregon Coast. I drove to Lacey and stayed the night at Cabellas and did the rest of the trip to Fort Stevens on my own but following friends who were also making the journey (thank god for them!) After that drive, it took me 3 days to sleep. Eventually I had to take a gravol to help me sleep.
Learning to trailer, is challenging and daunting, but soooo worth it!! I've had a least four trips since then and towing becomes easier with each time. I no longer have to grip the wheel hard and be overly vigilant about the traffic around me. I go slow and let people pass me. I learned how to back up myself by going slow and not letting people waiting to pass get me flustered. Backing up was very intimidating at first but after while, it gets pretty easy.
No doubt about it, when I first started out, I thought every time I went over a bump that my trailer was pulling me back and off the road and it felt very unstable. Now I don't even notice it. I pull my trailer with a 2011 Nissan Xterra.
I also used to think hooking up was scary because what if I missed something? But it's easy now and I am able to be confident in myself being able to do it right. I just give myself enough time not to rush
I also use hitchin' rods, which are very easy to use and it takes me very little time to hook up. It may be worthwhile to learn how to hook up without the rods in the future, but for now it works best for me.
Believe me, If I can do it, YOU can do it