stupid mistake

ALMOST been there, ALMOST done that!

:S

Don't beat yourself up to bad OP. It was a mistake that you learned the hard way that I bet doesn't happen again.

I HAVE been there, done that. Positioning the 5er in my back in site, blocking the access road, two trucks waiting to get by, got in hurry, ........... :M

Lesson learned the hard way. Take your time, follow your routine, no matter the distraction.

I did the same thing a few weeks ago and felt totally stupid. I had it disconnected, went into the house for a few minutes then went to go to the hardware store, hopped in the truck and WHAM!!! Taco'd my gate.

Fortunately a guy had a 5th wheel gate on Craigslist for $125 that fit my truck so I went and snagged it. So much easier to load and unload the fiver now. Should have got one the day I got the trailer. I did find a used factory tailgate, but need to get a couple of dents fixed in it and get it painted. No hurry as I won't be using it as long as it's traveling season.

Which leads me to pose a question. How many of us have and use a physical checklist when hooking up and unhooking? I do not, but I often wonder how long it will be before I regret that. You gotta figure, if airline pilots are required to actually, physically complete a checklist, who are we to think that we can remember everything everytime?

-Speak

Seems like whenever I do something similar.....half the campground is watching.

All you can do is get out of your truck and take a bow. It's all part of the adventure and part of the stories you can tell.

This was what I just knew I would do at some point, so I bit the bullet and bought a 5th wheel tailgate to replace the OEM. And it saves the extra steps of getting out, lowering the tailgate, and then raising it back after unhooking. Win, win.

I did it last summer. Sorry to hear it happened to you. I bought one of those replacement tailgates with the "V" cut into it to help prevent it in the future.

STUPID,(Just Kidding) we have all made dumb mistakes like that, it's just that some of us will admit it.

Thanks for the responses. At least now I know I'm not the only one that's ever done this.
I think a check list is a great idea. I'm going to laminate a card with these points and put it on my sunvisor. I'll make myself read it, no matter how silly it might seem at the time.