What was your first RV noob disaster (or near disaster)?

gbopp wrote:

rbrand wrote:
I totaled the tow truck that was sent to help me.

I think we have a winner. :B

If I could add. That was our Honeymoon in 1966.

This wasn't my first as I can't remember that far back but it was the first with my current camper. Lit the oven with one of those pistol-shaped lighters then laid the lighter on the stove grate ... not considering the fact that I also had a fry pan going so the grate was hot. It went off like a pistol all right! Luckily no injury or serious damage.

Slide refused to retract & it d took some doing to figure out the mechanics of the thing. A few turns on the manual shaft, when found, & off the slide went on its own power. Later in same trip the BR acted up. Took a bit to discover that the storage area floor under the bed had to be removed to gain access to bedroom slide workings.

Gotcha now.

Many years ago with my Dad's 5er. I was driving his Ford V-8 with a manual transmission. Parked the 5er and truck at a RV park office. Put the truck in Neutral and applied the park brake. Was about 10 yard away when I heard someone yell "your truck is rolling". I looked back to see the truck and 5er were rolling backwards down the driveway. Quick thinking park resident ran up, got the door open, jumped in and stopped the truck just before it ran into a lagoon.

Drum Parking brakes only work to stop the truck from rolling forward. They do not work if your nose up on a hill.

No one hurt and no damage, just a couple of lessons learned about park brakes and leaving the transmission in neutral.

Once when leaving a small Alberta town I thought , boy everybody sure is friendly here, all waving at me. When I got home I realized why, my antenna was in the up position. Needless to say I had a repair to do before the next trip.

gbopp wrote:

rbrand wrote:
I totaled the tow truck that was sent to help me.

I think we have a winner. :B

Yeah, anyone can top this one or should we close the thread?

I tried to wipe the AC off the top of the camper. Kinda pales by comparison.......

In 1980, my father and I went out for the weekend in our new 1980 Midas Mini class C motorhome. On the drive home, we stopped at a rest stop for lunch, but dad forgot to put the folding steps back in. He backed up into a pole and bent the steps. They could not be folded back in, so we had to drive another two hours with them sticking out.

Everything went well until literally a block from our house a guy in a parked Toyota Celica opened his door as we were driving by. The steps caught his door and wrapped it forward until it was smashed against his front fender. The guy was jumping up and down as we drove away, not realizing we had to drive back around the block.

My father parked behind the Toyota waiting for a city police officer to arrive. My father was an L.A. Marshal, and pointed out to the officer the Toyota was parked in a red zone (curb was painted red all the way to the intersection). The guy in the Toyota was given a ticket and had to pay for our new steps, the damage to our door and some new decals.

The new steps were always put away promptly after that!

When I had a 40' Class A that I was living in for about a year, I decided to take the rig with my fullsize 1500 Ram on a tow dolly to a bowling tournament in Biloxi. The trip was only 5 hours. 10 minutes after hitting the interstate, I pull over to retighten the tow dolly straps. While pulling over, I hear a thud. I turn on the rear view camera and notice the truck is a bit closer to the RV than normal. I get out of the RV and notice that the straps had come completely loose and the truck had rolled forward. I forgot to secure the truck to the tow dolly with a chain. The truck is now stuck with the tow dolly wheels between the front and back wheels of the truck. Door and side panel damage to the tuck. No damage to the RV. 4 hours later, I was able to get the truck unstuck (with the help of a tow truck driver). This is all happening at around 9 pm and in a very bad part of town.

After finally getting unstuck and dropping the truck back off at the RV park, I return to the road. After 4 hours of driving, the RV breaks down. One new fuel pump later and some other things, I decide to cut my losses and head back home. I never made it to the bowling tournament.

On the way home, the rig breaks down again. The roadside service technician could never figure out what was wrong. I would drive for 30 minutes and then have to sit for an hour to let the engine cool back down. It wasn't overheating, but would lose power after the engine would get to normal temperature. I could only drive about 25 miles an hour for about 30 minutes before having to stop and rest for about an hour. It took 9 hours to travel 120 miles.

After getting home, I have the rig serviced. I forgot what was wrong but it only cost $300 to repair. The "repairs" from the roadside service personnel cost me over $1,000. I am just glad the breakdown occurred when it was just me and not on a trip with my son.

Lessons learned: Secure the vehicle to the tow dolly with the proper size straps AND with a chain. Make sure your RV is serviced and ready for travel prior to its maiden voyage. Have good roadside insurance.

...double post

gbopp wrote:

rbrand wrote:
I totaled the tow truck that was sent to help me.

I think we have a winner. :B

Yep. I cannot top this.