Mistakes we don't want to repeat!

Hooking up those safety chains and making sure the hitch is secured to the ball is #1 for me.

Recently drove too close to the side of an old narrow rusty bridge and wiped out the awning...

Don't take a motorhome "offroading".

OK - we weren't exactly offroading, but when on a narrow gravel road (looking for the gravestones of some of my ancestors) and met a UPS truck making deliveries..... we pulled as far to the right as we could. Close enough to rip the (retracted) step off our Class C on a dirt bank....

Never trust guests when you tell them not to use the toilet when having no hookups, especially when comfort station is 3 sites away.

Don't assume everything still works like it did when you parked last Fall or Winter. Test out all your systems before hitting the road! .. all of them!

After one winter some time ago, we did our first campout. I thought I had everything covered, checked, tested. Then came time for the first shower and OH CRAP! The shower surround was cracked! Sometime over the winter it froze so hard, (shrunk) the stress on the screw holes (an no give), simply split the surround! I don't know how I missed that, but I did!

No matter what, walk all the way around the rig before you climb in and drive away.

Make sure you chock the wheels before unhooking.

My fist TT had a single axel. First time camping I unhooked it then went into the trailer and walked toward the back. As I did the front jack came off of the ground and the trailer started to roll down the hill toward the lake with me inside of it!!! I panicked and ran for the door which was near the front of the trailer. When I did this the jack came back down and dug into the ground stopping the trailer from rolling any further. Thankfully it had not rolled too far and nobody saw. I hooked back up and pulled it back onto the camping spot. Then, drove to town and bought some chocks.

Artum Snowbird wrote:
No matter what, walk all the way around the rig before you climb in and drive away.

X2

If someone strikes up a conversation when you are doing your breakdown procedure, check it all again before you roll down the highway. That antenna, wheel chock or power cord is real easy to forget.

Do another walk after you are done. Its never a waste of time. There will be few times that you'll notice something important after you were Positive that you were already good to go.

bob_b wrote:

Artum Snowbird wrote:
No matter what, walk all the way around the rig before you climb in and drive away.

X2

If someone strikes up a conversation when you are doing your breakdown procedure, check it all again before you roll down the highway. That antenna, wheel chock or power cord is real easy to forget.

Do another walk after you are done. Its never a waste of time. There will be few times that you'll notice something important after you were Positive that you were already good to go.

Not just around, check under and above too!

At least 3 times in the past 2 years my brother forgot to close the dump valves on the camper after dumping to go home. You would think that the FIRST time he got soaked with holding tank remnants when he went camping again would have been enough to remind him.....

Caveman Charlie wrote:
Make sure you chock the wheels before unhooking.

Make sure you un-chock the wheels before leaving.

Bruce