It could have went bad!

[cougar28]

What's the single worst thing that you did or didn't do that could have really went bad but didn't?
Couple years ago first trip of the year. One of those spur of the moment trip-got in a hurry because getting off work late. Get home the DW already loaded most of the stuff. I jumped on the tractor and use the bucket to load and install the 5th wheel hitch. Get that done hook the rv up -do a walk around all is good and hit the road to the camp ground.
Get there all is good for the weekend- pack up head home. Get home park the rv in the carport-unhook and notice on a little table I have there my 4 hitch bed rail pins! Yep pull the rv 40 mile round trip with the hitch not pined to the bed rails.

[2oldman]

I scene a deer, almost hit it. That could have went, or gone, bad.

[ksg5000]

When newbie I didn't know that stopping an RV is tougher than getting it to go fast. Didn't end up hitting/hurting anybody but did have to change my underwear.

[goducks10]

Bought an Andersen 5th hitch a few years back. Hitched up for a trip and took off down the interstate. Got to our camp spot, backed in and when I went to pull the release cable it was already released. I drove 70 miles down the interstate at 65+ mph without the Andersen coupler secured to the ball. It was mostly flat except for a few bouncy overpass bridges.

[schlep1967]

Not an RV and not my error. I was working at one of the larger trucking companies in the Carlisle Pa area. Breaking down a set of doubles that came into the yard I noticed a problem. The pin of the second trailer was not in the fifth-wheel like it was supposed to be. It was sitting in an indentation in the top of the plate. The unit came from Dayton Ohio to Carlisle like that.

[Jayco-noslide]

I've lost count. Entered an exit ramp and saw the towed car in my left outside mirror. That's not right I thought. One side of the tow bar had disconnected allowing the car to run right up behind the MH. Bent the tow bar. Officer helped disconnect and wife followed in car the rest of the way home. New $900 tow bar with some insurance help. I'll never know how or why the safety pin was not in the tow bar connection. Was it my error, vandalism at a stop or did it break. Obviously could have been worse.

[drsteve]

Once we had trailer brake shoe retainers let go, allowing the shoes to wad up inside the drum and causing clouds of smoke to billow from the wheel. Pulled the drum, removed the shoes, continued on our way.

Another time I was carrying a 250 lb dirt bike on a bumper rack attached to the rear of the TT. It was all good when the fresh water tank was full, but on the way home lack of tongue weight set up a sway event that nearly put me in the median. I found a place to fill the water tank and change my underwear, and made it home. Never used the bumper rack again.

Last year we were barely a mile from the driveway--first intersection, in fact--when the brake pedal goes to the floor. Went home, replaced the rusted out brake line, and was back on the road in a couple of hours.

[southernsky]

How about close calls with wildlife? Traveling out west coming around a curve in a mountian road. See a big tan thing in the road, too close to hit brakes. Thinking it was a elk but wait, not an Elk, a huge boulder in the road. Just enough room to go between it and guardrail by inches. Traveling in Wind River area, Pronghorn decided to shoot across the road, missed by inches. Don't know who had bigger eyes, wife or pronghorn. Driving through northern Arkansas, telling wife that there were elk in the area. She said yeah right while munching on her sandwich. You guessed it....elk crossed right in front of us. Thought she was gonna choke to death on that sandwich. Just a few of our close encounters. Think I might invest in a big bumper with grill guard.

[BobsYourUncle]

SAR Tracker, you reminded me of another incident.....

Coming home from a fishing trip out of Falkland BC, heading down a long hill towards the highway to Kamloops, towing a 25 foot TT, did a usual mirror check....

Gee, the TT looks off kilter. Can't put my finger on it, something's not right. Why can I see more of the trailer on one side than the other? And it's not parallel to my truck... Look again, again, back and forth in the mirrors and yup, something is wrong.

I pulled over into a roadside pullout i just happened to be close to and got out for a look. Back and forth, side to side, I see nothing wrong. Hitch is good, tires ok, hmmmmm.

Got back in, hit the highway again and same thing. Something is not right at all. My trailer is towing crooked. It's dog-tracking real bad.

Pulled over again, same thing, I see nothing wrong. Check check check everything. Nothing out of the ordinary. One side to the other, looking back and forth at the wheels.

And then I noticed, one pair of tires are nearly touching, the other has about 5 inches between them. Strange.....

Climbed under for a peek and one spring is right out of the shackle and just floating! Egads! :E The nut and bolt were gone! The whole axel walked forward until the tires nearly touched! No wonder it was dog-tracking so bad!

Again, a truck full of tools and hardware to the rescue. Found a bolt, nut, a little undersize, and some washers. Had a miserable time trying to get the axel back and the spring in the shackle, but got it done and back on the road again so I could tow it in to get a proper bolt.

Another close call that could have been disastrous!

[Terryallan]

Have forgotten to install the sway control bar. and when I got home found it laying on the trailer tongue. Didn't bother the way it pulled, but could have fallen off, and hurt someone

[SAR_Tracker]

Had a wheel bearing self-destruct on the trailer. AAA to the rescue, flatbed'ed (is that a word?) 85 miles to home for free.

Another time had everything loaded in the truck (quads, gas, gear, etc...) happened to look in the wheel well, and one of the bolts holding the rear leaf spring was backed out almost all the way. No idea where the nut went!

[PartyOf_Five]

Old Guy! Hilarious! We've had numerous mishaps, Always with a prayer, and a dutiful and deserved kick from DW. Forgotten hitch pin, compartment left open, door latched open, drain not closed- no matter how you check it, you usually check it without fully paying attention.

[cougar28]

Walaby wrote:
I've only been RVing for about 4 years. Fortunately, I have not yet had one of those moments. I'll have to bookmark this thread just to remind me once in a while to take my time and double check everything.

Coming home and finding the pins sitting on the table would freak me out.

Mike

When I seen those all I could think about was what if that had came loose and hurt or killed someone! The rv one thing but someones life!

[old_guy]

after reading the above posts I see I've lived a sheltered life

[BobsYourUncle]

Years ago, coming home to Surrey BC from Grande Prairie Alberta, towing a small old Estavilla TT.

I got within about 200 miles of home, and did a usual mirror check. Hmmmmm..... something looks off kilter... Checked the rearview mirror, TT appears to be sitting on a weird angle. What the heck??

Checked the tires, nope, no flats. What the???? I was cruising along about 65-70 MPH, slowed it down a lot, checking the mirrors more as I did. Better pull over. No pullout available, only guardrail both sides. Drove about 40 for the next few miles until I saw a rest area. Pulled in, got it safely stopped.

I got out of my truck, did a scan of things, tires ok, but why is the nose nearly dragging on the ground?

And then I saw it! One side of the A frame front hitch on the TT was broken nearly right through just under the front of the trailer! Metal completely fractured, hanging on by a prayer and a song! :E:E Other side was bent under the stress too. The whole front of the TT was nose down, nearly on the pavement.

Holy friggin doodle! I literally broke out into a cold sweat from the knowledge of how this could have ended!

Fortunately for me, I was towing with my work truck full of cordless tools. I got out my recip, drills, bolts and some pieces of aluminum extrusions in the back of the truck, and a nearby angle steel sign post that somehow... well, sort of mysteriously... you know, just came out of the ground and fell over right by my truck.... Not sure how that happened! :E:E:h:h

Several hours later, got it all jacked up and fish plated together as a temporary fix to get it home. Made it back home, keeping under 50 and my eyes constantly in the mirrors. Took it to a professional steel fab shop and had it properly repaired.

Whew! That was scary!

Edit fix typos...

[romore]

Back in my youth we were stock car racing on a budget. We towed the car on a heavy trailer designed for farm equipent behind a Chevelle, the trailer brakes if it had any weren't hooked up (no controller in car) and no safety chains. We figured if the trailer left we weren't going with it.
One night we returned from a track 75 miles away at around 80 mph. The next morning looking at the car I noticed a weld broken on the hitch, The end of the ball stud and a portion of the nut were ground off from hitting the pavement, we could only imagine the light show that caused.I am amazed we didn't kill ourselves that summer.