Potentially dangerous mistake in March RV Magazine

[BarneyS]

I received the March issue of RV Magazine yesterday and feel the need to point
out a potentially dangerous statement, probably made in error, by long
time contributor Mike Wendland. On the top of page 51 under the
heading "Chock Time" it states:
"If you have a trailer, unhitch it and
then chock the wheels."

This statement is backwards and can be very dangerous if done that
way. You should ALWAYS chock the wheels, on both sides of the RV,
FIRST before you unhook from the tow vehicle. If not done in that
order, you risk the trailer rolling away from you with no way to stop
it if you are parked on a slight rearward slope. If it were to roll forward, it could pin the person between the truck and trailer or put a serious dent in the tow vehicle.

Another even more catastrophic thing that can happen is that the
trailer will pivot on one set of wheels and the tongue will suddenly
move sideways when released from the ball. This can be a bit
difficult on a persons legs and could even knock them down and be run
over with the trailers tongue.

I have personally witnessed both situations but fortunately no damage
was done. All this can be avoided if you always chock the wheels
first thing upon backing into a site when arriving and before you
uncouple from the tow vehicle. This should also be the last thing you
pack up when leaving a site.

Hope this helps someone to not make a serious mistake.:)
Barney

[valhalla360]

Lwiddis wrote:
I wonder if the editor is an experienced RVer or just responsible for verbs, punctuation and sentence structure?

Realistically, it's just a simples mistake. Mistake yes but nothing nefarious.

[bucky]

Lwiddis wrote:
I wonder if the editor is an experienced RVer or just responsible for verbs, punctuation and sentence structure?

Finding one of them would be a good trick in itself. Proof reading has gone the way of the dodo bird.

[Lwiddis]

“Interestingly, the magazine does not make that very easy. I searched all over for a "contact us" type link and found none”

Difficult for most publications! They don’t want to hear from readers.

[Grit_dog]

Well at some point common sense prevents Darwinism. And if you park your trailer on a slope and attempt to unhook it without blocking the wheels on the downhill side, you probably don’t have the mental capacity to do other things required to safely tow a trailer.

[bob213]

With the reviews the magazine has been getting they probably took down their "Contact Us" link.

[azdryheat]

It's ironic that I always chock my trailer before un-hitching yet none of the trailers at my dealership are ever chocked and none have rolled away (and our yard is not level) even in the severe summer storms. When I'm parking trailers for our RV show at the fairgrounds sometimes the tongue will swing a few inches but that's because the axles are under tension otherwise they stay chockless where I park them.

[BarneyS]

wildtoad wrote:
Snip...

On edit, did you attempt to report the error?

Yes, I have attempted to report it on several areas including e-mails and Private Messages. No replies as of yet.
Interestingly, the magazine does not make that very easy. I searched all over for a "contact us" type link and found none.
Barney

[Cummins12V98]

Good catch Barney!!!

[wildtoad]

Hah... I was at Huntington Beach State Park here in SC about a year ago, and the couple was unhooking a vintage TT and were having issues getting the younger off the ball. Well, they finally did it, and low an behold the site was not exactly level and it started to roll backwards. So yes, chock first... (And no harm was done due to some quick thinking)

On edit, did you attempt to report the error?

[Lwiddis]

I wonder if the editor is an experienced RVer or just responsible for verbs, punctuation and sentence structure?

[Guy_Roan]

That is the exact mistake I made many years ago as a newbie.
I was on a grade and removed my safety chains and then unhitched with out chalking the wheels. If one of the maintenance workers wasn't right there to throw a block under a wheel. My trailer would have been down in a creek

Guy

[dedmiston]

Thanks so much for posting this. I can't believe that point made it through their editorial review.