What mistakes have you made that might help others...?

[d3500ram]

There is another thread going about a member who shared with us his misfortune on his camper. In it, was a very informative discussion as to how best resolve the problem. But more subtle was the message for me to take some extra time when loading/ unloading my TC. I applaud that member for sharing. There were other members who were sharing their mistakes. And it got me thinking... can we post here what things you would like to take back (regarding TC's) that will help others by learning from mistakes.

I will read posts about putting gas in their diesel trucks on other forums. Every time I read problems like this it reminds me to take the extra time in order to not be "that guy." Whenever I read of others misfortune I vicariously learn through that person's mistakes.

I learned the hard way to make sure to pull the truck WAY OUT OF THE WAY once it is free from the camper. I once pulled out "just enough" and though it was enough space for the camper to be lowered. I recall kicking myself when upon lowering the camper did I realize the front portion of the overhead part (where it just starts to turn horizontal) had caught the rear part of the truck bed above the tail light. Jeez! only another 3" and it would have cleared just fine. Uhg! It dented the metal of the camper but did not puncture the skin. But now I make sure now that I pull the truck forward MORE than enough to insure room so it does not ever happen again.

Upon inspection pre-purchase of another past camper I noticed a clear outline of the end profile of a gutter. Yea, the kind on a house. When pointing it out to the owner they said yep, the TC was too close to the house when raising it (it was a pop-up TC.) I bought the camper and treated that dent as if I did it myself... The camper was in otherwise perfect condition except for this dent and it too was not punctured.

I have been lucky in my mistakes and no one was ever injured and these are very minor. What can you share (and perhaps laugh at) about your misfortunes that may help me and other to perhaps take away a learning lesson from your mishaps.

[gitpicker2009]

If you happen to carry a gun, make sure you don't set it on the bumper/step ledge. I did that, and then drove 150 miles to my land in Nacogdoches. Imagine my surprise when I walked around to the back and saw my pistol and holster still sitting on the bumper. Always do a walk around and look DOWN as well as up.

[gitpicker2009]

Experience is that which allows you to recognize a mistake when you make it again:)

[T3PAIR]

During a long road trip a couple years ago, we had stopped for a lunch break . After lunch, I locked up the camper and jumped in the truck, and we took off down the road. At our next stop several hours later, I walk to the rear of the camper to unlock it. Can't find my keys. I look up at the camper door and see my keys hanging from the door lock! Somehow I got distracted and left them there from our previous stop. I don't know what was more alarming: The fact that I left the keys in the door, or that I didn't even realize they were missing.

[deltabravo]

garbinator wrote:
Needing to climb in the camper to retrieve my left inside hat, had me quickly realize my new Enterstates were completely dead! After replacing with brand new, I got an entire month out of those new batteries before once again discovering completely dead batteries due to power switch on, but house 30 Amp connection breaker off.

I went to a different warranty station this time around.

Why didn't you just charge them up? (the second set that were discharged?)

[garbinator]

Even though the manual explains to keep the fridge door open during storage, DO NOT leave open on the 2016 Lance 1172!

After leaving it open, retracting the slide in crushed the door and mounting brackets. Norcold has a special slide bolt built in to secure the fridge door just for this purpose. My bad.

Second, I failed to turn off my fridge. After a week or so not plugged in to power as I thought I did not need to, having confirmed more than once the main power button to be in the off position... Well?

(I learned that as long as the 12 volt truck to camper power is plugged in the fridge always has power to it.) Live and learn.

Needing to climb in the camper to retrieve my left inside hat, had me quickly realize my new Enterstates were completely dead! After replacing with brand new, I got an entire month out of those new batteries before once again discovering completely dead batteries due to power switch on, but house 30 Amp connection breaker off.

I went to a different warranty station this time around.

[Bob__B]

jefe 4x4 wrote:
Whatever it was, it can be summed up with, "I'll never do anything that dumb again."
jefe
My mistake was thinking a few bears could not possibly open my trash trailer with its 1/2 inch bars with 1/2 inch plywood bolted to them.

We came out to view the destruction:

The bears, plural, pulled those 4, 40 gallon trash cans right through the opening they made.

Bear claw marks: These all had lids which we coined, "bear pop tops".

I have a cooler with similar markings ..... I didn't realize I was in bear territory and left it sitting out. Lost about a weeks worth of food while tent camping.

I did some repairs on the hinges and kept it as a reminder to not be so much of a tenderfoot.....Heck, a big coon could probably do as pretty good job on a cooler also.

[jimh406]

Made the backup camera wiring too waterproof by taping it together. If I hadn't, it would have just pulled apart. If it isn't clear, besides the connector that goes to the truck, there is an inline connector. Maybe not totalled, but likely going to be a pain to find out why it no longer works. I disconnected just to pull forward a bit to gain access to the front of the camper. Just pulled out too far with it not unplugged. 😉 Of course, I remembered to unplug the camper lights, but not the new backup camera.

[Rubiranch]

"What mistakes have you made that might help others...?"

I only have 4 daughters. Wish I'd had two more. 😉

[JayGee]

I need to idle my car to lube the tranny before towing four down. I usually run it no less than five minutes.

My bright idea was to let it idle while I pulled it up the long drive before entering the highway. I never thought about the automatic locking of doors even though it was in neutral when it reaches about 15 miles per hour with the engine running. And no, I did not have my spare key to allow me to get in, or no, I did not leave a window open. I had to get a locksmith.

However My road service did pay for the locksmith but I shot an hour waiting on him.

[jefe_4x4]

Whatever it was, it can be summed up with, "I'll never do anything that dumb again."
jefe
My mistake was thinking a few bears could not possibly open my trash trailer with its 1/2 inch bars with 1/2 inch plywood bolted to them.

We came out to view the destruction:

The bears, plural, pulled those 4, 40 gallon trash cans right through the opening they made.

Bear claw marks: These all had lids which we coined, "bear pop tops".

[d3500ram]

Sometimes it is the simple things that can trip you up:

I needed to steal the LP bottle for my grill on the S&B deck. When I returned it to the camper, I opened the door on the side fully but because the camper was slightly tilted the door returned to a partial closed position. When I stood back up after reaching for the bottle the edge of the door tore through my shirt and scored a nice long gash in my back!

It is easy to overlook the simple things... I will never do this again and hopefully others will read this a and take away from it to just take a little more time to avoid getting a scar on the back.

[Rettrooper]

Always check your slide toppers and make sure they have retracted all the way in with the slide. We didn't do that and left before sun up on a 14 degree day after it had snowed. Needless to say I noticed that the topper had frozen in the full open position and was flopping down the side of the camper while we were driving down the interstate. Looked funny as we were driving and the sun was casting our shadow on the roadway while traveling at about 60 MPH! The camper looked as though it had a tumor bulging on the drivers side. We pulled over and the topper had beaten itself to death. We had to cut it off with a pair of scissors so we could continue. Costly mistake.

[billtex]

Here's one

[mlts22]

Here is a mistake I would have made, were it not for a mod on the Ford Trucks forum. When (I just jumped jobs) I bought a F-350, I was considering dropping the spare tire, stuffing an Onan 2800 genset underneath.

Doable, but a lot of effort. The mod had a much better alternative -- front bumper and hitch mounted cargo rack that would hold either a pair of Honda twins or my existing 3000 watt Yamaha genset. With the remote start on the Yammy, coupled with a TC with a LP gas generator, I'd have a pretty long run time when boondocking in the Texas heat.

[happycamper1942]

Pulled of the road on to a soft shoulder. the two wheels on the shoulder sank while the two on the road didnt, until the camper was at about 45 degrees. I was lucky it didn't tip right over. It took a lot of digging and help to get it out. Fortunately no damage.