Dumbest Trailering Thing I've Ever Done

[jaye580]

I posted my first biggest mishap on another thread I think, so here is my second, only it wasn't really mine.... I kept an index card above the drivers side visor of a check list of things to do before leaving the campsite and I was DILIGENT no matter how many times I camped at checking that card. Well... one time I took a friend and he read over the card but didn't apparently understand my layman's terms such as "hitch the trailer to the car" and he just sat the hitch on top of the ball, hooked up the chains, did everything else, we drove about two feet and CRASH. Good thing anger and humiliation were enough to lift the front end of a Scamp out of the dirt and actually attach it to the car - we didn't speak for about 200 miles.

[jaye580]

I found the thread about my first blunder under something posted about backing up so I am pasting it here as it was quite an "event"

When I got my first trailer, a Casita in the earlier 90's I was bad bad bad at backing up and avoided it at all costs. It wasn't from lack of trying or lack of learning but lack of ability... On my first long trip across country with my mom and her Yorkie who never quit barking, we got a late start and I was grumpy... after a few hundred miles we decided to stay in a motel in Palestine Texas instead of going to a campground. I thought the driveway was circular, it was not. For the life of me I could not back the trailer out. There were cars parked on both sides of me, I could barely go forward and ended up with it jack knifed, in the pouring rain, in the middle of the night with a frantic mother and a barking dog.

After ,many attempts we ended up having to call a tow truck and the driver laughed at us and got in the car and backed the thing out easy peasy. Charged us $45 bucks and sent us on our way. My temper was flaring to the point where I just decided to drive on through the night and onto the next.

Moral of the story.... always have a wheel on your jack... if that Casita had had one I would have unhitched it, spun it around by hand and rehitched it to the car. I have insisted on one ever since. I am still not good at backing but I check to make sure I am never going into a dead end and I practice backing up all of the time. Some people get it, some don't.

[David B.]

This one drives home the NEED to follow a checklist. This event was told to me by my brother, as it happened to his friends. They had a pop-up, and after the long drive to the campsite, the kids took off for adventures at the lake, leaving mom & dad to do all the setting up. Both were glad the kids were gone for a while, and they would have the place for themselves, so they quickly set-up and went inside for a little "afternoon delight". To their embarranssmenth they both ended up in the middle of camp on the ground sans clothing because "someone" forgot to install the prop rods for the bed. They quickly broke camp and tried to give a plausible answer to the questioning kids as to why they had to leave already.
Dave & Paula

[patrick crawford]

Ok...my first real travel trailer was a casita patriot. So, I decided to travel. Somewhere between South Carolina and California I "camped" in a flying j parking lot for the night. Well, that morning I decided to take a shower before getting back on the road. I got in the shower, made myself wet turned off the water and soaped up then, when I attempted to rinse all I could get was a small dribble out of the shower head and it went away quickly. Yes, I'd run out of water. There I was naked, soapy and somewhat cold. I got as much of the soap off as I could using my towel but, I can tell you the day's drive was more than a bit uncomfortable covered with soap scum. That was an important lesson about the limitations of a small fresh water tank.

[Mitzi Agnew-Giles]

Enjoyed the tales, I have no camper yet so I haven't any camper tales, but I cann share tent camping stories- like the time I wasn't the only female on a Boy Scout canoe camping trip out in the Canadian boonies. I try to not get aggravated, but this lady I was bunking with didn't like to set up the tent (it was constantly raining and I wanted to get the tent up and get dry as soon as we got to our campsite) So I would set it up and an hour or two later she would start complaining about the tent location and want me to undo all the rocks holding the tent lines down so she could have me pick it up and walk all over camp so she could see how it looked in different settings- before I could do that I would have to have her bring me my sopping clothes to change back into so I wouldn't get my dry camp clothes wet- she didn't see why I had to get the tent up and get into dry clothes right away.
The day finally came when we got into the camp site and the Charlie guide wanted me to go with her to check out something on the far side of the island- we got back and the lady in question had set up our tent in a nice green area that no body else had set up in. I was really careful to wash my legs off after walking to the tent. Didn't say anything to her...she woke up itchy all over after having set up our tent in a mess of poison ivy!!!

[james kent]

Originally Posted by jaye580

I posted my first biggest mishap on another thread I think, so here is my second, only it wasn't really mine.... I kept an index card above the drivers side visor of a check list of things to do before leaving the campsite and I was DILIGENT no matter how many times I camped at checking that card. Well... one time I took a friend and he read over the card but didn't apparently understand my layman's terms such as "hitch the trailer to the car" and he just sat the hitch on top of the ball, hooked up the chains, did everything else, we drove about two feet and CRASH. Good thing anger and humiliation were enough to lift the front end of a Scamp out of the dirt and actually attach it to the car - we didn't speak for about 200 miles.

Yup!
Packed the trailer. Packed thE car hooked up the trailer, checked the lights and got the kids and wife settled with their seat belts on. Pulled out of the driveway drove down the block and stopped at the corner. Pulled away and felt/herd the thump. Unhooked the trailer and went home to get the other drawbar that matches the trailer. Hooked up and rechecked the lights and then ............listened to THREE people telling me just how smart daddy isn't.
Jim


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