What is the DUMBEST thing you did to your coach!!! - Page 2

tomgagne · 05-01-2010, 05:26 AM

We were heading south on 95 in South Carolina. There is a major tourist trap called JRs, exit 97. We needed fuel and a break so we decided to get off refuel and visit JRs. My brother-in-law who has owned a 5ver for over 10 years hasn't quite mastered the art of backing it up. We kid him all the time. So every chance he gets he trys to prove he can actually back up without an army of "helpers". Anyway we pull into the service station, which must have 10 pump islands and crowded. As we pull in he bragged on the CB "watch this" He chooses the least accessible pump, trys to make a very tight turn. He didn't make the turn and then had to back up in order to have the gas nozzle reach his truck. When he backed up, he only used his mirrors and didn't look to see what was directly behind his 5ver in his blind spot. Well he ended up backing the 5ver into the emergency shut off "Red Button" in the very corner of the station set way away from the pumps. Given that his 5ver is 35ft I would say the RED button was approximately 40 feet away. The result was, he shut the entire station down, set alarms going off inside (my kids were inside getting candy) and a station full of people wondering why the pumps all shut down. Once he found out what he did, his only response was OOPS. Some memories last a lifetime!!

ichn2go · 05-01-2010, 05:33 AM

You guys are the best. I just bout a 05 Journey with three slides.
Opened the passenger side compartment with the door as far up as it would go and then put the slide out. The slide pushed the compartment door back to level while it was extending. On that particular MOHO that was new to me that was the first scratches I put on it and haven't been able to get them out of the compartment door yet..Since then have used the carpenter's rule.
Look twice and move only once..or something like that. BeSafe.

AFChap · 05-01-2010, 09:35 AM

I have done the "stop paying attention while flushing the black tank" routine ...DW wasn't cleaning the toilet, but I did fill several drawers of her "stuff" completely full of clean-looking water when the bathroom sink overflowed and water began coming out of places it shouldn't even be...

A couple of years after we got our coach we visited friends in a military campground overnight. The next day we got everything ready and headed out. It was about 1/2 mile from our site to the gate. I eased through the tight concrete barricades, made a right turn and headed down the highway. DW looks at me from the co-pilot seat ..."What's that flapping noise?" ...."I don't know ...sure sounds strange!! What could that be??" A minute or two later we both noticed the entry door power awning was extended, flapping in the breeze at about 45 mph. I tell her, "push the button down by your seat and bring the awning in!!!" She says, "I'm trying, it won't work!!" ....crap, the awnings won't work while the ignition key is on (so you can't put them OUT accidentally, right? ...how about getting one IN while driving?? I guess the mfg'ers don't think we should need to do that ...maybe they should go RVing and find out!!) I briefly think, "turn the key off and coast while the DW brings the awing in," then quickly decided that wasn't a good idea in a 40' diesel MH while climbing up the side of a mile long two-lane bridge. There was no place to pull over, and lots of steel structure just beyond the edge of my lane!! I hugged the center line for the next 3/4 mile while we reached the top of the bridge and went down the other side where we found a shoulder where we could pull over, totally shut the rig down, and then retract the stupid awning. And believe it or not, that wasn't the last time that awning stayed out too long... I really hate "safety" features that get in the way of my needs!!!

pameridan04 · 05-02-2010, 11:07 AM

Hi AFChap & All:

Well that just happened to me. I am having problems with the powered awning door not closing completely.

I was driving down the road today and the sucker just popped out all by itself. Lucky my DW was riding shotgun and saw it happen. I pulled over to the side of the road, and shut down, and the sucker WILL NOT RETRACT. Naturally I don't have a ladder with me to reach it, and it will not stay locked even with me pushing it in. I had to turn around and drive two miles back home with this awning flapping in the breeze, once there I wired the sucker shut.

Then yesterday I filled my water tanks. Remember I am a newby... I have NEVER done these things before and the only lesson I got from the guy I bought the coach from was how to drop my jacks.

Anyway, I turned on all my faucets one at a time to get the anti freeze out of the lines. Well the dw walks over and opens up the kitchen sink faucet all the way and walks away. I come into the coach and water is running all over the floor, flooding out of the cabinet. I shut the faucet off and look to find the leak. Heck it was easy..NO WATER FILTER HOOKED UP UNDER SINK. It was laying in a box on the bottom of the cabinet.

I know, I know, I should have checked. I was looking for the filter out near the fill valves when it happened.

God give me strenght with this new RVing hobby. I think I am gonna need it.

Regards Jim P.

ChiefJohn · 05-02-2010, 11:38 AM

Jim,
This RV'ing adventure only gets better the longer you're at it -- you can join us around the campfire as we all relate some "dumb" action on our part. Then we have to listen to our DW go into the "I told you ..."routine.

Clifftall · 05-02-2010, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elkhartjim

I haven't had a dumbest moment but I wanted to post so I can see what the rest of you have done...

Yeah you did. You bought a coach with pg. ( private joke )

CJ7ole · 05-02-2010, 12:37 PM

Quote:

I stopped and went outside. Alongside of the MH was my 50 amp power cord with the power box, pole, a foot square piece of concrete and lots of wires attached to the end. Those power cords are tough!

That's a good one, but, come on guys, you know the rules, no pics, it never happened!

Spikester · 05-02-2010, 01:04 PM

We were parked on my in-laws lake front lot for a couple of weeks, while we were there we were doing some much needed general clean up. On the things that needed to be accomplished was removal of some trees. You guessed it, we misjudged where a tree was going to fall, I needed to move the motorhome about another foot. Luckily an existing deck rail broke the top out of the tree just before it brushed the side of the motorhome, it put a small dent in the aluminum siding on passengers side by the rear awning arm. Smashed the deck rail and a picnic table.

All vehicles now get moved to the next county when I get out the chain saw.

Spike

RickO · 05-02-2010, 01:49 PM

No way I can top that JS story, but speaking of the RV movie, my moment in the sun was similar to Robin's... dumped the black tank... rinsed with the Santiflush... closed black tank valve with santiflush hose still running to add a bit of water... and, proceeded to multi task and forgot the hose was running into the (now closed) black tank.

It was a brand new coach so the toilet seal was very good and the water gushed up through the roof top vent... across the roof... down the awning and formed a waterfall onto our patio area. I discovered it when DW said "why is there water running off of our awning?"

Hopefully we only do these things once.

Lindsay Richards · 05-02-2010, 02:07 PM

In our old camper (Rexhall 29 Class A), I started filling the water tank and got a call from my wife to go to the laundry. When we got back, there was water all down the road, coming out the steps and our bed was at a 45 degree angle as the water tank was underneath. We worked and worked, but it was a week before everything was dry. I caught a lot of grief over that. Bad thing is that I did it again a year or so later. Never again.

JMonroe · 05-02-2010, 04:21 PM

Did the power cord thing. Travelling, stopped for a quick overnighter. Didn't bother to hook up the water or sewer, just the electric. It was the screaming campground neighbor that caught my attention and got me to stop. Fortunately there was no damange to the campground post or box, but it ripped the switchbox (Shore vs gen set) right off the back wall of the compartment it was in. If I'd gone another foot I'd have pulled the compartment door right off the coach. As it is, the only lasting evidence is a dent on the inside of the compartment door, nothing shows on the outside. I did have to replace the switchbox and I went ahead and replaced the 50 amp cord too (I had an extra one laying around). Was in a big hurry to hit the road.

pameridan04 · 05-14-2010, 08:37 AM

Hi guys:

It seems that having a brain fart when filling or emptying the fresh watrer, grey water, and black water tanks, is a major concern. I will definitely have to pay close attention.

Especially when everything is so new to me. But I am heading the advice, along with some very hardy laughter.

Jim P.

navyblue · 05-14-2010, 06:42 PM

Pulled into campground yesterday in St Ignace, Michigan near north end of Mackinac Bridge. Checked in to office and owner said pick any site you want as only (2) coaches there as their season really starts 6/1. So I start down the middle lane of pull though sites, stop at first one and tell DW I am going to walk the 15 site row and use my compass to pick out the best site for Southwest clear of trees for satellite. I left the coach RUNNING. Yeah, you know whats coming. DW decides she is going to check out the bathrooms/showers. As I am walking along the sites, SHE grabs a set of keys from her purse, opens door, LOCKS door from inside and closes the door. As she is walking pass me on the way to the bathroom she asks me if I have my keys as she locked the coach and is going to check the bathrooms. I said NO, I left the coach running. She reaches into her coat and pulls out the keys to the TOAD, NOT the coach keys which are in her purse in the LOCKED motorcoach running with no open windows. After 37 years of marriage I kept my mouth SHUT. So after the office calls the local locksmith and gets no answer, I call Good Sam emergency road service after a fruitless 30-45 minutes to find a LOCAL locksmith. Good Sam locates a master locksmith 50 miles away(we are in the Michigan Upper Pennisula boonies), he arrives after the motorcoach has been running for (2) hours and has the door unlocked in 30 seconds. Very valuable lesson learned.

NAVYBLUE

PS: My two children will NEVER hear this story repeated.

FATMANAR · 05-14-2010, 08:47 PM

Put me down with not unpluging my power cord. I pulled into the bank and got out to cash a check and saw it trailing me off the road....Happy Trails.

csp · 05-14-2010, 09:11 PM

I was in the basement unwinterizing. I was the only one home. The wind was blowing hard. It all the sudden got dark with a big thud. I look toward my feet and the door had blow shut. Luckily it did not latch because I might have spent a lot of time in the basement. I guess I could have caught up on some need sleep. I will now make sure something in the door so it will not close all the way when I am all the way in the basement.
Chris

pameridan04 · 05-17-2010, 05:52 AM

Hi navyblue:

I can definitely see my DW doing that with the keys.

You are a better man than me with keeping your mouth shut, probably smarter to.

Regards.. Jim P.

navyblue · 05-17-2010, 06:56 PM

Jim P.

I couldn't see giving her grief. We hadn't had lunch, it was raining, it was cold and the wind was blowing. And besides I could count on less than (2) hands the number of times she has screwed up in 37 years. For me she would need a whole package of yellow note book paper.

NAVYBLUE

Daysu47 · 05-18-2010, 08:46 AM

Well, I guess I could tell my ??only?? mishap!!

We were at a large Rally a couple years ago and as everyone knows ya meet allot of people and make new friends. I was perparing to leave when one of those friend came running over to give us contact information. Well, that broke the chain of thought; doing the series of thing in a row once packing up and leaving.....

Well, slides were in, all unhooked, ant. down, and ready to go, NOT, coach wouldn't move, checked the emergency brake, it's OK, got out and checked tires, ??big rocks??, and finally, to my embarrassment, an elderly lady come rolling by on a mobility scooter and said, "if yer trying to leave ya ain't goin nowhere with yer jacks down". And of course, as ya know it's hard gettin back into the RV when yer a foot tall.

So, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!!

jk_and_dog · 05-18-2010, 09:25 AM

Yep, happens to the best of us..done the power cord thing but stopped before damage done, left bay door open, stopped before items fell out, antenna up a couple of times but most often dumb things happen when we are not paying full attention to what we are suppose to be doing.

For example, listening to the head park ranger while attempting to pull into a tight spot and running over the "BIG" caution tight turn park sign. Minor damage to coach but the sign was no more. Reply from park ranger...."I'm glad someone finally got rid of the sign. It needed to be replaced!"

darbyjudy · 05-18-2010, 10:03 AM

Well one of my dumb things was this. We had reservations at a COE campground in North GA. We pulled up to the check in station and checked in, they asked if we had been there before and I said yes and I knew where to go. Well I pulled to the site and backed in and set up and was preparing to get a cold one and relax for the rest of the day. The Host came by and stopped and said you cannot set up on that site, I asked why and he said it was the wrong site. I looked at the site number and crap I had set up on the wrong one. I had to tear down and move one site to the correct one. This was a very hot Ga Summer day. Now I double check the site number before setting up.