Camping mishaps...

Not a mishap but plain stupidity- not putting the rainfly on and going to sleep. Of COURSE it rained! Then not having patience to put it on right.... what a mess.
 
It's only stupid if you repeat the same mistake again.

So far I haven't seen anybody doing the same mistake twice, so we must be good learners.
 
It's only stupid if you repeat the same mistake again.

So far I haven't seen anybody doing the same mistake twice, so we must be good learners.
That's sort of what I tell my kids. You will make mistakes, and that's okay, as long as they LEARN from the mistakes. Making them again and again... That's where the trouble (and/or stupidity) comes in.
 
I can be thankful I have a great group of friends to teach me the in's and outs of RVing. My follies so far have been limited to the blue tote geyser.

However, my dogs on the other hand have given me some laughable grief in camping. My first RV was a 2001 Monaco Knight. Awesome rig but does spoil you for anything in the future. The rig had this console in the center and left of the drivers seat. When I first got the RV I thought nothing of it, but my MinPin thought they where great highways to the front windshield to get in front of the privacy curtain to sun and occasionally bark at someone.

Well on two occasions the pups did things while I was away without me knowing. The first time I was at the campground, but I had gone to the pool with others for some swim time. About 10 minutes before I left this air horn was going off in the campground, I thought nothing of it since I had already emptied my air bags during leveling and thought it could not be mine as the air tanks are empty. Walking back to the bus it turns out it WAS my RV and the air horns had its own tank and 12v air pump separate from the air system. And it so happen my min pin was watching a squirrel and sitting on the air horn switch! Needless to say I built a custom cover to keep the little guy off the left hand console.

On another occasion (and at FW) I went into the parks and the dogs where settled in the RV. We came back many hours later and I find my generator was running! I thought well that's odd since I had turned off the autostart feature! I apologized to my nearby neighbors about it and no one seemed to have an issue. I double check that that auto start was disabled and enjoy my evening. The next day we chose to go into the parks late, I had the dogs out with me while I had my coffee for a while till there was more foot traffic and barking. So I put them inside for a bit as they would quiet down without anyone to bark at. All the sudden my generator starts again! It turns out that my Aussie liked to lay on the dash facing one of the AC vents from the rooftop AC and would drape her paw over the edge of the dash and hit the starter button for the generator! I built another custom cover to take care of that as well.

So far with the 5th wheel they only two items I had was a long hanging phone wire for my neighbor was systematically removed from the pole doing no damage to the home or my trailer, and I got caught up in a tree branch and had to replace my antenna (it was down all the way).
 


This thread is fun!
We were in California for a job and I learned about being locked out. My husband uses his key to lock the trailer door when he. Leaves for work at the buttcrack of dawn. Later I went to the grocery store not even realizing it had been locked. You can open from the inside and not know it's locked. I returned for a very very warm day. Luckily I had purchased a decent amount of beer and we had a cooler outside the trailer, and also bought a few magazines. He returned from a long day to a not so sober wife, and no dinner. Key outside the trailer is vital!

Now this next one just happened on Memorial Weekend. Again in California for a job. We take our two dogs (2yr old choc lab, and 8 yr old Jack Russel) for the morning walkabout at 6 am. Lilly ( named after Lillian Disney) the jack bolts out the door before I can get her harness on. Jack Russels notoriously lose hearing if they see anything fun to chase. She was in the next door neighbors site nosing around. Finally got her leashed and off we went for a bout a half hour. She started acting strange about 1/2 way through. Layer down on the couch when we got back and never got back up. Fell asleep with her tongue out. Cute until I touched her. She was damn near comatose. I tried waking her and she appeared drunk! She fell off the couch and vomited. I panicked we gathered her upchuck for lab tests and rushed to an emergency vet clinic 40 mins away in Fresno. I was sure she ate antifreeze, a frog, ant poison, something! Just knew I was losing my baby and was inconsolable. Vet comes in with a parental shaming look( I know it because I have to kids). He explains that she definitely had been poisoned and was smirking! He said to us she had "THC" ingestion......needless to say it took my husband and I a few beats to realize what he was saying. My face he said he sees it all the time. Well not these two almost 50 yr olds from Eastern Oregon. My dog was high. Extremely high. But would be fine. Seems what she must have found at the neighbors was a dropped cookie, brownie, or candy ; medical grade. Took her a full 24 hrs to be able to walk.

We moved our trailer......
image.jpg
That's my dog on drugs.
 


The first and only trip we took to Disney with our old 5th wheel turned out to be the trip from.*&^%! We were driving from Massachusetts and we were in Georgia and all of a sudden hubby pulls over. He doesnt say a word and just gets out of the truck and looks at the 5th wheel and gets back in the car and starts swearing. Cant get anything out of him except find a home depo or a lowes now. Turns out that the wood rotted and the wall came separated from the floor of the trailer at the nose. you could literally put your hands up inside from the outside from a 12 -18 inch gap. luckily there was a home depot a few miles away. since hubby keeps every tool possible in the truck he managed to rig it up within an hour so we could get to the fort. Then he spent 5 hours really fixing it at the campground so we could get home.

all was go the rest of the trip until the ride home. We were a few hours from home and all of a sudden hubby starts swearing and pulls over. The aluminum siding on the passenger side of the trailer had come loose and was bend back about 8 feet and all that was keeping the insides from coming out was a sheet of insulation and a small piece of paneling. I had to go inside and move all the stuff to the back of the trailer and hubby nailed, duck taped and glued as much as he could just so we could get home.

A few weeks later hubby and his dad spent days taking the wall of the trailer down, replacing all of the wood and paneling inside, replacing the aluminum outside. the camper looked amazing....


until a giant tree branch fell during a snow storm and left a 3 foot hole in the roof! needless to say, that was the end of the camper and we are currently looking for a new one!!!!
 
Anybody else ever pull up to the site, back in, level it out, unhook, and then get stung right between the eyes by an angry wasp that had his nest inside the power panel at the campground? I can still see him coming at me in slow motion.
Lol spewed coffee out my nose!!!!
 
The first and only trip we took to Disney with our old 5th wheel turned out to be the trip from.*&^%! We were driving from Massachusetts and we were in Georgia and all of a sudden hubby pulls over. He doesnt say a word and just gets out of the truck and looks at the 5th wheel and gets back in the car and starts swearing. Cant get anything out of him except find a home depo or a lowes now. Turns out that the wood rotted and the wall came separated from the floor of the trailer at the nose. you could literally put your hands up inside from the outside from a 12 -18 inch gap. luckily there was a home depot a few miles away. since hubby keeps every tool possible in the truck he managed to rig it up within an hour so we could get to the fort. Then he spent 5 hours really fixing it at the campground so we could get home.

all was go the rest of the trip until the ride home. We were a few hours from home and all of a sudden hubby starts swearing and pulls over. The aluminum siding on the passenger side of the trailer had come loose and was bend back about 8 feet and all that was keeping the insides from coming out was a sheet of insulation and a small piece of paneling. I had to go inside and move all the stuff to the back of the trailer and hubby nailed, duck taped and glued as much as he could just so we could get home.

A few weeks later hubby and his dad spent days taking the wall of the trailer down, replacing all of the wood and paneling inside, replacing the aluminum outside. the camper looked amazing....


until a giant tree branch fell during a snow storm and left a 3 foot hole in the roof! needless to say, that was the end of the camper and we are currently looking for a new one!!!!

Sorry, but sounds like that trailer was ready for the morgue 'before' your trip! LOL
How old was it, and where had it been??? :confused3
 
Sorry, but sounds like that trailer was ready for the morgue 'before' your trip! LOL
How old was it, and where had it been??? :confused3
we had bought it from a guy who used it as his hunting camper. it was older but still in decent shape. We camped with is for a few years before we made the trek to Disney....

We've spent the last week looking at trailers and the ones we love all have had bad leaks! I am getting desperate!
 
We've spent the last week looking at trailers and the ones we love all have had bad leaks! I am getting desperate!

Definitely stay away from the ones that have any indication of former leaks - sounds like that may have been the problem with your former one!

There are plenty used ones out there - just don't get desperate - take your time, and the best of luck to you - camping is the greatest way to go (in our book). Have been doing so for nearly 48 years - since we were married! :goodvibes
 
Lol spewed coffee out my nose!!!!
Just got back from Foscue Campground in Demopolis, AL. Backed it in, leveled her out, walked around to power panel, slowlh eased up the cover and there on his little nest, with his wings spread wide was Mr. Red Wasp.

Lesson learned...
 
So, as I was camping this weekend my aunt and uncle came by to spend the day with us since they live there in Demopolis. We got to talking about camping and he relayed a story to me that he said I could share here on the Dis.

He said they were going camping in the Smoky Mountains and decided to go through Birmingham instead of Hwy 459 around it. On the way through they ran across some road construction and at one point hit a pretty strong bump when they jumped up on some new asphalt. He didn't think anything about it since the camper seemed fine so they kept on going. He said he did notice other cars were honking but that the traffic was so bad he couldn't tell what they were honking about. My aunt, who is in tears laughing at the story says that she could see people on the passenger side of the truck laughing or just plain staring open mouthed as whey went by but she too did not know what was going on.

When they got out of Birmingham my uncle said that a State Trooper pulled up beside him, hit the lights and the siren and promptly pulled him over. He said when the officer approached the window and took his license, then asked for my uncle to step to the rear of the vehicle. When he asked the officer if there was a problem he said the trooper looked him straight in the face and with no hint of a smile said, "There has been a tragedy". When they got to the rear of the camper he said he saw what was wrong. On his old Travel Star the spare tire mounted on the rear of the camper on a hinged mount that allowed the tire to be lowered to the ground. Apparently the bump had caused it to fall down and he was dragging it all the way through Birmingham. He said it was like you had taken the thing to a large metal grinder.

There was only about 1/4 of the tire remaining and only one of the three bolts that mounted to rim to the frame was still intact. Everything else was gone, he said ground off at a angle perfectly matching the asphalt. He said it was smoking heavily and was making a "tinking" sound from the heat. The officer said they had received numerous calls from other motorists about a flaming camper going through Birmingham. He said he only had to follow the smoke to find them. Gave my uncle his license back and wished them a better trip.
 
About three years ago we were headed to Acadia National Park with our pop-up from NY. We always stop in Bangor for the night before check-in day. We were going with friends from upstate who met up with us at the motel. The following day, a Sunday, we started off down the road and about 20 minutes into the drive, our tire blew on the camper. DH had a spare and a four way tire iron, but not ONE of those sides fit onto the lug nuts. It was a Sunday, like I said, so what few places were around, were closed. DH and his friend drove off down to see if one someone from one of the local campgrounds had a different tire iron. They did, and we got the spare on. DH had to venture back out the next day to buy a new tire.
It didn't end there. When we got to the campground, we ended up with a site 10 feet from the bathroom. And it was the last camper site. DH's friend had the bright idea that he should PULL it into the site instead of backing in so we wouldn't face the bathrooms. Sure...it was no problem pulling it in, but guess who left a day before we did and wasn't there to help DH maneuver it back out! That was left to me and believe me, it was NOT going well. A bit of vegetation may have been compromised that day.
 
So, as I was camping this weekend my aunt and uncle came by to spend the day with us since they live there in Demopolis. We got to talking about camping and he relayed a story to me that he said I could share here on the Dis.

He said they were going camping in the Smoky Mountains and decided to go through Birmingham instead of Hwy 459 around it. On the way through they ran across some road construction and at one point hit a pretty strong bump when they jumped up on some new asphalt. He didn't think anything about it since the camper seemed fine so they kept on going. He said he did notice other cars were honking but that the traffic was so bad he couldn't tell what they were honking about. My aunt, who is in tears laughing at the story says that she could see people on the passenger side of the truck laughing or just plain staring open mouthed as whey went by but she too did not know what was going on.

When they got out of Birmingham my uncle said that a State Trooper pulled up beside him, hit the lights and the siren and promptly pulled him over. He said when the officer approached the window and took his license, then asked for my uncle to step to the rear of the vehicle. When he asked the officer if there was a problem he said the trooper looked him straight in the face and with no hint of a smile said, "There has been a tragedy". When they got to the rear of the camper he said he saw what was wrong. On his old Travel Star the spare tire mounted on the rear of the camper on a hinged mount that allowed the tire to be lowered to the ground. Apparently the bump had caused it to fall down and he was dragging it all the way through Birmingham. He said it was like you had taken the thing to a large metal grinder.

There was only about 1/4 of the tire remaining and only one of the three bolts that mounted to rim to the frame was still intact. Everything else was gone, he said ground off at a angle perfectly matching the asphalt. He said it was smoking heavily and was making a "tinking" sound from the heat. The officer said they had received numerous calls from other motorists about a flaming camper going through Birmingham. He said he only had to follow the smoke to find them. Gave my uncle his license back and wished them a better trip.[/QUOTE

My mother is from Demopolis and her brother is currently living there. Small world cuz Demopolis is sure enough a small town!
 
Howard,
Camped there as a kid and went to college in Livingston, AL with a guy who lived in Demopolis. We spent our weekends fishing on the river.

Mr. G's Pizza is a good stop for food. You are right, it is a small town but that area is a sportsman's paradise for fishing and hunting.
 
So we just had a Trip this past week to the Smokey Mountains and visited Dollywood in Pigeon Forge TN. It was me, the DW, DD10, DD17 and DD17's BF20. After a few days of Parks coupled with less than desirable weather, the DW and I wanted a bit of time to ourselves to enjoy a little shopping and a morning breakfast for just the 2 of us. So we planned it out to go to the Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant (and shops) on Apple Valley Road some 7 miles from our campground. We got up early and let the kids sleep. I locked the camper and we left. We had an awesome breakfast and were checking the shops at the Apple Barn and Cider Mill (same location) when my DD17 called me on the Cell Phone. She inquired if I had locked the camper, which we had. Apparently the Deadbolt lock on the camper is a 3 position lock. From the outside, if I turn it all the way to the right and it unlocks. Turn it all the way to the left and it locks. Turn it straight up and down and it apparently does nothing (noticiable). Inside is a lever that just flips left or right. (Locking and unlocking). Apparently if I lock the deadbolt from OUTSIDE the camper (All the way to the left) it locks the door and it locks the deadbolt so that it cannot be Unlocked from the inside of the camper. I have to turn the key to the "Straight" Up and Down position (after locking it) so that it can be actuated inside.

So effectively I locked our Kids in the camper while we were out having a good time. While there was a certain "Satisfaction" in this, it's also not what we really wanted to do, so we had to cut our excursion short to release the kids.
 
At least you wasn't that far away from the camper. That's a first for me hearing about being locked in. BTW we love the Apple Barn!!
 
Certainly if there was an emergency, they could have escaped out the "Emergency" exit (window) and at least the AC was working, but they were going to go swimming and couldn't.

I did have a previous similar incident where I locked the DW in while I went to a Comfort station, but it was only a few minutes. I guess it didn't really sink in that much then. Now, it does.

I have to admit, though, Not sure why a feature like this is needed accept maybe to intentionally lock your children/spouse in. There have been times I thought seriously about a feature like this. :)
 

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