The cover on the all weather overhead hatch fell in.
The external water hose on the draw bar perished spraying my friend lol
The toilet door locked ( I didn't even know it had a lock). Hubby had to cut the latch through to open it.
Dropped a full can of beer inside spraying everywhere.
The toilet leaked into the cavity. Twice. Ewwww. maybe new seal required?
The fan heater above the door sparked. (But did continue to work)
Had flying bugs in my dry pasta. Again ewwww
Had husband at hospital emergency with shortness of breath and dizziness. He's ok!
Thought we'd move a couple of metres into the sun. Drove off with the rear stabalizers down! Guess you know how that worked out.
Ahhhhh but have met some fellow forum users, seen some more great sights, eaten lots of 'the best' treats, enjoyed every minute and are still smiling.
fwdoz said
11:00 PM May 5, 2018
I remember when I was a kid & my dad stopping at Port Wakefield for petrol & lunch. We were heading for Moonta Bay via Wallaroo.
After lunch we took off and about halfway to Wallaroo Dad says "why are all these idiots passing us pointing behind?" He looks in the mirror & sees smoke & pulls over. We had driven all the way from Pt Wakefield with the caravan hand brake on.
So there is dad with a bucket pouring water over the wheels while the steam flew off.
And another Dad moment.
We pull up by the side of the highway going from Mt Gambier to Nelson. Dad puts toast on. 15 minutes later he says "that toast is taking a long time". Several minutes of silence is followed by "you silly prick, there is no power".
So dad cranks the gas & we have charcoal toast.
Good times!
Radar said
08:23 AM May 6, 2018
Hi Gooba53
Well done, good on you for smiling though these unwanted test of adventure.
We also come home with some maintenance on our last touring adventure.
En-suite door fell off, needed re mounting the runner, holding shut latches needed attention.
Found at one camp our 15 amp lead was short one end, after I had set up the caravan, pegged the awning out, privatise screen on, caravan level and on ramps, water on.
Had the rear water tank off to find out why the water run out the top when full.
Replumbed the 3 tanks separately to the water pump, hopefully will now understand how much water I have.
Meeting other GNs, sharing a fire with them was great.
Cupie said
09:48 AM May 6, 2018
Wow all that in one day ..
Beats me & I have forgotten to do almost everything that you can forget to do .. but it took me years .. eg.
Left van plugged into house 240v .. this was even before we got on the road.
Wound up a corner steady too far & broke the sheer pin.
Frequently forget to turn off gas to hot water system
Drive off after setting up with one WDH spring bar still attached.
forgot to lock down the coupling onto the ball.
Left handbrake on
Almost every window & hatch left open at one time or other.
Forgot to latch entry door
Left Winegard antenna up
But on the positive side I have never left SWMBO behind.
We have got into the habit of stopping about a Km out and checking everything & after 50k or so do another walk around & check the wheel temp & tyre pressure (by sight) on tug & van.
Aus-Kiwi said
10:03 AM May 6, 2018
Yep have to be VERY vigilant with things . Double and triple checking things . TV arial is one of my things . Oh driving with hand brake on . Iâve replace brake drums on rear of trans . Lucky it was easy . Then recently the circuit breaker on generator.Aha Atleast we can laugh at ourselves !!
gooba53 said
11:12 AM May 6, 2018
Ahhh yep you gotta laugh.
We left our mates after 6 weeks together for them to travel along the coast. They cooked their brakes in their motorhome coming down Thunderbolt Way. Thankfully RACV total care put their van on a tray truck and took them safely to the repair place. $4000 later but that included a service. They said the view was nice though.
Cupie said
12:00 PM May 6, 2018
gooba53 wrote:
Ahhh yep you gotta laugh.
We left our mates after 6 weeks together for them to travel along the coast. They cooked their brakes in their motorhome coming down Thunderbolt Way. Thankfully RACV total care put their van on a tray truck and took them safely to the repair place. $4000 later but that included a service. They said the view was nice though.
Yep that's the thing .... You've just got to learn how to drive big rigs down ranges without relying just on the brakes.
I just get my 2.4t Jayco in behind trucks & use the Patrol's gears with an occasional touch on the breaks, to control speed. My original van shoes lasted >200,000 km & still had lots of meat, circa 40%, left when I replaced the whole assembly after a couple of magnets went O/C. I get good mileage out of the Patrol's pads too.
Aus-Kiwi said
12:49 PM May 6, 2018
Yep . Itâs often hard to keep 40 kph when cars can go much faster down hills . I can see why speed limit is there for heavy vehicles though . Thinking of fitting exhaust brakes on my rig ?? They worked very good on my old Fuso . Simple, and work !! Yes try to apply brakes in sections rather that trailing brake all down a hill . Heat builds up !
dieseltojo said
06:28 PM May 6, 2018
Those with good memories will laugh but it is a good idea to laminate a list for the vans workings.
Your van is unique but a check list of every thing to do at pack up is a usable idea. Start with.... check the hitch,
Lift the jockey wheel and so on. Laminate the list ans stick it in the front hatch.......then use it.....
-- Edited by dieseltojo on Sunday 6th of May 2018 06:29:22 PM
gooba53 said
07:41 PM May 6, 2018
Of course you are right dieseltojo. We did exactly that, had a laminated sheet used it religiously for tens of thousand of kms. We felt confident in our routine so gradually discontinued use.
The occasion in question where we drove off with the legs down, it was a couple of metres into the sun, hope we'Ve learnt our lesson. Thankfully hubby is a handyman. Ordered replacements on line and will be fine fitting them.
Off to the next adventure!
mezza56 said
07:54 AM May 7, 2018
Watched a guy meticulously pack up his motorhome , he went about his business in a precision like manner , he was cross referencing with his wife on the inside at the same time . All set they drove out the park, as they went out the drive you heard a crunch, I looked round to see his TV aerial hanging off the side of his rig , he jumped out the drivers seat and tore into the office screaming abuse about the branch overhanging the driveway . The manager came out to survey the damage and pointed out the aerial had been fully extended as he drove out . He then proceeded to send a tirade of abuse at his wife sitting in the vehicle . Jumped into the drivers seat and tore off with the aerial dangling in the wind .Wish I had videoed it I could have put it on U tube.
Cupie said
09:09 AM May 7, 2018
Yes, I can relate to that poor guy.
I had a check list & followed it for years with no mishaps. So I decided that I 'knew it all' and stopped using it. That's when the issues started.
A check list wouldn't have helped me when departing a particularly tight older style CP in Melbourne (Beautiful hedges between sites that took up space & some narrow roads and a poorly designed exit. Might have been OK for smaller vans but not so good for today's 20' + ones.
Anyway, as we were exiting the park where it was necessary to take a rather exaggerated sweep to the right as we approached the exit barrier, I was distracted by looking for my sunglasses that were not in their usual spot on the dash, while asking SWMBO 'did you check .... ... ' and you guessed it, I didn't swing wide enough & took off the centre support pole for my awning. Clatter .. clatter ... clatter. It contacted a large orange painted steel post that was strategically placed to protect the boom gate mounting from people like me.
My fault, but I made sure that the CP operator was aware of my view that signs & appropriate zebra markings on the road surface to guide dills like me safely out of the park would have been more appropriate.
It had been a bad start to the day as I had woken up to my first flat tyre on the van & I had to find a local tyre place to repair it before we got away. So I was probably hurrying to make up time & mentally distracted by that too.
Just can't protect people against themselves can you? ****e happens. It's all part of the great adventure. etc. etc.
Desert Dweller said
03:17 PM May 7, 2018
Yep there are always ''challenging events'' when you travel extensively. We should imagine that all of us have had a few while on the road. There's no such thing as the perfect rig.
Woody n Sue said
09:08 PM May 7, 2018
Hmmm well since were confessing our sins I had the dreaded tv aerial up in our driveway changing fittings ect when it looked like it might rain overnight so silly me decided to back it into the she ova night , crunch , sh.. what was that, oh sh.. I know what that was , yep wiped the aerial off clean as a whistle .
Woody
gooba53 said
09:59 PM May 7, 2018
Not that I'm glad for anyone's misfortune, but gee I'm glad it's not just us !
Cheers Dianne
Tony Bev said
02:10 PM May 10, 2018
My procedure is to use coach screws to secure the awning to the ground
I have a 50 litre plastic container with my cordless hammer drill, coach screws, pulldown straps etc, in storage under the bed.
I recently got use to just leaving this container under the motorhome, after securing the awning
At a free camp in Kimba SA, in January of this year, a limb of a tree fell about 20 metres away, so I decided to move away just a few more metres.
After removing the coach screws, I put them, and the drill, back in the container, under the motorhome
I went one meter more than I should have done, and ran over my container.
My outlook on life is that, if I am not prepared to laugh at myself, then I should not join in, at laughing with others
Delta18 said
03:00 PM May 10, 2018
fwdoz wrote:
I remember when I was a kid & my dad stopping at Port Wakefield for petrol & lunch. We were heading for Moonta Bay via Wallaroo.
After lunch we took off and about halfway to Wallaroo Dad says "why are all these idiots passing us pointing behind?" He looks in the mirror & sees smoke & pulls over. We had driven all the way from Pt Wakefield with the caravan hand brake on.
So there is dad with a bucket pouring water over the wheels while the steam flew off.
And another Dad moment.
We pull up by the side of the highway going from Mt Gambier to Nelson. Dad puts toast on. 15 minutes later he says "that toast is taking a long time". Several minutes of silence is followed by "you silly prick, there is no power".
So dad cranks the gas & we have charcoal toast.
Good times!
Dad sounds like a Russel Coight!
fwdoz said
04:14 PM May 10, 2018
Delta18 wrote:
fwdoz wrote:
I remember when I was a kid & my dad stopping at Port Wakefield for petrol & lunch. We were heading for Moonta Bay via Wallaroo.
After lunch we took off and about halfway to Wallaroo Dad says "why are all these idiots passing us pointing behind?" He looks in the mirror & sees smoke & pulls over. We had driven all the way from Pt Wakefield with the caravan hand brake on.
So there is dad with a bucket pouring water over the wheels while the steam flew off.
And another Dad moment.
We pull up by the side of the highway going from Mt Gambier to Nelson. Dad puts toast on. 15 minutes later he says "that toast is taking a long time". Several minutes of silence is followed by "you silly prick, there is no power".
So dad cranks the gas & we have charcoal toast.
Good times!
Dad sounds like a Russel Coight!
If he were alive today he would p**s himself laughing at Coighty. We had so many moments, but these were the caravan ones that came to mind. How I miss those times ~deep sigh~
Since the 22nd March this has happened.
The cover on the all weather overhead hatch fell in.
The external water hose on the draw bar perished spraying my friend lol
The toilet door locked ( I didn't even know it had a lock). Hubby had to cut the latch through to open it.
Dropped a full can of beer inside spraying everywhere.
The toilet leaked into the cavity. Twice. Ewwww. maybe new seal required?
The fan heater above the door sparked. (But did continue to work)
Had flying bugs in my dry pasta. Again ewwww
Had husband at hospital emergency with shortness of breath and dizziness. He's ok!
Thought we'd move a couple of metres into the sun. Drove off with the rear stabalizers down! Guess you know how that worked out.
Ahhhhh but have met some fellow forum users, seen some more great sights, eaten lots of 'the best' treats, enjoyed every minute and are still smiling.
I remember when I was a kid & my dad stopping at Port Wakefield for petrol & lunch. We were heading for Moonta Bay via Wallaroo.
After lunch we took off and about halfway to Wallaroo Dad says "why are all these idiots passing us pointing behind?" He looks in the mirror & sees smoke & pulls over. We had driven all the way from Pt Wakefield with the caravan hand brake on.
So there is dad with a bucket pouring water over the wheels while the steam flew off.
And another Dad moment.
We pull up by the side of the highway going from Mt Gambier to Nelson. Dad puts toast on. 15 minutes later he says "that toast is taking a long time". Several minutes of silence is followed by "you silly prick, there is no power".
So dad cranks the gas & we have charcoal toast.
Good times!
Hi Gooba53
Well done, good on you for smiling though these unwanted test of adventure.
We also come home with some maintenance on our last touring adventure.
En-suite door fell off, needed re mounting the runner, holding shut latches needed attention.
Found at one camp our 15 amp lead was short one end, after I had set up the caravan, pegged the awning out, privatise screen on, caravan level and on ramps, water on.
Had the rear water tank off to find out why the water run out the top when full.
Replumbed the 3 tanks separately to the water pump, hopefully will now understand how much water I have.
Meeting other GNs, sharing a fire with them was great.
Wow all that in one day ..
Beats me & I have forgotten to do almost everything that you can forget to do .. but it took me years .. eg.
Left van plugged into house 240v .. this was even before we got on the road.
Wound up a corner steady too far & broke the sheer pin.
Frequently forget to turn off gas to hot water system
Drive off after setting up with one WDH spring bar still attached.
forgot to lock down the coupling onto the ball.
Left handbrake on
Almost every window & hatch left open at one time or other.
Forgot to latch entry door
Left Winegard antenna up
But on the positive side I have never left SWMBO behind.
We have got into the habit of stopping about a Km out and checking everything & after 50k or so do another walk around & check the wheel temp & tyre pressure (by sight) on tug & van.
Ahhh yep you gotta laugh.
We left our mates after 6 weeks together for them to travel along the coast. They cooked their brakes in their motorhome coming down Thunderbolt Way. Thankfully RACV total care put their van on a tray truck and took them safely to the repair place. $4000 later but that included a service. They said the view was nice though.
Yep that's the thing .... You've just got to learn how to drive big rigs down ranges without relying just on the brakes.
I just get my 2.4t Jayco in behind trucks & use the Patrol's gears with an occasional touch on the breaks, to control speed. My original van shoes lasted >200,000 km & still had lots of meat, circa 40%, left when I replaced the whole assembly after a couple of magnets went O/C. I get good mileage out of the Patrol's pads too.
Those with good memories will laugh but it is a good idea to laminate a list for the vans workings.
Your van is unique but a check list of every thing to do at pack up is a usable idea. Start with.... check the hitch,
Lift the jockey wheel and so on. Laminate the list ans stick it in the front hatch.......then use it.....
-- Edited by dieseltojo on Sunday 6th of May 2018 06:29:22 PM
Of course you are right dieseltojo. We did exactly that, had a laminated sheet used it religiously for tens of thousand of kms. We felt confident in our routine so gradually discontinued use.
The occasion in question where we drove off with the legs down, it was a couple of metres into the sun, hope we'Ve learnt our lesson. Thankfully hubby is a handyman. Ordered replacements on line and will be fine fitting them.
Off to the next adventure!
Watched a guy meticulously pack up his motorhome , he went about his business in a precision like manner , he was cross referencing with his wife on the inside at the same time . All set they drove out the park, as they went out the drive you heard a crunch, I looked round to see his TV aerial hanging off the side of his rig , he jumped out the drivers seat and tore into the office screaming abuse about the branch overhanging the driveway . The manager came out to survey the damage and pointed out the aerial had been fully extended as he drove out . He then proceeded to send a tirade of abuse at his wife sitting in the vehicle . Jumped into the drivers seat and tore off with the aerial dangling in the wind .Wish I had videoed it I could have put it on U tube.
Yes, I can relate to that poor guy.
I had a check list & followed it for years with no mishaps. So I decided that I 'knew it all' and stopped using it. That's when the issues started.
A check list wouldn't have helped me when departing a particularly tight older style CP in Melbourne (Beautiful hedges between sites that took up space & some narrow roads and a poorly designed exit. Might have been OK for smaller vans but not so good for today's 20' + ones.
Anyway, as we were exiting the park where it was necessary to take a rather exaggerated sweep to the right as we approached the exit barrier, I was distracted by looking for my sunglasses that were not in their usual spot on the dash, while asking SWMBO 'did you check .... ... ' and you guessed it, I didn't swing wide enough & took off the centre support pole for my awning. Clatter .. clatter ... clatter. It contacted a large orange painted steel post that was strategically placed to protect the boom gate mounting from people like me.
My fault, but I made sure that the CP operator was aware of my view that signs & appropriate zebra markings on the road surface to guide dills like me safely out of the park would have been more appropriate.
It had been a bad start to the day as I had woken up to my first flat tyre on the van & I had to find a local tyre place to repair it before we got away. So I was probably hurrying to make up time & mentally distracted by that too.
Just can't protect people against themselves can you? ****e happens. It's all part of the great adventure. etc. etc.
Woody
Not that I'm glad for anyone's misfortune, but gee I'm glad it's not just us !
Cheers Dianne
I have a 50 litre plastic container with my cordless hammer drill, coach screws, pulldown straps etc, in storage under the bed.
I recently got use to just leaving this container under the motorhome, after securing the awning
At a free camp in Kimba SA, in January of this year, a limb of a tree fell about 20 metres away, so I decided to move away just a few more metres.
After removing the coach screws, I put them, and the drill, back in the container, under the motorhome
I went one meter more than I should have done, and ran over my container.
My outlook on life is that, if I am not prepared to laugh at myself, then I should not join in, at laughing with others
Dad sounds like a Russel Coight!
If he were alive today he would p**s himself laughing at Coighty. We had so many moments, but these were the caravan ones that came to mind. How I miss those times ~deep sigh~