In this new column, we will be sharing some of the not-so-brilliant things we, the RVtravel.com staff, and you, our readers, have done while RVing. We hope that in addition to a chuckle or two, we can learn from others’ RVing mistakes and not make them ourselves!
Please leave a comment in the form below with your own RV mistakes and “oops” moments. There have to be many among both our seasoned and newbie RVers…
Fried his electric box
Haydee S. hooked his 30-amp RV to 220 V. He wrote, “I can commiserate with the home electrician and the 30A plug. I also brought my new RV home and wanted to hook it up to a house electrical outlet. Took a look at the plug and looked like my dryer’s and stove’s configuration, so I thought it was 220V. Needless to say, fried the box inside. Lucky for me it was under warranty and got it fixed for free.”
Stymied by a burro!
T U. had one of the more unusual RV issues. They report, “My husband and I visited Custard State Park in SD during the annual bison roundup season, so the park was very busy. We took a side road that looked extremely popular, as lots of other tourists were on that road. Traffic came to a crawl and we inched along for probably a mile. There wasn’t much to see for all that bother, and there was nowhere to turn around, even for cars. We finally reached the end and it was a very tight turnaround with about a-10 foot drop all around. Fortunately, we were in a small Class C, so there was enough road to work with. However, we pulled up and had to come to a complete stop. A burro was blocking our way, and it had no interest in moving. Our RV blocked the burro from the sight of all the vehicles behind us, so they were just getting more and more frustrated by this RV that wasn’t even trying to make the turnaround.
“Some helpful people kindly tried encouraging us, assuring us that there was enough room, oblivious to the burro situation. I got out of the RV, a bit nervous to approach this feral burro, and after much coaxing, and perhaps realizing we were not going to feed it, it finally moved out of the way. We got a lot of disgruntled looks as we headed past the cars we had been blocking. The burro had not had the courtesy to make a public exit, instead disappearing down the drop-off!”
Car wash entrance and exit had different heights
Debbie J. tells us about their experience at a car wash. She wrote, “We went to a car wash with the trailer. We were very careful driving in with no problem. Sadly the opening to get out was about four inches shorter. We lost the cover on the A/C. Could have been worse, but lesson learned.”
Oops! Steps down!
John M. had the unfortunate experience of not following their checklist… once. He wrote, “We have an extensive checklist we go through before moving our travel trailer. However, we didn’t consult it once after stopping for fuel and jumping inside to use the facilities. I neglected to put up the steps after locking the door. A moment later, the steps hit a curb as we pulled out of the station, and were rendered irredeemably bent. Fortunately, they were easily replaced once we were home. But now I lift up the steps before locking the door, and we make a point to ask each other if everything we opened up during any short stop was secured before continuing.”
Where’s that light switch?
Thomas S. was a bit chagrined. He wrote, “I was sitting in my recliner watching TV and noticed a light was out. So, I went online and ordered a box of 6. I figured if one was out, others would be soon to follow. After I received the new ones, I went to walk the furkids and accidentally hit the outside light switch. Low and behold, the light (I thought was out) came on. Boy, did I feel stupid! I kept the new lights, figuring I would eventually need them anyway.”
Please share your RVing “oops” mistake story
Humor can be the best medicine and mistakes the best lesson! Have you had some unfortunate “oops” mistakes during your RVing adventures? We would love to hear them. Please fill out the form below and include a photo if you have one. Thank you!
It’s Custer – not Custard State Park, – Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer.
I think it is Custard’s, if it was delicious.!
sometimes typos make for the best comments
Did you stop at “Custard’s Last Stand”. Delicious!
Ha! love it
When encountering “stubborn” animals in a road that have become accustomed to traffic and humans, just keep rolling forward very slowly but steadily. They’ll move out of the way.
Thank you, Nanci! 🙂