In this column, we are 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!
Note: We need more entries to continue this column! We must have an incredibly mistake-free group! Please fill out the form below the article and share your “mistakes.”
Watch out for flying UFOs!
Howard S. watched a “UFO” antenna flying next to him. He sent this to us: “Y’all’s gonna enjoy this one! In 2012, we went on a ’round-the-U.S. road trip of 6,500 miles total. Somewhere in central Nebraska, we were driving all alone on the interstate, keeping an eye out in the rearview mirrors, when suddenly I saw a UFO??? But I knew right away it was my VHF antenna, which don’t matter cause the darn thing never worked anyway.
“But here comes the funny part! Behind us was a massive Class A 40ft+. I pulled off at the next rest area to check it out. The antenna flew along between me and the guard rail then flew up right in front of my windshield. The giant Class A was right behind me.
“I’m up on the roof on our Class C Lexington when the old guy comes up laughing. He says to me, “You see that UFO flying alongside you?” Lol! I told him it was my VFH antenna. “Yeah,” he says, “I watched it shaking then all of a sudden it flew off….”
Stay on task!
Dawn W. sent us this about the importance of staying on task! She wrote, “After enjoying a visit with one of our kids and his family for an extended weekend we were ready to go home.
“We did our normal routine of loading up, pulling the slide and awning in, and checking that the jacks were all up, stairs were in and safety chains were hooked up. Water and electrical was disconnected.
“Unfortunately, during the process of putting the hitch in, one of the dogs got loose, and after getting the dog back my husband didn’t get the hitch pin in!
“We even both had done a walk around and neither one of us noticed!! Leaving the site was downhill, but after we turned onto the road out of the campground we started uphill and CRASH—the RV pulled out the hitch.
“Luckily, many people came to our rescue and helped us get the RV jacked up and hooked back up to the truck. Now we both check the hitch pin! We were lucky there was no permanent damage!”
Lock that hitch!
Leonard R. had a hitch pin misstep too. He wrote, “I was suffering from the flu and I hooked up my truck to the 5th wheel trailer. My head was certainly not clear, and after completing the walk around the outside and inside, we were ready to go. I started to pull out of the campsite when I heard a BANG! In my foggy condition, I had forgotten to lock the trailer hitch and as I pulled the truck out, the trailer pin landed on our 40-gallon sewer tote! Luckily only the tote was damaged.”
Water, water everywhere!
Daniel B. is not saying who bumped the faucet on, but… “I hooked up RV to city water. Turned on the valve—no drips. My brother-in-law called me over to help him do something. 10 minutes later I went back to rig to find water everywhere. Someone, I’m not saying who, must have bumped the sink handle. The sink cover was still on and water was running everywhere—into drawers, down the counter to the stove—EVERYWHERE!”
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!
Thank you, Nanci! Those poor people, especially those whose RV went off the road. 🙁