What is the tightest spot you have found yourself in with your RV?

[Steve578]

By far some of the tightest places have been in gas stations. I pull a 39 foot 5th wheel but have never been where I couldn't get in or out. The tightest spot for vertical clearance was on a detour near Chattanooga where the clearance under a railroad overpass was 13 feet, 1 inch and our RV has that exact height. Just got four scratches on the rear ac cover from that one.

[Barryengleman]

A few years ago we were headed for the 1000 Trails park in the Sierras between Sacramento and Reno off I80. We had been there before. The gps told to get off a a certain exist which we did. All seemed normal until the gravel road we were on got a little too narrow but I kept going because it had been a few years since we were at this park. After about 6 miles I realized we were on the wrong road. The gravel went to dirt and it turned into a mountain road with steep drop on passenger side and almost straight up on driver side. I finally found a stop where I could get off the road enough to be out of the way took the car off and used it to try to find a spot to turn our 40’ Dutch Star around. About 3 more miles up the road I finally found that spot. On the way to that spot with the motorhome my worst nightmare showed coming from the opposite way....a logging truck full of logs. He stopped and gave me that “you are an idiot” look and I looked back at him with the “I am an idiot” look. We didn’t even discuss what needed to be done. He headed for the almost straight up side of the road, I headed for the almost straight down side and we managed to pass each other with maybe 4 or 5 inches to spare. We did get to the turn around point and did get out of there without meeting anyone else. I no longer put my full faith in the gps!

[gcsprayjr]

The scariest tight place we have gotten into was in Pegion Forge TN. We went to a resort to visit some friends who were staying there. Since our RV is an F-350 crewcab with an 11 foot slide in camper we didn't think much about getting into a tight spot. The road twisted in such an angle that the weight shifted and the camper unloaded the tie downs on the passenger side. I felt the passenger duels lift off of the street. Lucky I was able to turn into the left and the truck set back on the street. Lucky no one else was nearby. Watch out for steep streets!

[Wbago97]

My backyard


Though driving through the Texas Motor Speedway tunnel cost me a side mirror

[Kahoona]

We had a 31" Coachmen Mirada A class with a Civic Toad and we were passing through New Orleans with an eye to finding a parking spot for the RV. We turned down and alley (we thought) and found ourselves in the loading ramp area for the Mississippi Ferryboat! Cars ahead, cars behind and now way to back up anyway. We had to unhook the car, apologize to many and get some to make room so we could get out. This is how we learn.

[NRR]

Hurricane came through the fall before.

Driving down the east coast close to Florida. Saw a marked sightseeing pull off. So I did. I did not see a portion of the loop was washed away pulling in.


Think a 2002 F250 with zero turning radius. Pulling a 25” TT and you have a big problem.


I do not know how many times I wiggled that rig so I could get out of there. I think it was over half an hour.

[sgpd1sam]

Originally Posted by nuevomex

I was driving our 36-foot class A by myself for the first time. I had just dropped off my son in LA and was headed back to Santa Fe. I was coming down the Grapevine and felt my brakes beginning to go. I pulled over intending to put out my safety cones but I was so close to the mountain that I couldn’t’ open the side compartments on the RV. I called the CAT dealer in Bakersfield and told them my predicament. They said they would send a tow truck out. They did, but it was the most harrowing hour I have ever spent in my life. I was on a curve and those damn semis would barrel past me and shake the living daylights out of the RV AND me. Finally, the tow truck arrived. The drive came inside and said, “Do you have any beer in that fridge?” Yes, I replied. He then said, “Well, little lady, just have one, relax and leave the hooking up to me!” I then climbed into his cab and we towed my RV to Bakersfield. They had to order a new electrical circuit board for it and I stayed in sweltering Bakersfield for three days.

I can relate. I spent a week in Barstow one night after I threw a belt on a Sunday night.

[Linda Bohr]

Steve716, it's a good thing the tornado wasn't as close as you thought, parking under a bridge or overpass is the last thing you want to do. That twister, if close, could have sucked you and your Rv right out of the territory. You were very lucky.

[Alan_Hepburn]

Not a tight spot, but an "interesting" drive going through Nebraska this past August...


Fortunately it was less than a foot deep!

[RVport]

Boyds key west lol

[Daverene]

Ok here is the disaster I was involved in we pulled into my mom and dad‘s town in Savannah Tennessee to get to their house I had to go around the corner at the end of the street as I’m going around the corner pulling my 40 foot fifth wheel a guy comes around the corner cuts me off the rear wheels on the fifth wheel get sucked into the ditch and here I am leaning over almost flipping the fifth wheel some guy stops asked me if I’m OK tell him I need to talk truck he responds with there are no tow trucks in town you have to get one two hours away so I called the tow truck two hours away he says he’s actually four hours away in the meantime he’s too nice gentleman show up with a very large Jack hi Jack up the camper put some concrete blocks underneath it some plywood some two by fours and two by sixes and I get it out of the ditch then only took about four hours so I finally get around the neighborhood to my dads house my dad says go ahead and back in here it’s nice and hard and so I’m back in my dad‘s yard only to sync my truck in a 40 foot RV in

[CJ7ole]

Only had to unhook the toad once, I thought the gravel road tied into the highway, but it ended in a small dirt cul-de-sac.

Most pucker? In St. Pete FL to meet someone to drop off some packages. We met on the service drive in front of Panera's. Continuing on the service drive would only take us into a small motel dead end. So thinking Panera's surely had deliveries via semi I pulled into their parking lot to circle the building. At lunch time, parking lot 100% filled. At the rear the drive thru bypass lane would work if I could swing into unused parking spaces to make the turn. No unused spaces. Can't just sit there until later as I was blocking at least 15 spaces. Can't back up with the toad, so I decided to try it. Inside the lane's 90 degree curve wasn't just curbed, it had an 18" high retaining wall. Oh boy. Thank goodness the toad tracks the MH almost perfectly. Made it through with the tire of the toad scuffing the retaining wall. Had I not made it, I would have needed to disconnect the toad, reinstall its driveshaft, all in front of about 20 O
PO'ed onlookers.

[gcsprayjr]

Not exactly on the same track as other posts, however we did get into a situation some years ago that got some stares from onlookers. We were traveling the Blueridge Parkway with another couple who are about one generation older then us. Old family friends.

We were traveling with a then new 2001 Chevy crewcab dually towing our 36 foot HRC Imperial 5th wheel. We blew a head gasket on the truck up on the parkway. We were able to limp down the mountain to campground in Marion NC, however the truck was just about DOA when we got to the campground. I had talked to the local Chevy dealer who was going to pick up the truck the next morning for repairs. Our plan was to stay the night in the RV, then rent a car the next morning, drive the 120 miles back home and get our old trusty 87 Chevy CC dually to complete the trip.

The only campsite available was for a 22 foot or shorter RV. We backed the 36 footer in all the way back to where the rear tires were against the retaining wall in an attempt to get as much of the front of the rig out of the street as possible. As it turned out the front of the truck stuck out into the street a foot, however no one was planning to check out that night or the next morning, so it wasn't a problem. We didn't feel comfortable disconnecting the trailer from the truck since 1/3 of the trailer was hanging over a ravine. Both my wife and the other couple expressed fear of spending the night in the camper, however after careful explanation that the trailer tires were on solid ground, and the trailer was hitched to the truck which was in park with the EM brake set. Finally when I chalked both sets of rear wheels on the dually they finally relented and agreed that it was OK. We put a piece of duct tape across the inside of the rear door to remind anyone getting up in the middle of the night that door would not be a good choice.

The rest of the trip went without incident.

[BigSkyGuy37]

Originally Posted by yeloduster

The spring of 1995 had been an especially wet one in the Black Hills of South Dakota. My wife and our two 12 year old girls were vacationing in a pickup with a large slide in camper. We arrived in Custer State Park early in the afternoon and found a campsite. We then decided to tour the Buffalo Pasture.

As I said before it had been a very wet spring. Puddles were common on the dirt and gravel back roads. We knew the area around French Creek was especially pretty and often was excellent for viewing wildlife. So off we set to French Creek. We soon came upon a sign that blocked the left half of the road. The sign said, "Road is Closed Ahead". Now the sign is on the left side of the road. I am driving on the right side of the road as is the custom in South Dakota. We debated whether the sign meant that the road is closed here or that the road is closed ahead and you cannot get out the other side. There had obviously been several vehicles both directions on the road. We (my wife will say I) decided that the sign meant that somewhere ahead the road was closed. Merrily, I drove past the sign and on down the road. We soon came to a large puddle in the road. I geared down and proceeded. After we came out the far side I thought, "Boy, a guy could have gotten stuck in that hole". I decided that we would proceed partly because I didn't want to try the mud hole again and partly because we were almost to French Creek. We began climbing into the hills. As we climbed, the road surface changed to decomposed granite. This surface even when wet offered excellent support and traction for the truck. This wasn't going to be so bad after all.

We rounded a bend. A small creek had developed and was running down the middle of the road. The water was 2 or 3 inches deep. Unbeknownst to me, a large spring had developed because of the wet spring. Did I mention that it had been a VERY wet spring? Now this spring was in the middle of the road. It was the source of the small stream. Once more I geared down and entered the small creek. How was I to know that an area about the size of a house had been turned into the equivalent of quick sand by the spring in the middle of the road? We sunk. We sunk to the frame. The tires had about the same traction as they would have in water. They may have worked had they been paddles. Because they were tires, we went nowhere. It was about 5 PM.

After a quick appraisal of the situation, I estimated that I could build a road under the truck in about a week of 12 hour days. Being the intrepid explorer, I assured the girls that we would be alright. We had several cans of chili and running water (running around and under the truck), I set out to build the road (the girls were highly entertained by my construction clothing consisting of a swimming suit and a pair of hunting boots. I did mention that it had been a VERY, VERY wet spring. Fortunately (or unfortunately as your perspective dictates) a ranger in an airplane spotted us and called in rangers on the ground. About 2 hours into my 84 hour project a ranger in a 4 wheel drive pickup arrived. As we talked, his attitude changed from righteous indignation (How could you ignore the road closed sign?) to resigned acceptance (stupid tourists) to good natured helpfulness (you should have seen how stuck Joe was last week, took a Cat to pull him out). He said, "We'll hook on with this chain and I will pull you out." Ha! Ha! Soon he was stuck fast. He called in reinforcements. The ranger #2 arrived in his 4 wheel drive pickup. He managed to pull #1 out of the mud. We (well maybe they) decided that with both pickups pulling, we could get it out. Ha! Ha! Ha! You guessed it, there we were, all of us stuck. After disconnecting all the chains and some digging and so on ranger #2 got out. He then pulled out ranger #1 again. They then decided that their puny little trucks were no match for my 10,000 lbs of RV. They decided to call the REINFORCEMENTS in the form of a wrecker from Custer and they left.

In July dusk falls slowly and late in the Black Hills. As twilight closed around us, we listened to the twittering of the birds as they settled in for the night. In the distance a family of coyotes serenaded us with their howling and yapping. We enjoyed the babbling of the brook, it was nearby, under the truck actually, and cooked some of that chili for supper. About 10:30, the wrecker arrived. As we talked, his attitude changed from incredulity (How did you get that thing in here? I got stuck 3 times on the way in. It HAD been a VERY, VERY, VERY wet year) to efficient worker. He hooked onto my truck, put blocks behind his wheels and promptly pulled the wrecker into the mud. Allowing as how that wasn't going to work, he then tied the front of the wrecker to a BIG rock. He almost tipped the wrecker onto its side because the wrecker wasn't in a straight line from my truck to the BIG rock. Plans again needed to be changed. Spying a VERY BIG tree ahead, he then tied the wrecker to the tree and the winch to my truck. VERY slowly an inch at a time the truck and camper came out of the hole. It is now about 12:30 AM.

The driver casually suggested that maybe I should pay him after we get back to the pavement. There is no doubt that he will have to pull us out again! Being the intrepid explorer with unerring judgement and unequaled driving skills I accepted the challenge. At 1 AM we reached the paved road without further mishap. After taking his due, the wrecker driver exited into the night.

At 1:30 AM we finally arrived at the campground. Ranger #1 stopped by to make sure that we were alright (nice folk those Custer Park Rangers). I was off to the shower (my wife wouldn't let me in the camper with my construction clothes on.) When I returned from my shower, the girls were whining that they hadn't gotten to roast marshmallows over the campfire as they had been promised. The resourceful explorer spied a campfire dying to embers in a nearby campsite. 0k girls, if you are quite we can roast your marshmallows here. Mmmmm good. If Lauren had talked quieter the nice folks whose campfire we borrowed wouldn't have been awakened in the night.

As darkness settled in the camper, the girls contently enjoyed the lingering taste of campfire marshmallows, the wife sighed and contemplated past, present and future life with the intrepid explorer. The explorer wondered, could he really have built a road under a truck with nothing but an ax and a shovel? In just 84 hours? TOO BAD, we'll never know!

I love this story! I read it 3 times and just belly laughed each time!

You've got a great sense of humor and a flair for telling a story!

Thx,
Todd