Community Forums

SickPup404 · 06-29-2021, 09:18 AM

Morning all,

I'm by no means an "experienced" camper - we just bought a used one last year and have only been on three trips so far (all within about 100 miles) - 1 last year and two within the past three weeks.

I was very cautious to look for a camper that "fit" within the weight budget of our TV (2017 Explorer with Class III package), I took apart the WDH from the seller and followed E2's instructions as if we just got the hitch to make sure it was properly adjusted for our setup, I've been very cautious with weights (wife wanted to add a bike rack to the back of the TT and two kayak racks to roof of the TV - said no), even got my full weights from a cat scale to make sure we were good...

I'm literally shocked by how careless/sloppy a lot of people seem to be. What I've seen from the two trips this year:
- Huge TTs with undersized TVs. Like Jeep Cherokees, Acura MDX, etc pulling 31' double axle TT's with 2-3 slides.
- Bumper pulls with no WDH sagging terribly.
- Bumper pulls WITH WDH not set up right - sagging terribly.
- Chucking the stinky slinky extended into the pass through basement (not collapsed into the bumper).
- Dumping grey before black.
- Leaving grey/black valves open (hello poop pyramid).
- Leaving sewer hookup open and dripping as they pull out to leave.
- Leaving hose and brass "Y" hooked to pedestal (packed up everything else at full hookups - chairs, grill, tables, bikes, stinky slinky, power, etc).
- Bike racks bouncing along the road on the back bumper of the TT.

I guess people must think if their TV has a hitch, it can pull whatever hooks to it...

I could only shake my head...

What else have you seen?

GoneToTheDog · 06-29-2021, 09:43 AM

I bought my first RV in 1993. So yep, over the years I have pretty much seen it all. And yes, people really are that careless. More so today than ever. Everyone is in a hurry and distracted.

I commend you for taking the time to educate yourself, making sure you and your family are as safe as possible.

MSHappyCampers · 06-29-2021, 09:55 AM

Hi ! Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined us!

In a word, YES! We've seen many dumb things in our 21 years of RV'ing. Pulling out with TV antennas up, slideouts extended, steps extended, you name it! It's awfully easy to get distracted when you're packing up to leave. That's why we use a checklist!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

Old-Biscuit · 06-29-2021, 09:58 AM

Fools have been around since the dawn of man

NOTHING has changed...nor will it
And that doesn't just apply to overloaded tow vehicles

They walk among us
They reproduce and maintain the stupid pool sufficiently

Gary RVRoamer · 06-29-2021, 09:59 AM

Yes, people are too often both careless and ignorant. And the RV industry (RVIA) doesn't do anything to help educate owners in the safest & most effective ways to do things. Sometimes more the opposite ("Sure, you can tow that!"). If they don't come to sites like this and search or ask questions, how will they ever learn to do things better?

SickPup404 · 06-29-2021, 10:29 AM

I'm chuckling more now! Slides extended - gotta keep my eyes open for that one!

jondrew55 · 06-29-2021, 10:44 AM

I had to have my Discovery 40G driven about 30 miles with the full wall slide extended to get the slide repaired. That was a sight to behold. They had a safety truck following with lights.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SickPup404

I'm chuckling more now! Slides extended - gotta keep my eyes open for that one!

fagnaml · 06-29-2021, 10:45 AM

SickPup --

If every RV owner is honest, we've all had a few 'bone head' moments. Two such moments I've had are:

1) Start driving without lowering the bat wing TV antenna
2) Forgot to release emergency brake on my Jeep after connecting to the motorhome

Both of my "bone head" moments occurred during the last several years while departing from an LSU football weekend. Fortunately other folks in the gravel LSU RV Lot quickly reminded me of my errors so no damage of any kind.

SickPup404 · 06-29-2021, 10:51 AM

Yup, I've had one already too:

Chocked the wheels, disconnected the wiring, dropped the WDH torsion bars, and disconnected all while talking to the wife. Got in the TV to get room to remove the WDH and got stopped in a few inches - forgot to unhook safety chains.

I told her that I should have paid more attention to my list!

SickPup404 · 06-29-2021, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jondrew55

I had to have my Discovery 40G driven about 30 miles with the full wall slide extended to get the slide repaired. That was a sight to behold. They had a safety truck following with lights.

Wow! I bet you were a nervous wreck!

AJMike · 06-29-2021, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jondrew55

I had to have my Discovery 40G driven about 30 miles with the full wall slide extended to get the slide repaired. That was a sight to behold. They had a safety truck following with lights.

I have always assumed that when I see an RV or TT going down the road with the slide extended it means that the owner could not get the slide to retract and was heading to a repair shop. That is a pretty major item to overlook when leaving and even if someone does not notice it, it is pretty hard to not see it when you look in the side mirrors.

SergioP · 06-29-2021, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

Fools have been around since the dawn of man

NOTHING has changed...nor will it
And that doesn't just apply to overloaded tow vehicles

They walk among us
They reproduce and maintain the stupid pool sufficiently

Stupidity kills, but not fast enough

scbwr · 06-29-2021, 11:10 AM

Some things are frequently simple mistakes such as forgetting the tv antenna or leaving the stairs out or the assist handle.....at least in my case!!

But many other things that you see when it comes to towing properly with adequate equipment seem to be very often the result of just not learning about what you need to do or just not giving a hoot! I think there has always been some of that evident on the road, but with RVing having gotten so popular, all of us are seeing it more frequently.

Boomper · 06-29-2021, 11:27 AM

Sometimes you just can't fix stupid.

I've started to notice in everyday driving, when I'm behind an RV, if the mirrors on the tow vehicle are extended out far enough to enable the driver to see traffic behind him/her.

Many times I cannot see any part of the tower's side mirrors, even when looking down the side of their RV. I guess that makes for a blissful ride, just having to look forward and not worry about traffic behind.