Most embarrassing moment at a campsite

[John Berger]

Anyone willing to share their most embarrassing moment at a campsite? Even if nobody else saw it, it's how it affected you that matters.



I was at the Pigeon Forge KOA. I hooked up the sewer hose to drain all of the tanks and right about the time I pulled the black water handle, the blue hose came off of the fitting. I'm glad I was barefooted It took me about two seconds to push the handle closed, but that was enough. NASTY!!!! I'm looking all around to see who noticed, while hurriedly hooking up the hose to spray this crap down. I got it spread out and washed away, but most of "the flow" went under the trailer. Man, it took two hours, 300 gallons of water and one can of courtesy spray to finally overcome that smell. I don't think the neighbors noticed, however. I always check the clamp, now.

 

[JyRO]

Not typical...

Actually I haven't done anything embarrasing camping and/or towing wise yet. But one time at a campground in KY, just before Christmas. I had some bidness in the area, and was going to take the rest of December off for Christmas after my bidness was finished. So I decided to take the 5'er down to KY. then GA. over Christmas.



While in KY. I had a rental car so the wife could keep the truck to drive around while I was gone during the day. One night as I'm pulling up to our site I see my wife outside the camper with a worried look on her face.



She tells me that she came outside about a 1/2 hour ago to walk the dog and my little buddy (who was only 1 year 7 months old at the time) had locked the door from the inside behind her. I could see him inside playing, having fun, not even caring that he's alone. And we could talk to him and try to get him to come back and play with the door handle and switches, which he did. But he never did manage to unlock the door. He just didn't understand.



Luckily, before I'd shown up, my wife had asked the CG owner to call a locksmith. They showed up and few minutes later, and I learned in about 10 seconds just how easy the locks on my camper door are to defeat. Luckily, my little buddy never even realized anything was out of the ordinary, even though he'd been inside playing by himself for about 45 minutes to an hour. I don't think any other camper ever knew anything was going on. Besides, there wasn't that many there in December anyway.



- JyRO

 

[Fireman]

John,



That's not quiet as bad as what happened to my brother. This summer, after a two week stay at the lake, my brother started draining his FULL blackwater tank when suddenly the whole tank fell out from under his trailer. We're talking broken drain line, shi... tuff everywhere, I mean about 30 gal, it sure must have been real ugly :--) . He told me nobody saw nothing, so he picked up the tank, threw it into the back of his truck, picked up the paper, washed the area down as best he could, and high tailed it out of there :-laf . I would have paid to have seen that... . from a distance. "Yep, the last thing I saw was dat monkey trying to put that cork back in" :-laf



Fireman

 

[TboneMan]

Does drinking too many Gin Seven & Lemons and acting pretty stupid count?

 

[KMeek]

TBoneMan, everyone has THAT story!

 

[Dane]

Yeah,

First time I tried to back a 30' travel trailer into a skinny little campsite. I was a complete rookie, didn't even know the one hand on the bottom of the steering wheel trick. I had the whole campground watchin and grinnin before I was done...



After that I went to an empty supermarket parking lot and did my homework.

 

[SlyBones]

Originally posted by Dane

Yeah,

First time I tried to back a 30' travel trailer into a skinny little campsite. I was a complete rookie, didn't even know the one hand on the bottom of the steering wheel trick. I had the whole campground watchin and grinnin before I was done...

You mean is possible to out grow ? last time I backed in, got all finished, was giving everything a double check, and the guy in the spot next to me was going hmmmm... ... I thought to myself... .



Afterwards I walked over to strike up a conversation and the first thing the guy says is "Your no fun. I went in and got a beer. Came back out to sit down and watch and you were all done. What kinda fun is that?"

 

[Blu-meanie]

I camped one night on the California coast so I could be fresh for fishing the next morning at 5 AM or so. I arrived at 10 or 11 at night (woke anyone up that was sleeping with the 24 valves). I had a couple or so beers and went to sleep.

Around 3 AM natures call came (the beers). Got back to the truck and unlocked the doors... . the horn went off about 5 times and the lights flashed.

I left.

Twenty four valves rattling away on a foggy, still, and very early morning. They probably could hear it for several miles. (Took the stealer about 5 trys to fix that).

 

[klenger]

Many many years ago when I was good looking instead of rich, we were tent camping in a national forest in MI. There were a bunch of "young adults" in the campsite next to ours who were partying, playing music, drinking, etc. One of the girls from their group felt the call of nature (maybe from too much beer), and was too lazy to walk to the toilet. She walked behind their tent, dropped her pants, squated down, and then saw us. By then it was too late.

 

[Dkevdog]

Last year up near Paso Robles, CA I saw a couple in a brand new fiver and f-350 gasser make the mistake of forgetting to drop his tailgate ... ... ... ... .



You know what happened .





Kev

 

[rweis]

Here I am, new CTD owner and proud of it, pulled a pull behind trailer for several years, but just picked up a 5er from the dealer. Showed me how to hook it up, lock the hitch etc, fine.



Off to the campsite, pull through, easy. Went to unhook the 5er, couldn't get the jaws to open. Struggle, struggle.



Ok, swallow pride, go to next door motorhome. Any ideas how to unhook 5er, NOPE. Found static parked 5er. "How do you get it unhooked?", "don't know, had someone tow this in and drop it". Wait till another motorhome showed up, same thing, don't know.



No 5er's showed up. Have an appointment about 100 miles away at 0800 in the morning. Have to get this figuered out!!!!!!!!!!!! or take it with me, auuuuuuugh!



Fussed, and fussed, and fussed. Backed the unit up, no help, pulled forward, no help. HOW THE SAM HILL DO YOU DO THIS?



Chocked unit, tried the backup again --------- ahhhhhhhh, broke the code. You have to get the 5er pin to the front of the hitch carrier and off the locking jaws to relieve the locking jaws or the lock mechanism will not open.



Grin almost every time I unhook



BTW I now PADLOCK the unlock lever, a friend of mine stopped at a rest stop on the interstate, started to pull out and the 5er came out of the hitch. Dropped into the truck bed, seriously damaged the truck, seriously damaged the 5er (landing ger was up of course). Seems a "jokerster" at the rest area pulled his unlock lever as a prank. MANY MANY $K damage.

 

[dewdo]

A couple of years ago after taking delivery of my brand new 11. 5 Arctic Fox slide in with the slide out, I was camping at Sun Lakes State Park in eastern WA. I had never unloaded (or loaded) the camper before. I figured it was a good time to learn and practice.



I was on a slight slant, and the unloading went well, and we left the camper free standing while we were there fishing.



On the day we were to vacate, we had to be out of the spot at 1:00 PM. so after breakfast and a quick trip to the lake for some fishing we returned to load the camper back onto the truck.



My truck is a 4 X 4 and the jacks were just slightly beyone the red line, but the jacks had settled into the ground an inch or so.



I went to back up to load it, and I didn't have the camper high enough and ended up pushing it slightly which caused it to come out of the indentations, and to start sliding backwards on the jacks as the right front swing out bracket began to bend and the camper went into a slow descent to the ground as the jack bent.



Fortunately other campers on the sides of me saw what was happening and ran to assist. There was a picnic table nearby and I managed to slide it under the camper before it totaly collapsed.



I had to be out of the spot in an hour and there was no way I could load the camper with the bent bracket.



I went to see the ranger and made arrangements to stay past my check out time and to ask for directions to the nearest machine shop to see if I could get them to straighten out the bracket. Drove around all afternoon and tried three or four shops and none could get it back into shape.



I then called the manufacturer who said they had a bracket in stock and could ship it overnight express, but it would cost about $75. 00. At that point I was willing to pay $575. 00 to get it.



Got permission to stay another night and the next morning the bracket came in. Replaced the bent one and managed to get the camper on some pieces of 2x6's a fellow had and loaded, and was under way by noon.



Now I have the Stable Lift system and no longer have to worry about the camper jacks folding up on me.





Dewdo in the other Washington

 

[Big Best]

We are camp hosts at FT. Stevevens State Park,Or. in the summer months. One afternoon around check out time. this elderly gentleman was driving by a little to fast over a speed bump. Several hosts and i were standing around having coffee,when we hear a hell of a crash. The old boy lost his travel trailer right in the road. he must have been deaf because he did not stop. he just kept pouring the coal too it. He had a 4x4 Dodge Cummins,When his trailer tongue dug in the black top he started burning rubber,pulled the safety chains right off his rig. we got him stopped a 100 yds or so,he , ran back to his trailer and tried to pick up by hand, he darn near broke his back,We calmed him down,lifted the trailer by his elec. jack. We got him all hooked up welded his safety chains back on,He didnt have a pin in his ball hitch, his hitch lever jumped up and that is how he lost his trailer, We even gave him a hitch pen. That was the funniest thing i ever saw. After the shock wore off, fifty or so people laughed with him. no damage done, he went merrily on his way in his hopped up cummins.

 

[merryman]

Back in the 60s-70s, we raised, trained, showed horses, so I had lots of practice backing a pull type horse trailer and was real comfortable with it.

We bought a fithwheel RV and promptly set off on a trip. First night in a busy campground, I learned that backing a fiver is different----To make it worse, I was trying to back in on the right side, and wife and I had not even talked about signals etc. I got into the spot on about try # 15. I would bet that my performance not only brought a few laughs, but probably was subject of a few campfire yarns that weekend. It was awfull!!

We left REAL early the next AM. I did not want to see ANYONE



Vaughn

 

[dewdo]

This isn't a camping experience, but we were camping while fishing the lower Columbia River last August. We had our boay moored in the town of Chinook that had a boat ramp. At that time of the year it is very crowded with fishermen launching their boats.



We watched as a fellow in an older pick up backed his boat trailer to the water. He got out to aid his fishing partner leaving his truck in "Park. " His transmission must have popped out of park as his truck and boat trailer sank in about 10 feet of water. I was wanting to hang around and see what he did, but my fishing partners were anxious to get started fishing. When we returned that afternoon the rig had been pulled out, but his truck was ruined I am sure.



Another funny situation at the same spot was a couple of years ago. We watched as a man and his wife were trying to launch their 22' boat attached to a 40' motorhome. At first the wife was in the back making all kinds of motions and signals which the husband apparently couldn't understand.



He tried two times and then decided to let his wife back it up and he would give directions. She started backwards and he began making motions similar to what his wife had done. She ended up with the boay and motohome nearly crosswise ion the ramp. The husband began yelling at her and she jumped out and they began a very heated arguement there on the boat ramp. Finally she threw up her hands and called him a few choice names and started walking up the road into town.



He got in the motorhome and left passing his wife as she walked up the road. Don't know if he ever picked her up or not. Everyone on the ramp were dying laughing. I felt sorry for both of them.



Dewdo in the other Washington

 

[Big Best]

Before you get married you and your intended should back up a trailer together,To see if you are compatible for each other saves a lot of grief, and maybe a divorce. Talking from experience.

 

[Casey Balvert]

Two way radios and telling her exactly where I want the trailer saved my marriage. Of course I only bought them after I almost backed over an electrical post with my brand new fiver and brand new 97 diesel Ram. I couldn't hear my wife yelling. Bought the radios on the way home. Life has been good since.



Cheers, Casey

 

[JyRO]

Boat ramps...

A busy boat ramp CAN BE a very entertaining place to hang out! In college I moved trailers around in the yard of RPS. A hundred or so a day. So I am now very proficient at backing any trailer. I used to love to pull my buddies ski boat to the lake. I never had to pay him gas money for the skiing cause he used my Suburban (with manual locking hubs) to tow his boat. I used to love sneaking it into 4-Lo as he was putting his boat on, then just letting off the gas with it in D and idling it up the ramp. Lots of 4 cylinder 2WD ranger type trucks would either spin or be straining their guts out coming up & I'd make it look too easy. Man I thought that was so much fun. That and the fact that I'd put it directly in the center of the launch on the 1st try, my buddy would be in his boat. I'd knock it off the trailer just by hitting the brakes. He'd fire up the boat, and that was my signal to go park my truck. We could do it real quick. I miss that old Suburban ('88 4X4 3/4 ton Scottsdale).



- JyRO

 

[phoekema]

another 'bad day'

This did not happen to me, thank goodness, but my wife and I saw it first hand. We went for a walk one morning while camping in Cadillac MI and while on the walk saw an elderly couple pull in with what appeared to be a brand new fifth wheel. In going around one corner he didn't cut it wide enough and we heard this horrible SCREEEEEEEEEECH noise as he argued with a tree and the tree won, big time! Messed up the whole side of the new 5er. We both felt so badly for him and his wife.

People may poke fun of me, but I almost never back into any site without someone on the ground looking for problems (hopefully only potential problems). We live in Michigan and most sites have several trees. It is just too easy to miss something with only one set of eyes and those being in the pull vehicle.

 

[WadePatton]

Well I'm still a tent camper, so backing and dumping aren't a big issue, but this story merits a retell.



There where a lot of skunks at Big South Fork a few years back. Probably still are. We were there for a mountain bike race and were getting rained on. We had a tarp over the tents and had cooked under that tarp. The first night we were woke up by skunks rummaging through our trash. The next morning we were entertained by a skunk with his head in a pinto bean can. We kept giving them wide berth for obvious reasons. Second night we had ridden and eaten (and thrown some bones out) and went several sites away to visit other riders--who, like us, race for beer. We get back to our sight well after dark with no flashlight or lantern lit and I begin to relieve myself right away. Just seconds after the yellow rain began to fall something rustled and scurried away from right at my feet! I kinda stop and my buddy gets a light and there stands another skunk with a pork chop bone and an extra stripe.



I had just urinated on a skunk! We laughed all night and I was happy not to smell any worse than before.



The 'coons in St. Andrews SP FL used to be just as numerous and entertaining, but they've trapped 'em all out.