Oopsy daisy!
Until we bought the Puck L we had before the Troll we've got now, we had never even contemplated getting a caravan. Well, that's not quite true. We did have a nosey around a T@B or two, but then we saw the light.
This only happened in 2008, so we're still Johnny-come-latelies as far as caravans are concerned. And sometimes it shows. Sometimes it shows in front of other people, but mostly it shows when nobody is looking...
Over the past seven years or so, we (me, mostly) have contrived to:
Check that the breakaway cable works by driving the car away from the caravan with it still inadvertently attached. It does. And it made me jump.
Drive off with the movers still engaged, leaving two very conspicuous furrows in someone's carefully-mown turf.
Electrocute myself when plugging a short extension into the exterior socket on the Troll.
Leave the hookup cable neatly - and tightly - coiled while plugged in for several days, though I'm still not convinced that it would have caught fire and blown everybody within a hundred yard radius to smithereens. This stems from a pathological hatred of wires all over the place. Can't abide them. A coil was tidy.
Drive all the way back from deepest Suffolk with the mover turned on, though not with the rollers engaged. I'm not sure it would have actually done any damage to anything, but I don't think it's a good thing to do generally.
Tie our newly-acquired - and half-dismantled - awning in a knot at the Stratford meet when a completely unexpected gust of wind pulled it out of our hands and took it over the roof while still attached. One or two things got a little bent, but nothing terminal, thankfully. I don't think anybody saw...
Catch the spare wheel cradle on an unseen lump in my sister's drive. It made such a horrendous noise I was convinced I'd find a massive gash in the side of the van when I got out to see what I'd done. It's a stupid place for a spare wheel anyway.
Have the head of my rubber mallet fly off in mid stroke in deepest Somerset. During the couple of seconds of silence prior to it falling into a nearby ditch I had no idea where it was, so I involuntarily covered my head in case it had gone vertically upwards.
There are one or two others, but none that I'm prepared to admit to in case anyone from the HSE is looking in...
Anyone else prepared to fess up to make me feel a bit less of a chump?
.
RE: Oopsy daisy!
in Anything Eriba-related Mon Aug 03, 2015 7:24 pmby Aaron Calder • | 3.834 Posts
1. Driven off with the jockey wheel down.
2. Driven hundreds of miles with chunk of pop-top fabric out on the roof.
3. Dragged 13-pin electrical cable on the road wearing through the wires and didn't find out until I arrived on site.
4. Started to use mover with corner steadies still down.
5. Tried to drive off with mover rollers engaged.
6. Forgot to press down the stabiliser actuating handle only realising when the van began to feel 'lively' at 65mph.
7. Unscrewed the stabiliser adjusting knob too far seizing up the mechanism in the process.
There are bound to be more, so no, mate, you are not alone in your dickheadery. All the above are examples of why I put together the checklist.
Link to 'Pre-departure Checklist'
Forum Administrator
2003 Triton 420 and Audi A4 2.0Tfsi S-line SE Cabriolet
I think I've done all of them except the rubber mallet.
Plus driving over a hundred miles in France with the jockey wheel down. New jockey wheel required but no other major damage.
Which reminds me that we recently did a journey without connecting the electrics so no indicators or brake lights.
Our worst awning experience was at Resipole on Ardnamurchan the weekend of 7/11 when trying to take it down.Itt caught a gust and actually lifted Frances into the air. It was very scary for quite a while and in the end we had to drive the car onto the skirting to hold it down whilst waiting for the wind to abate.
TonyP
Troll gently nudging up against Galaxy.
After collecting an earlier van from AL following a service we stopped for a few days on the way home. OH connected the electric and then the aquaroll. Water immediately started to gush out alarmingly underneath the van. Air turned blue as OH thinks AL has damaged something vital during service. After a bit I had a quiet look at the manual. 'Could it be the valves?' 'Valves, what valves?' So he phoned AL and then sheepishly 'I think we should close those valves'. Water problem solved and air turns the right colour again. I don't often get technical things right though and we learnt what we should have done to empty the system the previous winter!
I learned a long time ago that rubber mallets have similar properties to chocolate fireguards
.................weapon of choice is a claw hammer............handy for getting stubborn pegs back out too
Snapped a breakaway cable once...........disconnected everything else and forgot that.........drove the car away to park it followed by a very loud crunch
Forum moderator
Vauxhall Insignia Sri towing 2006 Triton 430 import
I too don't have much luck with breakaway cables Driven off without disconnecting on arrival - and- have driven off and apparently not connected correctly, got home found it had been dragging on the road, worn away so only one bit left hanging So always carry a spare - the 'quick-fit' type 'cause it's a difficult job with the 'split ring fixing' type unless you have the tools
RE: Oopsy daisy!
in Anything Eriba-related Mon Aug 03, 2015 11:10 pmby Poptop320 • | 2.634 Posts
I got confused with the jockey wheel, instead of using the winding handle I released the clamp on the tube which dropped the van just missing my toes that were protected with a pair of crocks
Popped my jockey wheel by not raising it high enough and then it got caught on the frame when turning with the motor mover.
Turned my motor mover in the wrong direction when I first got it as I had the remote upside down which made the van tap my gate post..
Drove from the lakes on the motorway to Manchester with my Puck poptop up at the back, it must of bounced open or I forgot to lock it
When I go on holiday I like to pop my top!
RE: Oopsy daisy!
in Anything Eriba-related Tue Aug 04, 2015 12:11 amby Julie Grafo • | 3.564 Posts
Driven off with the steadies down.
Driven in the pouring rain with the roof up, that makes a mess.
Completely undid the jockey wheel dropping the Eriba onto the ground.
Left breakaway cable attached.
Forgot to switch fridge over to electric.
Drove off leaving waste container on the ground.
Put the awning up inside out.
Probably more I can't think off but you only do them once
Puck L 225 GT pushing Honda CRV SE 1.6 i-DTEC
RE: Oopsy daisy!
in Anything Eriba-related Tue Aug 04, 2015 12:28 pmby Pepé Le Pew • | 2.752 Posts
We picked up our Orion from Castle Carey the nice blokes there hitched me up while
we sorted paperwork then we drove off to The Old Oaks to have a shake down stay.
When I unhitched after reversing perfectly, I discovered they had allowed the caravan
cable to drag, ignoring the bungee cable fitted by me for the cable slack.
I phoned them and they turned out and fitted a new cable then and there.
Some OAP's Should Get Holiday Pay
RE: Oopsy daisy!
in Anything Eriba-related Tue Aug 04, 2015 1:56 pmby Pepé Le Pew • | 2.752 Posts
Quote: crow wrote in post #12Is that it?
We picked up our Orion from Castle Carey the nice blokes there hitched me up while
we sorted paperwork then we drove off to The Old Oaks to have a shake down stay.
When I unhitched after reversing perfectly, I discovered they had allowed the caravan
cable to drag, ignoring the bungee cable fitted by me for the cable slack.
I phoned them and they turned out and fitted a new cable then and there.
Pathetic.
It wasn't even something you did.
Next?
.
Left a site with a man running after us (we had paid). Corinne said I should stop - glad I did as he wanted to tell us our hitch wasn't properly engaged, disaster averted I think.
Left fridge unlocked - what a mess!!!!
Let off brake on a slope, only my quick witted wife saved me - I will never, never, never do that again.
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to fess-up. It is always a great comfort to know you're not the only one.
Tony
ERIBA Puck L 230 pushing a Citroen C4 Picasso
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