If you are out there traveling and camping around the country you will make goofs. Look at it as part of the experience and just another campfire story. Here are a few of ours and if you go on YouTube you can find a lot of fellow campers confessions.
Sewer Connection
We now always check Sewer Connection again before dumping either at a full hookups site or at a dump station. We were once in a hurry during set up and didn’t pay attention to how the bayonet sewer connection was attached. Then as we were preparing to leave we opened the black tank valve only to discover our mistake and a need to clean up our site. Now, as a final double check to make sure that every thing is connected correctly, we release just a little gray water first, before releasing the black water then finally flushing the hose with the gray water. It’s so much better than having to do a clean up!!!
Camper Clearance
Measure and know your camper height. Our T@B 400 is only 8’4″ tall but even at that we were traveling a US highway and as we approached a historic bridge to drive under it’s tall arch. If there was a sign warning about the 8′ clearance on the bridge, we didn’t see it. Our trailer clipped the bottom of the sign which fortunately was fixed only at the top. Ultimately the damage was minimal to the top of the trailer but it was a clear reminder that on back roads, even US highways, you need always to be alert for Low Clearance warning signs.
Failure to Chock
Always chock your wheels front and back on both sides before you unhitch. You may be on level ground, then again you may be surprised. When we were picking up our T@B 400, we backed our T@B-CS into the spot next to it on the dealer’s lot, attached the jockey wheel, unhooked the chains, and lifted the hitch off the ball. The lot was in fact not level and suddenly the trailer was headed downhill toward two very expensive new Airstream trailers! Fortunately one of us was able to grab one of the T@B handles and hold it while the other quickly found chocks and placed them. No damage done. Lesson learned. Hope you don’t have to learn the hard way! As a good practice we also take off our chains last just in case a chock were to slip (We’ve also had this happen us).
And Other Folks, Too
We’re not alone. Sean & Kristi of Long Long Honeymoon may not be traveling with a T@B but we can relate to their mistakes. And here’s another list of mishaps to try to avoid.