Happens...

West1134 · 10-03-2016, 09:14 PM

Literally sometimes.

Wife and I with another couple headed up to Pullman, WA for the WSU vs. Oregon game this weekend for some tailgating fun and to visit my Alma mater.

On our way up a semi hauling a manure/sludge with no cover over its trailer, dumped a bunch of literal fecal matter all over our rig while going around a corner to fast, causing it to splash all over us. The smell was horrendous! We had to drive another couple of hours before getting to Pullman as we were in the middle of nowhere when this happened.

So upon getting into Pullman at about midnight, after a 5am wake up, full day at work, and a 6.5hr drive, and then having the **** dumped on us, I was ready to get the rig cleaned up and have a beer. We went to a drive in pressure wash place and got it cleaned off so we didn't have to sit next to that smell all weekend while tailgating. I rolled up to the drive through pressure washing place and scoped it out making sure I had enough clearance, which I did...well enough for the building. I pulled into the spot, sprayed everything off, and then upon pulling out (vs backing out which I should have done) the swivel boom that the hose is attached to, hangs much lower than the entrance to the building, and caught my roof, vent, and A/C unit destroying them as I slowly exited the garage. I stopped when I heard the crunch, got out swore a lot, and backed out of the garage, pulled under a street light in the parking lot, and climbed up to inspect the damage.

We got tarps and bungees next, got to the tailgate section parked, unhooked, and began covering it right as the lightening and rain came pouring down. We got drenched, but luckily, only a few drops made it inside and nobody got struck by lightening. Of course the rain stopped as soon as we finished, and didn't rain but a tiny sprinkle the remainder of the weekend.

Had a mobile repair tech come out the next morning and said entire roof needs to be replaced (new rubber membrane over wood) new A/C unit and a couple other new parts. Got it taped up and covered as best as we could with the tarp so we could stay in it over the weekend as we didn't have another choice.

This photo shows you how the A/C unit got pushed back, and you can literally look straight down into my living space. No bueno.

Good new is WSU after having a very rough start to the season, beat Oregon (a team that I despise, has arrogant bandwagon fans, and is essentially corporate owned by Nike) for the second year in a row! So that make it hurt a little less. I was also able to drop the rig off at a local storage and repair place in Pullman on Sunday before driving back to Portland, and they will hopefully get it all fixed up for me in the next 2 weeks before I come back to Pullman for the WSU vs UCLA game.

Moral of the story... sh!t happens, sometimes literally. Keep your wits about you and ALWAYS check your clearances!!!

wildwest450 · 10-03-2016, 10:20 PM

How dumb do you have to be to tear your air conditioner off the roof?

Same thing I asked myself last fall...

My air conditioner was brand new when this happened, a warranty replacement.

West1134 · 10-03-2016, 10:32 PM

OUCH!! Yeah I have been kicking myself since it happened. At the end of the day accidents happen, and the fact that it was late, I was super tired, and eager to get setup didn't help. Hopefully will never make this mistake again.

I'm really hoping the shop I left it at can get it all repaired quickly, and my insurance doesn't try and screw me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dawniewest

How dumb do you have to be to tear your air conditioner off the roof?

Same thing I asked myself last fall...

My air conditioner was brand new when this happened, a warranty replacement.

wildwest450 · 10-03-2016, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by West1134

OUCH!! Yeah I have been kicking myself since it happened. At the end of the day accidents happen, and the fact that it was late, I was super tired, and eager to get setup didn't help. Hopefully will never make this mistake again.

I'm really hoping the shop I left it at can get it all repaired quickly, and my insurance doesn't try and screw me.

I hated myself for a good week. We always camp starting on Thursday so i'm usually packing up and driving with 3 hours of sleep, drove right in knowing I had to back out, then drove right out. I was able to get a great deal on a new unit and install it myself, it was super easy. Good luck...

West1134 · 10-03-2016, 10:53 PM

thanks!

Yeah, from the looks of it, swapping out an A/C unit looks to be pretty straight forward. If I hadn't tore the roof and mangled the vent housing as well, I would probably try and fix it myself. But since I was a good 6.5hr drive from home with rain in the forecast, I didn't want to risk further damage just getting it home. So to the shop I went, and called insurance to start the claim.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dawniewest

I hated myself for a good week. We always camp starting on Thursday so i'm usually packing up and driving with 3 hours of sleep, drove right in knowing I had to back out, then drove right out. I was able to get a great deal on a new unit and install it myself, it was super easy. Good luck...

jelliott · 10-03-2016, 11:04 PM

Wow! Fortunately you found a shop that can hopefully get you turned around and set before the next game! Glad to see the Cougs beat the @ucks, sorry it didnt go so well against my team. Go Broncos!

**wahoonc** · 10-03-2016, 11:16 PM

That stinks...

The good news is it can all be repaired and no one died.

Aaron

Handyman · 10-03-2016, 11:23 PM

What a bummer!!!! Been RVing for over 30 years and thought I had heard everything, but this is a new one to me.... And probably most of those here.

nineoaks · 10-04-2016, 02:29 AM

You would be surprised how many AC's we replaced when I worked at an RV dealer, some were from trying to drive thru a bank teller overhang, and some from low tree limbs. Hopefully your Ins co. will not give you much of a problem
and you can get it repaired quickly and properly..

hddecker · 10-04-2016, 03:54 AM

Ouch, my bank account hurts just looking at it.

It would take me at long to laugh that one off, than doing such a great job getting the awning arms by that snag.

I did learn that, the easy way to get your old awning fabric off. All you need to do is find a building with a metal roof, with a nice sharp edge right at awning level and slice.

I just can't come up with a good tale to tell about that one.

lcv800 · 10-04-2016, 11:03 AM

After you're done paying for it, you'll find a bit of humor in it. I've done 5 grand worth of self induced damage to mine for stupid things that I didn't want to turn into insurance. Only good thing is you don't make the same mistakes twice. Feel your pain though.
Rusty

hddecker · 10-04-2016, 12:54 PM

OK, Rusty spill it.

After all we are trying to ease West's pain some here.

I've thrown all my dumb towing stories out there and some of them are real belly laughers. I don't think all of mine have added up to $5K, but the point is they are all so really dumb, they are really funny. You just got to get to a good punch line.

West,

Your story could go along the lines that the washer wand fellon top of your camper just as you were driving out of the bay.

lcv800 · 10-04-2016, 03:11 PM

Where to begin? FYI my unit is only 18 months old, however I was a newbie when we bought it. First, never unhook your fifth wheel without putting down the front legs, even if the ground looks level. Rolled back and damaged my tailgate and crushed my Voltage steps. That was a $1000 Next, don't believe the weatherman if he says wind will be 10-12mph and your awning is not strapped down. Woke up to a broken arm and a large scratch across all five colors of my full paint unit. That was a $1500 FU. Next, a microburst took out my deck awning. Thought it would be okay in a rainstorm if it was strapped down. Wrong. Another $1000. Finally, pulling into a tight campground, watching my mirrors low not to hit anything, I failed to look high and my topper caught the nose of another 5th wheel. $1,200. Pretty expensive lessons. And most of those repairs are discounted by having friends do body work. RV'ing can be expensive when you're stupid. Slowly getting smarter. The hardest part is the DW reminding me of my errors whenever similar situations arise!
Rusty

West1134 · 10-04-2016, 03:13 PM

Yeah Boise State has a good program, as does Eastern. We definitely should have won those games, but for some reason my Cougs like to come into the season without firing on all pistons.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jelliott

Wow! Fortunately you found a shop that can hopefully get you turned around and set before the next game! Glad to see the Cougs beat the @ucks, sorry it didnt go so well against my team. Go Broncos!

West1134 · 10-04-2016, 03:21 PM

Thanks for the replies everyone. It definitely still stings a little thinking about the whole situation. I keep replaying the moment where I made the mistake of pulling through the pressure washing bay vs. backing out. That one simple decision cost me a lot of money.

Thanks for sharing the stories as well. The funny thing (not then but I can laugh about it now that a few days has past) was the next morning a guy tailgating near us, comes over and says "whats up with the FEMA trailer?" commenting on the fact that it was covered in tarps. I about lost it and punched him in the face -I hadn't had any coffee yet, had 3hrs of sleep and this was the morning after the accident. Luckily, I just told him it was too soon for jokes and went about my day. He was just kidding, but dang I wasn't ready to get ribbed by anyone at that moment.

The cool thing though is the RV community really does help one another out. Same guy came back later with a few friends and talked with me. They asked if there was anything they could do to help, suggested some solutions etc. and then each one shared their story of how they messed up at one point or another and damaged their rig. It helped make me feel not quite so inept.

This is our first trailer, and I've had it 2.5yrs now, but obviously still haven't mastered everything LOL.

Thom · 10-04-2016, 04:28 PM

West,
This story should help ease your pain alittle. When I was doing my six hour long PDI on my Tiffin Breeze, there was a couple next to use going over a 43 footer. I could tell the man was one of those know it all kind as he really wasn't paying attention to the operation brief. He as ready to roll and didnt care what anyone had to say. So off they went.
About 3 hours later as I was finishing my PDI, I see them bring that big motor home back to the dealer and the entire dealership was out there to meet them.
From what I heard, they got home and parked it in thier driveway and shut it down to load up all thier gear but when they came out of the house with the first load, the bus wasn't there any more.
They found it across the street slammed backwards into thier neighbors house!
The know it all guy had forgotten to set the air parking brake!!
Next week, dealer told me they estimated $18,000 damage to the bus and that didnt count damage to neighbors house.

Sorry about your damage but atleast you don't have to buy your neighbor a new house.

hddecker · 10-04-2016, 04:33 PM

West,

The main thing is 20 years from now you'll remember the whole nightmare in a totally different light.

I'm pretty sure that someone can do you one better.

Rusty

Thanks, you've awakened by desire to break out the sixteen pounder, I've got some demo work I've got to do today. That fireplace doesn't stand a chance.

jeffdawgfan · 10-04-2016, 04:33 PM

This is why they are called accidents.......

lcv800 · 10-04-2016, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffdawgfan

This is why they are called accidents.......

I don't know. Doesn't sound as good when you say "I got into a "Stupid" today!". Live and learn.
Rusty

hddecker · 10-04-2016, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nineoaks

You would be surprised how many AC's we replaced when I worked at an RV dealer, some were from trying to drive thru a bank teller overhang, and some from low tree limbs. Hopefully your Ins co. will not give you much of a problem
and you can get it repaired quickly and properly..

Roy,

I'm sure glad I didn't have to explain to my insurance company, like the guy pulling a fiver, why I would be so dumb as to not use the outside lane for over height vehicles at the gas station. Guy pulled the whole canopy down.

That's about the only dumb thing I haven't done, I've got a label on my dash with my clearance listed in feet and inches, as well as that metric crap, that I still don't use.

The cool thing is when you pull a bone head move, you can always go to youtube and find someone do something even stupider.

As I always told my trainees, "it ain't funny, unless it happened to someone else." Like wise, "if nobody saw it and there's no pictures, it didn't happen."

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