Foolishness, Follies and F##k ups

[chester ver2.0]

OK People now that 2012 is drawing to a close lets get the voting going so post em up who is walking erect and who like me did something a bit silly this year and their knuckles are still dragging on the ground ;i will go first

Time- Easter
Location - Emu Point Caravan Park Albany
Goes a little something like this
My wife "hey watch out for that tree branch
Me "what are you on about it is like 10 feet off the ground

Then CRuuuuuunch
My wife " i said watch out cause you have obviously forgotten about the 2 bikes we have on the roof

Yes it cost me a brake lever and yes everyone in the van park saw it

So post em up guys

[D4D]

For the last few months I have been basking in the glory of having a fully topped up camper battery via the solar panel I purchased from Mandrake.

I moved the panel on the weekend and noticed the little button that turns on the solar reg. I hadn't turned the reg on months ago when I set it up

[chester ver2.0]

For the last few months I have been basking in the glory of having a fully topped up camper battery via the solar panel I purchased from Mandrake.

I moved the panel on the weekend and noticed the little button that turns on the solar reg. I hadn't turned the reg on months ago when I set it up

The fact that this is you is making me laugh even harder mate

[Bunyip]

Having owned the KK for 2 days I managed to do the following:

1. Leave the keys on the drawer bar as we drove off. Keys located in the middle of a 3 lane road about 2.5Km from home.

2. Tried to swing the camper around to face the river but did not want to hitch it back up. Pushed from the rear of the camper and jockey wheel collapsed as it was fully extended. Over an hour of jacking and chocking later jockey wheel attached again with only minor damage.

Yes the other campers were all sitting around having a drink and trying not to look like they were watching.

Bunyip

[chester ver2.0]

Ohhhh neck and neck between D4D and Bunyip so far

[DannyG]

Took the guy ropes off the awning to get ready to pack it up.........gust of wind packed the awning up for us! Not a huge one but still a lesson learnt.

[Bird]

none of you have squat on this bloke

"I was really getting involved in the boxing and was not really thinking about what I was doing.
Suddenly the phone rang and I mucked things up. Instead of grabbing the receiver I picked up the iron and put it to my ear."

 

[2010banditsa]

At Easter I installed a run of fused 6b&s to the back of the car to charge the fridge battery up in transit. Went on a cpl of 3-4 day trips and everytime i drove anywhere i dutifully put the battery in the car to charge and spouted the virtues of using thick cable. August did a 3 week holiday and the battery ran down after a week or something (cant remember exactly) and after a process of elimination through the system to see why not charged, realised i had never actually put a fuse inside the holder, so it had never actually worked.

[Footy Shorts Shane]

Wasn't this year, but still pretty silly.

The rocks at Rainbow Beach, 4cyl petrol Rodeo, camper in tow, Missus and kids in the car.......
I did actually stop, get out of the car and walk through, to about half way. It was July and the water was cold. "Yeah it's only ankle deep, up to your knees at best. Piece of piss." I was reminded that I didn't walk all of the way around it. "Um, yeah der, it's the beach. No hills on the beach. It's flat."

Worst part about this is I do know better, I drive this beach A LOT. Sat there a minute, waiting for the right amount of runout and off we go. Too easy, poking through in 2nd high. Reason the water was so shallow was only half of it was running back out with the waves. The other half was running through the rocks and out a dirty great big creek it had formed, right around the corner from where I stopped when "checking the depth of water."

By the time I saw the creek, the front tyres were about to drop into it (busy looking at the ocean ) The creek had no lead into it, no lead out of it. The poor old blue ute fell straight down into it. The kids crapped, the Missus called me a few choice words and I thought "oh dear."

Water is over the bonnet, almost coming in through the windows, pouring in through the shifter dust boot and the camper trailer is floating around beside the car as to try and jack knife me. Somehow, I missed every rock in that creek It climbed out the other side without a miss, splutter cough or even a loss of revs. I could not believe it.
I didn't stop, no one in the car spoke and to the 60 odd people in chairs sitting and waiting for some toss to try and drive through it, we gave them a little wave and tried to look cool and as though it was just a little puddle

I still to this day have no idea how or why that little blue ute made it through there. I also still kick myself in the arse for doing it. Silly move. Too cocky. Lesson learnt.

Shane.

[Kit_e_kat9]

We were spending the weekend at our local 4WD park.  On entry, you climb up a hill and then follow the dirt road via the hill tops to the park entry.  I kept pointing the way as we'd never been there before (follow the signs right?).  Rather than notice how slippery the hill appeared, BF just kept driving.  We got stuck up it about 1/2 way and then proceeded to SLIDE backwards with the camper attached.  Talk about heart stopping moments!  Out of control and going backwards with no steering, we were very lucky that the trailer headed to the side of the road where a large runoff mound was awaiting us.  It stopped the trailer and the car. 

On getting out to survey our predicament (me in a big hurry), a few choice words were said by both parties.  BF then let some air out of the tyres while we ran out a tree protector and the winch cable in case things kept sliding ... there was only the side of the hill to fall off.

Not long after this a car coming the other way stopped up the hill.  It was the owner.  Apparently he'd had a call from the neighbour saying he "could hear a lady and she didn't sound very happy". 

The owner then proceded to tell us about a very sturdy tree that we couldn't see further up the track and we winched outselves onto firmer road, but not before I went arse down in the muddy sludge on the road running out more cable ... in front of more cars coming into the park.

Not my best moment or his!

Kit_e

[bussoboy]

lamest thing i've done this year is walk around the camper after packing up to see that all is right, then driving off with one of the stabilizer legs still hanging down but wound up..............drove for at least 20 k's before realizing

[Mace]

I will fess up to 2.

One  this year, one a long long time ago.

This years, I blame on Excavator.

After swapping him a bottle of scotch for a 6x4 Trailer (great deal for both, except I still have the trailer), whilst towing it home I blew both rear indicator bulbs on the truck.

Went down to Repco to get some replacements, parellel parked on the road outside.  Did the purchase, got back in the truck, and was perving on the two nice young ladies on the footpath whilst I backed up a bit to depart, having a car parked in front.

Towball on truck neatly entered lower grill slot of the VT Commodore behind me.  No problems, I didnt hear a thing.  Drove off, in so doing, ripped the number plate clean off it, just as the punter walked out of the shop.

Quick walk back into Repco to buy:

Mash Hammer.
Self tapping screws.

At least I had a screw driver in the toolbox.  $4.50 of globes cost me an extra $20. 

Act Two, many years ago.

Working in the Upper Goulburn above Jamieson.  Driving Landcruiser Tray with slip on unit on rear, 800 litres of water.  Campsite at Knockwood, very messy, cans & stubbies everywhere, no one around.  Steep entrance, narrow track, just beside river. Note to self, call back in later to give a bit of a sermon.

Later in day, drive back down road, and see camp now inhabited.  Wheel in of road and down entrance track.  Realize going a bit to quick, stab on brakes.

Front wheel lock, cruiser depart road on passenger side, slide down embankment and deposit bull bar in ditch.  Imagine 45degree angle front to rear, and nearly 30 degree angle sideways. Water start to overflow from vents on pig lid on back! 

Depart vehicle in most respectable manner available.  Get wet feet/legs from water overflowing from pig.

Engage campers in conversation (jaws still wide open).  Hitch their vehicle to rear  of Cruiser with snatch strap to prevent tip over and attach cruiser winch to nearby tree (no protectors in those days).  Then, delicately winch cruiser forward to flat ground.

Depart scene, suggesting as I go that they clean up their camp a bit.

Return next day and remove 2 bags of cans & stubbies.  Lesson learnt!   

Oh yeah, =^..^=  , I read your blog, youre adventure was good too (and you have too much spare  time at work if you can invent sigs like that one).

[Spada]

Not long ago I bought a new (to us) camper. It has a blower fan built into the side of it that draws air in through a filter to presurise inside the camper, thereby preventing bulldust from getting in.

First trip out, inside filled with bulldust. Must be a leak? Purchace a tube of silicon and squirt it into every nook and cranny I can find.

Next day, full of bulldust again. After some head scratching and colourfull language, decide that as it was a 2nd hand camper, maybe the door and hatch seals were buggered. Next big town, buy a heap of foam tape and re-seal every door, window and hatch

Next day, full of bulldust again. More head scratching and lots more colourfull language.

This process went on for the next 3 weeks of our trip.........

On the 2nd last day of dirt road (we had traveled about 6500k by this stage, every day, cleaning out the bulldust) I finally discovered that when I had been playing with some wiring after buying the camper, I'd wired the bloody fan backwards. Instead of presurising the camper, it was creating a vacuum inside.

Swapped the wires arround, good as gold now.

[Tassie devils]

Stopped at my local store after a hard days work to grab a can of coke, I was in the store for no more then 2 minutes so you can imagine my surprise when I returned to my ute and she had gone. As I stood by the curb Sipping my coke thinking F#%k that was quick thieving bastards.Some guy pulled up in front of me and said"mate if your looking for a white ute it's parked down there at the school.
60 meters she travelled backwards across an intersection before casually parking itself between a concrete poll and sign post with 300 mm to spare either side and without a scratch might I add.
I always double check the handbrake when I park now

[Nomad]

Typo Fail.......................................

[Tassie devils]

Typo Fail.......................................

Thanks nomad

[Mace]

That must have been when you lived over  the straight tassie, anywhere else it woulda got cleaned up at the crossing.

What was the worse feeling, finding it gone, or finding where it ended up!   

[Tassie devils]

That must have been when you lived over  the straight tassie, anywhere else it woulda got cleaned up at the crossing.

What was the worse feeling, finding it gone, or finding where it ended up!   

hi Mace it indeed was in Tassie (Snug) 10 minutes later and the school kids were coming out so very lucky in so many ways.

[RedProw]

We are very lucky and have some beautiful state forest out behind us. Great for 4WDing and MTB riding and I like to think that I know most of the tracks fairly well.

It was wood cutting season and a mate and myself had been out to the same spot, about 20 min from home, a number of times cutting wood. On this occasion we decided to load up the trailer for one last run as it was getting late in the afternoon. Between the two of us it took just under an hour to cut and fill the trailer with a good size load of wood. I was a little concerned about trying to go out the same way we came in and me knowing exactly where we were    decided to take an easier route home.....mistake 1.

The alarm bells should have started ringing when the nose of the 4WD pointed downwards as we proceeded down a dirty great hill....mistake 2.

But no don't listen to that little voice saying turn around while you still can, so I proceeded to the bottom of the hill and then tried to go up the other side....well that was never going to happen next thing I knew we were stuck on an angle with a trailer piled up with wood. What to do...... 

So we chocked and emptied the trailer, then proceeded up the hill, turned around and came back down to where all the wood was unloaded.....loaded all the wood back into the trailer.....drove to the bottom of the hill.......unloaded half the trailer......took the remaining half back to where we originally started.......unloaded the wood.....back down the hill to pick up the other half of wood.......back up the hill......loaded the trailer now with all the wood and started the 20min return journey home some 3.5 hours later.

No way I was going to leave all that wood behind and now I go home the same way I go in 

[evolution]

wasn't me but close enough. This is my other halfs car. Allot of you have already seen the photos but I'll put them up once again. Fairly simple explination.
1) car lost traction
2) car slid backwards
3) car and trailer floated away
4) car sank before I could get the pootrol down with straps or winch.
5) car too deep to dive down too to hook straps on
lol lol lol


Cheers
Evo

[adz1604]

Not me but epic fail
Was camped at a national park in nsw south coast and a family pulled in late one afternoon. They set up a brand new Jayco pop top in the dark. The next morning the wife and kids head to the beach while dad sets up camp properly. Hooks the car up ( with my help ) gets the level out, places ramps under the wheels, back and forward he goes till he finally gets it right. Un hooks the car walks in side the van and the A frame hits the dirt. At this time he asks me for a hand again. He didn't remove the jockey wheel while levelling it ( he didn't think he needed to, or didn't think at all ) after jacking it up, placing blocks under it, checking out the damage to stabilisers because he didn't think he needed to lift them up either. He went off to find his wife and kids so they could all go for a 2hour drive to buy some spares. So finally fixed and levelled, Annex up, full day wasted off he heads to the beach with his family
Does not finish there. The ranger has his walk around and askes me if I know the bloke next door. Head down I say no why. His answer HE IS IN THE WRONG CAMP SPOT I have got a group of 5 coming tomorrow and he is in the middle
I left the next morning and returned a week later . My neighbour was still in the same camp ground but in a different spot

[Joff]

dumbest thing i did all year was only spending 4 nights in total under canvas 

[gibbo301]

Last weekend hooked the camper on in the garage and of to see the Daughter and camp on her

property pulled up in her driveway jumped out of the car and found that i had forgot to unplug the

 extension lead for charging the battery not much left of the plug and not much insulation left on

 the lead being dragged a 100 or so ks on the bitumen will have that effect i suppose 

[Squalo]

Not a camping trip, but anyway - went to Fordsdale Farmstay (near Gatton) for a winter weekend with the extended family. One morning we decided to drive the Patrol up the 4wd-only access track to the plateau above the farm house, with grandfather, auntie (who'd never been offroading), my three kids and I.

It was fantastic up there other than the drizzling rain that came and went, and other than the black soil we drove into on an offcamber lefthand uphill corner... and that was it! 33" mud tyres and dual Airlockers were of no use, it was solidly on all four wheels and not even close to sinking in, but it was going absolutely nowhere. so we trekked off back to the farm, which took three hours of walking in alternate drizzle and bright burning sunshine... and worst of all, had to go back the next morning in father in laws Landcruiser to tow the Patrol out (oh the shame  )

I have a lot more respect for black soil now...

[Bunyip]

I have a lot more respect for black soil now...

And Landcruisers