whats the worst thing that has happened to your camper

[SNOWMAN]

I would like to know what the worst thing that has happened whilst you have been using your camper on a trip away as I am just setting up for a trip to W/A it might stop me from doing something stupid or even a major breakdown I have already let the trailer part down while the annexe part is still up  thank goodness the missus could not find the camera she seemed to think it was funny and this happened in the yard at home.
                                                                                                     Regards SNOWMAN

[GS]

Just a silly thing, I remember once setting the CT up close to a wall. Had the camper levelled, folded out, pegged in and awning zipped on. Went to get the poles out of the pole holder and couldn't, there was not enough room between the camper and the wall to get the annex poles out.

[skog]

Mine didn't get used for 5 months.. I am still recovering from it  

To date I have been lucky, but when I first went to a camper I had it exactly where I wanted it, but I did not allow enough room to set it up. But nothing a quick move didn't fix

[Malcur]

Travelled from Menindee to Mildura. Just short of Pooncarrie, the axle snapped. First I knew about was a bang, a jolt, then the left-hand trailer wheel tried to overtake the car. Stuck in Pooncarrie for several hours while we waited for the NRMA to come from Gol Gol. Sort of put a dampner on our holiday!!




Mal 

[harvs]

My wife and I had just picked up our first camper, a second hand Outback Sturt. I had driven out of the previous owners driveway, turned right onto the main rd. When bang, thump, scrap!!! The kitchen draw had slid out of the side of the trailer, and dragging on the road. Good thing they are a tough unit, no damage done.
Last weekend I was folding down our Obriens. Heard a ripping sound. Yep, I forgot to undo one of the press studs. I wont make that mistake twice.
Harvs.

[speewa158]

The worst thing would be somebody finding my fridge & helping me empty it with out putting any in . .
Turning up to a Swaggers Meet & doing something really stupid when there is a camera handy 
Trying to make the story you are giving Plod as plausable as possible, Really quickly 
Getting stuck in a van park between  a domestic & a snorrrrrrer 
Being stuck at home instead of getting out for a fun weekend in the CT 

[RichardW]

My camper has a slide out self contained camp kitchen in the front of the camper that didn't have a stop on the slide.
Left on a trip for the west and only travelled about 5kms from home and was stopped at lights.
Turned right at the lights from the right lane with two right turning lanes.
Unbenownst to me my camp kitchen broke through the rivetted hinge on the door of the camp kitchen and slid across 3 lanes of a busy road into the gutter.
I became aware of the problem when a fellow behind me started flashing his lights and I pulled over and he told me what had happened.
I returned to retrieve the kitchen expecting the worst to find some kind soul had put it on the footpath and found there was hardly any damage.
I returned home and rivetted the hinge back into place.
Later I installed a bolt in the runner to lock it.
How it didn't hit another vehicle I'll never know.
Sorry I don't have any photos.

[Symon]

Brake assembly falling off on the Cape trip

[darren]

If you ask my camper the worst thing that has happened to it was me buying it....

[D4D]

Not using it for 10 months

[Grungle]

Opening our Aussie Swag Camper 2 weeks before a major trip to get it ready only to find a black ants nest in the folds of the canvas and on the bed with around 100 billion ants there. Took me nearly a full day to get rid of them.

Their activity left some stains on the canvas and I am still to this day finding the odd dead one that falls out of some stitching or pocket. Sorry no photos.

Also had a tyre delaminate on the track between William Creek and Lake Ayre. Bent up the back of the mudguard and took out the plumbing to the water tank. Also wrapped itself around the axle and took ages to get off. Photo below.

[jk]

We did this to our Camp o Matic in 1996, missed a small turn on the Jimna Range, no one was hurt but the camper wasn't so lucky. The tough old Camp o Matic was still square so she was rebuilt and ended up better than before.

[GS]

Bloody hell

[Redback]

WOW can't top that jk!!

I had a wheel come off (my fault, didn't tighten the wheel nuts )

On our way for a weekend at Newnes, on Illawarra Rd the water tank fell out and was nearly cleaned up by a truck following us, he was great and help me drag it off the road

The bolts on the brakets snapped, luckly I carry spares and I fixed it on the side of the road.

Baz.

[hgmonaro]

we had our roof winch (windup) fall apart with the roof down (access to the winch is obtained with the roof up) whilst in the Kimberly (@ Silent Grove).  We had to cut a hole inside one of the access hatches and fish around unsighted for the missing bits.  Luckily my father-in-law who's a farmer (general purpose knowledge of everything mechanical!) had an idea of what the bits were and after an hour or so we had located and retrieved them (using a number of bent wires and the like), including the press fit split pin that had cracked, fallen out and let it all come apart.  So with him with one arm in the crank handle hole and me with one hand in the newly cut 'access panel', we had to reassemble the gears and fit the split pin all by touch and spoken instructions.  Eventually got it back together and working although the mechanism that stops it unwinding was fouling on something and it wouldn't wind down after we'd wound it up.  FIL stuck his hand in the 'access panel' and held the offending thing out of the way while I wound it down.  We decided we could do that for another couple of nights and not change our travel plans.  Had it fixed properly in Broome, then the manufacturer replaced the winch once we got home as they thought it wasn't quite right.

When reflecting about the initial cause, we decided the nuts holding the winch in place had come loose early in our trip and when winding the roof up and down the cranking shaft had been wobbling (I had noticed it was harder to wind than normal) causing stress in directions that was not intended.  Anyone with one of these should check the nuts and probably do something pro-active to ensure they don't vibrate loose (nylocs, loctite, etc) but in the true sense of laziness, I'm still yet to do it to mine!  It hasn't come loose again thankfully!

[Garry H]

not me, but know of someone that packed up, then when leaving couldn't find the car keys,
unpack everything until found (in a jeans pocket laid on the bed) then depart many hours later

[craigtempo]

mine got pinched a week ago .

[D4D]

mine got pinched a week ago .

You win

[Black Diamond]

mine got pinched a week ago .

Craig, any news?

[craigtempo]

none

[TroyE]

sorry to hear hope it was insured, and, may the hairs on the bums of the thieves, turn into hairy (itchy) catapila's and march up and down their bum crack

troy

[carinya]

Ours hasn't seen too many trips yet, so the worst yet is when I first had it set up in the yard to get the hang of it, a corner of the tarp caught under the trailer as  I pulled the tent out.  About a foot of stitching went away between the roof and the front wall.  Did you know when you swear really loud in a tent other people can still hear you?

[jclures]

Carinya, I wouldn't know that, as I never swear. My worst thing that happened was a wheel falling off half way down the Lind road, first day on a 6 month trip around Australia.

[Slipus]

Didn't happen in my CT but funny none the less

I bought a boat once towed it to the boat ramp turned around to back it down the ramp and a wheel fell off.  Everyone at the boat ramp was stunned we just fell about laughing.  Or going fishing in the middle of winter with out boots or socks, ended up cutting the sleeves of a sweat shirt putting my feet in the slevees and wrapping them in woolies bags..... 


cheers

Pete

[Hairs]

Hmm, September 09 on a two trip to St George and back home through Landsborough, we pull into the Landsborough Pines caravan park on a very humid and stormy afternoon. In our rush to get setup, We/I forgot to un-latch one of the latches to the Swan's roof. Well, a big fella like me swinging off the handle something was going to give, BANG! WTF, Right hand front cnr wouldn't come up. Pull out all the gear that travels on top of the front seating area, unscrew the boards and have a look. I've pull one of the 19x19mm box tracks with the pulley wheel on the end clean out of the floor, &^%$.
I had noticed up the road a Home Hardware, So we pick up the kids and head there, I found tha couple of bolts and washers that would do the trick, but I needed a drill to drill another hole for the bracket that holds the track to the floor,  Well buggar me, they had only just moved to that shop that morning and all their power tools were at the old shop that was down the road heaps and shut.
5:20pm we get back to camp, what to do, So I just drove one of the bolt through the floor with a hammer and put a few bigger washers on it.
We finally got setup about 6.30pm as night was falling, out of nowhere a bloke turns up with a cold beer, 'Hey I think you may need this' He says, 'You didn't swear once that I heard" with a smile on his face and disappeared into the night.
And that's the worst thing that has happened to us.
It's also the motivation behind putting this together.
How to repair a Jayco Lift System
If it helps just one person get out of trouble it was well worth putting together.