Prangs crashes and mishaps (1 Viewer)

[Jac Sprat]

Haha I thought I'd put this in the Beginners forum.....
We are heading off in a few months time in hopefully a 24 footer hymer and I am totally new to motor homing driving. Feel a bit nervous about mishaps early on when I'm getting the hang of it.
Dare I ask you old hands to recount your very early bloopers ? Hoping to learn from your mistakes basically (and maybe this'll stop the night terrors I'm having

 

[Wildbill]

where do I start might put you off so I wont tell you
bill

 

[Jac Sprat]

Yeh I thought people might think that but I'd honestly rather know. It's like expecting the worst won't be as bad as my imaginings!

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[Wildbill]

Yeh I thought people might think that but I'd honestly rather know. It's like expecting the worst won't be as bad as my imaginings!

o yes it will trust me

 

[Jac Sprat]

O go on.... I just published my first blog entry on here. NOTHING is going to put us off!

 

[Jac Sprat]

I'm a control freak (ex teacher) I need to know what to expect haha.

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[DBK]

I drove nearly 3,000 miles around Spain last Autumn without mishap. Came home and clouted the gate post on the way in! £1,500 pounds poorer as a result.

 

[DBK]

I'm a control freak (ex teacher) I need to know what to expect haha.

Expect the unexpected, that's the best you can manage. They had Zebras running through the streets of Brussels today. How do you prepare for that other than just driving cautiously?

 

[Frentchy]

O go on.... I just published my first blog entry on here. NOTHING is going to put us off!

It might be easier/quicker to describe the mishaps that haven't happened yet!! and as we are all "experts" here any experiences will be in the third person, ie I saw/heard of some one doing ....etc...

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[Jac Sprat]

Haha
Reminds me of when I did a wide turn when we were living in America and I hit our road side mailbox which didn't budge but put a huge dent in our ford 8 seater van.
(Afterwards learned that the previous house owner got so peed off with people knocking over his mailbox with a baseball bat that he dug a six foot hole and sunk the post into concrete!)

 

[Wildbill]

ok my first motor home parked at the post office to tax it I parked with the van at the end of yellow lines
comes out of the post office nothing there but sum one had parked hard up to my bumper at the front
put's van I to revers.
cheks mirrors reverses right over a sports car brand new right up to his wind screen the van had a big tow bar I had made not a scratch on my van but the prat I had reversed over
just happens that a police officer was there at the time witnessed the hole thing
the guy pointing to his disabled badge witch turned out not to be his but his wife's who was not in the car I never herd any more abut that one
bill

 

[Bill_OR]

Jac,
One thing to watch out for is your overhang at the back. When you pull away from a kerb or just turn left or right, remember that your rear end will swing out the other way. So, for example, if you are at a road junction with 2 lanes and you are in the right rand lane to turn right, as you turn to the right your rear end will swing across the left hand lane so make sure there's no one there!

I managed to sideswipe a lamppost and now I always remember to check my left hand mirror for obstructions when turning!

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[Jac Sprat]

Expect the unexpected hmmm.....Our projected full timing life will be truly be a test of my control freakery

 

[tofo]

Take your time your on olyday
And don't be to PROUD to give way
Let them tangle with the gap

Get SOMEONE to guide you back
Using a slap on the back of the truck for STOP

 

[Jac Sprat]

Happy Brewster that is one lucky prang!

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[Jac Sprat]

I am fairly accident prone I must admit... I broke my shoulder doing a flip skiing three weeks ago.
Three years ago I walked backwards (saying goodbye at a party on there) on the flat roof top of a ww2 bunker and fell down the narrow stairwell and pulverised three ribs! I have noticed since how many people walk backwards when they are saying goodbye!

 

[DanielFord]

We had three years of incident free motorhoming when renting, until the last. In a small village in Italy, an old gent reversed into the side of our van, in his somewhat beaten up Fiat Punto, suggesting this was not the first time he had bumped the car.
We exchanged details, and he said, sorry but I didn't see you. Sadly I didn't know the Italian for "But I am 7 metres long and had been in a queue of stationary traffic behind you for about 5 minutes" so I simply bade him farewell.
Later that same holiday, we got stuck in mud, and the army of burly men we recruited to push us out, bent and essentially wrote off the bike rack. So a bit of a disaster really.

Since owning our own motorhome, I have managed to open the habitation door in high wind and break the tie down. And after successfully negotiating the painfully narrow and low entrance to Woodyhyde camping in Corfe Castle without a scratch, then managed to reverse into a fence post while reversing onto the grey waste disposal. A helpful local pointed out that I had hit a fence post, which was nice

Only a small crack in the fibreglass so I am not stressing about it.

I am hoping this is the end of my run of dings and prangs, but who knows, it won't put me off any!

 

[Jac Sprat]

Wow I hadn't even thought of people reversing into me!!

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[Mr Mousy]

First weekend away in our first motorhome (Nov 2013) had a lovely time, drove really carefully with our pride and joy.
When we got home it was dark and I reversed into the neighbours brick wall.
All fixed now and back together as if it was new thanks to an insurance claim of £3,000 as we needed a new rear and side panel for the moho plus repairs to the wall.

About a week later I had a speeding fine in the post, it was from our first weekend away in the motorhome!

You'll be fine just don't do what I did.

PS Only telling all of you this now as I sold the moho in January 2015 and bought another one.

 

[Judge Mental]

Wow I hadn't even thought of people reversing into me!!

Dont even go there!?!? have been written off twice, once when parked, another time someone came out a side road and wrote truck off then there are my own countless self inflicted missaps as well! Now I drive shortest narrowest van possible.....

 

[Jac Sprat]

Sheesh!!

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[DanielFord]

About a week later I had a speeding fine in the post, it was from our first weekend away in the motorhome!

Maximum respect, speeding in a motorhome, that takes some doing, reminds me of this:
My Great Uncle, not long before he died aged 89, received a speeding penalty! He framed it, and would show it with great pride to all of his great nephews and nieces as proof that that he did not drive like miss daisy (his words, not mine!)

 

[DanielFord]

Wow I hadn't even thought of people reversing into me!!

The annoying thing was, he was such a nice chap, I wanted to be really annoyed with him, but actually I just wanted to invite him in for coffee!

 

[Old Soldier]

Arrived at site in Shropshire somewhere, backed into big shed next to hedge..well the owner did paint it green....his fault then! Result one swisted bike rack and bent bike wheel. Left site a few days later, drove down narrow country road. Did not see (until too late) thin branch of blown down tree just protruding through high hedge. Result, cought front of overhead cab then sprang with such force that it cought side of awning smashing not only the front end but back end too....Happy days!..

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[rangi]

I spent a long w/end building a 3 panel (each panel 2.4 mtrs x 1.2mtrs) wind break/privicy/ thingee/ fence, the cement sheet panels were bolted to tanalised 150mmx50mmrough sawn timber uprights, and Painting!

On tuesday when we went back to work, we went on a 1 day walk out, pub opened at 1100hrs, we walked out at 1055hrs! You know !where else were we going to go eh?

Suddenly realising that it was close to 1700hrs and Darling coo chee coo was due home from a hard days work, and that I had been led astray since 1055hrs I made my weary way homeward (about 100 mtrs)
Reversing my Bedford J1 Gang bus into the parking area out side the house!WITH FLAIR!

CRACK!Demolished the Fence/windbreak/thingee !

Arctic? Antarctic? That was like the tropics in our house for a while!

 

[Parcverger]

We managed to lose both wing mirrors in five minutes! On the road from Bristol to Wincanton some clown in a lorry who was well out took off the offside mirror. Stopped to see what I could do; started off, along came another lorry and, after the first experience, stayed very close to the nearside and clouted the trunk of a bush with the nearside mirror. The bushes there were literally in line with the edge of the road.

That's why we love touring in France, because even local roads generally have plenty of room to pull over with grass verges.

Bob
www.parcverger.com

 

[golly]

Took the turn into our drive to tight OOPS !!!!!

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[Old Soldier]

We managed to lose both wing mirrors in five minutes! On the road from Bristol to Wincanton some clown in a lorry who was well out took off the offside mirror. Stopped to see what I could do; started off, along came another lorry and, after the first experience, stayed very close to the nearside and clouted the trunk of a bush with the nearside mirror. The bushes there were literally in line with the edge of the road.

That's why we love touring in France, because even local roads generally have plenty of room to pull over with grass verges.

Bob
www.parcverger.com

Welcome to Somerset!! ......Sorry to hear that, it can be a bit chancy along there.

 

[9526]

Top tip,

Put your handbrake on when you park up.

We were sat having our last french glass of vin rouge at Cite de Europe one evening, whilst carrying out a game of "spot the Syrian", when a van came past us with 2 occupants on board. Unfortunately these occupants were also engulfing in a glass of vin rouge sat in their rear lounge. It all came to an end with the sound of broken fibreglass, a blushing Brit, and a surprisingly calm Italian (who now had a set of broken rear lights)

Handbrake on, spin the seats, then crack open the wine

 

[9526]

Are we their yet Dad?

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