There's no good way to spin this

[GoWhereTowed]

Did the same thing years ago in the storage garage. You have now joined the many, many of us, and increasing daily, who have screwed up. Really POed when it happens and making it worse, was so avoidable. However, we are all human and at the end of the day, still lived to tell about it. I think there is a thread of mistakes that have been made. Makes for some interesting reading, and in good company.

[LiLNomad]

I blame the door!
LilNomad

[overlander63]

Today, one of our customers tried to tow his 5er where a Smart shouldn't go, and remodeled both his trailer, and a parked van.

[PeterH-350LE]

Yawn, just the door
Good help is hard to find. This is the result of the PO's uncle "helping" him to back into his drive way.

[mehes]

Originally Posted by PeterH-Airstreamer

Yawn, just the door
Good help is hard to find. This is the result of the PO's uncle "helping" him to back into his drive way.

Peter that type of damage is what I was dreading. When I got a ladder and checked the top of the motorhome for damage I was amazed there was virtually none. I don't know how. And believe me, I not complaining.

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by mehes

Peter that type of damage is what I was dreading. When I got a ladder and checked the top of the motorhome for damage I was amazed there was virtually none. I don't know how. And believe me, I not complaining.

To make you even feel better and to remind you to ALWAYS use your parking brake, check this:
After I sold me 345, I got a call from the new owner. He was working on cleaning the dash, you know to make it a nice and shiny for his wife to marvel at. Well he accidentally knocked the trans out of park and started to roll towards the eve of the roof of his house on an inclined driveway. The damage was horrendous, the roof panel, both windshields, the structural frames and the interior endcap were destroyed. I offered to help him rebuilt it after Brad told me he had some of the parts. Never heard from the guy, until i finally called him a few month later. The 345 was totaled by the insurance company, he took a loss accepting their payout and let them take it. Sick...

[paiceman]

After 40+ years of towing and or RVing, I learned thru numerous "incidents" I always wait for my wife and she is the one responsible for choking the wheels on the trailer. Plus, I only listen to her when maneuvering in a campground and never one of the "guides" which some campgrounds send out.

Too bad for your door, good for the AS.

Bud

[OTRA15]

. . . Better her "choking" the wheels than you, I guess!

[dznf0g]

Another EVIL garage....

[mehes]

You know, these pictures are making me feel better and better about the whole incident.

[TRizzuti]

The one I get is "And you call yourself a Marine," like Marines never make mistakes.

[m.hony]

Rule of thumb for overhead doors:
Either all the way open or all the way closed-
Never partially opened-

[Paul and Tam]

Everyone makes mistakes. I've made the too low garage door mistake three times. Twice backing out, once driving in. Less than 5 minutes before each of these three incidents I mentally reminded myself to open the garage door the rest of the way _before_ starting the AS. Then I got distracted... The guard for the back-up camera is quite sturdy, no damage to the rear. The spotlight was another story. So far I've been able to straighten the door and reattach the seal, but one of these days I'll need a new lower panel too.

Think how much cheaper life would be if we just sat on the couch watching TV instead of doing things. But watching someone else experience life is kind of boring.

[Grosspoluter]

Luckily for me my 345 is NOT in pristine shape.
while backing into a campsite by myself I walked around the site made sure everything was clear, got in the RV and started backing up using the mirrors and straight back through the rear window
I wanted to back right up to the Treeline. I felt the bump I hit something what could it be? I could see through the back window there was no tree back there
There was nothing in the Sideview mirrors.
when I got out and looked there was a tree stump right in the middle of the RV, way too low to see through the window... In this case I guess I should have looked down😏
(Window trim damage in picture was from PO)

[OTRA15]

"Stumped"

Good one!

[gr.austin]

Good news, You only needed to replace the two panels of the door and not the whole door. Overhead Door can do that job in 30 minutes. Not a big deal.

The difference between a disaster and an adventure is the smile on your face and 25 years when you are telling this story to your grandkids.

happy streaming.....

[Jaxon]

So, why didn't you wait for Rita?

... uh, while you re up, grab me a beer, too...😎

[mehes]

Got the estimate, $1900. Two new panels, repair weather strip trim, install new opener that will fully open the door. It may appear pricy but it is a 12'x 12' commercial door. A few years ago I put an opener on it because with my back problems I got tired of throwing the door up with all my might just to have it roll down again. Turns out the opener I got really wasn't made for a low headroom door. I could make it open fully but when you went to close it would trip out like it hit an obstacle. It had to do with the rate of door weight increase the opener sensed on the way down. It worked fine opening the door 3/4 of the way so that's how I used it. When the motorhome had to go in or out I would declutch the opener and push the door all the way up with a board and pull it back down with a rope. (Really smooth, huh?) And so by this method accidents happen. The new opener will fully open the door. As several people have suggested, open or closed, no in between. Should have spent the money eight years ago when I got the door installed. It would have been cheaper then, judging by the cost of replacement panels. But hey this is another lesson for all to learn from, 'Do it right the first time'.


Sent from my iPad using Airstream Forums

[OTRA15]

Well said!

[israndy]

Man all that aluminum makes me glad to have a couple of fiberglass RVs. Just slather more epoxy on and sand it flat then paint it.

It would KILL me to have one of those beauties from the 90's and hit something. and I have already taking out my AC shroud with a tree branch, backed the RV into the roofline of our cabin, backed into a trailer that I was trying to hitch up, and just last weekend backed into a lamp post that was in some bushes at a parking lot I was hoping to not stick out into.

All of this damage is simple fiberglass so I have not probably collected enough and will go spend $300-500 and get it ALL fixed.

Of course I am not talking about the delimitation I am getting on both RVs. Fun

-Randy