Overcoming dent fear

[guskmg]

Dents are real easy to come by if it is one of the upper end cap panels. My selling dealer dented mine before delivery. They drilled two holes and pulled it out and riveted the holes. Several years later another dealer noticed the rivets and mentioned they did not belong there. When I showed Jackson Center they offered to replace the panel. Instead, I decided to put the WBCCI Decal over the perfactly centered rivet holes. I still think about it when I look at that decal and I have replaced it once. No one but me knows the holes are there.
guskmg

[pfcardwell]

Just last weekend kids were playing with soccer ball, a high kick landed on rear driver side upper panel and made bowl like dent. Got it out with small plunger but made new dents with my elbows. So sad. Was able to kind fix with plunger but not perfect. Lesson learned.

[Boxite]

The extensive hail damage we received occurred the night of June 12, 2018 in Colorado City while camped in Eagle RV park. We were among several dozen other brands of trailers and motorhomes. The hail began at 1AM while we were fast asleep. The hammering woke us up immediately and the first feeling I had was dismay... but then my wife asked if insurance would cover this and I relaxed. We listened to the loud hammering for about 15 minutes and went back to sleep.
The next day we peeked outside and was amazed to see all the other campers congregating-around all the broken limbs, smashed equipment, and punctured sewer hoses. (Yes! Almost everyone's sewer hoses were perforated including ours.) The motorhome next door had a workman already on the roof replacing fans and skylights. Most AC units covers were damaged. Some of the SOBs had hail actually come THROUGH their roofs.... and the occupants ran through the hailstorm toward the shelters, abandoning their SOBs. That's how bad it was for others.
We were disappointed that we had dents in our AS, our Truck, and our TV windshield was cracked... but we were able to continue our vacation for the next two-and-a-half months up through WY, MT, UT, ID, AZ, etc and didn't bring the TV or AS in for estimate until Sept. Everything worked just fine and no leaks in several major rainstorms.
Glad we had/have an Airstream and not SOB that had to run for the shelters and abandon their trips.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Sitting here at the campground, the slot two down from us has a tree that .... errr ... is no longer upright. The dirt on the roots is quite fresh and the leaves are still green. It's not been down for long. It's big enough that it would put a dent in any brand of RV out there.

Sitting around the bend from that site is a 1950's AS in absolutely gorgeous shape. Somehow it's managed to live out over 60 years of this and that and still look like it's brand new. I'm sure there was some non-trivial effort on the part of it's owner(s) to keep it that way, but they have succeeded.

Yes, stuff does happen. It doesn't happen to everybody or happen all the time.

Bob

[airwoody]

This is was how I got over dent fear. I fixed the truck which was a week old when I did this

[Boxite]

Yep. Long wheelbase tow vehicles can crash into the front corners of your Airstream if you're backing up, because the trailer will jack-knife/cut-in shorter when backing. Going forward, it's a good idea to turn your towvehicle steering wheel as far as possible and pull forward in a parking lot.... stopping every few feet to go back and look at how close the two vehicles come to each other. It is rare...but possible in some combinations...for a TV rear corner to crash into the trailer front corner ...in some combinations.

It is far easier to crash them with a jack-knife when backing up regardless of if they clear each other going forward.

Another good idea: RElease your friction anti-sway when backing up.... ALWAYS. (Unless you can live with a warped-blade on your anti-sway and the bent-up small-ball-bracket on your TV. Don't ask how I know this. The cost to repair is about $50 to replace the anti-sway and a cut-and-weld job on the hitch.)

[Msmoto]

one more story... maybe 9 years ago, after two AS's I decided to go with a large moho. All 44' of it, costing north of 300 large. Custom paint job as well. Fear factor is much higher than the "dent fear" on my two AS trailers.

Leaving on a long trip, early morning, fog, tried to get out of 1/4 mile long drive and out on the road quickly.... cut too sharply, hit my mailbox about half way down the bus.

Oh shucks.... not what I said.

Scratches and dents fear factor now at zero.

The point is.... we will all have some of this with a large new investment. But as humans, the only way to be free of this is to simply use the object as intended accepting the fact, all of the above will happen. If we are not enjoying our RV experience because of the fear factor, maybe we should fly..... or go for psychiatric help....

[Albireo]

I know exactly how you feel. Just this morning in my morning meditation I read this in Around the Year with Emmet Fox.

"Everyone knows today that man's greatest enemy is fear. If you really get rid of fear concerning any danger it has no power over you to hurt you. It is no mere platitude to say, "There is nothing to fear but fear"." Then is goes on to tell you how to do it but I won't bore you with my beliefs.

I used to be very concerned about my possessions. My friends say if you sell anything let me know because I take care of things so well (which is a good thing). I used to be so crazy I really did not like the idea of the oil change guy taking my sports car around the block after an oil change - this was company policy to see how the vehicle ran. I've been 20. I know how they drive.

Same with boats. I had this really nice boat and I did not like the idea of the local mechanics working on it because I am very particular about my engines and machines. It bothered me. I just one day said hey it is just a boat and I don't want to do the work so let it go - and I did.

As far as the internet goes you can confirm anything you want. Once I was looking into a motorbike. I searched if the bike was any good. All I got was how much power it had and all kinds of good stuff. Once I had the bike I found it lacking especially with power. Later I searched is the bike no good and all I got was how bad the bike was. That same bike a local boat dealer loves it and says it has all kinds of power. To each his own.

Complaining and the internet is like a burger and fries. It goes together so well.


As has been said. Get over it. Life is short. Enjoy the day and don't hold on so tightly. Try to wear the world like a loose garment. I tell myself this every day!

[Albireo]

Just for the record. I am not adherent to Emmit Fox's teaching. I just like some of his writing. Being a basic Christian is strange enough these days and I am OK with that.

[Joannadannna]

Love your signature Albireo.

[Albireo]

Thanks - I like yours as well.

I am looking forward to more dent stories.

I have one that comes to mind. I had a new pick up truck and backed it into the garage with the tailgate down. It left a fairly bad dent. I was not doing my best after that. Of course I blamed my wife because she made me unload by the side door which we don't usually do. So later I saw the pick up truck parked by the side door and thought I should put it away. And so it goes...

Anything that takes me out of my routine and I try to watch.

[Albireo]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

So funny/sad non-dent related story:

Friends in-laws buy an older Airstream. Put more than a bit of money into a gut job on it. Get it fully rebuilt and head out on their first ever RV camping trip. Do their first ever stop at the dump station. Find out that it involves this and that .....yikes !!! not for us ... sell the trailer immediately at a steep discount ( where was I then ... ). So no, fear / phobia about dents is not the only thing to think about. There are a lot of things involved in camping in RV's .... The same holds for boats and a wide range of interesting toys.

Bob

Wow! I guess not to like eating at all you can eat restaurants basically makes me normal. I am working on Pot lucks.

[moby_1851]

I am coming in way late - but the discussion resonates - I have been full timing in my "new" 2018 International for 7 months. I felt and feel the same way - dent fear is a real affliction . But now I've been through 6 hail storms with no damage (surprisingly the nastiest one in NE left no marks)...had a tree fall on me (kind of had to have that one fixed) and now I am three weeks into a stop in Massachusetts - and have been nailed by acorns daily for the last couple of weeks. I am the type of guy who sees everyone else's rig as cleaner and shinier than mine...so dents stress me out BUT I am using there current acorn "hail" as an exercise in getting over the fear. This is my home...I am always in it. It's gonna get dinged. A lot. And it comforts me to know that everything CAN be fixed...but I can chose not to fix it right now...knowing I have the option to fix it later helps...a lot.

[SuperTrouper]

This is how I got over my fear of dents last weekend. Visiting a friend and the neighbor backed into the SuperTrouper while I was out. When I returned the assailants were looking at the damage rather stunned as was I when I saw what they were looking at. At least they didn't "poof" the glass. Remarkably, neither vehicle's bumper sustained any damage! Life is funny that way. Still on the road. Will plan repairs later. - Brad

[dlkershaw]

22FB with no Segment protectors, I have been lucky, 17,000 miles and many small stone dents. I have wrestled with the thoughts of adding segment protectors, but seems like a lot $$$.
We have been fortunate to travel across country with very few issues, I look at my stone dents and each is a travel reminder of adventures.
The wife says forget them, ..we will deal with it at resale....Not anytime soon...
If the wife is happy, i'm happy: GET IN AND DRIVE !

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by Louieless

. . .
. . . How does an AS owner overcome his fear of dent worry . . .
. . .

Hook up the trailer and drive . . . drive . . . drive . . . until the fear fades away in the rear-view mirror . . . forever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JUR_Lw-n-M

As Clair says . . . "If wishes were horses, I would ride . . . ride . . . ride . . . "

Or you could just let go of the fear at the git-go! Don't let it become your "true companion" . . . as she also says . . . [0:45] .



"If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all . . . "

[Silvr_Bullet]

Question for the OP...do you worry so much about scratches and dents when purchasing a new car? Worrying so much, nothing bad may happen..on the other hand could be a disaster for you. Life has rewards and perils, you won’t know if you don’t live, buy what you like and go camping. Take reasonable precautions.

[OTRA15]

Well said SB.

[Hans627]

Originally Posted by OTRA15

Hook up the trailer and drive . . . drive . . . drive . . . until the fear fades away in the rear-view mirror . . . forever.

As Clair says . . . "If wishes were horses, I would ride . . . ride . . . ride . . . "

Or you could just let go of the fear at the git-go! Don't let it become your "true companion" . . . as she also says . . . [0:45] .



"If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all . . . "

Peter,

Thanks for the song this AM. Lively tune with good reminders!

I've come to the conclusion that there will be dents and scrapes in the AS when I'm done using it. But it's made to use and that's just the way it is. I once read a book entitled, "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyhow!" I'm trying to follow that advice.

Regards!

[OTRA15]

Well said!