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 Though I am having to swallow my pride in not checking such an obvious item  prior to journeying.... May I politely remind you all to check your wheel nuts prior to venturing out onto the open road in your 2nd home (caravan).

 I experienced a nasty mishap last week en-route to our holiday. One of my wheels fell off causing damage to my caravan, waiting for AA to sort which they did marvellously, and thus delaying our journey by 2 hours.

It could have been far worse, my Sat-Nav took me via a narrow country lane, we were going only 20 mph up-hill at the time of the incident. God knows if we were on a dual-carriageway doing 50-60mph......

 Before leaving, I checked tyre pressures, lights,  even load distribution etc but did not check wheel nuts behind the  wheel trims. Having bought the caravan 3 days prior, on a private sale, I risked not having the caravan serviced. I found to my horror  the affected  wheel only had 2 nuts on it.

 Im not religious, but I know my family and I had a lucky escape. I can repair the damage, and I can claim via insurance cover (minus £100 excess). I can even take the stick I will get from family and  mates. But the lesson has been learnt - please please do check your caravan's roadworthyness prior to every journey.   Gray.    

Thanks for posting, as it is brave to admit mistakes/mishaps.

This will be a good reminder for others.

I started a "god of caravanning luck" thread to help other realise not everything goes to plan! (and no i'm not religious either!)

I had so much bad luck when we first started, that i hope it will serve to keep us safe in the future.

Because we had new alloys fitted before our first trip, i have been paranoid about their tightness ever since.

We know have a dedicated wheel wrench, a jockey wheel weight measure and a digital tyre pressure gauge.

We did try to fit Tyron bands, including the puncture alert.

But due to a cockup with Tyron, they never arrived.

We still want them, and will have them fitted over the winter.

Ps

Link to thread...

http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/chatter/display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=8&TopicID=146596&SearchPagePosition=1&search=god+of+luck&searchMode=allwords&searchIn=Topic&forum=8&searchSort=dateDESC&ReturnPage=Search

Post last edited on 03/08/2008 22:24:29

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**Paul and Amanda**

 Hi Paul,

 Tks for words of support. I agree with your idea to share our downfalls with other members. Lets others realise they are not the only ones who do stupid things whilst camping/caravanning.

 Your incidents thread did make me feel a bit better for myself. Whilst explaining my mishap to work colleagues today, one mentioned he spent 3-4 hours trying to erect a caravan awning years ago without any intructions or sketches. Couldnt make out why 3 poles had ruber suckers on them as was convinced ther were to go into the ground. You guessed it, he thought s*d this and cut the suckers off.

 A lady watching events nearby came over and said you do know the suckers are supposed to be put on the side of the caravan. Dont you. he said he noticed she had been happy watching him struggle for all those hours! lol.

 Gray.

It is exactly this risk of missing out an important check that annoys me when someone stops for a gossip whilst I am unhooking to set up, or hooking up to leave; especially when it is someone who has previously ignored plenty of opportunities for a chat.

So I would urge everyone, don't distract people at these times, unless it is to give some obviously needed help, or a bit of help is requested.

Bertie.

Quote: Originally posted by The 2 Tops on 06/8/2008

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It is exactly this risk of missing out an important check that annoys me when someone stops for a gossip whilst I am unhooking to set up, or hooking up to leave; especially when it is someone who has previously ignored plenty of opportunities for a chat.

So I would urge everyone, don't distract people at these times, unless it is to give some obviously needed help, or a bit of help is requested.

Bertie.

i know exactly how you feel ..you have to recap after a good think and start again..my wife tends to distract me..with something she's attending to inside the van before we set off on our return journey home ...

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