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Mistakes - I’ll go first LOL

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    PNWtabberPNWtabber Member Posts: 491
    I bow to your ingenuity @Lesley_and_Ian!!!!

    2018 T@B 320 S Boondock  |  2015.5 Volvo XC60 T6 AWD  |  Seattle, WA, USA
    "Blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures.”― Lovelle Drachman

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    SubaruLouSubaruLou Member Posts: 119
    Enough time has gone by that I can finally fess up to my worst mistake. It was Christmas 2021 and I was driving with my two kids and three dogs from North TX to Phx AZ to visit family. Six months earlier, I had purchased a new, adjustable hitch. Of course, I had to purchase the ball separately. When they arrived, I put the ball on the hitch and hand tightened the nut just to keep them together and put them out in the garage. Fast forward to our Christmas trip, my old lady brain completely forgot that I had only hand-tightened the ball.

    I got everything hooked up and off we went on our two day trek. Welp, just short of 300 miles in, out in the middle of nowhere Texas, we hit a big bump. Who knows when the nut had jiggled off, but the bump was enough to lift the ball right out of the hitch. An angel was watching over us that day, because the chains held, the Subaru handled the sway and there weren't any vehicles close to us as I tried to slow down and maintain control.

    I managed to safely pull over to the side and there was enough shoulder to park the trailer. I unhitched and drove up to the next exit to backtrack along the service road where it would be safer to wait for help. While we waited three hours for a tow truck to take us the 20 miles into Big Spring, my daughter had some fun with the picture of my debacle.


    2019 T@B 320 S  |  2019 Subaru Ascent
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    KK1LKK1L Member Posts: 96
    @db_cooper I did that 2 weeks ago...though only a few miles from the campsite to the gas station!
    73 es God Bless de KK1L, Ron <><
    2023 T@B 400 Boondock "Running up a T@B"
    Jericho, VT
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    JamesCJamesC Member Posts: 62
    Several years ago I decided to take a solo trip around the Washington Olympic Peninsula and wanted to take my kayak. I put it in the back of my short bed Tacoma pickup but failed to check the clearance between it and the front of my  400. While making the first turn out of the driveway it hit the front window and broke a a large piece out of the outside layer of plexiglass! What a way to begin a trip! A new window was ordered and replacement was straight forward fortunately. Thank goodness for duct tape. I was too embarrassed to take a picture. 
    2018 T@B 400, 2015 F150 tow vehicle. 
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    Grumpy_GGrumpy_G Member Posts: 450
    Left the campground with the front window in the vent/cracked position. And then it started to rain.... :) Fortunately only a short drive but it was still quite the mess with dirty water all over.  
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    PNWtabberPNWtabber Member Posts: 491
    Twice on a trip down the Oregon Coast, I noticed in the side mirror while driving that the step was extended, although I was certain I had put it in the retracted position before hitting the road.  Now I double- or triple-check that it is retracted and secure before driving off.
    2018 T@B 320 S Boondock  |  2015.5 Volvo XC60 T6 AWD  |  Seattle, WA, USA
    "Blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures.”― Lovelle Drachman

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    jbajorjbajor Member Posts: 135
    On a recent trip I had not restocked out Gin supply....  Grumpy wife!!  Now it is on the checklist!
    Ultimate Toys Teardrop Camper
    Volvo XC-40
    SF Bay Area, California
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    elbolilloelbolillo Member Posts: 297
    jbajor said:
    On a recent trip I had not restocked out Gin supply....  Grumpy wife!!  Now it is on the checklist!
    Party foul... :-)
    _____________________________________________________
    Ken / 2023 Tab 400 “La Bolita” (20,000+ miles) / 2021 Honda Pilot
    2024 - 1 Trip - 20 nights - 3 National Parks, 2 National Forests
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    jbajorjbajor Member Posts: 135
    elbolillo said:
    jbajor said:
    On a recent trip I had not restocked out Gin supply....  Grumpy wife!!  Now it is on the checklist!
    Party foul... :-)
    No joke!!!
    Ultimate Toys Teardrop Camper
    Volvo XC-40
    SF Bay Area, California
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    Mellow_YellowMellow_Yellow Member Posts: 332
    Fortunately this happened in my driveway:
    I was trying out an Anderson Leveller, the red, rocker shaped one. They are super solid and adjustable BUT when while hitching, I had some trouble getting the T@B 320 off the leveller and somehow ended up with the trailer hitch IN FRONT of the ball and jammed between the ball and the bumper of my van. Luckily I did not puncture the bumper. 
    I think I set a new world record for saying the f* word in a continuous stream. 
    I have no idea how this happened NOR what I did to get the trailer back behind the ball hitch. I sold the Anderson leveller and am sticking with my low tech leveling blocks. 
    2014 T@B 320 S "Sunny" - 2015 Toyota Sienna LE - British Columbia, Canada
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    SlackersSlackers Member Posts: 419
    The red Anderson levelers can be slippery on older asphalt pavement so maybe that had something to do with it. We put medical tape on ours to keep them from sliding.
    We ended up making an alternative low tech solution like yours for when the ground is sandy or muddy. In hindsight we could have gone low tech and not gone with the pricey Anderson leveler at all.
    2019 Tab 320 CSS, 2019 Ranger TV, OH
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    1991sb1991sb Member Posts: 27
    On our very first campout with our new 400, we discovered that the refrigerator door isn’t securely closed if we’ve only heard one “click” when closing it.  We also learned  - fun fact! - a camping egg carrier can break apart and disgorge its contents if it slides out of an open refrigerator and falls three feet to the floor.  Last but not least, we now know how to remove the drawers and the panel above the fuse box to clean up raw egg.
    Bill & Sharon
    New Mexico
    2021 T@B 320s (“T@Bañita”)
    2023 T@B 400 Boondock (“Redwing”)
    2020 Subaru Ascent (“Bubbles”)
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    dsfdogsdsfdogs Member Posts: 587
    @1991sb I actually had to pull out the fridge part way and adjust the door so it would close tightly in the lock position. I also use velcro as a back up. But funny you mention eggs...On my current trip, I thankfully had hard-boiled six eggs and put them in the egg container, which fell out and cracked a bunch. I was grateful they weren't raw!

    Debbie in Oregon
    2023 Tab 400 / 2022 F150 XLT Sport 3.5EB
    Traded in - 2018 T@B 320 S/2019 Toyota 4Runner SR5

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    edaletayloredaletaylor Member Posts: 12
    @RobynE

    Pohick Bay is my old stomping grounds.  I live very close by.  I just asked to join your facebook page.  Thanks!
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    RobynERobynE Member Posts: 31
    Great Dale! We were just there last weekend.  I just approved your DMV Teardrops request. Be sure to post in the Events any trips you have planned that you want to share. 
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    BrianZBrianZ Member Posts: 1,763
    Scary picture, @SubaruLou - glad it wasn't real!
    My only experience with tightening a hitch ball nut to its requisite 450 lbs torque was a bit of an ordeal since neither I nor my torque wrench have that much power.  I did manage to do it though, by making it longer with steel pipes & supporting the hitch to hold it..
    https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/9867/hitch-mounted-bike-rack-replaced-new-draw-bar-installed
    -Brian in Chester, Virginia
    TV: 2005 Toyota Sienna LE (3.3L V6)
    RV: 2018 T@B 320S, >100 mods 
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    GregChrisGregChris Member Posts: 189
    I just changed my hitch ball. Don't have a torque wrench. I have a 24in crescent wrench, and I used the tv as a vice. I had to bang on the wrench with a 4lb hammer to get the old ball loose. Putting it back I used lock tight on the threads, pulled the wrench until the tv started move, then gave 2 good whacks with the hammer. I don't think it going anywhere.
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    SlackersSlackers Member Posts: 419
    We left the pump running on the way home from our most recent outing but there was a couple gallons left in the fresh water tank. The pump worked pretty hard but was only warm to the touch. We may have dodged one here. Note to self: A checklist is only good if you use it. 
    2019 Tab 320 CSS, 2019 Ranger TV, OH
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