Stupid is as Stupid Does

[0533]

Well where can I start. Maybe saying that I have never made any mistakes that I cannot repeat later on, except a few biggies:

1. Fueling up my new Turbo Arrow back in 1979. was in a hurry (very bad) finished up jumped in took off popped the gear and looked right to see fuel coming from my fuel cap, looked again and saw the cap leave the wing, this I will not repeat soon.

2. Took my first helicopter flight lesson in an R44 had a passenger in the back taking pictures out of the open door, was wearing glasses at the time and a baseball cap, turned my head and my $700 Titanium glasses went out the back door straight into the tail rotor, glasses strap from now on, I can't see beyond the panel without glasses, very interesting ride. chipped the rotor. Not good.

3. Changed my own oil in my 60' power boat, transmissions and mains to Ames Oil synthetic. Thought I had completely filled them, decided to take the boat out for a test ride by myself, this was in December in Annapolis Md. untied, put the boat in gear and left the dock, went to place the shift in neutral so I could maneuver out the marina and found that I had no response from the transmission, you can figure the rest, never actually filled the transmission fully enough to apply pressure to engage the transmission.

4. Picked up my new boat in Fort Lauderdale Florida one summer, really hot July. New boat right out of the factory (Blackfin) and started back to Maine for a great summer ride, encountered a bunch of new boat issues. noticed a smell in the bilge opened it up to find raw black water in the entire bilge, plumbing had come apart. Decided to handle this quickly and efficiently had a shop vac on hand, placed it in the bilge and started filling it up, going like crazy, until the ball stop flies up and stops the flow, if you have ever used your shop vac to clean up water you know what happens when you have over filled the shop vac, it is not pretty especially when you are standing right over the vent.

These are just some of the lesser mistakes.

Knock on wood the bus has been less of a learning curve so far.

[Jamie Bradford]

I was in a VERY nice RV Resort this winter and I was dumping the holding tanks...( thank goodness no one was on either side of me)

Well.......it seems the hose was not connected to the bus as well as it should have been

I spent the next two hours with a squeege and a hose redirecting the disembowelment that had occured

Lesson learned: From that point forward I test my dump seal with a bit of "grey" waste first

[TG Transport]

First off, our current Marathon has a magnetic refrigerator latch that activates when you start the coach. I could have used that when I dumped a 12 pack on the tile floor out of our previous bus.

Let me also just say the we used to subscribe to the "if its yellow let it mellow" rule to conserve tank capacity because we primarily dry camp....something to remember to check before heading out on a twisty road in Colorado.

[garyde]

It happens so often, I'm beginning to think I have Attention Deficit Disorder. Simple things like leaving water running to overflow on the fresh water tank, Leaving lights on outside all day long, or forgetting my keys to the fuel tank lids and driving home on fumes.

[rodburtonmusic]

Like when I tried to back my way out of a tight spot at 1am...and got into some soft ground...could have sworn there was a road there. 1 tow truck and 2 bags of gravel later...I was out.

But one of the best was learning that gallons of milk and water can move in the resi refigerator when you hit an on ramp. A quick trip to wally (after stopping to clean it up...you can cry over spilt milk) and the purchase of a baby latch for both doors...problem solved.

[tdelorme]

A couple of things you all need to realize about this thread: First, there is no POG requirement that you post something stupid that you have done in the past. If you think Skiffer is going to give you a renewal discount for posting the dumbest act, think again. It won't happen. Second, if you can top Bruce's numb nuts acts you should be spending all day every day on your knees in church thanking the Good Lord for sparing your life, instead of piddling around on the internet. Another option, run for office.
We've all done this stuff. I've done it so recently that I get choked up just thinking about it, but I ain't going to post the gory details. Yet.
I guess confession is good for the soul, so go ahead and post away. But, don't be surprised when no one wants to park next to you at OKC.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

I'm adding a seminar session for OKC.

"HOW TO BLOCK A FOUR LANE FLORIDA HIGHWAY"

Of course I would never do that, (there are no photos to prove I did) but I think I can teach the process.

[jimshoen]

Hey, can the magnetic refrigerator latch be retro fitted to older coaches. What is the name of the manufacturer of the latch?

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Jim, after a wine/ketchup/milk spill while going through the Smokies we added wide velcro strips at the top of the freezer / refrigerator doors. Quick and easy and not only that, when going down the highway it is easy to remove the strip and open the doors.

[lewpopp]

Ted,

I hope you don't chock you chicken and choke your wheels.