Camper's Confessional

[Java Jack]

OK, so I got myself into a bit of a pickle over the weekend.

I was driving from Austin to Virginia this weekend to help my daughter pack up and move back home while her husband is deployed (Navy).

About 5 hours into the drive, I decide to stop in the middle of nowhwere and grab a bite to eat. I park in the parking lot, start to get out and doh!!!! I forgot my wallet with my License, ATM Cards, Credit Cards, etc. sitting on the stairs at home.

I have 1/2 tank of gas, no money on a Friday night.

Fortunately, it happened before I got out of Texas as there are NO BofA banks east of Tyler along Hwy 20...none that I could find anyway. It was also fortunate that I grabbed my laptop and backpack as I keep my passport in my laptop bag because I travel frequently for work.

I had to backtrack about 20 miles or so to Tyler Texas to find the ONLY BofA in town that was open on Saturday. I camped out in Walmart's parking lot next to the bank and waited until the bank opened the next morning. I was able to get a new ATM card so I could get gas and food.

I scrounged up $3.00 in my truck so I could buy a couple of cheeseburgers. I did not pack a lot of food since I knew I wasn't camping along the way.

So, what pickle have you ever gotten yourself into while camping or traveling?

[deleted]

Glad you had a happy ending!

Once I was driving from Eastern Washington state to Northern California. Spent 12 hours or so on the road with my stay over at a Walmart in Oregon. Oregon, by the way, is one of those states where you aren't allowed to pump your own gas. I'd not seen a station for hours and was running lower than I like to go so when I saw a busy gas station (I think about 20 minutes from my destination) I pulled in. The guy at the pump said the pumps were working but not to process atm or credit cards so I'd need to go inside to pay. No problem. He went ahead and started filling my tank. When I walked in I found out that the entire charge system was down. And because I don't like to carry a lot of cash I didn't have enough to pay for my now full tank of gas. Though I was tired I patiently waited over a half hour before asking them if they could write up a charge document by hand (old school with the carbon paper that you run through the embosser/slider) so I could finish my drive and get some rest. They said no. Finally they relented as people were becoming really impatient.

I now make sure I have enough cash on hand to cover a tank of gas. I also realized later what the heck? I had my bed with me. I should have just said "OK, I'm spending the night here. I'll come back in in the morning when your charge system is up to finish paying for my gas" and could have gone to sleep right there and then

[JuneBug]

It's important to have random change floating around in car or truck for just these types of emergencies!

Quick trip to Hovenweep National Monument (SW Colorado/SE Utah) to camp overnight & hike the next day. It was a Friday evening, and I pulled out my little SVEA (remember those?) to start dinner. No matches or lighter. Not in the little cook box, not in the glove compartment, not ANYWHERE! Campground is deserted. Dinner was a sad little affair of crackers and cheese.

Just this year we got a SCRIPTO flame thrower, for lack of a better word, to start stoves and fires. If you want one, it is the SCRIPTO Aim n Flame II (!). There is a little bit of a technique and coordination to be worked out, but once we got that sorted out, so much better than matches.

[lrrowe]

You know, if there was an answer as to how to contact a fellow forum member who is in the area of the issue and who is willing to help put might be a great service one can help another with.

Or simply said in this following example, if any of you were in my area of the country and got stranded and needed some gas, a few bucks, a tire changing tool, a place to camp, etc, etc and had a way to reach out for help, I would be glad to help in some way.

[celticquetzel]

OK. Here goes. In grad school my husband had to visit a science lab at the top of major ski resort in Colorado to collect some weather data in the summer for his thesis. Major pain to get all the right authorizations and keys for gate access so only one trip up and one trip down. But it had a nice pretty much unfished beaver pond behind it. We finally get there, do the science stuff, and he asks if I packed the fishhooks. Now, the key here is... I don`t fish. So, uh, no. I did not. Much interesting conversation ensured. Finally decided to try paper clips. Yes, he was that desperate. Must be a fish guy thing. Anyway. Worked like a charm. The damn fish pretty much jumped on the clips. And we had a great dinner. I haven`t thought about this in years but it still makes me crack up. So, when things get rough... just McGuyver it.

[Redgloves]

October 2014 I was visiting Colorado Spring Garden of the Gods, went on a hike, came back, opened car door instantly realized that I had become a statistic with a theft of laptop, purse, wallet, credit cards, check book, and all of my electronic gear. (I forgot to lock the car doors). First call was to the bank to cancel all credit cards, checking account etc. Amazing that while I was on the phone with bank, they were observing failed attempts to use cards. The thieves managed to use two credit cards, not the debit card or checks.

Also interesting as I called another credit card company, to report stolen card, the first question they ask is for CC number. Hmmm, don't know what it is, then the operator realizes the error and apologizes.

After cancelling all credit cards call police, wait 30 minutes on hold. They take my phone number to call back later to complete documentation, which has about an hour later.

So I am 1,000 miles away from home, no ID, no money, no plastic. Thank goodness brother lives in Colorado Springs. He paid me $500 to leave town!!!
I drove non-stop from Colorado Spring at 5 am to SE Minnesota in 20 hours arrived home 1 am the following day. Took two naps in the teardrop. Paid for gas with cash. My thought was, how would I stay in a motel with no credit cards, would a motel allow me to pay cash? What if I needed an ID for something. All I could do is state theft and police report case number.

Short night, went to bank, which opens at 8 am. The bank created a new account, issued a new debit card and checks using work ID. Thank goodness bank is associated with employer, work ID is only needed. At least I can begin to reclaim life now....

So lock your doors!

Jean

[bc555af]

It is August of 2014 and I had just finished building my first travel trailer or box on wheels. I just had my wisdom teeth pulled so my mouth was swollen, but I wanted to go camping no matter what it took. My grandparents have a ranch in Lone Oak, 10 miles from home which has an old farm house with water and power. Every year we usually set up this really old travel trailer there for deer camp and this was the year that I had enough and decided to build my own travel trailer: a 6 foot by 8 foot box built on top of a 5 by 8 northern tool trailer complete with a table/bed, folding bunk bed, solar, a wet bath, and a full kitchen. It became heavier than I wanted it to be, about 1600 lbs full of stuff and water, so I was still under the max load the stock trailer could handle. So Friday evening, I book it home from Lackland to Fayetteville and hook up the 77 K5 to it, load the fridge, and I'm ready to go. I stop my my parent's house on the way to pick up my little brother and sister who are just as eager to camp as I was. My father warns me that there is rain heading our way tonight, but I brush it off because we will be dry in the trailer. Now in order to get to the farm house, one must go through about 2 miles of what once was a gravel road made way before my time. I had forgotten how rough it was and realized that the entire field had become a wild hog roost. I have never in my life driven in rougher terrain! As we crawl up to the farm house, I can see what was a beautiful sky 10 minutes ago turned into the darkest clouds I have seen in a long while. Just as we pull in, the blazer jerks to a stop. I look back and see the front of the trailer dip down as if it came off the hitch and was dragging from the safety chains. But of course, it was much worse. The trailer tongue frame was just not built to haul that much weight in that kind of conditions, so it buckled. I had about 10 feet to go to get it off the road, so I drag it to it's spot right as it starts POURING. All at once, I couldn't see even a few feet in front of me. I get out again to assess the damage while my brother and sister try to roll up the rear window of the blazer and they find that it will not roll up, so now it's raining sideways into the blazer. I tell them to get in the trailer and I unhook the broken hitch. I use a few tractor tires and a fence post as a lever to try and pick up the trailer from the ground. I got it to sit on the old tires and head inside the trailer, beyond soaked. It pours so hard, I can barely hear myself over the rain hitting the roof and sides. We get dried off and I realize that my mouth had swollen up even more because of the pressure of getting the trailer off the ground and level. We wait out the rain and head home defeated. It sat there for a few weeks before I even waited to see it again. We brought it home on a flat bed trailer and rebuilt the frame. I camped in it once more off grid before selling it to a couple who parked it and used it to camp in while their house was being built. Now, I have a teardrop and couldn't be happier One day, I may build another "standie", but will be built on a custom frame. What have I learned? Build a proper trailer frame so you can actually enjoy what you built on top of it!

[TimC]

You know, if there was an answer as to how to contact a fellow forum member who is in the area of the issue and who is willing to help put might be a great service one can help another with.

Or simply said in this following example, if any of you were in my area of the country and got stranded and needed some gas, a few bucks, a tire changing tool, a place to camp, etc, etc and had a way to reach out for help, I would be glad to help in some way.

Good idea Bob... Same goes for anyone in south-central UP or far NE Wisconsin. We are just a few blocks off US 141 and about three miles south of US 2. If I can be of assistance in some way, or just provide a safe spot to park for a night just let me know. A lot of folks head into the UP through my town. Wife is a lifetime Yooper, in-laws are lifetime Yoopers (across the Menominee River). We should be able to point you in the right direction.

[Java Jack]

Perhaps there just needs to be a Help! forum where those willing to lend a hand can provide their location, some form of contact info and types of assistance they can provide....

[David S]

Perhaps there just needs to be a Help! forum where those willing to lend a hand can provide their location, some form of contact info and types of assistance they can provide....

I belong to a motorcycle forum that has a special page where you can leave your contact info for those who need help.
You do have to use your password to see it so it keeps the rif raf from seeing it.
I have no idea what it takes to set up such a thing so I would only toss it out as a suggestion to the administration.

[darrellbeck]

Several years ago my wife, my son (who was about 8 at the time), and I went to Yellowstone National Park. We were traveling with a pickup that had a Pop-up pickup camper mounted in the bed. One of the first things we learned was that the only way you can (or at least at that time) camp in the park is to have a hard sided camper, and ours, being a pop-up, was soft sided. I can see their point, I have seen a car that a bear apparently smelled food in. He got in but not in the conventional way. The passenger door was destroyed, the front seat was ripped to shreds, and even the dash cover had rips in it. He could not do more damage because he could not operate the door handles, and could only bend the upper part out until it was below straight out. It's a rarity, but if you go to an area where there are bears, take your bear spray along.
But, that is not my story. That came about an hour after we began the trip home when, with over 350 miles to go, I got a MAJOR case of diarrhea. Now, this was a real problem because it was after 2:00 by this time and I had to be at work at 6:00 am. Our solution was for me to ride in the pop-up camper where there was a Porta-Potty, that with it's plastic bottom, slid well on the linoleum floor of the camper. If you have never tried it, I will tell you that while it was at times exciting, it is not fun. I spent the next 3 or 4 hours with my arms braced against the walls while my wife found every bump and pot-hole in the road, with the problems you can imagine, and I hoped against hope that she wouldn't have to swerve or slam on the brakes.

[deleted]

But, that is not my story. That came about an hour after we began the trip home when, with over 350 miles to go, I got a MAJOR case of diarrhea. Now, this was a real problem because it was after 2:00 by this time and I had to be at work at 6:00 am. Our solution was for me to ride in the pop-up camper where there was a Porta-Potty, that with it's plastic bottom, slid well on the linoleum floor of the camper. If you have never tried it, I will tell you that while it was at times exciting, it is not fun. I spent the next 3 or 4 hours with my arms braced against the walls while my wife found every bump and pot-hole in the road, with the problems you can imagine, and I hoped against hope that she wouldn't have to swerve or slam on the brakes.

darrellbeck wins! Now THAT is a true confession.

I guess the moral to the story is to pack some Pepto and a non-skid rubber mat of some sort if you have a plastic bottomed porta potty and a linoleum floor camper?

[rebapuck]

You know, if there was an answer as to how to contact a fellow forum member who is in the area of the issue and who is willing to help put might be a great service one can help another with.

Or simply said in this following example, if any of you were in my area of the country and got stranded and needed some gas, a few bucks, a tire changing tool, a place to camp, etc, etc and had a way to reach out for help, I would be glad to help in some way.

Good idea Bob... Same goes for anyone in south-central UP or far NE Wisconsin. We are just a few blocks off US 141 and about three miles south of US 2. If I can be of assistance in some way, or just provide a safe spot to park for a night just let me know. A lot of folks head into the UP through my town. Wife is a lifetime Yooper, in-laws are lifetime Yoopers (across the Menominee River). We should be able to point you in the right direction.

As a member of the VW bus community, I have access to Volks willing to help in an emergency. It's called Air-Cooled Rescue. Started a l-o-o-o-n-g time ago in a printed format. Nowadays, it's online. Course, I don't have one of those cells that gets Internet.