Crashing trailer while backing up?

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Postby Boodro » Sun Jul 01, 2007 6:08 pm

I was hand pushing my Tear in the driveway , made a turn toward a fence going backward & got tooooo close to the fence. Broke the tail side clearnce lens on the taillight assembly! :x I was going to glue the 2 pieces back in but lost 1 of the pieces , so it still has a small hole in it. :x :x :cry: Oh well , when I get my new hatch finished I am going to get some flush mounted tail lights & put them in my lower hatch. I am sooooo tired of bashing my shins on the old lights , I have several scars now. :(
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Postby tonyj » Sun Jul 01, 2007 6:23 pm

Sorry, no pictures.

After a fun and safe trip to the LCG last year, arrived at my barn in George West and backed in without a problem, except for misjudging the 1/4 inch of clearance I thought I had between the cutting table and the fender. Oops! I had forgotten to replace the fender lag screws with longer ones and the fender popped right off. No damage. If I hadn't forgotten to install the lag screw I had planned to install, I would have destroyed the fender and the done damage to the wall of the tear.
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Postby Woody » Sun Jul 01, 2007 7:46 pm

HMMMMM I hardly know where to begin here :lol: There was the time I, :shock: Oh then there was the time I did, :cry: and there was the time I was, :? or the time when it wasn't my fault, :roll: Gosh I dont know where to begin here :lol: :lol:
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Crashing Trailer

Postby gerry boucher » Sun Jul 01, 2007 8:32 pm

Let's see where do I start?

Our first trip to a state park my older son is watching to make sure I have room on passenger side, Crack there goes the side marker lite. Another trip taking it out of storage and I cut the wheel too tight and rip the trim board off the garage. (Silver Lining I discovered all these nasty carpenter ants destroying my garage. Trip this spring backed up into a tree, small scrape on rear wall, so glad I built it like a tank. I now have a rear bumper on it
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Postby GPW » Tue Jul 03, 2007 6:14 am

How about jack knifing the trailer while backing up.... I originally used a bumper hitch , with the ball right on the bumper... my poor bumper shows how many times I dented it .... since going to an extended hitch , about a foot back from the bumper... no problamo'... ;)
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Postby Nic » Sat Jul 07, 2007 5:50 pm

I have TWO stories! I too was pushing my tear into the garage by hand... i THOUGHT i had all of the windows closed up. But NO! I was pushing it in just fine when i felt a bump. I had no idea what it was. I thought i ran over some crap on the floor. But NO it was my window!!! It hit the side of the garage door! Mine swing out from the top and stick out about 10". When i closed the window it didnt close as nice. I had to force the window back into shape. 'o( My other story..... For ONE weekend my teardrop had a roof rack. I took my nephew camping on the beach for the weekend teaching him how to surf. I had put the rack on the camper right before we left home and put two boards up top for the first time. (thinking how sweet they looked on my woody) Made it all the way to Ventura and had a great weekend. On the way home i pulled over for some gas, and pulled over at Mugo Point to stretch out and take in the view. The view i took in was not what i wanted to see. The view of a roof rack with no surf boards!!!! I about fell over and died!!! I guess a strap broke at some point between gas and when we pulled over. The two boards blew right off. Never to be found! A loss of about $2000.00 in the blink of an eye. When i got home i took the rack off so i wouldnt be reminded. So here i am with a rack, a woody on the beach, and no surf board. :cry: SUCKS!!!
Im not lazy. I just hang out a lot.
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Backing

Postby ssrjim » Sun Jul 08, 2007 9:10 pm

I didn't have my trailer but was at Cabella's to get supplies and backed into a cement light pole.

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The pole won. However thank heavens for Craig's list. $80.00, a couple hours, and as good as new.
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Postby Ira » Mon Jul 09, 2007 8:41 am

dhazard wrote:Ira? :roll:


Ooohhh...

I didn't mean to hide from this thread and my shame. This was just one of those threads I glossed over.

Does this count as damage while backing up?

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I didn't listen to Gage and built it too big. Actually, it was already built, but he predicted this would happen.

(And thanks for not going into my album and posting this image YOURSELF, but I'm sure you were tempted to and it would have been hysterical!)
Here we go again!
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Postby Nic » Mon Jul 09, 2007 12:26 pm

OH IRA!!!! OUCH!!!! That sucks dude! Did the box hit your tow?
Im not lazy. I just hang out a lot.
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Postby Ira » Mon Jul 09, 2007 6:46 pm

Nic wrote:OH IRA!!!! OUCH!!!! That sucks dude! Did the box hit your tow?


It was a scary incident--one which I had no control over:

And yeah, I just cut the wheel too much in direction.

I had brought the TD home from the boatyard, where I have to store it because I live in the Nazi community of Coral Springs, where they'll ticket me if I park it in my driveway.

And I had to back it into the driveway at almost 3 miles an hour--way too fast for me and way too complicated, especially when you consider the 184-degree angle (think about that math) that I had to deal with.

Okay--that's almost straight back, but I didn't know WHAT the hell I was doing. And stil don't.

So bye bye tongue box, and I can't WAIT to smash the next one.

Drinking had nothing to do with this, but if I WAS drinking at the time, I probably could have backed it in with no probems whatsoever!
Here we go again!
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Postby critter » Tue Jul 10, 2007 1:29 pm

Hey IRA,
I was told that bout 37% of all accidents were casued by drinking and driving,Now I aint too highly educated but I figure that leaves bout 63% of them accidents being caused by sober people so in my way of thinking aint it safer to drive drunk? :roll:
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Postby pauld3 » Tue Jul 10, 2007 1:50 pm

July 5, Paul was backing our tear drop into our driveway and under our carport when Binx threw up on my seat, with me in it! :? Paul rolled down his window and parked best he could but was one wheel on and one wheel off the driveway...Jumped out of the car and left me to clean up after Binx. Binx was fine...I think he was just excited about being home.??? :?
YUCK YUCK YUCK...who cares how the tear is parked anyway!!!
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Postby caseydog » Tue Jul 10, 2007 2:06 pm

I have never had a backing incident in all my years of owning boats -- something I find hard to believe, considering how hard it is to see around a boat when you are backing up. Luck, I guess.

Now, I did experience the joy of watching my wife (now ex-wife, but not because of this) jacknife the boat trailer with my shiney, new Chevy pickup.

I always did the entire loading and unloading of the boat myself. I would go to a dock, get off the boat, go get the truck, back it down the ramp, get back on the boat -- and, you get the peicture.

Well, my wife wanted to help, and I had showed her how to back a trailer, so I let her go get the truck and trailer, while I waitied in the boat.

There I was, completely helpless to stop it, watching my trailer crush the corner of my bumper. DOH!

Oh, well. I'm sure my day will come, when I hit something with a trailer. I hope I haven't been storing up for a real doozie!

Oh, I did once bend a 13-foot tall U-Haul truck box and a 12-foot tall gas-station canopy. :oops:
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Postby Sam I am » Tue Jul 10, 2007 8:21 pm

The first TWO times I backed the tear into my driveway, I turned it too much and the handle on the tongue jack hit the bumper of my Ford Ranger. This bent the handle enough that it could not be used to lower the jack! I had to take the jack apart, remove the handle, and straighten it out...TWICE! It's about 1/2" diameter steel rod, and was a real bear to straighten! I felt so stupid...and mad! :x The jack still has a "sticky" spot each revolution when I crank it. Might have bent a gear tooth, too! I also tow the tear with my Sebring convertible, and I've found that backing up with the top down gives the ultimate in rearward visibility!
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