Finally Fulltiming
Summer: Finger Lakes, NY; Winter: Somewhere warm
Senior Member
Joined: 12/08/2003
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club
 Offline
|
Without boring you with the preliminary details, I found myself on a a nearly deserted (just a few hunting cabins) dirt road up in the mountains.
With no place to turn around, the road kept deteriorating from a two lane down to barely one lane with the top & both sides of the RV getting scraped by trees & bushes. Finally encountered an impassable mud-hole & had to try turning around using a tiny path up the hill to the right.
My RV is only 24’ long, but the incline was so steep that the rear bumper scraped into the ground. Luckily I stopped before burying it completely, but now I couldn’t move more than a foot forward or back.
Spent several minutes going forward & back trying to steer hard right or hard left to improve the angle on the bumper, but nothing worked. In the process, I managed to get a small sapling wedged between the RV & the outside mirror. Turned out to be a good thing.
Decided I’d better cut down the tree before it ripped off the mirror & got out to open the compartment where I keep my hatchet. Also in that compartment are the small “ramps” I use for leveling. It dawned on me that I might be able to pull forward as far as possible, put the ramps behind the tires, then back up to raise the bumper.
It worked, but I had to drive right off the back of the 2’ long ramp & crash down from the 5” top which put the bumper on the ground again. Had to repeat the process 4 times (while everything in the RV rattled, crashed, fell out or dislodged), then maneuver back & forth on the road to get turned around. But it worked!
Likely no one else will be dumb enough to get themselves into this particular situation, but posting this just in case you find yourself in need of a quick “lift”.
|
JJBIRISH
Butler, PA, USA
Senior Member
Joined: 10/06/2002
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club
|
WOW, lots of thoughts, but all I can say is glad you got out with hopefully no real damage…
Love my mass produced, entry level, built by Lazy American Workers, Hornet
|
just_dave
Bay City, MI
Senior Member
Joined: 04/18/2003
View Profile
Offline
|
I think that is EVERY Rver's nightmare. I know it's mine.
2001 2500HD 6.0L 4.10 4x4 
1999 Jayco Eagle 285BHS 5er  Thank you Lord!
Draw-Tite 16K with Kwik-Slide
Prodigy
Bilsteins (on the truck)
Monroes (on the 5er)
Roady2 XM Radio
Perception Swifty 9.5 Kayaks
Pelican Break Kayak
|
fordsooperdooty
Orange Kounty Kalifornia
Senior Member
Joined: 08/13/2004
View Profile
Offline
|
Under the catagory of "What were we thinking!"
When we were towing our very first Jayco, a tiny pop-up behind a minivan, we got into trouble one night! We were on a forested gravel road heading for a campground as the sun was setting. We were less than a few miles away when the road turned into a single wide dirt fire road, still going up towards the campground. Our initial thoughts were "I hope no else is coming DOWN this road!"
As the sun went down, darker and darker...the narrow "road" got steeper, and eventually the vans front wheels just spun in the gravel, no more traction. My two small kids were sleeping in their safety seats, so my wife and I got out to survey the situation.
No place to turn around even if we could move forward again, and backing up would have been risky and dangerous with a trailer attached in the dark. So we disconnected the trailer, and using the emergency brake switch we let the trailer roll slowly back down the hill...using the pull switch to slow the descent to a crawl.
At the bottom of the hill, we pushed the pop-up to the side of the trail, I went back up the hill and backed the van all the way down, hooked back up and "got the heck outta there"!
Spent the night at a KOA! Whew..scary!
This is our 7th new Jayco in 30 years! Loved 'em all!
|
mdock2
RV-MOBILE
Senior Member
Joined: 06/25/2007
View Profile
Offline
|
Don't feel bad, i did almost the samething with my 38'dp, as i was on a small road after dark and it turned out to be a old (no longer) jeep trail. stoped in the middle of a wooded area with no where to turn around. Had to go forward over a 3' enbankment to get on the hard road, then back down off the hill for a 1/4 mile. I was luckly as I had no damage
Marty and Shirley
with our DutchStar
following our Dream
Since 1/15/09
Click here for Great RV Related Travel Photos
The map shows our travels since January, 2009
|
|
|
Gale Hawkins
Murray, KY
Senior Member
Joined: 07/22/2007
View Profile
Offline
|
Tight places seem easy to find when you are in an RV.
We had to drag on the trailer hitch support at a "required" fuel stop last week. We missed the sewer in the driveway one night.
If dragging does not hang me up I just give it the gas if keeping moving will get the tail in the clear.
|
Dutch_12078
Great Sacandaga Lake, NY
Senior Member
Joined: 10/07/2008
View Profile
 Online
|
Finally Fulltiming wrote:Without boring you with the preliminary details, I found myself on a a nearly deserted (just a few hunting cabins) dirt road up in the mountains.
With no place to turn around, the road kept deteriorating from a two lane down to barely one lane with the top & both sides of the RV getting scraped by trees & bushes. Finally encountered an impassable mud-hole & had to try turning around using a tiny path up the hill to the right.
I guess "you had to be there" applies, but in reading your narrative, I couldn't help but wonder why you didn't back up to a safe turn around point when you saw that the road was deteriorating that badly?
Dutch
'95 Coachmen Catalina 322XL
F-53 chassis, 460 V8
Bigfoot EZE-Leveler jacks
|
JUrban
Delaware
Senior Member
Joined: 06/28/2004
View Profile
Offline
|
We got the Bus buried down below the wheels when we tried to leave our beach camping spot on the Spit of Homer, AK, this summer. We had someone pull in very close in front of us and I made a mistake when pulling out by cutting the wheels hard to go forward instead of backing up. It took us about 40 minutes to unhook and dig some shallow angle ramps. Once that was done, he rocked out just fine.
My mistake, lesson learned.
John
2008 Tiffin Allegro Bus 40' QSP
2006 Chevrolet Colorado Toad
BlueOx Aventa LX Tow Bar
SMI Air Force One toad brake
Copilot Live Laptop 10 GPS
|
Wheel Estate
Emery, S.D.
Senior Member
Joined: 02/01/2005
View Profile
Offline
|
i also got myself out of a jam by laying my orange blocks down....still carry them because of that day ...minus a couple, cheaper than a tow!!!
Rick & MaryAnn
we accompany, a beagle, sir Cody, drive '06 Phaeton
SMI brake stopping a Jeep liberty toad
|
Finally Fulltiming
Summer: Finger Lakes, NY; Winter: Somewhere warm
Senior Member
Joined: 12/08/2003
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club
Offline
|
Dutch_12078 wrote: I guess "you had to be there" applies, but in reading your narrative, I couldn't help but wonder why you didn't back up to a safe turn around point when you saw that the road was deteriorating that badly?
By the time I realized it wasn't gonna get any better, I was about a mile past a safe turnaround on a twisting, narrow road. My backup ability just ain't that great!
|
|
|
