Unhitching Stupidity

richie t · 09-10-2016, 03:50 PM

Guess who forgot to put down their tailgate while unhooking the 5th wheel? You guessed it. Me. Not much damage. Popped out my tailgate handle a little bit. Back-up camera still works fine and tailgate still locks. Good thing I wasn't going fast. Live and learn I guess.

**JFlightRisk** · 09-10-2016, 04:19 PM

You aren't the first one to do that, and definitely won't be the last. This is what we all call "experience"! At least it'll be on your mind from now on. Now just remember to lock the hitch before going forward. That will leave a mark.

spoon059 · 09-10-2016, 05:39 PM

Quality education usually has a cost. I'd be willing to bet you learned quite a lesson from this education and associated cost. I learn from my mistakes... I've had a LOT of education over the years =)!

Marcm157 · 09-10-2016, 05:47 PM

There is an active thread here titled "What was your biggest bone head move" you should read some of those posts! It will certainly cheer you up...

A2Z_Adventures · 09-10-2016, 05:50 PM

Aye... a mark of Honor!

There are those that have made mistakes and those that will...

Good news it was minor.

Cdash · 09-10-2016, 07:05 PM

That's exactly why my tailgate hangs on my garage wall all summer long. Also my Superglide hitch. I idiot proof as much as I can!!

culleokapapa · 09-10-2016, 07:34 PM

It could have been worse ,your wife could have been saying I told you so.I told you to put the tail gate down.

dzwiss · 09-10-2016, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richie t

Guess who forgot to put down their tailgate while unhooking the 5th wheel?

Been there, done that. First ding in new truck.

RedHorse1 · 09-10-2016, 08:39 PM

I share your embarrassment, jaws didn't close properly (think it was "operator error") and my test pull resulted in my dragging the tailgate under the pin. Lucky me, the damage was minimal, replacing the plastic t-gate cap was enough. A $200 lesson learned.
Fear of backing into the pin with the gate up has (so far) prevented the opposite calamity. Live and learn. Still better than sitting in the chair in front of the tube all day.

Quahog · 09-11-2016, 05:35 AM

Happened to us too... thankfully, I was able to repair it with an $85 part from Ford and it looked like new again.

Inspector 71 · 09-11-2016, 05:53 AM

Don't feel bad. Had the local RV dealer switching 5th wheel hitch over to my new truck. They gave me their pickup to come home and grab my camper while they were doing the switchover, because they were also going to do some work on the camper. Figured better to do that than to sit around and wait for the installation.
Landing gear was busted, so it took a few attempts of raising the front of the camper with my skid steer and placing blocks under the gear to get the right height to back under. On one of these attempts I forgot to open the gate, crunching it pretty good. $691 worth of education there. But that's life. I made the mistake, I'll take care of it. Valuable lesson learned.

richie t · 09-11-2016, 05:00 PM

Thanks to all that replied. It was greatly appreciated!!!

John7349 · 09-11-2016, 05:46 PM

College is expensive, depending on what you learned. My wife watches me hook/unhook. She has saved me tuition costs a few times. I know I will pay my share eventually!

Camping Grandpa · 09-11-2016, 05:51 PM

The first thing I bought for my last pick up and my current one was a 5th Wheel Tail Gate. Well worth the investment.

My first one was only $50 used and the latest one set me back $200 new. Beats replacing a gate, damaging a camera, or fixing dents. So what if the camera stays with the Original gate.
Switching out the gates takes 5 min at most.

But like the rest of you I've learned other lessons the expensive way too. Just not this one.

Happy camping!

You may also like: