What happens when you forget something.

Message Share Topic Printable Version Google Delicious Digg StumbleUpon Windows Live Yahoo Bookmarks reddit Facebook MySpace Newsvine Furl Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic

Well, I did it. I forgot to raise my jack foot after hitching up the RPod. I heard some scraping when pulling out of my driveway, but had not thought to look at the jack as I was watching the wheels since I had pulled them off to clean the old grease out and add new grease. Somehow, it looked as if the one wheel had locked up, so I backed up and it seemed to be okay, so we took off on a trip. We got about half-way to our destination when we stopped and I looked and noticed the real problem. 
I did a quick search, looking originally for a Camping World but there was not one on the route. However, there was a small RV place, Horizon RV Center in LaGrange. We stopped there so I could see about purchasing a replacement jack. They did me one better. They had some manual jacks in the shop area that had been removed from other trailers, presumably to install electric jacks. They let me take one for no charge. Even better, they loaned me the use of a reciprocating saw (aka sawzall) which made short work of cutting the leg so I could remove the jack from the tongue. The manual jack got installed, and I was able to transfer my Husky Brute flip foot over. It was a little worse for the wear, but was still in good enough shape and fully functional despite the dragging. I guess it cleared just enough so it was not dragging going down the road, just from the slope on my driveway.

We are now home. I measured, and I ended up cutting about 6" off the leg. I think I will square it up and see if I can drill new attachment holes for the foot, and then reinstall it. I will loose that 6" of lift capability, but I think it would be okay for almost all the situations in which we will be camping and it certainly would work at home where I have to level by lowering instead of raising the front end when the RPod is parked.

The moral of the story:  Check, double-check, and then check once more to make sure you raise the jack before taking off.

Author	Message Share Topic Printable Version Google Delicious Digg StumbleUpon Windows Live Yahoo Bookmarks reddit Facebook MySpace Newsvine Furl Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic
StephenH Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6417	Topic: What happens when you forget something. Posted: 29 Jun 2020 at 12:29pm
	Well, I did it. I forgot to raise my jack foot after hitching up the RPod. I heard some scraping when pulling out of my driveway, but had not thought to look at the jack as I was watching the wheels since I had pulled them off to clean the old grease out and add new grease. Somehow, it looked as if the one wheel had locked up, so I backed up and it seemed to be okay, so we took off on a trip. We got about half-way to our destination when we stopped and I looked and noticed the real problem. I did a quick search, looking originally for a Camping World but there was not one on the route. However, there was a small RV place, Horizon RV Center in LaGrange. We stopped there so I could see about purchasing a replacement jack. They did me one better. They had some manual jacks in the shop area that had been removed from other trailers, presumably to install electric jacks. They let me take one for no charge. Even better, they loaned me the use of a reciprocating saw (aka sawzall) which made short work of cutting the leg so I could remove the jack from the tongue. The manual jack got installed, and I was able to transfer my Husky Brute flip foot over. It was a little worse for the wear, but was still in good enough shape and fully functional despite the dragging. I guess it cleared just enough so it was not dragging going down the road, just from the slope on my driveway. We are now home. I measured, and I ended up cutting about 6" off the leg. I think I will square it up and see if I can drill new attachment holes for the foot, and then reinstall it. I will loose that 6" of lift capability, but I think it would be okay for almost all the situations in which we will be camping and it certainly would work at home where I have to level by lowering instead of raising the front end when the RPod is parked. The moral of the story: Check, double-check, and then check once more to make sure you raise the jack before taking off.
	StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

Olddawgsrule Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 20 Sep 2017 Location: New Hampshire Online Status: Offline Posts: 1014	Posted: 29 Jun 2020 at 4:59pm
	We have a system, which has worked for us, so far.. LOL I do my round after readying departure, then she does hers. At first it was a "I won't see what you do" thing. Then I explained "That's exactly what I hope!". once she got that, that she looks at everything so different it's important it does, we haven't had a close call. She has caught a few items a few times (more than I wish to admit..). We don't move until each says "good to go". Again, just us and how we do things...
	Byways no Highways 2017 Tacoma Truck Camper Build 2004 F150 My Overlander

StephenH Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6417	Posted: 29 Jun 2020 at 10:05pm
	I did square off the end and drilled new holes for the Husky Brute flip foot. It is now reinstalled with new bolts, washers, lock washers, and star washers since I did not like the looks of the ones I removed. I don't think the lack of the 6" will be an issue. If so, then I'll just have to use a block under the foot for additional height. I really did not feel like spending over $100 for a new jack at this time. I may try to modify the manual jack for operation with a drill/driver if I find that the shorter lower leg is not adequate.
	StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

offgrid Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290	Posted: 30 Jun 2020 at 4:30am
	There is a well proven protocol for this process. It was developed for aviation a century ago. The key is to have a well defined workflow when doing your "preflight" checklist. This is accomplished by always starting and ending at the same places. Generate a written checklist set up this way and soon you'll find you don't need to carry it with you, just review it before leaving to be certain you checked everything. Let your hands touch the items as you move along, this creates a physical memory. And, never allow yourself to be distracted while doing your walk around. That means politely asking family members to leave you alone till you're done. I've noticed that when I forget something its almost always because of an interruption of some kind.
	1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold

john in idaho Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 04 Nov 2014 Location: Eagle Idaho Online Status: Offline Posts: 613	Posted: 30 Jun 2020 at 8:35am
	Get a Jack-E-Up and your problem will go away. and you can open the tailgate and you can step over the tongue when hitched.

StephenH Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6417	Posted: 30 Jun 2020 at 10:08am
	I have no problem stepping over the tongue or opening the tailgate while hitched. The Hensley Cub hitch is different in that the major part of the hitch stays permanently attached to the tongue and only a bar is placed into the receiver (straight or offset). Then the bar is backed into the hitch opening and locked into place with two locking arms. This actually sets the tongue back farther than a straight WD hitch with bars like our former Equal-i-zer or an E2 hitch would, giving plenty of room. Also, the way the Hensley Cub is articulated, we can make some pretty sharp turns, either forward or backing. As for a Jack-E-Up, it would not have helped where I forgot to retract it in the first place. Also, I don't see this working with a flip-foot mounted as the flip-foot would need to be removed each time before the jack is removed, which would be a non-starter.
	StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

jato Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Feb 2012 Location: Kewadin, MI Online Status: Offline Posts: 3324	Posted: 01 Jul 2020 at 6:35pm
	Good advice Stephen. We have been fortunate and haven't had any major issues after 9.5 years. We each go over everything one time and check with each other before taking off. The only goof I ever had was moving my 177 back to the horse barn about 2 months after purchasing this unit in 2011. I 'thought' the tongue was hitched and since I was only going 100 yards to drop it off, no safety chains were attached. Well you know how this one ended; even though I was going about 7 mph the first bump I hit I heard this "thump" and looking back it was like, how did it become un-attached from my Explorer. Well it was never hitched properly in the first place, it was only laying on top of the ball. Fortunately I only toasted my tube that held the sewer hose, as well as the sewer hose, my pride recovered after seeing my wife smiling at me saying, "Better you than me!"
	God's pod '11 model 177 '17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake "...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."

mjlrpod Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 27 Sep 2016 Location: Massachusetts Online Status: Offline Posts: 1221	Posted: 02 Jul 2020 at 3:52pm
	I actually attempted to take off with the jack down once. I was on my way to Niagra Falls, and I did a one night lay over, so I could arrive there early A.M.. So when I pulled into the over night spot, I didn't unhitch, but I did lower the jack to take some of the weight off the truck. In the morning, I plum forgot it was down. I realized it within a couple feet, Luckily, it was dirt. Nothing like getting that first stupid mistake out of the way nice and early in the morning.
	2017.5 Rp-172 2020 R-pod 195 2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl I'll be rpodding

StephenH Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6417	Posted: 02 Jul 2020 at 7:04pm
	I asked my wife to start coming behind me and double checking to make sure this does not happen again. The problem was that I got distracted by something. Hopefully, she will help me not to miss things like this again.
	StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

offgrid Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290	Posted: 03 Jul 2020 at 6:59am
	Just a suggestion from aviation: Insist on a sterile environment while doing your "preflight" walkaround. That's what pilots do, and it works. No chitter chat or doing things out of sequence. If two people are performing the checks, one needs to be responsible for each task, otherwise you can end up with the "I thought you were checking that" scenario. In pilot training I got that drilled into me, my flight instructor would deliberately try to distract me and then point out anything I missed because of the distraction. Annoying but that's how you learn.
	1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold