SPUT -- but it wasn't mine!

[Camping Coxes]

To give you a little background, my DH has to travel for work and is leaving the same day as the SCCampers are starting the Poppin' Up at Pismo rally.  The kids and I were dissappointed we couldn't go, so my DH offered to drive up this past weekend and leave our PU at my bro-in-law's, which is very close to the CG, and one of the SCCampers is going to go with me to haul it to the CG and then return it again so we don't have to miss the camping trip.
 
So DH gets the trailer to BIL's house, parks it in the driveway and chocks it.  All is well.  He parks our Suburban across the driveway, directly in front of the trailer, and does some stuff and then decides to move it because he's had a couple tickets recently and doesn't need one more for illegally blocking the driveway.  You'll see the importance of this maneuver in a minute.
 
They start working on my BIL's Suburban, which is up on ramps so they can get under it easier.  As soon as DH climbs out from underneath it, having unhooked the transmission, he hears creaking.  He and BIL look at each other with that "OH NO" look, and the Suburban is rolling down the ramps.  He and my BIL grab the front of the Suburban trying to stop its progress (do you know how heavy an '84 Suburban is?), but it proceeds to hit the back end of our trailer, sending it sailing over its chocks.  DH knows if he can get to the front of the trailer and pull the brake line it will stop, but he's got a heavy Suburban he's holding onto and doesn't want to let go for fear of it ending up in the neighbor's living room.
 
My beloved trailer goes sailing down the driveway, rolling on the tongue wheel, crossing the street where a couple just passed in their brand spankin' new Yukon.  They stop and look back, and my DH says they were probably in need of fresh underwear judging by the look on their faces.  My trailer continues across the street, where it hits the opposite house's driveway ramp, folding the jack wheel assembly in the process and making it turn a little left toward the yard rather than the front of the house.  It went about four more feet, where fortunately the silty, loose dirt that is common in the Pismo area caused the now broken shaft of the tongue wheel to dig in and stop the trailer in the neighbor's front yard.
 
DH runs over after jumping into the rolling Suburban and pulling the emergency brake (BIL could have sworn he had set that darn thing.) to stop the Suburban.  The trailer rear bumper is about 4 feet up in the air and he's expecting the worst.  They inspect the trailer and the only damage is a crack in the spare tire cover (yes, BIL will be buying me a new one) and the tongue wheel.  They went off to an RV parts store and replaced the tongue tire assembly (BIL paid for that too) with one with a longer shaft and bigger wheel so DH won't have to use wood blocks for it to reach the ground in our sloped driveway at home.  
 
BIL, in his wisdom, decides they don't have to tell me a thing.  They can just fix it and I'll never know the difference.  They'll get a cool sticker to put over the crack in the spare tire cover.  My DH, in his wisdom, explains to BIL that I will notice immediately the new tongue wheel, that I know every inch  of that trailer and my priorities in order are Rocky (my dog), my trailer and then my DH, and though he may get away with omitting this little detail, he'll be stressing that I'll find out some other way and he can't live with that guilt.
 
Anyway, they got the trailer reestablished and settled after taking it for a long drive to make sure there was no damage to the frame and climbing under and checking all the fasteners, etc.  My BIL worked in insurance for 25 years and is pretty knowledgeable and in fact while under there showed my DH what to look for and what to inspect periodically for maintenance.
 
So all's well that ends well.  When DH got home, he told me what happened and I was laughing hysterically since he started the story with, "The trailer's fine."  I told him he was forgiven if he'd let me share his Stupid Pop-up Trick with you.
 
By the way, BIL forgetting to set the parking brake is just par for the course.   We refer to him as the King of Baling Wire for the way he attached a fender to a car once, and DH sings the theme to Sanford and Son when he gets to his house because of all the stuff he accumulates.

[griffsmom]

Wow, Trina! What a SPUT!!!!!  :yikes:   I'm so glad that no one is hurt and that this little "incident" didn't prevent you from coming to Pismo!!  
See you in 3 days!!!!!

[campingboaters]

Now THAT'S a GREAT story to tell around the campfire!  

Glad to hear the trailer is OK and that you won't miss your trip!  Happy camping!

[Camping Coxes]

Now THAT'S a GREAT story to tell around the campfire!
 
Glad to hear the trailer is OK and that you won't miss your trip! Happy camping!

I'll bet I can only tell it if DH isn't around!  :p

[angelsmom10]

That would be a real good video if they would have had one running.

[Kelly]

I'll bet I can only tell it if DH isn't around!  :p

I say DH should be the one telling it!  
Glad your trailer is okay ~ I like your priorities!  Very close to my own!  Well, except for the dog and the DH!  LOL

Have fun at Pismo ~ I'll be thinking of you all.

[brainpause]

Wish I could have seen this one happening.

Larry

[wiininkwe]

Tooo funny!!   I can just imagine them giving each other that look.  Don't ya just love it when something happens that shows that we ladies are not the goofy ones after all?!
T

[Ab Diver]

Trina, glad your DH wasn't under the Burbie's tires, or didn't throw out his back trying to stop a 6000 lbs rolling mountain. Or sure, we can laugh about it now, but...
 
Check the swivel mechanism on your jack. If it took an impact strong enough to tear off the tire, it may have other damage you wouldn't notice without looking closely. You DON'T want that jack folding over some day in the future while you are trying to move the trailer by hand--- all that tongue weight could shear off a finger if it was in the wrong place, or severely crush a foot.
 
I'm surprised your DH could unhook the tranny in the first place. If the Burbie was parked so that it wanted to roll, you'd think there would have been some pressure on the driveshaft.
 
 
BTW.... Two questions: 1) Is DH now gunna install the Binford 3000 Battering Ram on your trailer's tongue, and an off-road push bumper on the back?  And 2) Who's the brave soul that's gunna be parked opposite your trailer at the Rally? :Z   :J

[OC Campers]

Wow, what a SPUT.  I had a running picture in my mind as I was reading the story.  What a scary site.  Now that it is over you can laugh but I bet that Paul and his Brother were scared to death.  I am so glad everything worked out well and the trailer is fine.  See you in a few days.
 
Jacqui

[Camping Coxes]

That would be a real good video if they would have had one running.

When DH was telling me the story, he said, "If only someone was videotaping it, we'd have won the $10,000 on Funniest Home Videos for sure!"

[Camping Coxes]

Trina, glad your DH wasn't under the Burbie's tires, or didn't throw out his back trying to stop a 6000 lbs rolling mountain. Or sure, we can laugh about it now, but...
 
Check the swivel mechanism on your jack. If it took an impact strong enough to tear off the tire, it may have other damage you wouldn't notice without looking closely.
 
BTW.... Two questions: 1) Is DH now gunna install the Binford 3000 Battering Ram on your trailer's tongue, and an off-road push bumper on the back? And 2) Who's the brave soul that's gunna be parked opposite your trailer at the Rally? :Z :J

Funny part of your statement is, DH is notorious for having a bad back.  It's bothered him since he totalled my VW bug in a five car pile-up (not his fault -- he was hit by all four other cars) two weeks before we got married.  So he doesn't do anything that might make his back go out.  This was survival instinct though.  Fortunately, his back is fine.
 
As far as camping opposite our trailer, um, now that you gave the other SCCampers and NNCers the idea, I may be a pariah at the CG.  They'll make me camp at the farthest site where the possibility of rolling away takes me right to the ocean!  And GSMX2 and G-Whiz are helping me tow it to the CG -- I hope!!!  You may have scared them off!
 
DH and BIL checked the swivel.  He said something about it being a universal snap thing or something, or that the new one bolted to the swivel or something.  I remember asking him if the new wheel assembly works with the swivel because I love that the wheel swivels up and you don't have to take it off and store it like our old trailer.  He said it worked fine.  DH is a bit of a stress-case when it comes to doing things right and is extra particular about safety, so I'm sure he checked it pretty thoroughly.  In fact, with the parking brake not being on on the Suburban, he said, "Against my better judgment, I trusted that he put it on."  He double and triple checks things.  I'll mention it to him tonight though.

[tlhdoc]

Wow what a SPUT :yikes: .   I am so glad the PU and everything else is OK.  I hope your DH double checks what BIL does or doesn't do in the future.