This RVer forgot to unplug and pulled away causing damage. A reminder for all.

This RVer forgot to unplug and pulled away causing damage. A reminder for all.

Kate Doherty

One motorhome owner began driving away while the electric cord was still plugged into the park’s electrical pedestal. It damaged the bay door hinge and destroyed his electrical bay. At this writing, it was not determined if the park’s electrical pedestal sustained damage.

Forgetful? Perhaps. “It happens” is the famous saying from the Forrest Gump movie that morphed and remains prevalent in our lingo today. Mishaps occur. Outside of the owner’s pride, the important thing to take away from this example is no serious damage to the driver/passenger or the RV occurred. Whew!

It took 15 hours to repair and replace the bay door hinge, fix and replace the components in this electric bay housing.

The body shop smartly refused to touch electrical work

While the owner of this 2009 Tiffin Phaeton destroyed the electrical bay and bent the bay door hinge, after 15 hours of repair by Davidson RV in Belmont, Mississippi, this owner was back on the road. The owner initially visited a body shop, wherein the shop wisely refused to work on the electric bay, subsequently referring the owner to Davidson RV.

Replacing the bay housing.

If I had been a fly on the wall when this occurred, I’d gamble this owner’s words were not self-fulfilling accolades. Rather, I assume harsh words were echoed by the driver and passenger. Distractions happen.

Fixed like it never occurred.

Been there and done that

While parked in Red Bay awaiting interior work two years ago, I ran across a muddy parking lot yelling and waving my arms at a motorhome driving away with their door awning still extended! When the owner stopped and opened the door, I pointed to their awning and shrugged my shoulders, saying, “It happens to all of us now and then.” The owner chided himself for forgetting that part of the mental checklist.

Pride has nothing to do with check and recheck

The more you travel, the easier it is to develop the mental checklist, the walk-around inspection and that check again habit! It only takes one faux pas before you realize we are all human and mistakes happen. Just don’t let it be catastrophic! Remember this saying from the movie:

After it’s all said and done, smile and chalk it up to experience! Now go outside and make sure everything is in and disconnected before pulling away…

Read the edited article published on July 16, 2021 here: This RVer forgot to unplug the electric cord and drove away. A reminder for all RVers – RV Travel

Kate Doherty has been writing for more than 30 years in technical and general media. In her previous business, she and her spouse dealt with special projects within the military/government sector. Recently she published “Masquerade: A Logan Scott Novel” under the pen name Bryan Alexander, a thriller now available in eBook and paperback on Amazon. It’s a page-turner!