I just found this thread and am procrastinating work, so I'll contribute. Grab your coffee, it's wordy.
Our first camper was a 2008 Rockwood Roo that we bought used off of the "Lemon Lot" on base, literally a week before we were due to PCS across the country from NC to CA in 2012. Doing what we do with anything, we made a trip out of the move and had planned to travel up through South Dakota and then back down. Our accommodations suddenly went from hotels and cabins to camp sites. We didn't have time before we left to do any trial runs. I hadn't had a camper since I was a kid and it was Hubbs first. When prepping the camper to leave a campground, we got in the habit of opening all of the faucets to drain the water out of the lines. Setting up in Custer, SD, we hooked up the water and went about setting up the rest of the outside. By the time I went inside, there was water coming out from under the bathroom door. Yup, we didn't turn off the faucets when we left Wall and the bathroom sink had overflowed. Once we got it dried up, only the GFC outlet was damaged, which was easily replaced. Lesson: immediately go into the camper to check the faucets after connecting and turning on the water outside.
Fast forward to January, 2014, when we bought a brand new Lance 2185. Whenever we unhitched Roo, we always leaned the sway bars against the front of the camper. When we got Lance home after owning him for a whole hour-and-a-half, we unhitched as usual and leaned the sway bars against the front. Lance had a different front from Roo in that the front lower part was angled down and had the aluminum tread metal for protection that you usually see on truck running boards. When Hubbs unhitched Lance from the truck, it lurched forward just a few inches as expected to settle. The sway bars made symmetrical punctures on each side of the front. We were able to bend the metal back into place and put a layer of epoxy over it, to the point that you had to know the puncture holes were there to find them. Lesson: don't lean the sway bars against the front of the camper.
Our maiden trip was to Big Bear, CA in January to go snowboarding. We arrived at the campground late in 25 degree temperatures. The host said that we were okay to turn on the water to fill the fresh water tank, and so we did. Only the faucet knob broke off in the process and we couldn't shut off the water before the tank flooded and we were soaked. Did I mention it was 25 degrees? Lesson: fill the fresh water tank with ample light and a way to turn-off the water.
During this trip we had friends with us - another couple named Rod and Diana. Being the good Marines that we are, we played drinking games and went to bed sloshed. I woke-up with a cold nose at o'dark-thirty. The temps had gone down to single digits. When I reached over Hubbs in bed to check the thermostat, he woke and surmised that the propane was out and that the tanks just needed to be switched over - easy peesy. Lo and behold - the dealer didn't fill the second tank and Hubbs and all four of us had enough to drink that we still didn't want to risk driving at that point to get the tanks filled at a gas station in the middle of the night. Hubbs and I hunkered down under our down comforter with hats on, while Rod and Diana climbed into the same bunk to keep each other warm. Lesson: 1) always check the propane before cold-weather camping and drinking games, and 2) the weight of two grown adults is not recommended for a bunk bed (The bolt that the bed rested on when in "bed position" was bent. The bed could be be flipped up to create a garage area.)
Just before a weekend trip to
Disneyland, Hubbs had done something to the tanks and water heater. We arrived at the campground to discover that the water heater hatch wasn't locked and it blew off during the 79.8 mile trip. We felt like the Clampits all weekend. When I hooked up and turned on the water, I saw water pooling under the camper. Hubbs forgot to put the quick drain plug back in that was underneath the camper, so we also discovered Anaheim Home Depot that weekend. Lesson: 1) always do a walk-around before leaving to ensure all doors and hatched are properly secured, and 2) put the drain plug back in and carry extra just-in-case.
This brings us to 2018. Hubbs had just gotten orders back to the east coast (grumble). Apparently a cross-country move automatically means this family buys a new camper. We are now the proud owners of a 2018 Lance 2375. Our trek across the country took us to the southern states this time. When we were toodling through Texas on a two-lane highway that was being repaved with asphalt on one side, a rock hit the front of the camper and spidered the outer glass pane of the front window. Lesson: avoid Texas.
This same trip, we had just unhitched in Hot Springs, AK. I put the dogs in the camper and shut the door, when Lance II suddenly slammed down on the tongue jack. The old chocks had slipped and the camper rolled backwards just a bit. The dogs were not amused. Thankfully, there was no damage. Lesson: sun exposure will eventually compromise the integrity of plastic. Buy good chocks.
I hope the upcoming years are less eventful.
