Safety Video for 5th wheel drivers

The Bass Pro Shop
A woman goes into Bass Pro Shop to buy a rod and reel for her grandson's Birthday. She doesn't know which one to get; so she grabs one and goes over to the counter. A Bass Pro Shop associate is standing there wearing dark glasses.

She says, 'Excuse me, sir. Can you tell me anything about this rod and Reel?' He says, 'Ma'am, I'm completely blind; but if you'll drop it on the Counter, I can tell you everything from the sound it makes.'

She doesn't believe him but drops it on the counter anyway. He says, 'That's a six-foot Shakespeare graphite rod with a Zebco 404 reel And 10-LB. Test line. It's a good all around combination and it's on sale this week for only $20.00.'

'It's amazing that you can tell all that just by the sound of it dropping On the counter', she says. ' I'll take it!' As she opens her purse, her Credit card drops on the floor.

'Oh, that sounds like a Master Card,' he says. She bends down to pick it up and accidentally farts. At first she is really embarrassed, but then realizes there is no way the blind clerk could tell it was she who tooted. Being blind, he wouldn't know that she was the only person around.

The clerk rings up the sale and says, 'That'll be $34.50 please.' The woman is totally confused and says, 'Didn't you tell me the Rod and reel were on sale for $20.00? How did you get $34.50?'

He says, 'Yes, Ma'am. The rod and reel is $20.00, but the Duck Call Is $11.00 and the Bear Repellent is $3.50.'

You Can Laugh About It Now - Travelling In The Vintage

As a new RV’er, I took my family (wife, 3 kids and a dog) up through the Rocky Mountains leaving from Kelowna. We didn’t have a trip plan (Snowbirds & RV Travelers didn’t exist yet) and as the sun started to sink towards the horizon we began looking for the right campground for the family.

We drove into an RV park with our old van towing our older camper which our friends lovingly call ‘the vintage’. In 1998 I rescued it from an orchard where it was being used as a picker’s shack since the 70’s.

I began circling the park and within moments, I realized it wasn’t for us. No pool, no playground, few trees and in general, a rather dry & desolate place. As I began exiting the park past the office, a woman jumped out on to the road madly waving her arms in the air.

At first I thought she needed help for some kind of medical emergency (I ski patrol in the winter), but she didn’t have the frantic face I usually see. Then I thought it must be a strong arm sales tactic since I saw her step out of the office.

Regardless of the reason I did come to a stop as she was standing in the middle of the road and running her over would set a bad example for the kids. “You have to slow down!” she screamed at me. Well that set me off as I didn’t feel I was driving that fast.

As I opened my mouth and my window to educate her on the proper protocol for speaking to strangers, the dust storm went past my window and filled my mouth. My dust storm. I looked back into the park.

By circling the park, perhaps a tad too fast, I had raised a cloud of dust rising 20’ into the air which had enveloped the entire campground and everyone in it. ‘Sorry’ was all I had for her. I was pretty embarrassed at the time, but we can sure laugh about it now.

You Can Laugh About It Now - San Diego has hills?

I told my wife I was going out to look for a new RV. We had agreed that a 22’ trailer or a smaller Class C would be perfect, not only for family trips but also for the days when it was just the two of us. So naturally I drove home with a 34’ Class A…which I had never driven before. The salesman said it was easy to drive and I took it for a short test drive off the lot. I didn’t expect it would turn quite like my sports car nevertheless I (and the salesman) were a little surprised when I almost put it up on two wheels around a sharp corner with too much speed. Who knew they could do that? I was sold.

One of our early trips was down to San Diego with the family via Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon, a great trip. Once in San Diego I realized I was low on gas. My wife Cindy nervously informed me that ‘E’ on the gauge doesn’t stand for ‘Enough’. I could tell this could be trouble. I spotted a gas station off the northbound lane of a 4 lane road as I was travelling southbound, perhaps a little too fast. Not to worry a safe, albeit sharp, left hand turn through traffic put us into the driveway of the gas station.

Did I mention San Diego is hilly. As the front of the 34’ Class A went up the sharp drive the chassis guards hit the pavement in the back. Boy does that make some noise. Some sparks. Some trenches that road crews need to repair. Forward was no longer an option. Reverse seemed like a good idea. Nothing happened. Traffic was beginning to stop in both directions, no doubt making mental note of my Canadian plates. What to do? More gas. Have you ever seen a motorhome do a brake torque? My wife has. Tires screaming, blue smoke billowing out the back end it began moving backwards a cross the street. Kids were impressed, wife not so much.

It didn’t seem funny at the time, but we can sure laugh about it now.