road trip pics and stories...

[4mickey2]

alright with all the roadtrips to the fort we have under our tires, what stories do you all have?

we4mickey do you remeber this

when we were on our drive down the last time (in oct) we saw this in front of us.. the five of us just couldn't stop laughing..

 

[YellowXterra]

The only way I would want to see that is behind me

 

[bord1niowa]

We had a very scary trip last year. Near Atlanta, there was some construction coming up soon so everyone had to move over to the right. I did as well as everyone else. I looked in my rearview mirror and a huge truck was barreling straight for us from behind. I shot forward and back to the left lane, since our lane was STOPPED. The truck managed to swerve around to the right lane but he did use the space we were sitting in before we moved. He was moving at least 50 and traffic was already stopped. I don't know what was going on with him, must not have been paying any attention to the road. Nobody else in the car knew about it until after I moved back to the left lane. I expected to see a huge crash with the cars in front of us but it was very fortunate he made it around the stopped cars. If I was still there, he wouldn't have. That same trip there was a truck jackknifed across the whole interstate that happened just moments before we got there. This trip I want no vehicle problems or not to be too close to any crashes either.

 

[AuburnJen92]

last summer, we blew a trailer tire in GA and i, in all of my greatness, left our spare at home...

we ended up having to get the state trooper to take DH to the trailer store to get another tire/rim (i made him buy two)

when we got back from TN and went to the fort, we parked in overflow because we couldn't get a spot for that night and stayed with my parents, who met us there, in their cabins...they gave us a window "sticker" to stay there overnight and when we came back to check in, the radiator had let go in the overflow parking lot...we own a motorhome and i have never seen that much antifreeze in my whole life at one time...

here is to hoping nothing goes wrong this summer...i can't afford it!

 

[disney4dan]

On our trip back from WDW in October 2006 we ran into a huge traffic delay on Rte 95 north somewhere around Savannah I think. Ended up being an accident that happened on the southbound side which flipped a minivan into the northbound side. When we went past, they were draping minivan with tarps (never a good sign )

 

[We4mickey]

alright with all the roadtrips to the fort we have under our tires, what stories do you all have?

we4mickey do you remeber this

when we were on our drive down the last time (in oct) we saw this in front of us.. the five of us just couldn't stop laughing..

God, we laughed so hard about the flying mattress.

Do you remember a couple of years ago when we had the flying tire go under our van? It bounced under it, thankfully not doing any damage to the van. It did however, bounce back up into our trailer putting a hole in the front of it along with taking out some lights and the jack. I believe it was about $3000 damage. Thank goodness for duct tape.

 

[disney4dan]

alright with all the roadtrips to the fort we have under our tires, what stories do you all have?

we4mickey do you remeber this

when we were on our drive down the last time (in oct) we saw this in front of us.. the five of us just couldn't stop laughing..

This reminded me of a trip we took once when we saw a minivan cruising along in the high speed lane in late afternoon traffic with a plastic cargo carrier on the roof. As they were going by, only the back two straps were still connected and the carrier was lifting up and down about a foot at a time, all the time the people in the van were clueless I wonder how long it took for them to realize nobody was around them anymore!

 

[djblu883]

my last trip down just as we were going to turn for the Fla. turnpike traffic stopped...seems a family towing a TT had flipped across the road and the family was still upside down all buckled in their SUV...their TT had flown apart and all their things were all over the road....I'm thinking they missed the turnpike...and their trip was instantly ruined...made us so sad...another time we saw a yound child curled up in the rear window sleeping....scary huh? but I remember being a small child myself and we didn't have car seats and I rode there too!

 

[Duane]

A couple of years ago, on our annual Oct trip to the Ft. from NC, we blew a tire on the trailer on I-95 at the SC/GA line at the flag pole. After battling the swarms of mosquitoes that converged on me while trying to change the tire, the DW convinced me to call the road service that we have been paying for all these years to assist. Well after getting delayed for about 2hrs. we finally make it to the Fort after dark.

We finally get the beast parked, after manuervering in the dark around the other trucks, sunken trash cans, and other obstacles. We must have been some show, because two or three folks rolled out of their campers to watch the show, while never bothering to offer any assistance whatsoever.

Oh I forgot to tell you, that all week we had been watching the ever approaching Hurricane Wilma (I think that was her name). Fast forward to the next day.... Went over to the Hess station to pick up a paper and to fill the truck, got back and there was a notice on the camper door that we were being evacuated to the All Stars Movies until the hurricane passed. Everyone had to be out of the campground by 7:00 that night.

We spent two nights at the AS. It looked like a RV convention was going on in the parking lot of the hotel....

All turned out well though....

 

[Us3]

My pet peeve is things not being tied down properly in the back of trucks. I've witnessed so many accidents from thing's flying out of trucks on the highway.

Once while traveling on the interstate in the Dallas area, we witnessed a truck bed liner lift up and out of the back of a truck. Folks if you have those older style bed liners, bolt 'em down!

 

[TheGreatGonzo]

Back several years ago in '98, I was making a quick trip to the Fort for the Thanksgiving weekend. I took a tent instead of the PUP since it was a short stay. On the FL Turnpike I was bookin along in the left lane and came up on the traffic back-up at one of the toll booths - still about two miles away from the toll plaza. I had to stop quick and looked in my mirror as I did so. Another pickup behind me was now panic stopping and he wasn't going to make it. Luck had it I swerved left onto the burm and he swerved a little right. When we both stopped I looked out the side window and he was directly beside me with about two inches between our trucks. The mirrors would have hit if he was a few inches further forward. We just looked at each other for a second and then both started breathing again at the same time.

 

[drafthorsecrazy]

This didn't happen on the way to the fort but on the Eastern Shores in Md.... We were following a car that had a small flat trailer with a brand new riding lawn mower on it. I swear the guy must of had bungee straps on that mower because it was rocking back and forth pretty good. We knew it was a disaster in the making. My DH was looking for a break in traffic to go around him. The moment the left lane opened up to pass the straps let go! We were in a class A MH at the time. My husband jerked the wheel and we barely missed that mower come off the trailer....it cartwheeled down the highway a good distance before coming to a stop in thousands of pieces. This was one of those occasions where it might have been to the mans benefit to have paid the store for delivery! Later that night setting up in a cg we realized we were missing a hub cap---not sure if it happened during that frantic jerk and swerve but it was a small price to pay for escaping a ruined vacation.

 

[Marek 4]

I remember traveling to the Fort for the first time from Texas October 1997 with a PU on I-10 in Louisiana. We witnessed one TT event on the way there, and experienced one on the way home. On the way there, we saw what a TT looked like after rolling after coming loose from the tow vehicle due to all the BUMPS in I-10. There was NOTHING left of the TT other than the frame and some tires. Personal belongings were all over the interstate. I don't know how anyone wasn't hurt or killed. The same trip on the way home our own PU almost came loose from the hitch due to the BUMPS on I-10 in Louisiana. Stripped the bolt completely. Fortunately we had the PU chained to the suburban and noticed the problem before it came unhitched all of the way. We were with a group, so part of us stayed with the PU on the road while the others took the suburban into rural LA on a Sunday afternoon to try to purchase a new hitch/ball/whatever. They drove almost 45 miles before finding anything open. Lesson learned - Triple A and a cell phone!!!!!

 

[DznyRulz]

This brings back nightmares. In July of 2004 we were involved in an accident in Frederick, MD returning home from camping in Gettysburg. A person ahead of us had secured a box spring and mattress to the top of their minivan with bungee cords. Needless to say the bungee cords didn't hold at highway speed and the box spring went airborne. The car in the lane next to us swerved right to avoid the box spring which hit the ground and slid into our lane where we drove over it. The other driver overcorrected to keep from hitting a jersey barrier and came back across and hit us. At some point the tie rod snapped so when the other car hit us I had no control. We ended up in the guardrail. In the backup behind us was a gentleman driving his private, small, flat bed tow truck. We spent about 45 minutes trying to get my Excursion up on it. Picture the drivers side wheel trying to go left and the passengers side wheel trying to go right. Not only did we get the truck on top he also had me hitch up my TT. He towed us about three miles to a mall parking lot where I was able to deal with the insurance company and arrange for a tow home, about 60 miles. Also, my brother-in-law came from Baltimore and towed my TT to his house. The nameless stranger refused to accept any type of payment. He really saved my bacon that day as did my brother-in-law who dropped everything to come and help out. It is nice to know that Good Samaritans do exist.

The hardest part about this was that my Excursion and my TT were 4 months old at the time. If you're curious I have the pics here.

 

[Us3]

The hardest part about this was that my Excursion and my TT were 4 months old at the time. If you're curious I have the pics here.

Oh my, that's TERRIBLE! That's a beautiful truck and set up in my opinion...I know you must have been just sick after that accident!! I bet you have the same pet peeve I do...it drives me crazy to see cargo and such not secured properly while on the interstate.

I barely escaped a a near fatal accident once when a new barbeque grill flew out of the back of a truck. Another driver was not so lucky in the lane next to me.

 

[4mickey2]

This reminded me of a trip we took once when we saw a minivan cruising along in the high speed lane in late afternoon traffic with a plastic cargo carrier on the roof. As they were going by, only the back two straps were still connected and the carrier was lifting up and down about a foot at a time, all the time the people in the van were clueless I wonder how long it took for them to realize nobody was around them anymore!

we saw something similar... but, we were driving along and saw all this stuff scattered on the highway for like a mile.. a short time later we saw the people who lost all their stuff from their carrier at a way side.. pretty sucky for them..

 

[4mickey2]

My pet peeve is things not being tied down properly in the back of trucks. I've witnessed so many accidents from thing's flying out of trucks on the highway.

Once while traveling on the interstate in the Dallas area, we witnessed a truck bed liner lift up and out of the back of a truck. Folks if you have those older style bed liners, bolt 'em down!

i did see a canoe blow off the roof of a vehicle once. they were on the opposite side of the freeway. so, i never knew what happened with the traffic around them..

 

[clkelley]

This didn't happen while I was on the road, but locally here in town. Somebody's utility trailer came off the hitch and was bouncing along. Fortunately he did have chains.

 

[clkelley]

Lesson learned - Triple A and a cell phone!!!!!

After much research with a trailer and/or RV Good Sam ERS seems to be the better deal

 

[Sinclare]

We've seen several accidents; one year we must have run into 6-7 major accidents on the way down (I-95). There was the one were the apple truck turned over, several where traffic was backed up for miles on end, one were we were pulling out of a rest area and heard a loud bang; turned out a trailer had broke loose and plowed into the car pulling it when it tried to stop, several due to heavy rains. Needless to say, it scares you about driving sometimes.