On the very second day of our very first truck camping trip, we pulled out of a parking lot and heard a loud KA-BOOM! from the camper. After looking at each other with the puzzled, “What was that?” expression, I immediately I pulled over, got out of the truck, and opened the back door. There I found our electric kettle smashed in a puddle of water on the floor, and learned our first two busted truck camping lessons.
Busted Lesson 1: Never leave fragile things on the counter or dinette. Anything left in these locations will be on the floor, and probably broken.
Busted Lesson 2: What the heck are you doing going truck camping with an electric kettle?
About two days later a very full tub of yogurt rocketed to the floor and exploded when I opened the refrigerator. As we scooped yogurt from places yogurt is not ever supposed to go, we learned two more valuable busted lessons.
Busted Lesson 3: Always open the refrigerator slowly after driving.
Busted Lesson 4: Don’t buy big tubs of yogurt on the road.
The refrigerator door lesson quickly expanded to include upper cabinets. On many occasions, plates, cups, and random food items literally jumped out of the upper kitchen cabinets when opened. Although none of these items have broken (we use plastic plates, cups, and bowls on the road) the heavier food items have barely missed toes, almost hit Harley (a near cat-astrophe), and put permanent dents in our linoleum flooring.
Busted Lesson 5: Make sure all upper cabinet doors are secure for travel, and open them carefully.
Busted Lesson 6: Be very careful how you store items in the upper cabinets. Loose items will jump out.
Thankfully, these busted lessons have become less common, but continue to be part of our truck camping life. Just last year we opened our back door and found the plastic shelving unit in the mid-closet had fallen completely out releasing most of its contents on the floor. Nothing actually broke, but the mess was spectacular.
Busted Lesson 109: Make sure the center closet door is fully closed and latched before heading out.
We thought it would be fun to ask what has fallen and broken while you’ve been camping. We can’t be the only ones who have scooped yogurt off the floor, and learned that certain items really aren’t road worthy. Can we?
This week’s Question of the Week is, “What items have fallen and busted in your camper while traveling?” Feel free to add what you learned from these experiences.
Click here to read about all the things that have gone KA-BOOM in truck campers!
