Really frustrated and upset with myself

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Really frustrated and upset with myself

October 25, 2015, 06:05:39 pm

I love my coach and the lifestyle it provides. I'm an intelligent guy, 😇 able bodied and a good driver. I've had one accident in over 40 years of driving.

That said, I have caused 3 fiberglass dings on the coach since I bought it in June. I am heading to NAC for repairs in January. This time I've got a ding on a tire. I'll have the checked before I head home Tuesday.

All lessons hard learned but it's enough already.

Re: Really frustrated and upset with myself

Reply #1 – October 25, 2015, 06:15:55 pm

Hey Jeff,
Join the club, your not the only Lone Ranger learning how easy fiberglass finds things to attack.
Enjoy.

Re: Really frustrated and upset with myself

Reply #2 – October 25, 2015, 06:19:21 pm

I got a couple dings in my first 20K miles. None thankfully over the last 300K plus miles.

Re: Really frustrated and upset with myself

Reply #3 – October 25, 2015, 06:33:10 pm

Thanks guy. That makes me feel a bit better.

Re: Really frustrated and upset with myself

Reply #4 – October 25, 2015, 06:44:25 pm

I've had a self inflicted ding or two myself. Was very upset at how stupid I was with the first one. You'll get over it and life goes on.

Re: Really frustrated and upset with myself

Reply #5 – October 25, 2015, 07:06:11 pm

First one's free! I I tell the story that every " war wound" we had , I did, and can tell you where & how I did it!

Re: Really frustrated and upset with myself

Reply #6 – October 25, 2015, 07:11:36 pm

If nothing ever happened in life we would all die of boredom!!

And another lesson in life happened, just for you, and you learned to ride with the flow.

Re: Really frustrated and upset with myself

Reply #7 – October 25, 2015, 07:55:16 pm

I ding mine and dont even look twice. Its a 1995. Dings are just memories of where it didnt fit. If it was newer maybe i would be more concerned? But it still functions just the same. I may get it fixed somewhere down the line, or just upgrade to one without dings. Easy!

Re: Really frustrated and upset with myself

Reply #8 – October 25, 2015, 08:50:42 pm

Quote from: Jeff & Sandy – October 25, 2015, 06:33:10 pm

Thanks guy. That makes me feel a bit better.

I backed into my Auger boom last month and punctured a nice hole on the engine cover door...OUCHHH..

hans

Re: Really frustrated and upset with myself

Reply #9 – October 25, 2015, 11:08:29 pm

We tore up an end cap on a new SOB years ago, when we went off-roading accidentally—lots of angst and miserable funk led us to calling a friend for some compassionate counsel, who told us, "If you had left your rig in your driveway, this would not have happened."

Have a ball! Get back on that pony. Floor it! (The rig, that is. Not the Pony.) Paul

Re: Really frustrated and upset with myself

Reply #10 – October 25, 2015, 11:19:18 pm

Hey Jeff, I'm actually looking forward to my first major ding, though there are a few serious scratches already on the old girl....just gimme a chance! It's a good excuse to get to get back to NAC anyway...+ you'll find other reasons too by then!

I like this: "if you'd only left it in the driveway, you wouldn't have this problem!" .....OK, no more beating yourself up allowed here!!!

Re: Really frustrated and upset with myself

Reply #11 – October 25, 2015, 11:29:29 pm

Trying to keep the exterior flawless was not the original Foretravel design. Before paint.

Made to have small branches scrape the gel coat sides.

Re: Really frustrated and upset with myself

Reply #12 – October 25, 2015, 11:55:15 pm

We spent about a week at Xtreme P&G in Nac, while the wizards there repaired some of our self inflicted wounds. Welcome to the club.

Re: Really frustrated and upset with myself

Reply #13 – October 26, 2015, 11:27:03 pm

Don't beat yourself up, I was throwing the ball with the dog using a handle called a chuck it to get more distance. In a regrettable incident of laziness I threw the ball over the coach instead of going around it. It worked for a while but now there is a ball sized hole in the side of the fiberglass lid on the front roof air conditioner.

Re: Really frustrated and upset with myself

Reply #14 – October 27, 2015, 01:16:26 am

Nice to know I'm not the only one.
Thought I was doing a great job of cleaning the rear cap below the grill. Scotchbright was doing a great job of getting the really tough stuff off until I realized that it was scratching the gellcoat. Dam.
Now I have to figure out how or if that can be polished out

Oh well , move on.

Re: Really frustrated and upset with myself

Reply #15 – October 29, 2015, 12:12:13 pm

I had to sand the cracked baked on decals for painting on my 89... did a lot by hand and some with an air sander.. got thru painting and looking down the side with my head against the coach I got into the gel coat with the air sander.. I spent a month of hard labor sanding those decals off and was darn put out with myself for scratching the coach in 20 other places... I buffed the scratches for another week and finally threw up my hands and said enough is enough.. We do the best we can at the time and crap happens.. A guy finally has to find away to get over it.. something I'm not good at. I'm the only one that knows they are there.. except the 1700 of you I just told.

Re: Really frustrated and upset with myself

Reply #16 – October 29, 2015, 12:39:06 pm

Dub, just think of them as "love scratches". At least it shows you care!

Re: Really frustrated and upset with myself

Reply #17 – October 29, 2015, 12:58:40 pm

I may as well Nitehawk..I skuffed her pretty good.. after the job was done the over all results were on the positive side so I just moved on from there.. Can't have perfection with a coach this old but we like even an old one to look nice.. Jeff, your coach makes a mighty nice picture so I don't figure you have hammered to hard on her.. A guy needs to have some fun and move on..

Re: Really frustrated and upset with myself

Reply #18 – October 29, 2015, 01:26:59 pm

Remove scratches from gelcoat:
I use a hand held power sander (quarter sheet or third sheet) with quality wet sand paper. Start with 600 to 1000 grit and water, depending how deep the scratches are, then finish with 2000 grit and water. Starting with 1000 grit will result in less 2000 grit sanding. Gelcoat will shine with circa 1994 or newer (Foretravel changed the gelcoat they were using). Gelcoat older then circa 1994 does not polish as well.
Wet sanding can also be used to clear your headlights.

Re: Really frustrated and upset with myself

Reply #19 – October 29, 2015, 01:32:23 pm

During the first year of ownership, a tree root jumped toward the large cargo door on the passenger side and tore a 1 foot by 2 foot hole in it. Strange that that tree root has not moved since that time. I spent two weeks repairing the hole, such is the benefit of fibreglass.

Re: Really frustrated and upset with myself

Reply #20 – October 29, 2015, 01:42:40 pm

Tree roots, Wyatt? Hah!

We had a 2ft diameter 2ft high YELLOW concrete post jump in front of our utility bay in our U295.
And we were both looking on THAT side as I backed!

Xtreme was happy to help with full body paint of the whole coach, etc, etc.....

best, paul

During the first year of ownership, a tree root jumped toward the large

Quote

cargo door on the passenger side and tore a 1 foot by 2 foot hole in it.
Strange that that tree root has not moved since that time. I spent two weeks repairing the hole, such is the benefit of fibreglass.

Re: Really frustrated and upset with myself

Reply #21 – October 29, 2015, 01:46:04 pm

Had a kid washing a 06 Avalon,thought he would do a better job so he got the bugs off the hood with scotchbrite,when my
wife saw the result she screamed so loud I heard her on the offshore platform.

Go to "zainobros.com" they have a product exactly for these scratches,you cannot see the scratches on my hood after
treating.Have been using their stuff for over 15 years.
I did call them to verify,is safe for gelcoat.

Re: Really frustrated and upset with myself

Reply #22 – October 29, 2015, 01:51:13 pm

Here's my little gem of a scrape - I did this 3 weeks after buying our coach, which was in perfect condition. Concrete post base at our (then) storage place. I understand exactly how you feel. And I was looking right at it in the mirror when it happened - I thought I was going to clear it!

Chris

Re: Really frustrated and upset with myself

Reply #23 – October 29, 2015, 02:16:51 pm

Strange how inanimate objects come to life whenever a Foretravel coach comes near. I was positioning our coach in a storage facility we have used three times now when an extension ladder hung horizontal about 10' off the ground decided to come to life and attack the driver's rear corner on our coach. DW was guiding me and didn't look up. Really smeared the paint. Tried rubbing it out but no luck.

I now try not to look up there anymore.

Re: Really frustrated and upset with myself

Reply #24 – October 31, 2015, 02:09:50 am

Quote from: Forewheelers – October 25, 2015, 06:44:25 pm

I've had a self inflicted ding or two myself. Was very upset at how stupid I was with the first one. You'll get over it and life goes on.

Amen! There's a reason they put erasers on pencils.
Never be in a hurry doing anything with a Motorhome !

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