Phil won't forget his handbrake again in a hurry!
After four years on the road, grey nomad Phil Crockart has had his fair share of silly – and funny – experiences. Here, he shares just a few of them!
We were free camping at Malalla, a lovely place in the lower north of South Australia. Everything was hitched up, as you do with free camps, and when the day came to leave I noticed the van behaving a bit odd under tow. After taking the wrong corner to go home the van skidded on the loose gravel side of the road during my U turn (should have given me the hint)! We travelled 60-odd kilometres when I noticed smoke coming from the wheels. I had left the handbrake of the van on! Drove 120 kilometres home with no van brakes. Our insurance company got a great giggle when I told them what I had done. Seems I’m not the only duffer that does this.
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We had pulled up for fuel at Poochera on the Eyre Highway on our way to Elliston on the Eyre Peninsula. Found the diesel at the servo had run dry so Sir Dum Dum (me!) ordered bacon and egg sandwiches, coffee etc. Got a few kilometres down the road only to realise we had all of that behind us already paid for. Nice sangas … but heaps expensive!
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Travelling to Wallaroo from Crystal Brook in South Australia. The road was rather narrow and a bit rough in places. Lady of the house needed a convenience rather fast, so I pulled over on an angled bit of rough ground off the road. She came back to the car and told me she had near slipped off the loo seat when a large truck had come past us (at speed) and shook the caravan. Enough said about that one.
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It’s really convenient to have the loo in the caravan when on the road. I find the older I get the more whistle stops I need, especially after a big drink of water at lunch and while travelling. This particular time in a small town, I had the loo window down whilst relieving the pressure when a lady stopped to peer in the window. Enough said about that one as well!
• Have you had any funny experiences on the open road? Email us here to share.
