Dumbest mistake you've made to your vehicle?

Stupidest thing I've ever done happened about 4 years ago. I lost a trailer off the ball at 70 mph on the Trans Canada Highway.

I was helping my brother move to a city 200 miles away but he needed a trailer so we borrowed one off a buddy. Anyways my buddy was gone on vacation and didn't leave a ball hitch out so we stopped at WalMart for one. My buddy had told me the ball was 2 5/16" so I sent my brother inside to buy a hitch and ball. When he gets back in the truck I quickly check what he bought was right on the packaging.

Anyways, we go out to my buddies place, I back up to the trailer and my brother takes care of rigging everything up. I get out and check visually that the hitch is latched and the chains are on when we check the lights. We get all the way to his new place, unload, and get halfway home when the hitch comes off the ball and destroys the rear bumper of my brand new work F150 at 70 mph. I'm a pretty steady guy so luckily the was all the damage the trailer did. Turns out some little fucker at Walmart had returned a hitch ball IN THE WRONG PACKAGING!! I didn't know my brother hadn't hooked up a trailer in 4-5 years and he forgot to tug on the hitch to make sure the ball was latched in snug. We towed over 300 miles with a 1 7/8" ball and a 2 5/16" receiver.

Ever since I double check all my connections no matter what before towing no matter who set the trailer connections up!

 

Absolutely, I do it every time at work. That was just a bad day where I assumed my brother was just a knowledgeable about towing as I was. Shit happens lol, though I should of known better then trust my brother with anything automotive.

My brother was the champion at doing dumb things involving automobiles as a teenager. He crashed his GMC truck numerous times racing on gravel, lost two cylinders in his 327 motor trying to sound loud for his buddies, blew the new motor my dad bought for him when he never changed the oil for 2 years, and he snapped a lower control arm on my parents Yukon, when they replaced his truck with there used Yukon, trying to jump it off a dirt pile.

 

Or you could be my dumbass wife. Right size ball, she just set the trailer on top of it and drove off. Had her race bike in the back of the trailer and drove about 16 miles on the highway like that. Made it all the way to her location and never once noticed it.

Sad thing is, she KNOWS how to hook up a trailer properly and has done it many times in the past. For some stupid reason she just set it on top of the ball and took off. It wasn't latched up at all to the ball in anyway.

 

Told 4wheel parts at age 17 i wanna go fast,


Drove a bro dozer until i saved enough to take the 6" DB lift off

 

Installed some Auxiliary LED reverse lights on my plow truck. Tested them before the install and they worked perfectly. Installed them and one worked and one had nothing. Tore it all apart, rechecked the LED-worked perfectly. Put it all back together and nothing. Spent three hours tracing wiring, checking grounds, and even ran a new auxiliary ground all the way from the battery back before realizing that I'd reversed the connection at the LED end. Since the LED's are polarity sensitive, it wouldn't light up until I simply reversed the connection.

 

Supercharged it.

 

Why was it a mistake?

 

x2 If I had the V6 and loads of money I would do it.

 

Probably the money. Looking back at mine it still hurts the wallet

 

Speeding tickets, supporting mods cost, premium gas, poor mpg, etc.

 

Listening to a spotter who spotted me right into a tree when I had already been wheeling all day fine without one...

 

This being a solo event 1 driver 2 trucks, 19 years old.

I got GMC stuck in a snow bank when plowing. Used Chevy truck to pull it out... I left GMC in reverse, so after freeing the GMC with Chevy I jumped out of the Chevy and into the GMC about 2 seconds two late.

GMC rear-ended the Chevy in the tailgate and drove it up another snow bank. I felt like I was in a cartoon.

 

This is awesome! Sorry but this is hilarious. I have hopped out of a car in gear by myself to push in snow/ice but not with another vehicle around, let alone attached to it haha

 

11 years ago, when I was 17 I worked at a gas station, morning shift so always dark on the way in. I parked my Lifted dodge on 35" Thornbirds in the same spot everyday. Our driveway was loooong and I stupidly used to haul ass in reverse out to the street. Well one day my Mom parked her Lexus right behind the Dodge, like really close. And, well I jumped in that truck fired it up, didn't look back and started my routine. By the time reactions kicked in my rear tires had been put through the windshield.

Having to wake your parents to tell them that you ran over the Lexus is never fun and a serious ass whooping ensued! haha

 

You deserved it, Thornbirds?!?!

 

I said I was 17 lol. sure did look bad ass, they did suck however and one day on a short highway drive I lost a huge piece of tread and they were done. Not even a year out of them.

 

Beautiful.

 

Using the wrong lug nuts when putting on my new wheels

 

Mounted it a little high, need to lower it.