When it comes to TRUCKS…what has been the dumbest thing you have ever done??

[Hawghauler]

I ran my truck around the block last weekend with my trailer attached. I figured I was only going around the block so no need of chains, lights, etc. Anyway, my neighbor got too much top soil and I was going to go get it. His driveway is real steep, and I had to make three runs to get the trailer to the top where the top soil was. We had to block the tires because it was so steep, the truck would slide down the dry pavement with it in park and the parking brake on. So I loaded the dirt on and jumped into the truck to take it home. I couldn't back up because of traction, so I just decided to drive over the blocks.
As soon and I landed the front tires on the pavement again, the trailer jumped off the ball and slammed right into the middle of my tailgate. Then it took a trip to the left, and left a huge crease in the tailgate, took out the new led tail light, then shot past my truck creasing the corner of the rear quarter. It proceeded past me, and I watched it take out his mailbox and a phone box. Luckily his mailbox worked as a wheel chock and stopped the trailer. If it hadn't, it would have continued down hill off the bank and into another neighbors house. Whew! close one. I bought the neighbor a new mailbox, straightened the phone box.
I got some top soil, but it was real expensive. Always...Always hook up your f#*&$^g chains!!!
Anyone got a spare tailgate? LOL

[diggerbob]

Several years ago, while trying to figure out why I had a vibration at speed, I had pulled my truck into the garage and taken out the drive shaft so that I could make some measurements. I was sitting in front of the truck reading something when I sensed that the lighting in the garage was suddenly changing as if shadows were being cast over where I was standing. I looked up to see that my truck was slowly moving out of the garage. I had always thought thought my garage floor was pretty level...ummm...maybe not?

Once the back wheels hit the steeply sloped driveway, my truck started gaining speed, but I couldn't get out of the garage until the front of the truck had cleared the garage opening. By the time I opened the driver's door and swung it open, my truck was halfway down the driveway and gaining speed. I tried to swing myself into the driver's seat so that I could apply the brakes, but the truck door threw me to the ground before I could get into the seat. Next thing I knew, I was on the ground, stars flying around my head, watching the front driver's wheel and thinking how glad I was that it wasn't going to run over me.

The truck took out my mailbox and then rolled out into the middle of the street where the mailbox post finally landed under a tire and stopped the truck from further movement. My neighbor witnessed a lot of this scene from across the street and thought that it was a riot...but at least he helped me get my truck out of the middle of the street so that I could put the drive shaft back in. When my wife came outside to see what all the commotion was about, I recounted the story to her and told her that I had been planning to replace our mailbox anyway...(I don't think she bought it!)

[mikeb81]

Dumbest thing I did was... I was changing the plugs and wires out on my 91 explorer. I put everything on and started it up, sounded like the idle was off. I looked at all the wires and thought was wasn't one all the way, so I reached down the grab it and push it in. The engine was still running. I felt the shock go through my body

[Fatherof3]

In the 80's I traded a 68 Chevelle for one so I could haul dirt bikes. I miss that Chevelle but I don't miss that Furd PU

[R.L.]

These are some great stories, once back in 78 or so a friend was out in his older brothers 55 we went for a cruse that night and decided we wanted to go see the high water in the bayou. I'm from Monroe, La. well Bayou Lafourse is across a rice farm from where we were. No problem fairly good roads but they were graveled dirt. At the first wet spot we came to I asked if there was mudders on to truck and he said sure but felt uncomfortable driving so I volunteered to drive on back. We went trough several wet spots about three miles to where the road ended, we stayed a while got back in the truck headed out and got stuck in the first hole we came to, the mud grips were on the front of the truck, his brother had rotated his tires and didn't know any better that to put street tires on the rear and mudders on the front of the damn thing. Well Okay we'll that the jack put a piece of wood under the rear tires and drive out. Wrong, it wasn't put back in the truck after the tire rotation. It was a long walk back to the pavement and we were still in the middle of nowhere.

[Dentguy]

Spent close to $100k building my SS Silverado. Procharged, 6 piston brakes ..... Damn near everything a guy could think of. Looked amazing ran the 1/4 @ 12.2.

THEN I STRIPPED IT BACK TO STOCK AND TRADED IT IN .... Regret it everyday!

[68350]

Sold my 72 sierra grande to my roommate in college. We both ended up moving back to my home town and he eventually sold it to my brother. I bought it back from my brother....for 2x what I sold it for. Good news is it will never leave me again and one day it will get a frame off and lead a life of ease!

['68 Newtricks]

Simple regret
Bought complete carpet kit, AC components, dash pieces, and dash carpet for my Blazer. Then cut the dash out and left "comfortable truck" idea in the past. Sold everything, leaned more towards offroad truck from there.

[DEISS]

Not a truck story, but it should qualify, and it bugs me to this day, back in '91-'92, I bought a 1969 SS396 chevelle from a friend complete with freshly rebuilt 396, M22, and posi 12 bolt for $650, turned around and sold it for $1,200. At the time I was in high school and thought I was doing big things by almost doubling my money.

[trac209]

My first vehicle at age 17 was my 1972 gmc that I bought from a guy I worked with. The engine was shot so I got a junkyard sbc and drove it while fixing it slowly. Then I stupidly started to buy other cars and the truck sat and was soldered I had no time for it all.

[mechanicalman]

Almost bought a Plymouth Scamp.

[Sillyoldman]

I used a scissor jack under the rear differential to lift and remove both rear wheels. I was alright until I realized that since I was putting on larger ones the truck needed to go up more (should have put the smaller wheels back on). I made up a concoction of ratchet extensions to get me out beyond the rear bumper. Unfortunately I did not factor in the trailer receiver. I laid on my side cranking the jack, it slipped and fell. It cost me a separated shoulder, torn cartilage and several broken ribs although it did leave me with a cool nut shaped bruise from the bottom of the ball on my shoulder In my defense (if that's possible) it happened in my youth before I had the means to buy the right tools for the job.

[RichardJ]

A 7 year bump?

I almost didn't open this thread, but the originator's first post about selling a '54 Chevy 1/2 brought back an old memory and similar regret.

I got my dad's '48 Dodge 1/2 and put a Chrysler 413/auto in it. A year later the auto went out and I sold it cheap to a guy that had been bugging me for it.

Dumb, dumb. dumb.

[aris_unlimited]

I had a 1998 Dodge dakota 318 5 speed 4wd. Got my tahoe stuck in gravel.....yes gravel. Had some pretty beefy tires on my tahoe and the 4wd had gotten seized up in the front axle so it would not actually engage. Just kept digging myself deeper with the back tires (ended up in gravel up to the body line). So I called my father in law and he brought my dakota down because he had loaned his truck out earlier that day. Ended up towing out the tahoe, after a bit of work trying to figure out different ways. What worked was backing up the dakota to loosen the chain just a bit (was in 4lo) and then slamming forward to jerk the tahoe out of the whole little by little....off a little bit of a ledge and down a hill. Got everything worked out ok actually. Problem was about a week later the tranny on my dakota started acting funny. Turned out I blew a couple bearings trying to yank the tahoe out. Sold the dakota as it would've cost me almost as much to rebuild the tranny as it did to buy the truck. Still kind of regret that. Wish I would've just swapped in a stronger tranny and kept it lol. Traded the tahoe in for my wifes honda accord (her job commute got farther and the better mpg was a huge bonus lol)

[Redline novdog]

didn't know thi thread was out there.
I put a crate motor in my brother/in/laws 85 c10. was timing it in gear. I to this day don't know why I reached down and hit the throttle. I rode that 1/2 ton out of my garage and into the side of my 84 crew cab. I physically was not hurt the 85 took an hour cleaning and straightening the front bumper. the c30 crew cab had a new body line never repaired

[no1udknow]

ok...
So it was Christmas eve and my wife and I were hosting our entire family at our house for dinner. My wife comes to me around noon and tells me that I need to go to the store to get more chips (the store is about 6 miles away). I ask my wifes younger brother if he wants to go with me and he says "hell yeah if we can take the beast... I want to ride in that thing". So the beast was a 73 k10 with a 8" procomp lift and suspension kit, 36's and a 454... After hearing we were taking the beast, my sisters husband and my nephew decide they want to go also. So we go to the store and pick up the chips, and my brother inlay picks up a couple 6 packs of Pacifico and we head back. My brother in laws ask if I had ever been offroading in my truck and I tell them yes. They ask if we can go somewhere close to sling some mud. I knew of an open field close by but I had never been out there.
So we pull up to the field and my sisters husband and I jump out and walk about 25 ft out into the field. it feels soft enough to sling grass and mud but firm enough to not get stuck.....I apparently did not walk far enough....
I throw it in 4 high and lock the hubs in, and we start spinning some donuts and throwing mud and about 50 feet in, my truck abruptly stops like I hit a snow bank. I roll down the window and look at the front tires... they are already sunk in the mud up to the hubs, I look at the back and they are almost the same. I tried rocking back and forth, creeping, and cranking the wheel back and forth...... we were stuck. I opened the door and jumped out, and my feet immediately sank up to my ankles in the mud. The same happened to my brother in law and he had to dig his shoe out of the mud. So here we are, in a field with no trees or posts to winch from, my mud ladders were at work because I was welding on them, and we were covered in mud in our nice Christmas clothes.....then my wife called and asked where the hell I was. She was furious when I told her what happened. I hung up the phone and called a good friend of mine and he was at dinner with his wife's family...so he was happy to come help. So we sat on the tailgate and drank beer for an hour and a half till my friend showed up with his Dodge diesel. I hooked my winch and some chains to his truck and we were able to get the beast out of the swamp. then I was unable to unlock my hubs, it took me about 30 minutes to get them unlocked.

When it was all said and done, a 10 minute chip run turned into a 3 1/2 hour excursion that resulted in a few angry wives, and a couple of guys in Christmas clothes covered in mud.

It has become a Christmas legend in the family....you know what they say, the worst decisions make the best stories.

[no1udknow]

Here's a picture of my old truck

[Lou Boffa]

yeah, I know.....

[68shortwide]

Originally Posted by Lou Boffa

yeah, I know.....

I scrolled past that 5-10 times before realizing what was actually wrong lol it looks stock

[PowerdbyChevy79]

well first after having my 81 stepside running like a top for 2 months.. i wrecked it after getting into an arguement with the ex.. then i got the front clipped replaced and sold it for cheap...why i sold it..to this day i cant remember what i was thinking or why i wnated to sell it...that truck was bada$$

[aris_unlimited]

Originally Posted by Lou Boffa

yeah, I know.....

I don't get it....

[69moneypit]

Late 80s I was about 13/14 and into mini trucks . Was at a transmission shop with my dad . ""Told my dad that truck looks like your 72c10 . Except they cut the top off and made it a walk through etc". My dad said " yea they did or it's blazer with the top off " I really felt like a dumb a--.

[no1udknow]

Originally Posted by Lou Boffa

yeah, I know.....

Cause it's upside down?

[Yooper truck]

I've got two stories to add from the late 80's in my 72 Chevy.

1- My buddy and I were leaving school and I discovered the throttle cable had broken. My dad worked about a half mile away and usually has tools in his truck. To get there my friend got under the hood of my truck, braced himself away from hot and moving parts, pulled the hood down as low as it would go and manually controlled the throttle linkage. I meanwhile peered over the hood and drove the truck, yelling "shift" so he would let up on the throttle to shift. Turns out my dad did not have the tools or parts needed and we did the same thing back to the local mechanic. The looks on the faces of other drivers we met along the way was priceless.

2- I had to stop by and pick up something from my aunt, so I left the truck running in neutral in their "level" driveway. My quick run into the house was delayed as they were putting in a new window in the back of the house. A few minutes later my cousin comes running in asking why I parked in the ditch. I went running out to find my truck still idling, but at a 45 degree angle sitting on its rear bumper in the deep ditch at the end of the driveway.

[Lou Boffa]

Originally Posted by aris_unlimited

I don't get it....

Much to me eternal embarrasment--I installed it upside down...DOH!