Poll - How Safe is Trailering?

[Greg H]

I blew a tire on my big 5th wheel 60 miles from home on the last leg of a 3,000 mile trip. And the spare was basically flat.

[kconley]

We encountered Aliens on the Island.... They were Blue & Gold & from the planet Zeon !!!!

[Andrew GPSMapNut]

TV started to come apart in the seams... ( 25 or so years ago)
TV Fiat 126 towing Cadet. The rear cross member supporting the engine and the hitch started to come apart on the spot welds. I stopped (in time) at the popping / squeaking noises coming from the rear.

2 blowouts within an hour on an old heavy pop-up trailer. TV (GMC Safari) didn't even flinch.
Cause: old tires + scorching heat + towing at 120+ km/hr (75+ mph)

Lost wheel on the same old pop-up. At 110 km/hr TV (Ford Excursion) didn't flinch despite spectacular shower of sparks visible in the rear view mirror. Rolled to the safe stop on the shoulder. Found the wheel inside the cabinet in the trailer - it broke cleanly through the wheel well! On the hub, there were still two pieces of the rim under the bolts. 3 bolts were missing, 1 completely and 1 partially stripped thread.
Cause: Not checking the wheel bolts after driving with overloaded trailer on long stretches of gravel / forest roads.

Thread separation on 2 tires on a modern pop-up. TV was Buick Rainier. First sign of trouble was hearing a strange "wrrrr" noise echoing from the vehicle I was passing. Next, there was a perceivable vibration. I stopped thinking that it may be coming from one of the CV joints in the TV and found that half the thread was missing on one of the trailer tires. Replaced with spare and continued the next 700 km at a bit slower speeds. Close to the destination, just before boarding the ferry, the "wrrr" sound came up again... The tires were holding air and everything seemed to be OK but I knew that it wasn't. At a snail pace I continued to the last few kilometres to the campsite. Set up camp and closely inspected the tires - About 6" long, 2" wide section of the tread was missing. Friend and owner of the trailer was joining us a week later so he brought a new wheel from Toronto.
Cause? The tires were relatively new and the trailer was relatively heavy but not overloaded. I was towing fast but it wasn't too hot. When I was leaving, I confirmed that my friend did check the tire pressure. Problem (I think) was that he checked it to 40 PSI that he deemed to be perfectly sufficient. It should've been 60 PSI!

Broke the leaf spring on the trailer above. Loud clanking noise and trailer seating slanted in the rear view mirror was a dead giveaway that something gave up... Pulled safely to the shoulder. 50 km from nearest town and few hours from stores closing on a long weekend... We tied the loose section of the spring with wire and crippled to town (Tris-Rivieres). AT Canadian Tire they had the springs but were too busy. Despite the language barrier (French there) somehow they called and found a garage specializing in trailer suspensions! Slow drive through the town... They were also busy (mostly with huge, commercial trailers) but had us fixed and on the road within an hour.
Cause: Not inspecting suspension. Middles spring had a section broken off for a long, long time. The end of the originally broken section was well rusted. That made the longest section work extra hard so, it finally gave up on a section of a road under construction.

Have I learnt any lessons from the above? Sure but... just like my grandma used to tell me: "you will learn your whole life and still die stupid!"

[melissab]

Whew! Sure glad Hubby doesnt yet get on here and read the boards. He likes me to read them to him while he plays his games. He has always been terrified of towing which is why I do all the driving when trailering. If he sees this he'll never let me get another trailer, lol.
The only thing we've experienced is being run out of the slow lane by some idiot trying to catch his exit last minute while towing a very heavy popup (new with slideout, shower and e'thing). When we went into the grass to avoid being hit we picked up a nail in the TV. After driving a few miles my low tire pressure light came on so I exited to check it out. We had AAA at the time so we called them to come change the truck tire. It was nearly dark, chilly and Hubby's health at that time wasnt really up for disconnecting a trailer and then changing a big ole truck tire. Plus, the truck was brand new and we didnt know what type of jack it had so we got a snack at 7-11 where we stopped and let AAA with their electric jack (they carried a generator!) change it in about 10 minutes.

No way am I letting hubby see this thread, lol. As it is it has freaked me out a little but I'm making notes so I can learn from ya'll's experiences and be better prepared for such instances and hopefully what to look for to be able to prevent some of these occurances. Knowledge is power!

[Karen L W]

I believe it was one of the first trips with the Boler, part of the trip included a 100 km stretch along a northern gravel road. Part way along when I stopped to check things I found the plug-in between TV and trailer was gone. The cord must of been too long and caught something. Fortunately there was little traffic and I made it to my destination without any lights. Friends at the campground helped me out with re-wiring a new plug.
On another trip I was in and out of the trailer so much I forgot to close the door and started driving away. Again I was helped out by somone alerting me about a block down the road. Now the last thing I do before leaving is check the door and lock it.
So far I've had 2 wildlife encounters both involving bears in the campground. However, my co-pilot Scully (Norwegian Elkhound) alerted me to their presents and kept them away from my campsite.

Karen

[Frederick L. Simson]

I guess I am the only person who admits to having a fire, which I talked about in this thread.
Luckily, I got it extinguished fast, before there was any real damage.

I had a tire blow-out (sidewall failure) on highway 101 north of Coos Bay, just before arriving at the Oregon Gathering one year. With 4 trailer tires on the ground, the only way I became aware of it was hearing a faint tic-tic-tic-tic-tic noise. There was nary a wiggle from the Fiber Stream, and I might have continued on obliviously if I hadn't paid attention to the new sound.

[honda03842]

The most surprising and educational part of this poll is "unintentionally unhitched".

Norm

[Greg H]

Originally Posted by Andrew GPSMapNut

TV started to come apart in the seams... ( 25 or so years ago)
TV Fiat 126 towing Cadet. The rear cross member supporting the engine and the hitch started to come apart on the spot welds. I stopped (in time) at the popping / squeaking noises coming from the rear.

2 blowouts within an hour on an old heavy pop-up trailer. TV (GMC Safari) didn't even flinch.
Cause: old tires + scorching heat + towing at 120+ km/hr (75+ mph)

Lost wheel on the same old pop-up. At 110 km/hr TV (Ford Excursion) didn't flinch despite spectacular shower of sparks visible in the rear view mirror. Rolled to the safe stop on the shoulder. Found the wheel inside the cabinet in the trailer - it broke cleanly through the wheel well! On the hub, there were still two pieces of the rim under the bolts. 3 bolts were missing, 1 completely and 1 partially stripped thread.
Cause: Not checking the wheel bolts after driving with overloaded trailer on long stretches of gravel / forest roads.

Thread separation on 2 tires on a modern pop-up. TV was Buick Rainier. First sign of trouble was hearing a strange "wrrrr" noise echoing from the vehicle I was passing. Next, there was a perceivable vibration. I stopped thinking that it may be coming from one of the CV joints in the TV and found that half the thread was missing on one of the trailer tires. Replaced with spare and continued the next 700 km at a bit slower speeds. Close to the destination, just before boarding the ferry, the "wrrr" sound came up again... The tires were holding air and everything seemed to be OK but I knew that it wasn't. At a snail pace I continued to the last few kilometres to the campsite. Set up camp and closely inspected the tires - About 6" long, 2" wide section of the tread was missing. Friend and owner of the trailer was joining us a week later so he brought a new wheel from Toronto.
Cause? The tires were relatively new and the trailer was relatively heavy but not overloaded. I was towing fast but it wasn't too hot. When I was leaving, I confirmed that my friend did check the tire pressure. Problem (I think) was that he checked it to 40 PSI that he deemed to be perfectly sufficient. It should've been 60 PSI!

Broke the leaf spring on the trailer above. Loud clanking noise and trailer seating slanted in the rear view mirror was a dead giveaway that something gave up... Pulled safely to the shoulder. 50 km from nearest town and few hours from stores closing on a long weekend... We tied the loose section of the spring with wire and crippled to town (Tris-Rivieres). AT Canadian Tire they had the springs but were too busy. Despite the language barrier (French there) somehow they called and found a garage specializing in trailer suspensions! Slow drive through the town... They were also busy (mostly with huge, commercial trailers) but had us fixed and on the road within an hour.
Cause: Not inspecting suspension. Middles spring had a section broken off for a long, long time. The end of the originally broken section was well rusted. That made the longest section work extra hard so, it finally gave up on a section of a road under construction.

Have I learnt any lessons from the above? Sure but... just like my grandma used to tell me: "you will learn your whole life and still die stupid!"

Maybe you should just stay home

[Tom U]

Originally Posted by Frederick L. Simson

I guess I am the only person who admits to having a fire, which I talked about in this thread.

Now there are two. My fire was related to one of PeterH's experiences. I damaged the cable between the 7 pin plug and trailer (might have been vandalism). The plug was not in great shape so I bought a new one and for a variety of reasons, different plug design and senior moments , wired the plug upside down. When I plugged it in to test it the blinkers were reversed as in PeterH's experience.

Then I smelled smoke . I had a fire in the battery box. Wife holding cat running from trailer - did I mention it was raining? - smoke pouring from battery box. I grabbed a halon extinguisher and doused the fire.

The reversed polarity had caused a major short and some lighter gauge wire on both sides of the battery had literally melted. Another trip into town, new wire (#10), an inline fuse, a rewired 7 pin connector and an hour or so later we were on the road. Luckily, there were no loads on the system and no damage to anything in the trailer. Almost a year later and 4 months of full-timing in the trailer and the same battery is still fine!

[Andrew GPSMapNut]

Staying home

NOT for me
I'll take my chances on and off the road

Oh, forgot to add.
One year, when going moose hunting, we got hanged up a little when trying to negotiate a washout. 3 guys, 1 shovel, 3-4 hours digging out in the middle of nowhere...

[Greg H]

Originally Posted by Andrew GPSMapNut

Staying home

NOT for me
I'll take my chances on and off the road

Oh, forgot to add.
One year, when going moose hunting, we got hanged up a little when trying to negotiate a washout. 3 guys, 1 shovel, 3-4 hours digging out in the middle of nowhere...

And I bet the moose was laughing his a*s off.

[Herb Sutton]

Three blowouts in two days on a stickbuilt.

Wheel bearings failed on I-17 in Phoenix

A couple of plumbing failures.

[Tamid]

Drove to Arizona and back and while putting the cover over the trailer noticed the inside of both front tires had worn to the steel belts. Cause was a bent axle. They could have blown out anywhere at any time.

Tried using the generator while the TV was hooked to the trailer and running. Wife smelt smoke. I asked what from?? Then a few sparks from the trailer fuse box. Blew a breaker and a few fuses but once replaced everything seemed to run okay. Still not exactly sure why that would occur.

Had my share of blow outs, power weaves, just missed deer. stuck in the mud, stuck in the snow and a flat on the TV and could not get the lug nuts off. Required AAA for that one. The AAA guy was a war vet and had had both legs below the knees taken off by a land mine in Afganistan. I don't feel too bad about too much after hearing his story!

[Roland H]

On a previous trailer, I unhitched but being in a hurry I had not noticed that the tongue jack did not snap completely into its upright locking position... soon after getting the full weight of the trailer on the jack it collapsed with the tongue just missing my feet! What a great learning experience.

[Roger C H]

The only problem I have had with Homelet is a flat tire in the morning in Kingman, AZ with no Les Schwab within 100 miles. I pumped up the tire with my little handy (car) battery powered compressor, drove the 14 miles to Kingman and a Walmart and had it fixed. It was a nail.

After I voted I remembered that I did have an unintentional unhitching crossing some railroad tracks in the city. Luckily I was going slowly. This was with my sailboat trailer. The problem was I had towed the utility trailer a couple of days before and forgot to change the ball from 1 7/8" to 2". Luckily the chain held and I only had a dented tailgate on the Cherokee.

[David Tilston]

First trip with Life Support:
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...eel-53227.html

Aluminum wheels, steel lugs, insufficient torque.

Door flew open too, several times.

Wild life was a concern as well on that trip.

Details:
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...int-50756.html

[Jo Agrafojo]

A couple of years ago, we took a trip followng the coast around Spain. When we reached the southern Andalucia region, we were driving along a 2-lane road when all of a sudden we saw someone's HUGE muffler lying in the middle of our lane. Cars were coming in the other direction and my hubby had no other choice but to drive over it while towing our little caravan (TT) behind. We heard the "bump" noise when we went over it, but we thought we'd lucked out and that the muffler didn't hit anything "important". We kept going. A few minutes later, we saw 2 motorcycle "guardia civiles" (Spanish version of state police) with their sirens and lights blinking. They pulled us over and asked my husbnd why he didn't use his blinkers when changing lanes (we had come to a section of road with double lanes on each side). He told them he WAS using his blinkers. We tested them and they weren't working. Upon getting out and looking at the hitch, we saw that the muffer must have hit it when we went over it and it disconnected the electrical cable (and damaged it). Luckily, my hubby was able to "rig it up" so that it would hold temporarily until we could get it fixed. The police were very nice and one of them even crawled underneath the hitch to help my hubby fix the cable. We sure were surprised! We were totally sure we were going to get a fine for driving with blinkers that weren't working (especially since the police had said they hadn't seen any muffler on the road and didn't look like they believed our story!!!) We'll never forget this experience.

[D Davis]

Unintentionally unhitched in heavy traffic...saw the trailer in rear view mirror go from one lane to the other. Scarry! My fault, wrong size ball. Sold that trailer, it scarred me so badly, heavy and could not see well enough while pulling. Went to a Pop-Up. Now with Uhaul Ct 13, and loveing it.
Exterior door flew open on interstate I-81. at 60 miles per hr. stuff flew out. I recheck and lock up everything now. All it takes is doing that one stupid thing once, you will never do it again.
Flat tire while driving, going slow so no problem, went to side of road and changed tire. I travel Solo. Yes, God watches over me and I pray for safe trip everytime.

[RRIZZO]

No major problems. Battery & alternator went out on the TV on way to Bishop on 395. Only thing with the trailer was our fire extinguisher fell and expelled all its wonderful yellow powder.

[Hambone]

never had any of the above, but i feel im a more alert driver towing, slower, thus safer