On the road breakdown stories..
I'd be interested in reading your on the road breakdown stories and how you got back on the road. I'll share two.
I have been RV-ing on and off since 1987. I guess we have been very lucky to have had very few problems out on the road, all things considered.
Every Christmas we take the RV to visit family over the Christmas break (my second career is at a college, if you don't count military time). About eight years ago we were driving the class A motorhome out on I-40 in ten lanes of traffic during 5 o'clock rush hour. We were motoring along minding our own business, when what sounded like a shotgun blast went off in the motorhome. We blew a tire. I seriously thought my wife was having a heart attack. She said "I don't think I can do this RV thing anymore." I called roadside assistance but, noticed a tire store at the top of the next exit ramp. Since it was one of the rear dually tires I limped to the Discount Tire. The motorhome was on a P-30 chassis and had 16 inch wheels. So, I was able to spend a small fortune and replaced all 7 tires. We were back on the road in a couple of hours and made the RV park around 11pm. We sold that motorhome in 2017. It was in far better shape than when I bought it. The new owner hasn't taken very good care of it. The last time I saw it it was parked under a huge tree with a foot and a half of wet leaves piled up on the roof. Nevertheless..
Last year, we went to the beach for a week. We had a terrific week. For about a month before that trip I kept having this nagging feeling that I ought to replace the radiator. There was no indication whatsoever that there was anything wrong with it. I just had a feeling in my gut, that I ignored due to lack of evidence. Leaving Myrtle Beach I had to stand on the brakes and I heard a weird cracking sound. I thought maybe we slid on some sand or gravel or something. I kept on driving, no indication of any issues. We made it to the middle of nowhere on 501 a few miles from Marion SC and started overheating in a hurry. I pulled over, popped the hood and antifreeze was everywhere. The overflow tank was empty. I thought I might add some water and try to make it to Marion so, yep, I unscrewed the cap on the overflow tank..stupid.. Antifeeze came shooting out and lit me up like a firecracker. Burned my hand. Don't ever do that..
It was literally in the mid 90s that day, like 95 degrees. We had dogs with us. I put them in crates and carried them into the tree line to try to keep them cool, and it worked pretty well. I called roadside assistance and they sent us a rollback wrecker, loaded up the Suburban and hooked up the travel trailer. The wrecker driver was this old biker that was amazing. A really great guy. He dropped us at a campsite in an RV park in Florence SC and took the Suburban to their facility. I had a first aid kit that had stuff for burns in it so, for the next two days we just hung around the campground. I didn't feel stressed at all, which isn't really like me. We had a few meager groceries and bought a few things in the campground store. The nearest store was miles away. Lesson, always have some extras for a breakdown. In two days the Suburban was fixed and we headed home. The next time I get that nagging feeling about such a thing I'm just going to replace it. $200 dollars and an hour and a half and I could have avoided the whole thing.
I'd say that with 33 years of RV-ing two breakdowns isn't bad.
I have been RV-ing on and off since 1987. I guess we have been very lucky to have had very few problems out on the road, all things considered.
Every Christmas we take the RV to visit family over the Christmas break (my second career is at a college, if you don't count military time). About eight years ago we were driving the class A motorhome out on I-40 in ten lanes of traffic during 5 o'clock rush hour. We were motoring along minding our own business, when what sounded like a shotgun blast went off in the motorhome. We blew a tire. I seriously thought my wife was having a heart attack. She said "I don't think I can do this RV thing anymore." I called roadside assistance but, noticed a tire store at the top of the next exit ramp. Since it was one of the rear dually tires I limped to the Discount Tire. The motorhome was on a P-30 chassis and had 16 inch wheels. So, I was able to spend a small fortune and replaced all 7 tires. We were back on the road in a couple of hours and made the RV park around 11pm. We sold that motorhome in 2017. It was in far better shape than when I bought it. The new owner hasn't taken very good care of it. The last time I saw it it was parked under a huge tree with a foot and a half of wet leaves piled up on the roof. Nevertheless..
Last year, we went to the beach for a week. We had a terrific week. For about a month before that trip I kept having this nagging feeling that I ought to replace the radiator. There was no indication whatsoever that there was anything wrong with it. I just had a feeling in my gut, that I ignored due to lack of evidence. Leaving Myrtle Beach I had to stand on the brakes and I heard a weird cracking sound. I thought maybe we slid on some sand or gravel or something. I kept on driving, no indication of any issues. We made it to the middle of nowhere on 501 a few miles from Marion SC and started overheating in a hurry. I pulled over, popped the hood and antifreeze was everywhere. The overflow tank was empty. I thought I might add some water and try to make it to Marion so, yep, I unscrewed the cap on the overflow tank..stupid.. Antifeeze came shooting out and lit me up like a firecracker. Burned my hand. Don't ever do that..
It was literally in the mid 90s that day, like 95 degrees. We had dogs with us. I put them in crates and carried them into the tree line to try to keep them cool, and it worked pretty well. I called roadside assistance and they sent us a rollback wrecker, loaded up the Suburban and hooked up the travel trailer. The wrecker driver was this old biker that was amazing. A really great guy. He dropped us at a campsite in an RV park in Florence SC and took the Suburban to their facility. I had a first aid kit that had stuff for burns in it so, for the next two days we just hung around the campground. I didn't feel stressed at all, which isn't really like me. We had a few meager groceries and bought a few things in the campground store. The nearest store was miles away. Lesson, always have some extras for a breakdown. In two days the Suburban was fixed and we headed home. The next time I get that nagging feeling about such a thing I'm just going to replace it. $200 dollars and an hour and a half and I could have avoided the whole thing.
I'd say that with 33 years of RV-ing two breakdowns isn't bad.
