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First trip out.......

jmconneely
Explorer
Explorer
Well our first trip started out with a few glitches and went great as far as the camping went. We overloaded the fridge which hindered the cooling. Then it took a few minutes to get the water heater working. Once we realized the drain plug was out it worked great(go figure). Overall we had a nice weekend of camping.

The trip home, well that is a whole other story. We had a tail light our when we got hooked up and ready to leave for home. Stopped by Walmart, replaced the bulb and back on the road. About a half hour or so into the journey home, I blew a tire on the front right side of my F350. I was in the left lane and preparing to move back into the right lane. Well when it blew it jerked the truck towards the shoulder....clipping another truck fifth wheel. This forced him off the road and into a deep ditch. No one was hurt. Minor damage to my rig, his 5ver has a decent amount of damage from what he has said.

Now it is in the hands of our insurance companies. Hoping for quick repairs for all involved so we can get camping again.
20 REPLIES 20

jmconneely
Explorer
Explorer
I certainly hope I am one and done with the whole accident deal. Just chalking it up to a learning lesson. ruck is back in shape and running great again.

Farmerjon
Explorer
Explorer
JM
I'm sorry your 1st outing went so badly. but at least the camping went well and nobody was injured in the accident.
But you can enjoy looking forward to when you will be able to go on a trip.
More than likely this is the only accident you will ever have.
2015 F350 Lariat CC LB 4x4 DRW 6.7, 6sp auto, 3.73
2000 F350 lariat SC LB 4x4 DRW 7.3, 6sp manual 3.73
1987 F250 Lariat SC/LB 4x4 SRW 460 4sp stick 4.10
1995 Jeep wrangler
99 Star Craft 953

jmconneely
Explorer
Explorer
Thanks, I'll definitely be planning trips for next year.

eabc5454
Explorer
Explorer
JM:

I hope things get situated for you to go camping sooner rather than later. One of the most fun things we do during the winter non-camping months is dream about the next year - where we'll go, when we'll go, and we start making reservations, especially for state parks and premium weekends. Dreaming doesn't cost a dime!

Also, check out the free camping sites online - if you can boondock there are lots of free or really cheap places.

Hope to see you on the road soon,
Elizabeth
2014 Thor Motor Coach ACE 30.1 (The Mothership)
2013 Honda CR-V (The Pod)

jmconneely
Explorer
Explorer
Well I guess our camping season is going to be a very short lived one. Going to save up our money for next year. Repairs to my truck and other situations just have things way to tight on the finance side of things. Everyone else have a great season camping.

IndyCamp
Explorer
Explorer
Glad to hear nobody was hurt. Things can be replaced.

Some tires just let you down.

I have a brand new truck with only 3,000 miles on it and was getting bad vibration at around 65 mph. I took it into the dealer and they found the front driver's side tire was defective. They replaced it with a new tire and it also tested out of specs and was defective. I'm now on my third front driver's tire.
2018 Grand Design Reflection 315RLTS
2014 RAM 2500 6.4L HEMI

DiskDoctr
Explorer
Explorer
Probably used the wrong wattage bulb 😉 😄 Lol!

Wanted to say sorry for your troubles, glad no one was hurt, and kudos for your excellent attitude and calm approach!

"Roll with it" is the attitude that seems to serve the "happiest" campers well, but it is so seldom seen in practice 😉

eabc5454
Explorer
Explorer
Sorry to hear that you had a rough trip. It sounds like things will be OK soon, and no one was hurt. I'm glad you're all safe.

I hope you have many happy camping adventures in the future.

Elizabeth
2014 Thor Motor Coach ACE 30.1 (The Mothership)
2013 Honda CR-V (The Pod)

rustycopperball
Explorer
Explorer
Glad you are OK, nobody hurt that is what matters!!!

dwayneb236
Explorer
Explorer
+1 JM.

People just like to sling stuff too much around here. All the weight police and driving instructors get old around here..

By the way, very glad everyone is ok.
2016 Ford F350 XLT DRW 6.7 SuperCrew 4X4 8 Ft Box
2016 Brookstone 395RL

jmconneely
Explorer
Explorer
ken07734 wrote:
I have read a fdw stories about blown tires on TT and 5vers and TV's out here and it gives me pause to understand why would tires just blow like that? I can only think that maybe these people are over weight by a bit or driving a bit aggressive or are not keeping up with regular maintenance?

thoughts?

If not then we should all be concerned about blowing tires.....


For one the truck is a 2002 F350 DRW pulling a 6,200 lb. fifth wheel. Safe to say it is far from overloaded. Two...the tread on both front tires is about 75 to 80%, so keeping an eye on tires and maintenance is probably not the blame. Third thing is I was only running around 60 mph on a straight road when it blew. That means I wasn't taking turns too fast or traveling at a high rate of speed.

My thoughts are....things happen that we can't explain. Could of been a number of other things too. Maybe instead of replying with this type of comment you just say "Man I'm glad no one was hurt. Hope their next trip is better"

Oh another thing, I drive a tuck for a living hauling large excavation equipment, I know a few things about weights and how to check my equipment.

JiminDenver
Explorer II
Explorer II
Thank goodness that no one was hurt and luckily insurance will make it right for everyone. Better luck on your next trip.
2011 GulfStream Amerilite 25BH
2003 Ford Expedition with 435w tilting portable/ TS-MPPT-45
750w solar , TS-MPPT-60 on the trailer
675 Ah bank, Trip-lite 1250fc inverter
Sportsman 2200w inverter generator

JamesBr
Explorer
Explorer
Bad things happen all the time. You do not need to be overloaded to lose a front tire on the highway. Something as simple as a piece of debris/nail, a pothole and other road hazards while traveling that can lead to a blowout. And that can all happen between stops and spot checks.

Gladd to hear noone was hurt, my only parting note would be a suggestion to have your LF tire checked out or just replaced as a pair unless you found the cause of the blow out.
2006 Ford F350 6.0
2014 Primetime Sanibel 3600
Enough other vehicles to not bother listing.

Previous RV: 2001 Monaco Knight

dwayneb236
Explorer
Explorer
ken07734 wrote:
I have read a fdw stories about blown tires on TT and 5vers and TV's out here and it gives me pause to understand why would tires just blow like that? I can only think that maybe these people are over weight by a bit or driving a bit aggressive or are not keeping up with regular maintenance?

thoughts?

If not then we should all be concerned about blowing tires.....


And another reason I rarely post here. Someone always getting accused of something. Sometimes bad things happen to good people through no fault of their own. But I will NEVER post a problem I have in here. People just can't say sorry it happened. Gotta attack.
2016 Ford F350 XLT DRW 6.7 SuperCrew 4X4 8 Ft Box
2016 Brookstone 395RL