Felt so bad for older couple traveling today

[Weeluvdis]

While traveling on the turnpike today in Ohio we spotted a travel trailer with white smoke and nasty smell coming from the tire area. My husband assumed wheel bearing. We were really concerned for them so we pulled up next to them motioning to pullover. My husband went up to the truck to tell them what was going on, they were probably in their late 60's or early 70's traveling across the country. Long story short early in their trip their truck died and they had to stop and buy a new truck, then 2 tires blew and now this. We bought a travel trailer last year and I'm starting to wish we had bought a pop up, class C or motorhome. I'm starting to think these pull behinds really take a beating while traveling and just aren't as safe as the other options. Can't stop thinking about this couple and what they have been through just trying to take a summer RV trip. What are your thoughts?

[2oldman]

pasusan wrote:
You were the very first ...snip.. one to blame the older couple for having old and worn out gear and not having a clue about doing their maintenance.Maybe that was just a game to see how many people would jump on the bandwagon. :R

Not at all.

If your tow vehicle 'dies' during a trip, requiring replacment, that's a pretty good indication you started out with something less than adequate. Not a sure thing, just a reasonably good indication.

[wa8yxm]

When I had a TT it was small enough to not need trailer brakes, So I used bearing buddies on them and never had a problem with the bearings

IF it has brakes, I would NOT recommend Bearing buddies, but regular re-packing is a good idea.

[RoyB]

Even on my OFF-ROAD POPUP I re-pack my two wheels every two years... It is just something you get used to doing being around trailers all your life. I weight in at around 4200lbs...

I always do a quick walk-around every 50-miles feeling hubs and kicking tires when we pull into a rest area for a leg stretch...

Been running my POPUP over the roads since 2008. Probably has around 80K on it road wise. On second set of tires already. This is about the only expenses you have with a POPUP trailer not counting the yearly tags, safety inspections, and insurance.

Being a POPUP it gets GREAT gas mileage as well.. Kinda like WIN WIN WIN for us...

We are not young chickens anymore ourselves these days...

Thank you for stopping and checking with the older couple travelers... Good deeds still pay back ten fold...

We seem to become everyone's MOM and POP where ever we go and that is a good thing... I sort of took offense when I was called POPS for the first by a stranger. Not so much now hehe...

Roy Ken

[RoyB]

... dadnabit double post again...

[valhalla360]

Tom/Barb wrote:

robsouth wrote:


No it does not pull itself. I pull it with my daily driver truck. I don't know many folks who "daily drive" a class c or a, so it would be an additional engine, etc, since I have the truck to drive all the time, plus can pull the trailer with it without any additional worries.

Except the 4 extra wheels and tires.

IOWs you have 1 engine, 1 tranny, 1 differential to worry about, when going the road ,just like me. plus you have the trailer wheels.


Only mine are commercial units that have a life expectancy of a couple million miles.

I suspect for the average person, it's only 2 extra wheels since I suspect your Newmar likely has 6 wheels and each of those wheels is drastically more expensive than typical trailer tires. In terms of dollars, the TT owner likely comes out ahead of the game.

Unless you are a carney, I'll give you 1000-1 odds, your MH is worn out long before it hits the mythical couple million miles. The vast majority of MH drivetrains I've come across die from lack of use. This is where using the tow vehilce comes in handy (seals don't dry out, you hear and see things when they are minor and address them when they don't cost as much, so when you are out on a trip they are less likely to turn into vacation ruining problems).

You may be the exception but in the context of this thread, a MH is no more reliable. I'm not suggestion MH's are bad but it would be foolish to assume MH's are more reliable.

[pasusan]

2oldman wrote:

easycamper wrote:

Lynnmor wrote:
.... It had to be the owner. Always blame the victim even when you have no evidence of operator error.

Where's your evidence?It's much more likely for a trailer to be in tip top condition when it leaves the factory with new tires, bearings, and brakes than after years of service.

It's called sarcasm.

So, you caught that, huh? 😉

You were the very first responder within 4 minutes of the original post. The first one to blame the older couple for having old and worn out gear and not having a clue about doing their maintenance.

Maybe that was just a game to see how many people would jump on the bandwagon. :R

[easycamper]

2oldman wrote:

easycamper wrote:

Lynnmor wrote:
.... It had to be the owner. Always blame the victim even when you have no evidence of operator error.

Where's your evidence?It's much more likely for a trailer to be in tip top condition when it leaves the factory with new tires, bearings, and brakes than after years of service.

It's called sarcasm.

Yes, I got that. Which is why I responded the way I did. Anyway, turns out the trailer was new so I was wrong.

Moving on...

[rhagfo]

Lynnmor wrote:

easycamper wrote:

Lynnmor wrote:
It must be something that the owner did wrong. There is no way the carefully crafted trailer was less than perfect when built. The imported tires, bearings and spindles assembled perfectly couldn't fail. It had to be the owner. Always blame the victim even when you have no evidence of operator error.

Where's your evidence?

It's much more likely for a trailer to be in tip top condition when it leaves the factory with new tires, bearings, and brakes than after years of service.

Mine came with a severely bent axle, one brake not connected, little grease in bearings and extremely sloppy fit on hangers and Equa-Flex. But then I check that stuff and don't go by hearsay.

Lynnmor's first post was highly sarcastic, not hard top see that. There are many both young and old that don't know squat about the RV they own. Take to the dealer for every minor problem.

Then there are those of us that could rebuild our RV on the side of the road. The rest fall in between.

[2oldman]

easycamper wrote:

Lynnmor wrote:
.... It had to be the owner. Always blame the victim even when you have no evidence of operator error.

Where's your evidence?It's much more likely for a trailer to be in tip top condition when it leaves the factory with new tires, bearings, and brakes than after years of service.

It's called sarcasm.

[2oldman]

..

[mich800]

Sometimes******happens and sometimes it comes in waves. But I sure wouldn't let fear of the unknown dictate my life. That would be an awfully boring existence. I have had my share of bad luck but you just deal with it. Take steps to minimize the hassles but be prepared to deal with them when they arise.

[restlesswind]

Would it not have been a PITA for a "young couple" also?
Some of us "older couples" have learned to take life in stride,take care of what needs to be taken care of and move on down the road.
It could have been a worse problem for a young couple with a couple of youngsters
in the middle of a one week vacation.
I noticed that the folks bought a new TV when the old one quit.They seem to able to handle problems when they come up.

[Lynnmor]

easycamper wrote:

Lynnmor wrote:
It must be something that the owner did wrong. There is no way the carefully crafted trailer was less than perfect when built. The imported tires, bearings and spindles assembled perfectly couldn't fail. It had to be the owner. Always blame the victim even when you have no evidence of operator error.

Where's your evidence?

It's much more likely for a trailer to be in tip top condition when it leaves the factory with new tires, bearings, and brakes than after years of service.

Mine came with a severely bent axle, one brake not connected, little grease in bearings and extremely sloppy fit on hangers and Equa-Flex. But then I check that stuff and don't go by hearsay.

[Weeluvdis]

kaydeejay wrote:

Mich F wrote:
And in this case, if some people had bothered to read the post where the OP stated that the couple bought the trailer new last fall, they might not be blaming the problem on a lack of maintenance. :h

Errr, Mich, go read the original post again. It was the OP that bought a new trailer last Fall. There is no mention of the age of the TT that was billowing smoke.

Sorry for the confusion...we did get a TT last year but the couple also got theirs last year.