It could have went bad!

Which one of the ten or so should I pick?

several years ago we were on a narrow 2-lane country road (no shoulders) in alabama. we were rounding a right-hand curve at approx 15-20 mph. at the apex of the curve we see that the right half of our lane is not there. no typical pothole. no pavement. period. approx 3’ wide, 20’ long and 6-8” deep. i slammed on the brakes but no way was i gonna stop in time. we rocked..twice. right front wheel went down and then back up before the right rear wheels went down. all i could holler to my wife was “hold on!” i won’t go into all the damage this caused but the pucker factor was significant.

flash forward about a year. i had the damage to the slides, fridge mount, etc. repaired but not for a moment did i consider the tire alignment. the parking asst at our winter quarters was guiding us into our spot in Mesa, AZ when he suggested i take a look at my front tires. each had severe rubbing and tread loss and the steel belts were starting to protrude. shocked is an overused word but i was shocked. we put a lot of mileage on those tires since the encounter...central alabama to home (Chicago burbs), a trip from home to Dayton and back and then home to Mesa. lots of miles at interstate speeds. neither of my service shops alerted me and my pre-departure check of tires was cursory at best. i’ve decided to believe that most of the damage was done on that trip from home to Mesa but i have no one to blame but me and my stupidity. i had the front tires replaced (rears were ok) and a whole body alignment done. each side was approx 3/4 inch out of alignment. and i call myself a pilot. my pre-flights ARE thorough but after 34-seasons in the MH i became complacent. that will kill you.

we were lucky. i shudder to think what could’ve happened...what i got away with...on the drive from Chicago to Mesa. my pre-departure tire inspections are a lot more thorough now.

I've only been RVing for about 4 years. Fortunately, I have not yet had one of those moments. I'll have to bookmark this thread just to remind me once in a while to take my time and double check everything.

Coming home and finding the pins sitting on the table would freak me out.

Mike

“I've only been RVing for about 4 years. Fortunately, I have not yet had one of those moments.”

IMO yes you have. That’s what is scary...you don’t always know how close you came to....

Back in my youth we were stock car racing on a budget. We towed the car on a heavy trailer designed for farm equipent behind a Chevelle, the trailer brakes if it had any weren't hooked up (no controller in car) and no safety chains. We figured if the trailer left we weren't going with it.
One night we returned from a track 75 miles away at around 80 mph. The next morning looking at the car I noticed a weld broken on the hitch, The end of the ball stud and a portion of the nut were ground off from hitting the pavement, we could only imagine the light show that caused.I am amazed we didn't kill ourselves that summer.

Years ago, coming home to Surrey BC from Grande Prairie Alberta, towing a small old Estavilla TT.

I got within about 200 miles of home, and did a usual mirror check. Hmmmmm..... something looks off kilter... Checked the rearview mirror, TT appears to be sitting on a weird angle. What the heck??

Checked the tires, nope, no flats. What the???? I was cruising along about 65-70 MPH, slowed it down a lot, checking the mirrors more as I did. Better pull over. No pullout available, only guardrail both sides. Drove about 40 for the next few miles until I saw a rest area. Pulled in, got it safely stopped.

I got out of my truck, did a scan of things, tires ok, but why is the nose nearly dragging on the ground?

And then I saw it! One side of the A frame front hitch on the TT was broken nearly right through just under the front of the trailer! Metal completely fractured, hanging on by a prayer and a song! :E:E Other side was bent under the stress too. The whole front of the TT was nose down, nearly on the pavement.

Holy friggin doodle! I literally broke out into a cold sweat from the knowledge of how this could have ended!

Fortunately for me, I was towing with my work truck full of cordless tools. I got out my recip, drills, bolts and some pieces of aluminum extrusions in the back of the truck, and a nearby angle steel sign post that somehow... well, sort of mysteriously... you know, just came out of the ground and fell over right by my truck.... Not sure how that happened! :E:E:h:h

Several hours later, got it all jacked up and fish plated together as a temporary fix to get it home. Made it back home, keeping under 50 and my eyes constantly in the mirrors. Took it to a professional steel fab shop and had it properly repaired.

Whew! That was scary!

Edit fix typos...

after reading the above posts I see I've lived a sheltered life

Walaby wrote:
I've only been RVing for about 4 years. Fortunately, I have not yet had one of those moments. I'll have to bookmark this thread just to remind me once in a while to take my time and double check everything.

Coming home and finding the pins sitting on the table would freak me out.

Mike

When I seen those all I could think about was what if that had came loose and hurt or killed someone! The rv one thing but someones life!

Old Guy! Hilarious! We've had numerous mishaps, Always with a prayer, and a dutiful and deserved kick from DW. Forgotten hitch pin, compartment left open, door latched open, drain not closed- no matter how you check it, you usually check it without fully paying attention.

Had a wheel bearing self-destruct on the trailer. AAA to the rescue, flatbed'ed (is that a word?) 85 miles to home for free.

Another time had everything loaded in the truck (quads, gas, gear, etc...) happened to look in the wheel well, and one of the bolts holding the rear leaf spring was backed out almost all the way. No idea where the nut went!