Your answers to this week’s question just might help another RVer avoid trouble. We want to know about your RV mishaps.
In other words, what was the worst mechanical or driving mishap you have ever experienced while RVing? Did you learn anything that might prevent others from having the same issue?
We have all made mistakes or all had things happen to us that can be valuable learning experiences.
Please share by filling out the form below. (Please DO NOT answer in the comments on this page.)
Please try to keep answers as short as possible (under 100 words is ideal). We’ll compile the most compelling answers and comments into a follow-up article.
We learned what that little box with a red curly wire on the tongue of our travel trailer does on a curvy, hilly Kentucky backroad. The brake breakaway somehow was partially pulled out. We were able to drive out of the campground but the turn onto the access road finished plugging the plug and we stopped! Traffic could not see us stopped in the road – there were no shoulders. Good Sam roadside was useless and would take at least 2 hours for assistance. After a few tense moments we noticed a dangling wire and after a few more minutes found where it went. Now we check that little red wire each hookup!
19,000 reasons to get off the road before dark!
In 2012 headed home from the West coast on I-70 we encountered a 11,000 feet grade headed East for Golden, Colorado, a suburb of Denver.
Our new 36’ Class A, gas MH pulling a Chevy HHR at 6,000 feet said it had enough pulling the toad. It was just after dark and just two miles from our exit, all I saw was the head of an elk on the edge road.
The short part of this story was waiting three weeks on head lights and other parts, the elk took out the right front corner of the rig. With the help of a Camping World collision center’s patch job to keep the rest of lower front end from falling off we were headed home to Indiana.
The long part of this story … a five month wait for a total new front end and a $19,000 repair bill. Moral of this story even at 50 mph, if the elk would have been standing in the middle of my lane he/she would have landed in the passenger seat and I probably wouldn’t be telling about this adventure.
Blown left rear tire on 5er…4 new tires later, drove to Memaloose State Park– Ore.—-Landing legs would not extend properly, finally got them to raise the 5er…Kitchen slide would not extend..finally got it extended…. ALL within 6 hours…. Hell of a day….
Staring at wildlife instead of the road and hit a small boulder that luckily only bent the steering dampener. I was a days ride outside Whitehorse, Yukon.
I’ve had my awning pop open once while driving on the freeway. I’ve forgot to put the steps up.
I was west bound on US50 in Colorado. My F-53 chassis had about 57,000 miles on it, which I later learned is about when the rear brakes need to be replaced. As we descended the mountains into Montrose, CO, a rear brake pad failed and it went metal on metal. What a noise. I had it repaired in Montrose to the tune of $1000. I had one new disk, and new rear pads installed.
I blew a Sparkplug on the Ford 6.8L V-10. Found this a problem with that engine. Ford repair shop suggested having the sparkplugs retorqued every 20k miles. They installed a Heli coil thread and new sparkplug. They also retorqued the other 9 sparkplugs. It was a $968.00 repair. PLEASE get your sparkplugs retightened to save a financial loss!
I quit using the Infrared Thermometer on my Fifth Wheel Trailer Wheels after several years of no problems. Maybe two years later I lost an entire wheel and Tire (along with the brake) on the Passenger side front axle. 15K towed miles since the shop serviced the wheels.
After that mobile RV repair along the HWY, I tore down every other wheel and all were greased well with bearings in good shape but I went ahead and redid them. Now I check the temps at every stop along the road again. And carry bearings, races and grease in the basement should another problem arise….
I backed into a rock, even after my wife offered to see where I was backing up. Naturally I told her not to bother, I was all good! lol.
The next week I bought a backup camera.
I backed into a Rocky Mountain and scraped a Black Hills tunnel with my sideview mirror. I have a rear view camera too so probably just my destiny to hit landmarks.