RV problems on the road
When you're traveling in an RV, bad things sometimes happen.
While traveling in an RV or van, there are always unexpected, fun, and exciting things you get to experience. After all, that's one of the main reasons we all like to travel, but bad things sometimes happen too.
The picture at the top of the page shows what recently happened to my dolly's wheel and fender when a tire blew out. But that's only part of the story. What it did to my car was even worse.
Here's the rest of the story
Back in July, when I was driving my motorhome from Beaufort, SC (between Charleston, SC, and Savannah, GA) to the NC mountains, I had a tire on my dolly blowout. It didn't just blow out. It disaggregated, and it happened three times in a short time.
What caused the problems with my dolly and tires was that the brake on the right side of the dolly kept locking up and dragging the tire on the pavement until it got hot and disintegrated. At the time, I didn't know the brake was locking up. I just thought the tire blew out.
It also destroyed the rim two times. Getting those problems resolved on Sunday on the Interstate was not easy (or cheap).
The third time it happened, I found the cause of the problem because the brake on the dolly was still locked when I was changing the tire. I disabled the brakes on the dolly and was able to finish my trip up the mountain.
I still need to get my dolly brakes fixed before I get back on the road. I'll be heading to Florida next month, and I want brakes on the dolly before I head down the mountain.
And by the way, the pieces of the tire hit the fender and front end of my car and did $7,400 worth of damage. I had to pay $1,000, and insurance covered the rest.
Here's how I could have prevented most of the damage
I have tire pressure and temperature monitoring devices on all ten of my RV, dolly, and back car tires. When I got ready to leave, the sensor on the one tire on my dolly that gave me the trouble wasn't working, and I didn't want to take the time to replace the battery.
As it turned out, that was a bad and expensive decision. If the sensor had been working, I would have known immediately when the tire went flat and before it disintegrated and damaged my car or the rim.
To make matters worse
I was having trouble finding a body shop that could start repairing my car anytime in the next three months. They were all saying it would be late October before they could get to it.
I finally found a shop that could get to it three weeks ago, and they finished it yesterday. I was without a car for three weeks, but I survived. It was no big deal. I had not planned to go anywhere, and I stocked up on groceries before I put my car in the shop.
I guess I can't complain
I've been living full-time and traveling in my RV for ten years, and until this year, I don't remember having a single problem while on the road. I did have to call a mobile RV repair service one Sunday morning earlier this year when I was driving from Galveston to South Carolina.
I had stopped for the night in a Cracker Barrel parking lot, and the next morning my jacks wouldn't retract. It was a minor problem caused by a switch not working correctly. But to get it fixed on a Sunday morning was $350.
Bottom line: When you're RVing, you have to be prepared as best you can, do as much preventive maintenance as possible, and then deal with things as they happen and enjoy the journey.