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We traded our twenty five foot travel trailer for a thirty footer in Lake Havasue Arizona on our way back from the winter in that beautiful state. By the time we arrived back home in British Columbia our tires were worn out. Before we headed out on the next 2,500 mile trip to Toronto we decided to replace the tires. I changed the bearings as well. I did the work myself as I knew how and had the time. Jacked the wheels up, took the wheels to the tire store and put them back on the trailer. We headed for Toronto. Five hours later I felt a bump and in my mirror saw a trailer wheel flipping under the trailer and go flying backwards. I pulled over off the busy highway. Placed my emergency flares and found my wheel a hundred yards back in the ditch. I made it the half mile to town on one wheel, only to discover the wheel and tire were toast. The studs were ruined. $350. Later I had learned a valuable lesson. The mechanic told me I should have tightened the nuts every twenty minutes for the first hour and twice a day for two days to make certain they were tight. I then had to have the last two feet of the frame in the rear heated and straightened because when the wheel cart wheeled under the trailer it had bent the frame and also poked a hole in the fiberglass body. The next problem we encountered was when we were returning from an 8,000 mile RV trip across Canada and the USA. We were towing our fifteen foot fiberglass Bigfoot single axel trailer across Iowa on the interstate. Everything was going great. Suddenly there was a bump and in my rear view mirror I could see that the trailer had a severe tilt to one side. I pulled over to see what had happened. The main ply on the spring had snapped in two. The fiberglass floor was now resting upon the four bolts of the u-clamps. I thought it would get us to somewhere where I could get something done with it. As I drove my mind raced. I did not want to take the time to get it replaced until we got home. Suddenly I saw the solution straight ahead of us. I pulled off the road alongside a big strip of tread rubber from a truck tire. I picked it up and put it in the back of the truck. A half hour later we were in a rest area. I took out the rubber tread and folded it in two. It was then about four inches thick. With me kneeling on it on top of a picnic table my wife wrapped it tightly with duct tape. We got out the jack, jacked up the body until it was high up above the spring, slid the rubber slab into the space and lowered the body down. It fitted perfectly. We still had about 1,000 miles to go and when I took the trailer in to get the spring replaced the rubber pad was still doing the job perfectly. When you are out on the road you will have these things happen. Be prepared to think outside the box. Joe and Irma MacMillan have spent many years backpacking, skiing, and simply enjoying life in the mountains of British Columbia. Their website Whistler Outdoors is full of tips on snowboarding, camping, kayaking, rafting, camp cooking and fishing. They met on a blind date in 1957 and are still married. Take a look at their story here About us
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Towing travel trailers, travel trailer, travel trailers, trailer wheels, trailer tires, safe driving, defensive driving, driving tips, driving lights,
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