6MISFITZ
Fort Erie, ON, CANADA
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Joined: 04/15/2003
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We had a 10 day marathon trip that took us from home in Fort Erie to Emerald Lake waterpark in Cambridge Ontario with some camping friends of ours Friday to Sunday and then on to Villa Ridge, Missouri to see my F-i-L.
Pulling up to the very first stop sign from home Friday, I found I had no trailer brakes (even with a quick twist to full gain) even with a green connection light on the controller!!!
My wife quickly apologized saying she could have done something when she removed the dog house while changing out the front AC lines, injector and transmission service. I re-leveled the Envoy brake controller and full proportional trailer brakes was restored with maybe only one new grey hair!
No issues other than train noise at Emerald Lake and we left Sunday around noon and on the way to Missouri which is where the REAL fun began.
85 minute wait at the Sarnia / Port Huron bridge just to clear the CDN toll booth but after that it was clear sailing across to Customs - 2nd vehicle in line and we were quickly cleared after some questions and on our way.
I-69 is certainly NOT one of the smoothest highways in Michigan and was under construction in more than one location but there was one section that was just BRUTAL outside Flint - near the 75 turn off for Pontiac IIRC. You were forced to drive on a barely one lane wide, uneven left paved shoulder while straddling the rumble strips that were not paved over. The vibrations set up by this section of road must have done something to the brake controller because when I needed brakes for slowed traffic ahead, trailer brakes were again absent despite a green light on the controller.
I felt the trailer come forward on the hitch and push to the van right. I let up on the brakes slightly, corrected my steering and even though I was not tailgating, the hole in traffic was now shrinking faster than we were slowing down. I cranked the controller gain, pushed the brakes harder and this time the trailer started pulling the rear of the van hard right (as though it was going to swap ends) and as this happened - I squeezed the trailer brake controller slider to FULL ON and we quickly stopped straight but one lane to the right of the rubber highway cones.
The faces of the people who were behind us looked as scared as those of my wife and children as they slowly passed us. I got out and double checked the van and trailer for any damage. 2 broken coffee mugs inside along with some plastic plates on the floor that were ejected from one kitchen cabinet was the only thing that needed clean up, thank goodness. More than 1 grey hair.
Again I re-leveled the brake controller - put a small piece of tape on the level wheel - which I gathered had rattled loose from the vibrations caused by the rumble strips and uneven left shoulder. I did not like the idea of van's rear end being pushed around that easily, so I backed off the W/D on the hitch about half a notch on the jacks to add weight to the van's rear axle, tested it with a stop almost at ABS levels and never had another brake or hitch issue for the rest of the trip.
Got to Villa Ridge MO around 5:30 AM Monday and I waited/rested in the van with the pooches while the rest of the family went to the trailer for more sleep.
When the Pin Oak Creek staff arrived at 8:00, I got us checked in and then located on our site and crashed for some quick ZZzz's before family arrived.
Early Monday night we hear this strange noise sounding like a weird car alarm and go outside the trailer to check it out. I asked our camping neighbors what the noise was and they chuckled and told us it was locusts! That noise was there each night (but in NO WAY was it anywhere near as disturbing as the passing night trains back at Emerald Lake) and we slept very well each night.
Toured the Meramac Caverns (bring sweaters even in summer time), Bourbeuse Valley Harley-Davidson, Lewis Cafe in Saint Clair (which we had never done on 3 previous trips) along with a few other tourist things like the Hostess Shop and had we had more time, we would have gone to the Washington fair rather than drive by it twice.
For the longer and hotter sight seeing activities, we boarded the dogs at kennels but for morning breakfast at the Lewis Cafe with the temperature below 80 (F) outside, we brought them with us and left them in the van in front of the cafe WITH ALL OF THE VAN WINDOWS OPEN, and water in their water bowls (in the van) and extra water, so you can imagine our surprise when we met the local constabulary, not once - but twice!!!
We introduced ourselves to the officer when we heard our last names over his portable police radio after he had just walked into the cafe (apparently steered their by someone who disagreed with the way our dogs were being treated) and took him back out to the van to prove our dogs were NOT being abused, nor were they hard done by, not too hot, nor dehydrated! He verified that our 2 beagles were in NO DISTRESS and they jumped back in the van after checking out the nearest bush and they said NOT TO WORRY and I went back to finish my breakfast. BTW, Awesome Breakfast!
After breakfast (about 15 minutes later), we came out to the van and the police were there again - this time both officers were out of the patrol car and they apologized - because the complainant was unrelenting on the phone. We apologized again to the officers for the trouble we had caused them and were on our way.
A look at the forecast Friday night showed us hotter temperatures were on the way. While the van did a good job towing at 98 degrees Fahrenheit - we did not want to try it at 110 degrees, so we did not extend our trip 2 or 3 more days.
We left Villa Ridge at 12:00 PM (Central - 1:00 PM Eastern).
The trip home Saturday was also eventful. 18 hours long but we would easily have arrived home at least 3 hours sooner had we not run into 2 traffic jams, stopped for a hour long picnic dinner near Dayton and survived a blow out of the right front trailer tire (around 2:00 AM) in mid Ohio. My wife was driving at the time and did not feel or hear a thing out of the ordinary! Thanks to a passing motorist brave enough to get in front of her with hazard lights on and slow up in front of perfect strangers pulling a trailer. It could have been allot worse and other than 1 destroyed Marathon - no damage to the trailer which is rare for a blown tire flailing around brittle fiberglass!!!!!!! The smoke cloud it generated after it blew still took about a minute or two to clear even after we had stopped.
Other truckers and motorists were excellent about moving into the passing lane while we changed the right front trailer tire on the shoulder of the highway. Used lego blocks as suggested by the forum to lift the good tire and we changed the bad one.
Murphy's law said the left side tires with a bit of sun cracking on the rubber would have gone first, so I drove the next leg just waiting for the next one to go - now that we did not have a spare - but nothing happened.
It wasn't until after the tire blew that temperatures outside FINALLY dropped below 70 degrees Fahrenheit and we could switch off the van's A/C. We were warned by PUX forum members and my wife's family that it was hot, but to experience MO low temperatures rivaling our Niagara region high temperatures - you quickly learn a new definition of hot as the afternoons wore on. Strange to find it hotter at 5:00 PM than at 12:00 PM.
Took the bad tire to Good Year dealer in Stevensville despite the 700 pound grizzly bear on the loose warnings from Zooz on TV.
Turns out it was a 300 pound brown bear which was recaptured mid afternoon, but the bad news was the trailer tires are too old and out of warranty. Our trailer is a 2004 but we got it in 2003 which makes them five years old plus a month. Know better for the next Marathons which are ordered (D range in place of the old C range) and will look at new brake controllers again!
Despite the grief and my ranting, it was a great trip and a BIG BIG Thank You to DW for changing the front AC line and again to the anonymous Ohio motorist. 2 weeks and kids hockey starts!!!!!!
Mike.
Mom, Dad, 4 kids, 2 Camping Dogs
Express 2500 LS (135"WB) 6.0L, 4.10, G80, PYO wheels, HENSLEY & McKesh
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MISFITZ RACING
MFCC Member
Rallies Attended 4, 7 Un-Rallies
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ClevelandJim
Cleveland, Ohio
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Joined: 12/07/2002
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Great story-telling Fitz. You're a credit to your Emerald Isle heritage.
Sold: 2005 Ford Excursion 6.0 PSD, Rancho 9000 Shocks, Timbrens, Jordan Controller
2006 Ford E-350 V-10, 4.10, Roadmaster Active Suspension, Maxbrake Controller
Sunnybrook 3310 Bunkhouse, 34 Ft, 1250 Tongue Weight, 9,000lbs, Hensley Hitch, Yamaha YG2800i
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troll3193
SouthWest, MI USA
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Joined: 07/07/2004
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hard to believe that big of TT came with load range C tires... well not too hard to believe I guess..
depending upon what size they are I would even consider load range E tires...
They don't have them in Goodyear Marathons unfortunately, but Maxxis, Carlilse, Titan and Denman make an ST225/75R15 in a load range E....
Glad you got home safely....
Bryan
2006 RAM 3500 MegaCab w/Cummins Turbo Diesel
Mopar Exhaust Brake
2004 Dutchemen 31BK
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FANDUDE
Bethlehem, Pa.
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Joined: 01/05/2007
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In as far as the braking issues go, you may want to look into the MaxBrake. This is a Hydraulic over electric brake controller. Sorta a new twist on the Kelsey Hayes brake controllers that were big in the 70's.Look here
They are going for around $350.00 but IMHO,it is worth the peace of mind for safety sake and lack of screwing around all the time with the newer electric only controllers.
I use the old K.H. on my rig and would not trade it for anything. No leveling with these, no vibration problems, and is completely reactive to the TV brakes.
DOG IS OUR CO-PILOT
1990 Dodge D-150, 318 cid, 727 Load Flight, 1970 FAN Style Liner 22'
Draw Tite Class 4 W.D. - Kelsey Hayes Elect/Hyraulic Controller
Plain, simple and dependable!
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byrdr1
Elon, NC / Central Piedmont
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Joined: 10/02/2003
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Great Story..
Might want a Prodigy Brake controller in place of yours it is around 100.00 US on Rays Truck parts(?), rvwholesalers and few others(google it).
this seems to be a good brake controller in place of the high dollar ones.
I have one and haven't had a problem yet.
randy
Go #5 Mark Martin
2003 F-350 SRW CC/LWB 4X4 7.3PSD
2005 Keystone Cougar 301BHS 8400lbs Ready to Camp CAT scale Certified
My Webshots Pages
Happy Campin'
Randy
Elon, NC-Piedmont area
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LIKE2BUILD
Mt. Zion, IL
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Joined: 09/30/2004
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I got paranoid and swapped out my tires last year. My TT has a GVWR of 7,600# and came with Load C tires rated at 1,800# each. So, technically my tires were rated 400# under the GVWR, but the manufacturer assumes there will be less than the total trailer weight carried by the tires since some weight is transfered to the TV. Here was my list of concerns:
- Total tire capacity was under TT GVWR
- TT tires were approaching 5 years old
- Even at 50psi the sidewalls of the load C tires looked "soft"
So, in the name of safety and those factors I decided to replace the tires with Load D rated at a combined 10,200#. My longest pull is 500 miles round trip each year but I just don't want to be on the side of the road changing a blowout.
I'm sorry you had difficulties in your trip. The school of hard knocks has a steep learning curve, but we do tend to learn well from it. As others said, it amazes me that OEM's put tires that just barely meet specs for the trailer. You'd think for the kind of money they charge for RV's the manufacturers could afford to spend an extra $100 to put good tires on a product they roll out their door.
KJ
'02 Jayco Qwest 324G
'04 Chevy 2500HD CrewCab |6.0L|2X4|4.10:1 | Eaton Posi-Trac
Curt MagnumV receiver
Eaz-Lift Hitch with Reese Dual Cam
'81 Seastar 18' Runabout
'96 Polaris SLT780 PWC
'94 Polaris SLT750 PWC
3 Wonderful Sons (11, 5, & 3)
1 forgiving wife!!!
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Hornet28BHDS
Parker, PA
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Joined: 01/29/2007
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Sorry to hear about your misfourtunes, but glad you had a good trip!
2006 Hornet 28BHDS-Bunk House, Dual Slides
2006 Dodge Ram 2500 HD
5.7L Hemi, Factory Towing Package
Reese Brake Controller, WD Hitch and Sway Bar
Life is short, why not spend it in an RV!
SPRING HAS SPRUNG!
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roadrashray
Where RV is parked
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Joined: 03/24/2007
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Mike...There a number of people including myself who do NOT endorse the drive the good tire onto a block to raise the bad one off the ground method. The rationale is that this proceedure puts the entire weight of that side of the trailer onto the good tire which severely overloads it possibly causing permanent damage. I started to do this once and when I saw how severely the tire was flattened and the sides were bulging out I immediately stopped.
Be safe-have fun..Ray
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6MISFITZ
Fort Erie, ON, CANADA
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Joined: 04/15/2003
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Oopps sorry about my math - that was 4 years plus a month not 5 years, Duh!
Trailer tire pressures save for one tow home from the dealer this February, have always been exactly at maximum, same for van. Have been happy with many Goodyear tires in the past (including other trailer Power Streak and Marathon tires), so we are sticking with what has worked, just moving up in load range.
KJ, I am not sure that a D range tire is any guarantee that it will last longer than a C (so long as the C is never overloaded which ours never were based on several trips to CAT Scale and there is still lots of tread left on all the original tires), so tire care and operation is still just as important.
Fandude, while that brake controller is one that merits an extremely close look (even by DrFife - resident controller tester), this years camping budget has gone for 2 van tires (worn), 2 Eagle RSA car tires (1 slashed but replaced 2), 1 van windshield (stone), van a/c repair, now 4 trailer tires (would prefer 5) plus camping trips with at least 2 more booked before we winterize and with hockey starting, it will be between a Prodigy and a P3 (on sale) OR status quo will not change.
Ray, I completely agree with what you said.
While the good tire did look overloaded supporting all the weight of that side, it looked even more so as my wife pulled it up the blocks with the van while I spotted. However, more time on the side of the road was even a greater concern.
Had this been the slide out side, the one good tire may not have held.
I prefer the idea of an inexpensive aluminum floor jack (will check on Ebay next year) over an aluminum axle lift bracket, but the price difference will factor into next years budget - as all 4 tires (& valve stems) are being replaced this weekend in case the life of the non spare was compromised.
Mike.
* This post was
edited 08/09/07 07:55pm by 6MISFITZ *
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Nascar24
Blackstone Valley, Massachusetts
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Joined: 12/23/2002
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Hey Mike
I had a few Vacations from HE!! just like you endured with my old 36'+ Travel trailer, just a few suggestions from my experience
1) Go with a set of Titan load range " E" tires when replacing the Marathons, you'll find that they will probably be less than ten bucks more per tire.
2) Inspect your brakes, I found that my three year old large TT ( like yours) had very little material left on the shoes and heavily heat cracked, and I was getting the same type of non braking action that you were getting.
3) inspect your trailer springs, my TT had underated springs from day one, upgraded the springs and the tire blow outs were a thing of the past.
4) If you need a new controller, Go with the New P3, much better than the Prodigy, love mine!
5) Check the junk yard for a Ford Super Duty jack with all the handles and extensions, they work great for lifting the trailer, plentiful and cheap to buy, I paid ten bucks for mine and it stays in the TT all the time.
Good Luck and Happy Trails
2007 Dodge 3500 4X4 MC,SRW,CTD EB
2004 Citation 29NP
Equal-i-Zer
Yamaha EF2800i
Nascar24 A lengend in my own mind, A Scary thought in someone else's!
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