This is just an alert. I was driving on highway 41 in Florida. We came upon a set of "Rumble Strips" on the highway, which are designed to make a noise to alert drivers of pending problems on the highway. There was quite a bit of construction going on. I slowed a little and crossed the strip without a problem. I then made a mistake by slowing down. The next set of strips was hitting a deep pothole and a leaf spring broke on our 27' pull trailer. Beware these strips. I can't say the best thing to do is hit them in high speed but going in slow speed certainly caused damage. To make matters worse, had we been disabled, I had no cell phone coverage with my phone but my wife did. This is why we have separate providers. We terminated our trip and limped to our RV repair shop in Sebastian. Be careful out there.
QUOTE(Ted Morgen @ May 1 2013, 07:23 AM) [snapback]33262[/snapback] This is just an alert. I was driving on highway 41 in Florida. We came upon a set of "Rumble Strips" on the highway, which are designed to make a noise to alert drivers of pending problems on the highway. There was quite a bit of construction going on. I slowed a little and crossed the strip without a problem. I then made a mistake by slowing down. The next set of strips was hitting a deep pothole and a leaf spring broke on our 27' pull trailer. Beware these strips. I can't say the best thing to do is hit them in high speed but going in slow speed certainly caused damage. To make matters worse, had we been disabled, I had no cell phone coverage with my phone but my wife did. This is why we have separate providers. We terminated our trip and limped to our RV repair shop in Sebastian. Be careful out there. Rumble strips shouldn't break a leafspring, as they are not as elevated a 'speed bumps'. The way you describe the event, sounds like a pothole compromised the leaf spring, but, as you state, you were going slow. To me, sounds like a faulty leaf spring that the manufacturer, and/or warranty (if you had one and it was still in effect) should've covered.
When coming onto an obstruction in the road, such as a pot hole or hash bump, etc.. in the road way, DO NOT have the brakes applied when hitting the obstruction if safely possible. Brake aggressively before and then release the brakes if possible and roll over the obstruction. More suspension and tire damage has been done when hitting something while braking, may not be immediate, but it has occurred and will show up later. In the instance of hitting a pot hole, when the brakes are applied through it, the wheel will become light, if not air born, going into the hole. With the brakes applied, the wheel will stop rotating and will hit the back side of the hole and cause an abrupt hit on the tire, wheel, bearings, suspension, etc.. The suspension will be wrapped up from the braking action and will have less give when the brakes are on because they are already adversely loaded for such an impact. If the wheel is allowed to roll freely through a harsh jolt, you have a greater chance of coming through it undamaged. Yes you may have a jarring jolt that shakes stuff up, but you may avoid a catastrophic failure.
Thank you Hoefler. Your statements advocate the need for RV drivers being tested for special license to drive an RV. B Kidd further errored by, "limping" to a repair facility miles away. This travel could have caused more damage to his rig as well as a potential safety issue for other travelers.
QUOTE(fpullanosr @ May 5 2013, 05:34 AM) [snapback]33311[/snapback] Thank you Hoefler. Your statements advocate the need for RV drivers being tested for special license to drive an RV. B Kidd further errored by, "limping" to a repair facility miles away. This travel could have caused more damage to his rig as well as a potential safety issue for other travelers. I believe you mixed me up with 'Ted Morgan' in this thread. Da' 'Kidd' didn't limp anywhere. Do they still test eyesight for all licenses, and, has your eyesight been tested recently?
QUOTE(hoefler @ May 4 2013, 10:06 AM) [snapback]33295[/snapback] When coming onto an obstruction in the road, such as a pot hole or hash bump, etc.. in the road way, DO NOT have the brakes applied when hitting the obstruction if safely possible. Brake aggressively before and then release the brakes if possible and roll over the obstruction. More suspension and tire damage has been done when hitting something while braking, may not be immediate, but it has occurred and will show up later. I the instance of hitting a pot hole, when the brakes are applied through it, the wheel will become light, if not air born, going into the hole. With the brakes applied, the wheel will stop rotating and will hit the back side of the hole and cause an abrupt hit on the tire, wheel, bearings, suspension, etc.. The suspension will be wrapped up from the braking action and will have less give when the brakes are on because they are already adversely loaded for such an impact. If the wheel is allowed to roll freely through a harsh jolt, you have a greater chance of coming through it undamaged. Yes you may have a jarring jolt that shakes stuff up, but you may avoid a catastrophic failure. While you didn't mention it specifically, this is the correct advice for any vehicle at any time, whether or not pulling a trailer.
