Trailure rate: Worst Day Of My Life

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Agent Crucible

Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2012
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15
I have a question for the veterans. Join me in the living room and grab yourselves a beer. If you don't feel like a bedtime story, you can skip to #3.

1. TODAY: I had to service a sump pump in a stick house. I know nothing about plumbing. Somehow my fiancee and I managed to fix it. Man, running water is fantastic.

2. WHICH GOT ME THINKING: I hate sewage. Dealing with that was awful, but we did it. When we finally start trailering around, though, I don't imagine fifth wheel toy haulers have fewer problems than a stick house does. I'm just hoping they're all (by necessity) travel size. I'm confident if I can fix a sump pump, I can at least nominally handle a Cyclone. And I was hoping you could help me with that: I am wrong. I have to be. Maybe you can tell me how wrong.

3. SO MY QUESTION TO YOU IS: What's THE WORST thing that's happened to you on the road? The longest you've gone without a flush toilet, the most money you've had to shell out in one go, the longest you've been stuck in one place, or the most ill-timed brake failure of a tow vehicle.

If you HAVE been lucky and don't have a good story yet, I'm also wondering what "pretty much the worst thing that could happen" is.
 
Good for you, you had a curve ball thrown at you and you not only survived you learned something new. If you start worrying about worst case scenarios you will end up curled in the corner sucking your thumb. ;D Some of us have horror stories, others like me have tales of bonehead incidents but it is all about learning and carrying on..
 
RoyM said:
Good for you, you had a curve ball thrown at you and you not only survived you learned something new. If you start worrying about worst case scenarios you will end up curled in the corner sucking your thumb. ;D Some of us have horror stories, others like me have tales of bonehead incidents but it is all about learning and carrying on..
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I concur w/RoyM.

Other than the disaster w/my truck camper sewage...don't ask...I've been pretty lucky..
I just sat 3 weeks in Riverton because the mechanic who removed my RV gen-set was so slow and didn't understand propane..he tried to run the unit on a grill regulator and almost had me convinced it was a bad regulator [I now have a new in the box regulator in the bay] till I saw his set up...got him a reg for his tank and it runs fine,..well not fine..he changed the temp sensor for the oil w/a fan control for a wood stove....unit runs for a bit and sensor grounded it out..so until I can get the proper sensor I don't ruin it longer than I have too..
At least he did a tune-up and oil/filter change...sigh...I did need that.

George
 
Wifey and I were camping on our acreage in the mountains of southern New Mexico. Land had a well and septic, so we could stay indefinitely.  Went to dump the black tank, and the handle came off in my hand, but the blade was stuck shut.  Yes, the tank was full. 

Went into town and got a new valve.....no sweat.  But to change it meant unbolting the old one, and potentially taking a bath in....well, you get the picture.  I spent two hours thinking of ways to do this without the aforementioned icky bath.....and coming up empty.  There is no way to do this....even with the slinky attached, it's gonna get nasty.

Finally wifey says "why don't you just hook up the truck, tow it over onto that berm where it's tilting at a good angle, and change the valve.  At least it won't be AS bad.  Now why didn't I think of that????

20 minutes later, the valve was changed, the trailer was back where it started, and we lost not a drop of.....anything.  Glad one of us is intelligent.  :)
 
Frizle: Sounds like my problem.

RoyM: Certainly, but I'd like to be ready for my blackwater problems when they happen. WHEN they happen.

Icemaker: It took me a while to dissect what you said. But it sounds like you have to choose your help carefully.
 
You see Agent....don't think of an RV as a vehicle to camp in....think of it as a "Rolling Repair Training Module".  And once they get a few years on them, the training increases exponentially.  They will hone your skills.  ;D
 
Agent Crucible said:
Roy! ROY! FRIZLEFRAK'S TRYING TO SCARE ME!!
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ROFL.... ;D

Wait 'til the first time you catch a sunrise at a lake in your RV.  Suddenly it will all seem worth it....... ;)
 
So far since I purchased my Dodge Ram 2500 back in 2002 brand new its never seen a failure that required a tow home or to a shop. This is with 202K miles and still rolling to date.

As for RV failures so far on the Jayco I've not had anything but standard maintenance like brakes and tires that's all..

As for me personally with all my vehicles I'm a stickler for making sure maintenance is done promptly and on on time. This keep the failure rate of all vehicles minimal because if you keeping up with maintenance you also take time to look around and you'll spot problems before they become huge disabling problems. Another fact for me I live in Central Idaho where cell phones don't work and tow truck could be up to 2 hours away with -25*F weather so failure can become deadly so it always smart to inspect you vehicle like its a airplane because a failure in the sky would be just as deadly as a failure in a truck in -25*F weather in Idaho.

http://i52.tinypic.com/10ol8i0.jpg

http://articles.mopar1973man.com/images/2ndgen24v/mpg-fooler/-25F-1-1-11.jpg
 
There is a saying in the world of horse people that applies to horses and to RVing:

"Prior and proper preparation prevents piss poor performance"*.  In other words keep your maintenance and services up to date; check and double check everything as you go along. 

Just a thought.

Marsha~
*saying by Pat Parelli, horse trainer
 
Mopar1973Man said:
So far since I purchased my Dodge Ram 2500 back in 2002 brand new its never seen a failure that required a tow home or to a shop. This is with 202K miles and still rolling to date.

As for RV failures so far on the Jayco I've not had anything but standard maintenance like brakes and tires that's all..

As for me personally with all my vehicles I'm a stickler for making sure maintenance is done promptly and on on time. This keep the failure rate of all vehicles minimal because if you keeping up with maintenance you also take time to look around and you'll spot problems before they become huge disabling problems.
Click to expand...

I will echo this. 

I have a brand new trailer and a 23 year old tow vehicle.  Granted it's only got 49K miles, but it's old.  I am fanatical about the maintenance on it, and it has yet to strand me.  Anything that needs attention, gets it immediately.  Belts and hoses every 4-5 years, fluid flushes every two years, including brake fluid.  Tip to stern inspection monthly.  People at campgrounds are amazed...."Wow....cool old truck....you still take it on long trips?"  Yep....I'd drive it anywhere.

I was changing the brake fluid two years ago and noticed some runny paint on the firewall....just a tiny amount.  Yep, master cylinder was leaking...but maybe a couple drops a month.  Fluid wasn't even really low.  2 hours later, new master cylinder and all is well.  I like solving problems before they happen....easier to fix in my garage than by the side of the road.
 
In 30 years I have had a 2 truck campers, Travel Trailer, a 5ver, and two Motor Homes.  I have LOTS of stories of various issues from time to time.  I have 2 rules to RV by.  The first rule is never panic. No matter what the problem is. It never helps.  Just stop with a clear head and think "what do I need to fix this issue".  Sometimes it's a turn of a screw, and other times you are on the back of a tow truck.

And rule #2 is take it all in stride.  RVing is about the journey, not the destination. My favorite saying is "it's all part of the adventure".  RVing is supposed to be fun, not work.  A buddy of mine had a flat on an inside dual a while back.  He pulled over, called Coach Net, got out a lawn chair and a drink and watched the world go by.  When it's fixed, you pack it up and move on. 

Attitude makes a world of difference!
 
SargeW said:
RVing is supposed to be fun, not work.  A buddy of mine had a flat on an inside dual a while back.  He pulled over, called Coach Net, got out a lawn chair and a drink and watched the world go by.  When it's fixed, you pack it up and move on. 

Attitude makes a world of difference!
Click to expand...

That's the truth there in a nut shell. The trip is suppose to fun and relaxing. But if trouble does come your way and you capable of handling it. Just relax and deal with the problem. But I still double check myself like my truck is a airplane because flying and plane and having a failure is deadly.

Thinking of that I'm coming due for my inspection of all fluids. (203K miles and counting)
 
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