We were driving 157 South through Alabama ... nice road ... having a fine trip. Mark checked the tires on the driver's side with the mirrors. He noticed the rear tire on the 5th wheel was out of alignment with the forward tire. "Oh oh!" he thought. I noticed he had swerved ever so slightly and said, "What are you doing?"
"Nothing, why?" (Mark didn't want to alarm me but was watching for a place to pull over and check the tires.)
"You were swervin' Mervin for a second there." (30 seconds later ...)
Mark said quietly, "Oh no. We just lost a tire on the rig and it's rolling and catching up to us!"
Well, the tire followed us for a long way before bouncing into the ditch, still following along. Mark pulled into a closed roadside business without a problem and we surveyed the situation.
Yikes! We need a new axle! The entire spindle was gonzo!
There was a little body damage, but nothing too bad.
I made a call to our Good Sam Roadside Assistance membership plan. What we expected and what we got were two different things. :-( we carefully explained the situation and damage to the agent. Expecting a tow vehicle, we were content to sit and wait a couple of hours. After calling them back twice, we found out they had "no way to tow a fifth wheel with a damaged axle." WTF ... if it was towable, we already had a tow vehicle! Duh. What Good Sam did was send out a mobile repair service man. He had quite a time finding us, and charged double because it was Sunday. When he finally arrived, he got out of his truck and said "holy shit ... I can't fix that! You need a low-boy tow truck!!!"
I phoned Good Sam again and the service man explained the damage and the situation. Madison Mobile repair left the scene. We were on our own. Mark truck to the representative and the tow truck operator. The operator said there was no way to move so Mark asked what he should do with it ... Put a for sale sign on it and leave it? It was a ridiculous situation. It could not be fixed on location, and it could not be towed. What the heck were we to do.
Mark dug through our truck box and found a strong steel cable and Master combo lock.
It took an elevator man to rig it.
Redneck Trailer Sales was 25 miles back. The Madison repairman thought if we could make it there ...
Well, we limped along the shoulder of the highway for 25 miles to get back to Redneck where we spent the night in their parking lot. At 8 o'clock when they open, we got the bad news that they don't have workers there; they supply axles. But, of course, they didn't have the axle we need it. That, according to them, would be custom made and take at least two weeks. Bobby, at their counter, gave Mark two other companies to phone for possible help. One of the numbers, no one had come to work but the receptionist gave Mark the number for Jerry's Mobile RV. It turned out to be the best solution for us although it was another 5 miles down the road!
It appears that the bearing exploded out through the center! (???)
The good news was that Jerry thought he could have an axle within the week. Also, he is an authorized Thor and Lippert dealer.
So, we left our Grand Junction in Alabama to wait for repairs and headed to Florida in the Dodge truck. Jerry's seemed trustworthy, so I hope we will not be disappointed.
Perhaps our luck has changed. At a fuel station on 180 in Alabama, the store clerk gave Mark free coffee and two bottles of water because he's such a nice Florida guy. Yay.
Tonight, we found a hotel near Perry, Georgia that takes pets for an extra $10. Perfect. Done. We will be on I 75 and a straight run home tomorrow! Yay.
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