This has been a very up n down kind of day. But we are comfy in the KOA in Lordsburg, NM tonight.
Sit down and relax, this is a good story!
We left Hereford about 9:30 headed to Deming NM and the Adobe Deli, where we spent Jan 29 before arriving in AZ. We got up to Texas Canyon just east of Benson AZ and as I looked at the trailer it seemed to tip toward the passenger side more than I thought it should. As I looked around I discovered a broken leaf spring on the rear axle. Good Grief! Well we made a slow trip down I-10 to Willcox and I pulled in to the RV park where we stayed last year while exploring the Chiricahua area. I went in to the bar and asked about places to get that repaired. They sent me to one a couple miles away, I topped the trailer to scout. They took care of it right away. They got the old one off and went out & found a replacement. Maybe even a better one. They said the springs on my trailer were rated at 2500# but it should be more for that size trailer; put on a 3500# spring. Fine. We hit the road again andI stopped at the NM Welcome Ctr to check the lugs. They were tight! But as I looked at it I saw that the equalizer between the two axles was broken! It was not broken in Willcox. It broke in that 50 miles. OK, slow drive to Lordsburg, about 15 miles into another rest area. Search the internet for another repair shop. Found one, drove over and as I approached I see the yard is full of cars, no place for a long trailer. I spy a street behind them and roll around to park right behind the shop. The guys come check it out and in an hour they have found a part in a couple towns nearby. Here “nearby” is an hour away. That will happen tomorrow morning. When I called the boss’s wife answered the phone and d said she was in Deming, well, that’s where the part is! But she was on her way home before anything was established. A happenstance that didn’t quite happen!
Now, recall back in Terlingua? This is the same part that broke over there (opposite side). Since Dan (Terlingua repair guy) had never seen one break like that neither of us considered that both should be replaced. Probably didn’t need it then. Is this related to the broken spring? Or to the upgrade in spring strength? Did it break because it was cracked or weakened while driving with the broken spring? We may never know. The tech guys at this place said “maybe, maybe not” to all of those questions
Just Wow Doc! Wouldn't expect the spring and equalizer to break, let alone both sides. Stay safe you guys and enjoy!
ReplyDeleteWith those new parts hopefully you will be good for a few years now. Glad they got you up and going again without any major setbacks.
ReplyDeleteDoc, your rig has some 50 K miles on it by now over some pretty rough terrain, PA highways are enough to cause this kind of damage. Glad to here you were able to get to places that could accomodate the repairs.
ReplyDeleteDakota