One thing after another - Part 2

[Whitewolf]

Most campgrounds shut down by early Oct and all of them by late Oct up here.
We wanted to go out one more time and were able to score a spot at one of the campgrounds overlooking the river where we could watch the ships.
20 minutes from watching the ships.
I back in, little crooked so I pull out and get it straight. Little too far back so I pull forward. Do a walk about and realize I'm too close to a tree for one of the slide-outs. (Not used to slide-outs). Do it all over again and finally get it right.
15 minutes from watching the ships.
Loosely (remember that part) chock the wheels on the drivers side, hook up the water and elec so Shirley can run the slide-outs out and get the inside ready. (She does the inside, I do the outside).
10 minutes from watching the ships.
I go to run the tongue jack down, and it won't budge. It wants to, but won't go. I dig out the hand crank thinking it's stuck and I can give it a nudge. Nope, won't budge. At all. I put some muscle behind the crank and feel a movement. But it don't feel right. I pull the crank out and find I'm twisting the shaft.
The countdown timer on watching ships has stopped.
I need a way to get the truck and the TT apart. The only thing I have is the scissor jack from the truck. Put it under the tongue jack plate, and it works!
10 minutes from watching the ships!
Get the truck unhooked, the TT level, stabilizers lowered, chairs, firewood and all the stuff out and ready.
Now we're watching ships!
Remember that chock I 'loosely' set? Well, about 10:30 that night, the whole TT shifted forward. Off the scissor jack. (Did I not run the front stabilizer down all the way? I thought I did!) The action bent the front stabilizer back at a 45 deg angle.
I don't care about ships.
Now what to do. If I can get everything high enough, I can hook back on to the truck for the night. But how. The jack is now resting on the ground.
I use the scissor jack under the frame to get it as high as I could but was 6" short. I needed to somehow get the scissor jack under the tongue jack.
Disclaimer: Do NOT try this unless it's late at night, everything is closed, you're miles from home, you have no other options and you know how to pray. Being an idiot doesn't hurt.
The ONLY thing I had that would fit was a piece of slab firewood. Ok, take a moment to let that sink in. I'll wait.
I put that under the tongue and started praying as I lowered the scissor jack. All 1100 lbs of tongue weight one one 2" thick piece of wood.
Fortunately, God felt sorry for this fool as I was able to get the scissor jack under the tongue jack and get it lifted high enough to hook back onto the truck.
Sleep time. Screw the ships.
Morning and I survey the damage. I come up with a plan which involves setting the chock TIGHT, using the scissor jack to unhook the truck and going 40 minutes home to get tools and a floor jack.
Return and hook the truck up to the TT so I can work under it safely. Take off the braces that are bent and reef the stabilizer frame back into place using a mongo pair of channelocks I own. Get the braces straightened at the local hardware, and pick up new bolts to replace the bent ones.
Replace everything, and IT WORKS! Using the scissor jack and a floor jack for the rest of the weekend.
Watching ships and doing geocaching.
Came home on Sunday. Didn't unhook. Took the TT to the dealer on Monday. This is not a big dealership. They also sell cars and trucks. The tech told me this is the 5th jack they've had problems with!
Replacement of the jack was "Free". Only cost me 320miles, 1 tank of gas and $24 bridge and a total time of 12 hrs for two round trips to drop it off and pick it up 10 days later.

[gasman6674]

Glad it worked out. When mine quit on the v cross I had to borrow a floor jack. Still worried about it the whole trip. Turned out it was a hidden fuse in the harness that FR put in a stupid place

[5 hole]

Wow wolf.... sorry about the troubles, but I LOVED reading your take of it. Well written with humour!

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by 5 hole

Wow wolf.... sorry about the troubles, but I LOVED reading your take of it. Well written with humour!

X2! Nicely done...

[dcheatwood]

And one night, in the not too distant future, you'll awaken in your camper to a ruckus in the cg. Upon investigation you'll find out a neighbor is having problems with his tongue jack. You'll offer your help and the conversation will begin with "man, I had the same problem once. I can help with this." Lol
And the reputation of rvers nationwide will get a boost. That's what we do.

[DDC]

Sorry you had a rough time but the story telling of the event was very good, all that was missing was " It was a dark and stormy night".

[Davidceder]

Good for you for keeping your sense of humor and not breaking your foot when you kicked that sucker. :-)

[rattleNsmoke]

What a cluster f***. You have way more patience and a better sense of humor about all of this than I certainly do. I truly hope the camping Gods smile favorably upon you going forward.

[Whitewolf]

Thanks for the encouraging words everyone. Although, I'm kinda thinking that what you're all sayin' a new take on the old sayin'. It's only funny til someone gets hurt, then it's hilarious.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Whitewolf

Thanks for the encouraging words everyone. Although, I'm kinda thinking that what you're all sayin' a new take on the old sayin'. It's only funny til someone gets hurt, then it's hilarious.

LOL. More like "been there, done that".

[Old car]

Maybe I'm a little slow on the uptake but did Shirley run the slides out before you were unhooked?

[JoeR]

I had something similar happen the first trip out with the new Windjammer. One of the campgrounds we stopped by had gravel sites. I was using BAL wheel locks and the camper shifted on the gravel after it was unhooked and we were moving around inside. Wheel locks held, but it just twisted a bit.

The DW and I looked at each other and it was a what the freak was that moment. New camper, second night on a long road trip, and limited tool selection. Thankfully the stabilizers held, the Barker jack I had installed worked and the truck was clear of the trailer tongue.

No damage, but it did drive home the need to make sure the camper is firmly planted each stop. We still use the wheel locks, but use chocks as well front and rear of the tire sets.

JR

[Whitewolf]

Old Car-
This is or first year with this beast. Once I'm level side to side and I don't have to do a lot of leveling front to rear, right or wrong, I let Shirley do her thing.

JR-
NOT a good feeling when something moves when that thing that moves is not supposed to move, is it?

BTW I'm now the proud owner of two, not one but two, Fastway One-Step wheel chocks, one for each side. Truck doesn't get unhooked til both are set. I had one set and if I had it set properly, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation. But I ain't taking no chances anymore.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by JoeR

I had something similar happen the first trip out with the new Windjammer. One of the campgrounds we stopped by had gravel sites. I was using BAL wheel locks and the camper shifted on the gravel after it was unhooked and we were moving around inside. Wheel locks held, but it just twisted a bit...

We you using one or two BAL X Chocks?

[Old car]

Wolf, I was just curious. In our first season I had the trailer move as I unhitched from the truck so I have the wheels chocked before unhitching now and they stay in until I am hooked back up. I use the Camco tandem axel chocks that wedge between the two tires. Each side gets one and then usually I put the basic wheel chocks in place on the side that is not elevated for leveling purposes.

[Capt. Mike]

Originally Posted by dcheatwood

And one night, in the not too distant future, you'll awaken in your camper to a ruckus in the cg. Upon investigation you'll find out a neighbor is having problems with his tongue jack. You'll offer your help and the conversation will begin with "man, I had the same problem once. I can help with this." Lol
And the reputation of rvers nationwide will get a boost. That's what we do.

A kind soul from Colorado loaned me a jack and helped me unhook - and two days later, re-hook - our Windjammer in a campground in Vicksburg, MS just last month.

Our dealer told us they had replaced several jacks on the new Rockwood trailers. They have a built-in level in a cap on the top of the jack that you can remove to access the shaft to manually crank it if it quits. The cap leaks water, the jacks fills up with water, and eventually shorts out the motor. Ours did that while we were in Texas. By the time we got to Mississippi, the water had rusted the inside of the jack where it could no longer even be turned manually with a ratchet and socket; hence, the need for a bottle jack under the foot of the electric jack.

Ours is in the shop even as we speak, getting the jack replaced.

And I'll "pay it forward" for the next guy that has a problem. New bottle jack now resides in the back of my pick-up.

[JoeR]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

We you using one or two BAL X Chocks?

Two, but the gravel shifted under the wheels.

One contributing factor was the cone type jack stand block up front. Nothing but a good old chunk of 4x6 now under the leveling jack. That yellow cone worked well under the old 24 footer.

[Whitewolf]

Old Car-
Most time when I unhook the B.B.B. (Big Brown Behemoth) and it moves a little ittybit, I get worried. 'Specially when she's headed toward the trubk ( even though the movement is 'bout a whole 1/8 in.

Capt. Mike-
If your dealer has changed some and mine has done the same, how many of these things does Rockwood have to replace before they get a clue? I still haven't figured out how all that water gets in there. I know that bubble cap thingy is the only way, but when I took off the jack housing down to the gears I was amazed at the amount of water.

JoeR-
I now carry a chunk of RR tie.