Any Damage From Driving on Rough Roads?

[Devil Dog]

After 2000k on a mud and gravel road the rough finish on the storage box will never look new no matter how long you scrub and how stiff the brush is ( has a yellowing tinges ) . It's just ware and tare , maybe after a few years fresh paint would help . But what type ? the upper half is hit by passing cars and trucks , mostly on the drivers side.
Got some of them already . They don't look new for ever . If you use them.

[gbaglo]

I think you'll find Krylon Fusion spray paint in Dover White is what you're looking for. It's made for plastic, so it will stick and it's a colour match to my eye.
Just watch for over spray. You don't want to get it on your plastic lens glasses.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

I think you'll find Krylon Fusion spray paint in Dover White is ......

I think that's the same color of Fusion paint some folks use to spray the propane tank cover. That bright white (from the factory.. NOT ETI) doesn't match the trailer

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by MyronL

Guessing for high flying objects nothing works as well as keeping far far away from that big truck in front of you.

I have found that big damaging rocks (we lose a lot of windshields to them here) are far more commonly tossed by oncoming traffic, or by same-direction traffic in adjacent lanes, than by the vehicle directly ahead. Staying back is good, but cannot avoid all damage.

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

I think that's the same color of Fusion paint some folks use to spray the propane tank cover. That bright white (from the factory.. NOT ETI) doesn't match the trailer

It is the paint I and others have used on the propane cover ( which is a blue white ). I has stood up to time, and is easy enough to re-spray.

Here is link to original thread:
http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f8...more-1598.html

[tractors1]

The rough box surface is a spray-on bedliner; ETI used to contract out the spraying locally. Not sure if it's Line-X or Rhino brand.

[singletracker]

Originally Posted by tractors1

The rough box surface is a spray-on bedliner; ETI used to contract out the spraying locally. Not sure if it's Line-X or Rhino brand.

Just out of curiosity, could spray-on bed liner be applied directly to the vulnerable, front of the trailer?

[gbaglo]

It has been done. Think it cost around $500. For another $200, you get the box.

[Bobbito]

I'm relieved to know that the box has the spray on liner. It's well worth the expenditure of it saves the trailer and keeps our heavy, dirty outside hardware safe and outside the trailer.

Bob K

[tractors1]

Originally Posted by Bobbito

I'm relieved to know that the box has the spray on liner. It's well worth the expenditure of it saves the trailer and keeps our heavy, dirty outside hardware safe and outside the trailer.

Bob K

Box also has drain holes, so toss in your wet stuff!

[Bobbito]

It just keeps on getting better. Thanks, Charlie.

Bob K

[Dave&Jane]

I thought some of the rough road concerns were a bit exaggerated, but now I'm a believer!

I have been to Chaco Canyon NHP twice before without incident (but no trailer) so I wasn't too concerned about the bad roads. Now, I have a number of items to repair after last week's trip:

- I assumed the fridge door latch would be engineered well enough to stay closed in spite of the reports by others on this list, but the door on our Dometic 4.3 fridge literally broke off, scattering fridge contents all over the floor and shattering a door shelf cover. Although damaged, the door hinge socket was still serviceable and I was able to remove the hinge bracket and re-install the door, and I used a bungee to make sure it stayed closed for the rest of the trip. Now that we are home, I will use epoxy to rebuild the damaged socket and, although it won't be pretty, I'll try gluing the shelf part. I also will add a right-angle screwdriver to my tool kit, since the hinge bracket screws were hard to get to (I had to use pliers to hold a screwdriver bit as a substitute for a proper right-angle screwdriver).

- A latch on our window rock shield fell off and was lost (I had to use pliers to operate it). I sent email to Hehr International, Description to see about a replacement.

- The hatch door on our sewer cover tube fell off and we almost lost the slinky. The hinge pin had been previously damaged so I should have anticipated this. D&W, Sanitubes / Sewer Hose Carriers / Replacement Hatch DOOR ONLY for Super-Tube and Super-Slider - DW Inc. makes it easy to order a replacement, so I assume this is a common problem.

- Gravel has gouged the foam insulation, but I will paint it so it looks better.

- I could not identify the origin of the loose screw that was on the floor (a 1" sheet metal screw with a Robertson head).

-Dave

[gbaglo]

I broke a shelf on the fridge door by placing heavy objects there and then traveling washboard.
I found some aluminum edge/corner material at Rona that fit perfectly after cutting for length. Used epoxy. BTW, I think a replacement shelf was about $50 or more.

[FMLNM]

That is probably one of the roughest roads you will see...and the early spring snow and rains this year probably made that road even worse than usual. We have thought about taking our 5.0 there but are leery of doing it. If only one could time it right after they do their 'occasional' grading....but it is a magnificent place and I would hate to see them pave that road and open it to more traffic than the ruins can handle.

[Dave Walter]

Sorry to hear about your trailer damage. It really sucks to become educated about the dangers of towing on rough roads by experiencing a fridge door breaking off. Similar thing happened to me with the oven door. What I have learned is that because the ride is still quite tolerable in the tow vehicle, does not mean that everything in the trailer is not bouncing around. Slow down even more than you think is necessary, and then some. Glad that everything is fixable for you.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Dave&Jane

- I could not identify the origin of the loose screw that was on the floor (a 1" sheet metal screw with a Robertson head).

Having owned three RVs (and not yet an Escape), my comment on this would be:

Q: How do you know you have a well-built RV?
A: After a trip on a rough road, you find only one extra screw lying on the floor.

Seriously, my guess would be that it was an extra screw dropped by a worker during assembly and stuck in a corner somewhere (thus escaping the clean-up at the end of construction) until it was shaken loose on the exceptionally rough road. In other RVs, I've found extra screws, screws fallen out, screws five times as long as they should be (extra length protruding into cabinets), screws driven through a panel and entirely missing the framing they were supposed to hit... and that's just the issues with screws.

Originally Posted by ice-breaker

What I have learned is that because the ride is still quite tolerable in the tow vehicle, does not mean that everything in the trailer is not bouncing around.

Good point - the reality of RV trailer suspension (even in an Escape) is that the trailer will ride more roughly than almost any vehicle that one might use to tow it.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by Dave&Jane

I thought some of the rough road concerns were a bit exaggerated, but now I'm a believer!

I have been to Chaco Canyon NHP twice before without incident (but no trailer) so I wasn't too concerned about the bad roads. Now, I have a number of items to repair after last week's trip:

- I assumed the fridge door latch would be engineered well enough to stay closed in spite of the reports by others on this list, but the door on our Dometic 4.3 fridge literally broke off, scattering fridge contents all over the floor and shattering a door shelf cover. Although damaged, the door hinge socket was still serviceable and I was able to remove the hinge bracket and re-install the door, and I used a bungee to make sure it stayed closed for the rest of the trip. Now that we are home, I will use epoxy to rebuild the damaged socket and, although it won't be pretty, I'll try gluing the shelf part. I also will add a right-angle screwdriver to my tool kit, since the hinge bracket screws were hard to get to (I had to use pliers to hold a screwdriver bit as a substitute for a proper right-angle screwdriver).

- A latch on our window rock shield fell off and was lost (I had to use pliers to operate it). I sent email to Hehr International, Description to see about a replacement.

- The hatch door on our sewer cover tube fell off and we almost lost the slinky. The hinge pin had been previously damaged so I should have anticipated this. D&W, Sanitubes / Sewer Hose Carriers / Replacement Hatch DOOR ONLY for Super-Tube and Super-Slider - DW Inc. makes it easy to order a replacement, so I assume this is a common problem.

- Gravel has gouged the foam insulation, but I will paint it so it looks better.

- I could not identify the origin of the loose screw that was on the floor (a 1" sheet metal screw with a Robertson head).

-Dave

We had a couple very rough roads on our recent trip, mostly in southern Utah. The only issue we encountered was the pantry door popping open and a few loose food items winding up on the floor. Having said that, we drove EXTREMELY slow on such roads, and I think that saved us.

[cpaharley2008]

Dave and Jane,
Do or did you have a w/d set up on this road. I wonder if w/d will exacerbate bouncing and possible damage?

[MyronL]

It ranks right up there in the middle of no where as one of the worst washboard roads. I know a guy who drove that Chaco Canyon road. His Scamp had a brand new Dexter axle, wheel, brakes, drum assembly. Screws came loose in the brake drum, halfway to Chaco. Things bound up inside, friction and heat drained out all the grease in the bearings. He's lucky he got the thing to the campground, got help from a ranger who was a mechanic.

(No, it wasn't me.)

[Dave&Jane]

Originally Posted by FMLNM

That is probably one of the roughest roads you will see...and the early spring snow and rains this year probably made that road even worse than usual.

Most of the gravel portions were OK, with moderate washboards, but not too bad. That last 5 miles however, were something else. There were sections of washboard, as bad as I have ever experienced, which is probably where most of the damage occurred. Fortunately the road was dry - I would NOT want to be there when these ruts were made (I just kept my wheels on the high parts).

-Dave