What are common problems to check for after towing?

[Seren]

Pick-up our Grand Canyon a few weeks ago and towed it 400 miles home. We had a couple of minor issues after towing. Nuts holding both lamp shades over island came off (only found one) and plumbing under kitchen sink came loose, which cause some minor leaking under sink (was not a problem when we stayed two nights for our PDI). I am sure that both of these happened becauce it is new and those items were not tightened completely at the factory.
As a newbie I have a couple of questions: (1) are there items that should be normally checked everytime the RV is towed for any significant distance (200+ miles)? (2) Since there will be vibrations anytime you travel, what precautions should be taken with organizing the load? Obviously, the heaver items/breakable should be in the lower cabinets. Also our dealer said that you should always put all blinds up or else the bottoms will bang against the walls and eventully damage them. Any other tips and tricks?


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[JohnD]

Our two bathroom slider doors have slid loose while on the road, despite having them 'snapped' like they are supposed to be.

The roller rails are both bent . . . but now they don't slide loose while on the road!

I don't think I'm going to bother fixing this issue.

And our kitchen drawers like to slide open while traveling . . .

Haven't worked up a fix for them yet.

 

[StarryNight]

If you have a ceiling fan: we check to make sure all screws are tight. We learned to do this because one time one of the fan blades was loose and hung down just enough to get hit by the slide coming in. Didn't break but got our attention!
I remove the microwave glass turntable and store it.
The recliner handles face out away from the wall when the recliners are in the "stored position" because the handles were damaging the wall the other way.
I keep my cleaning supplies in a wash tub under the kitchen sink. That way if they leak it will be contained. (Because we are in Colorado this is necessary when going from low to high altitudes.)
Make sure all doors, drawers and cabinets are closed and the latch is snug...you don't want something "hopping out" while bouncing down the road.
Don't forget to remove everything off counters and to move any throw rugs you may have away from where a slide will be coming in.
We put our blinds up but some manage to work their way back down as we hit all those unavoidable pot holes, bumps and cracks on the road.
***Always check tire pressure and lug nuts before/during your trip.
**Try not to be in a hurry to leave & get on the road...take your time to make sure everything is tied down, shut, brought in, folded up, attached...etc...
Even though you/significant other may have specific duties its always a good idea to help each other out by double checking.
Have fun with your "new toy"!!

 

[Tallyrver]

I found that if the RV stays parked in my yard nothing shakes off...but that doesn't happen much as I take it out every chance I get. I make it a habit to check the electric panel and tighten the connections every few months. I had a transfer switch burn up because of a loose neutral wire. That was an exciting day.

A fifth wheel rolling down the road is like an earth quake inside.

wayne

 

[Lou_and_Bette]

Always visually check the areas in the slides pathways before deploying the slides. Things have a way of migrating to these areas and can cause a lot of damage if they get wedged in between the slide and the wall

 

[Bob&Patty]

X2 on the microwave plate. Had one come out when the door opened and broke all over the floor. A new plate cost more than a new microwave and can break the glass in the door.

We use very little glassware. You can buy nice things in plastic. Use ponytail ties to hold cupboard doors closed when the knobs face each other.

 

[Seren]

Thanks for all the info, putting them on my "check-off" app. I agree with the "taking your time" approach. As a soon-to-be fulltimer, I shouldn't have any reason to rush. Would make for a bad day if something goes wrong, either before leaving or arriving at the next campsite.


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[dave10a]

Always watch the suspension and tire nuts and bolts for proper torque. I you do not have a good torque wrench get one. The steel they use in RV suspension hard ware is not exactly the highest grade and keeps stretching until it sort of stabilizes. Therefore it needs to be checked routinely.

 

[chckan50]

Have a Bighorn 3670. After one trip found the Living Room TV on the floor. Learned to check that before travel! Good news is that the TV continued to operate properly.

 

[Grampafish]

In addition to what has been mentioned, we installed baby latches on the drawers that could come open behind the slides. We crushed one with the slide the first trip out. We couldn't figure out why the slide was sticking. We reversed it to find one drawer destroyed and a small gouge in the slide. The factory provided additional latches were not adequate for the daily 8.0+ earthquake.

 

[DonnyB007]

Aerial down, steps up, TV secured, etc.
better still use a check sheet each time before you take off. My wife does the inside and I do the outside.

 

[traveler44]

The lug nuts should be checked with a torque wrench for the first 75 and 200 and 500 miles any time a wheel has been installed. We kept finding scews from the ceiling fan on the floor every time we towed until I finally locktited them in. I keep a close watch on all of the suspension parts. I wouldn't travel without a torque wrench and a infrared thermometer. Every time we stop I get out and shoot the temperature at the wheels of the truck and trailer looking for a brake dragging or a bad bearing. My tire sensors keep an eye on the tire temperatures now.