Ever wondered why you should turn the gas off whilst towing?
A couple of weeks ago, I was on my way to Skye. I'd decided to check the tyre pressures. They should have been 65 psi, but there was only about 50 psi in both of them. I'd not checked them for some time, even though I've been towing a lot recently.
On the fast straight dual carriageway of the A801 near Bathgate, heading for the A9, I felt a vibration. For a split second, I thought it was the road surface, but it looked smooth. The vibration got worse- I immediately realised it was coming from the van, and suspecting the jockey wheel had descended, I stopped the rig. I had been doing 56mph.
When I got out, there was a cloud of blue smoke and the smell of burning rubber. There was debris behind me for about 400 feet. The offside tyre had burst, ripping it apart.
A nice man going the other way saw what had happened, and came back to help. He had twin electrics, so I assumed he is a 'vanner- if he's reading this, then thanks for trying to help. A young man in a van stopped as well, but by this time, the RAC were on the way.
The nice man from the RAC changed the wheel, and advised me to put some air in at the next garage. He also tried to source a replacement tyre, even ringing a friend in Fort William, but as it was a Sunday, he didn't have much luck. He also suggested that the low pressure may have damaged the tyre, and increasing it had accelerated the damage.
When I got to the garage, I checked the underside of the van. There a horrible site awaited me- the mudflap had been ripped off, taking a chunk about 1'-0" in diameter out of the floor, exposing the insulation. The drain pipes had carried away. Inside the van, the floor in the toilet had come up, and the sink drain had come off. I decided to abandon my holiday.
When I took it for the estimate, the repairer said I was very lucky. He checked the wheelbox, and the tyre had started to cut through that. In front of the wheelbox is the cooker, and had I driven on for a bit longer, the tyre fragments would have begun to cut into it- he said he's seen fridges and cookers cut in half in incidents like this.
There are gas pipes associated with both these items- they would have been cut through, and if the gas had been on, a spark would have ignited the escaping gas, and I would have been towing a blazing stump! So always turn your gas off!
The repairs have cost just short of £1000, not including another tyre at £40. But worse to come- the repair guy noticed the other tyre had bellied out- it would have burst catastrophically like the other one. I might not have been so lucky the next time.
Strangely enough, I'd had signs there was trouble, but had not interpreted properly;-
1. Whilst in a queue on the motorway, the van seemed to be wobbling whilst going slowly- I assumed it was the road surface.
2. I had to push the van at one point, and heard a noise from the wheel- I assumed it was just brake shoe noise.
3. I've had trouble getting the wheel clamp on- assuming it was soft ground.
What lessons have I learnt? Well, I'll be checking the tyre pressures from now on, and looking for distortion in the tread. I'll always turn the gas off!!
A couple of weeks ago, I was on my way to Skye. I'd decided to check the tyre pressures. They should have been 65 psi, but there was only about 50 psi in both of them. I'd not checked them for some time, even though I've been towing a lot recently.
On the fast straight dual carriageway of the A801 near Bathgate, heading for the A9, I felt a vibration. For a split second, I thought it was the road surface, but it looked smooth. The vibration got worse- I immediately realised it was coming from the van, and suspecting the jockey wheel had descended, I stopped the rig. I had been doing 56mph.
When I got out, there was a cloud of blue smoke and the smell of burning rubber. There was debris behind me for about 400 feet. The offside tyre had burst, ripping it apart.
A nice man going the other way saw what had happened, and came back to help. He had twin electrics, so I assumed he is a 'vanner- if he's reading this, then thanks for trying to help. A young man in a van stopped as well, but by this time, the RAC were on the way.
The nice man from the RAC changed the wheel, and advised me to put some air in at the next garage. He also tried to source a replacement tyre, even ringing a friend in Fort William, but as it was a Sunday, he didn't have much luck. He also suggested that the low pressure may have damaged the tyre, and increasing it had accelerated the damage.
When I got to the garage, I checked the underside of the van. There a horrible site awaited me- the mudflap had been ripped off, taking a chunk about 1'-0" in diameter out of the floor, exposing the insulation. The drain pipes had carried away. Inside the van, the floor in the toilet had come up, and the sink drain had come off. I decided to abandon my holiday.
When I took it for the estimate, the repairer said I was very lucky. He checked the wheelbox, and the tyre had started to cut through that. In front of the wheelbox is the cooker, and had I driven on for a bit longer, the tyre fragments would have begun to cut into it- he said he's seen fridges and cookers cut in half in incidents like this.
There are gas pipes associated with both these items- they would have been cut through, and if the gas had been on, a spark would have ignited the escaping gas, and I would have been towing a blazing stump! So always turn your gas off!
The repairs have cost just short of £1000, not including another tyre at £40. But worse to come- the repair guy noticed the other tyre had bellied out- it would have burst catastrophically like the other one. I might not have been so lucky the next time.
Strangely enough, I'd had signs there was trouble, but had not interpreted properly;-
1. Whilst in a queue on the motorway, the van seemed to be wobbling whilst going slowly- I assumed it was the road surface.
2. I had to push the van at one point, and heard a noise from the wheel- I assumed it was just brake shoe noise.
3. I've had trouble getting the wheel clamp on- assuming it was soft ground.
What lessons have I learnt? Well, I'll be checking the tyre pressures from now on, and looking for distortion in the tread. I'll always turn the gas off!!