After the explosive fun with our traveling home yesterday, we spent the day today addressing the damage to our fifth wheel trailer. We went outside and looked at the damage but we are not mechanics so we waited on the guy we called yesterday until his arrival this afternoon.
To fill up the hours before his arrival, we contacted our Good Sam insurance folks to initiate a claim for damages because, based on our completely ignorant speculation, it will be expensive and we would be delighted to get some financial assistance from the folks who have been dutifully collecting our yearly premiums.
The mechanic rolled in about when he thought he would arrive and climbed under the trailer to assess damages and take pictures. It was his allegation that the rear left leaf spring broke in transit, creating a cascade of subsequent actions. The spring failure caused an almost instantaneous destruction of the tire which quickly shredded since we were moving when the spring broke in two. Shrapnel from the tire then blasted out toward the rear of the trailer and caromed off a variety of flimsy components, destroying some of them. One particularly dedicated piece of rubber or cord flew back about 15 feet and took out some trailer wiring near the back bumper.
The mechanic performed a thorough examination of the rest of the trailer, including the roof. It is fortunate because he said we have apparently run into an overhanging branch somewhere and the roof membrane was punctured so it looks like we will be getting that fixed, too. Bummer.
All the parties required (I think) have been notified and repairs should be forthcoming. Who is going to pay is still up in the air but we are foolishly optimistic.
There’s some pix of the carnage. Click here