Replacement

In 2020, coming back from Brenda, we must have overloaded Sassy. That and slowly driving over a large step in the pavement somehow missalligned the suspension. That's the only explanation we can come up with. The front wheels didn't align with the rear.

It was bad enough we took it in for repair. Northern Arizona RV Collision in Prescott Valley was up to the challenge and basically replaced the suspension. Right at the start of the Pandemic so we weren't pushing to get back on the road. I think they were glad to get the work during this slow time for them.

Bent Axle

In 2022, while leaving Aberdeen, SD disaster struck. I turned a tight corner into the fuel stop, barely ran the passenger trailer tires off the pavement. Just off the pavement was a puddle hiding a 1' plus deep hole. A jarring mistake.

The front trailer tire instantly went flat. Once we stopped and started to put on the spare we found more damage. In the photo below you can see the front tire is not aligned with the rear one, the axle is bent. We called roadside assistance through our Foremost insurance. They could not find anyone to tow our trailer, but did connect us with a roadside repair group. They were able to take off the front tire, chain up the axle in front so we could pull the trailer a short distance. They directed us to Safety Service Inc., a truck repair shop. They guessed two weeks to order a new axle but though they could straighten ours. Wow, didn't know that was possible. But they had the right equipment and really knew how to use it. Magic. It was a frantic time so no pictures of the straightening, sorry. While they worked on it we went for lunch and bought a new wheel for the spare. End result, 3-4 hours plus a couple of hundred dollars, we were back on the road. They did say it was a temporary fix and should be addressed with a new axle. A big thank you to Safety Service Inc.

This "pothole incident" dropped the passenger side of Sassy enough to damage the stairs. They worked, after a fashion, but bound up here and there. A new set of stairs were bought, I think from Etrailer, and installed. Work like new now, which they are.

In 2023 that "temporary fix" bit us. It worked and looked good for a year. But camping at LoLo Pass we found one of our trailer axles was bent, bent up in the middle like it should be but way more that it's supposed to be. In the picture below it's easy to see the front axle is far more bent up that the rear. Ruined the rest of that trip. Turned south and made it to Prescott Valley with no problems.

Back in Prescott Valley we had Hubbard Trailer Sales in Dewey, AZ. They were able to order a new axle and install it, no problem. It's worked well since.