RV Fire on the Freeway: Tagalong Sends Smoke Signals

A driver waved us down on the freeway and pointed to our fifth wheel tires. At the same time, our truck displayed a message reading, “Trailer brake disconnected.” Heeding the warnings, we pulled off to the side and got out. Smoke emanated from the front driver-side trailer tire. As Bob approached, he saw flames. “Fire!” he yelled.

I ran to unlock the RV door and grab the fire extinguisher. By the time I got to Bob, he had already pulled out the gallon of water we carry in the truck and poured it over the flaming wheel bearings, resulting in a lot of steam. 

“More water!” Bob shouted over the traffic noise. I dashed to the truck and snatched some water bottles to put into his hands. Then I bolted back to the trailer door and snagged what was left of our case of water bottles, about 20. As I handed Bob one after another, he poured them over the hot bearings in an effort to cool them off. 

Determining Our Next Move

That mission accomplished, we assessed the situation. The front driver-side tire bowed out on the top, making the fifth wheel undrivable. Should we call Coach-Net, our roadside assistance provider? we wondered. What would they do? They couldn’t tow our rig in that condition. ​

We decided we needed to remove the bowed tire from our RV. Bob lay on the asphalt and jacked up the fifth wheel. I stood by watching passing cars and semis, trying to coax drivers to move to the next lane. Fortunately, this happened near where the third lane ended and vehicles had to move over anyway. 

You don’t realize how fast traffic is moving until you’re stopped on the side of the road. A word of caution, drivers: If you ever see a stalled vehicle on the highway and can safely move to the next lane, please do so. It can make a world of difference to the people in an already difficult situation. 

Getting to Safety

Bob succeeded in removing the tire and the wheel hub, which was also leaning out. Without the hub or wheel bearings, putting on the spare tire was out of the question. But with the weight of the driver’s side of the rig on the remaining tire, Bob couldn’t get the bottle jack out from under the trailer axle. 

We quickly dislodged the factory-installed jack from under the passenger seat of the truck. That gave Bob the extra lift he needed to remove the other jack. Whew!

Again, we weighed our options. We were about 2 miles from the next exit. Could we nurse the 18,000-pound fifth wheel along on only three tires to get it to a safer area? We decided to take the chance and crept down the emergency lane with our flashers on. I jumped out every few minutes to remove broken tire pieces that lay in our path.

About 1.5 hours after our ordeal started, we succeeded in getting off the interstate and onto a nice flat dirt area about 20 feet from a two-lane road, where we could evaluate the damage. Bob discovered that, in the fiery heat, the washer on the spindle had melted to the outer raceway. He called his mechanic buddy Roy to chat through our options and came to the conclusion that we needed a new axle. 

Saying Goodbye to Our Home

A state trooper showed up. Bob asked him about leaving the trailer, possibly overnight, so we could go to the Phoenix metropolitan area to get parts. We were about an hour outside of Mesa, Arizona, our destination for the birth of our first grandbaby. The trooper informed us we were on an Indian reservation and advised us to contact the reservation authorities. 

With an OK to leave the trailer overnight on this Friday, we disconnected it from the truck, got it as level as we could, and grabbed some clothes and toiletries. Then we said goodbye to Tagalong, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time we saw him mostly in one piece. ​

I drove so Bob could call around for an axle. Our search led us to Cliff’s Welding, which has specialized in hitches, tow bars, trailer hitches, and RV accessories since 1964. We headed straight there, explained our situation, and discovered the shop could get an axle for our rig by Monday. (Another place we called had said it would take two to four weeks.) 

Finding a Fix

The catch with Cliff’s was that it wouldn’t be an EasyLube axle, like the one in need of replacing. Because of that, we really needed to replace the second axle as well. Since Bob has never liked the EasyLube functionality, we decided to go for it. But Cliff’s wouldn’t go to our trailer. We had to get the trailer to the shop. 

One of the workers told us he had towed a number of trailers, even overweight ones, on three tires from the same area where we had left our fifth wheel. We asked how he did it and learned he ratcheted the bum axle to the frame to give it higher clearance and drove back roads at 35 to 40 mph. 

Based on his recommendation, we elected to attempt to move the RV on our own, waiting until later in the day so there’d be less traffic. Our son DJ went down with us in his truck to follow behind and keep an eye on the trailer. About three hours after we left Mesa to retrieve our home, we returned, thankful to have it off the reservation and in the same vicinity as us.

Counting Our Blessings

Cliff’s offered to let us stay in our rig in the shop’s parking lot over the weekend. But because of the Arizona heat (yes, even in September) and the RV’s leaning to the damaged side, we opted to stay with family in the area instead. 

We thank God for keeping us safe. His angels were definitely watching over us. The incident happened close to our destination, family, and resources. Our home could have gone up in flames. Instead, we were able to get it to the best place it could have been for the work that needed to be done to it. We were blessed with a bed to sleep in (thanks, Mike and Susan!) and had everything we needed. 

We’re especially grateful to the driver who got our attention and alerted us to the situation in the first place. Thank you, sir, for your kindness.

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