I recall a post some time back about all the problems that seem to happen at once. This was that trip for me. Somewhat hilarious as this was the first trip in MANY years that I wasn't scrambling before hand to fix the rig for the trip and didn't feel like I was under the gun to meet the timeline.
11 days into the woods for camping/hunting. 4 days of highway driving (600 miles total) and at least a couple of hours a day driving on absolutely brutal logging roads. The area has gotten so bad with massive potholes and washboard that anything over 5MPH for half of the area is too fast. I tow a utility trailer (2500lbs loaded, if lucky) that I just put tires on. Weird year, predicted 15" of snowfall the night before in the area (and needing to drive from approx 2500ft to 4500ft+) so I wanted to go first as my truck and trailer is the easiest to deal with in bad conditions. Short wheelbase is a huge benefit when you have to turn around in the middle of a 20ft (if lucky) roadbed. The failures started to pileup quickly.
First up, first day, after 100 miles of highway, within one mile of hitting the gravel, I heard a "bang". The trailer is all metal, filled with propane tanks, gas, and diesel, so it's not unlikely to hear some noise as it bounces through the potholes. But this was a bit much. Immediately after I process that sound, I hear it again, so I immediately stop. Figured the problem out pretty quick:
Closer inspection pics, the angle isn't quite as obvious as in person:
Yep, sheared the two rear legs of the trailer hitch. Luckily the two front mounting points didn't shear, so I was able to pull it over in a wider spot and call back for the other rig to come forward (after dropping their travel trailer) and take mine up and over once I had gone ahead and confirmed the weather reports were completely wrong, zero to 1" of snow at most on the road.
Of course immediately after starting to pull forward after the hitch broke, the rear view mirror button broke off the windshield. Since I added the multifunction mirror, it was hanging by the wires, which I then had to hold with one hand while driving (SM465 BTW) so it didn't smash the windshield.
A couple days later I noticed what sounded to me like a loose pulley. Kind of a tin-ney/thin metal type noise while the truck idled. I recorded it. Obviously the exhaust is one noise, but you can hear the metallic rattle/grinding through it:
I've had a loose pulley before, so I started with the water pump:
You'll probably notice the water pump pulley is not loose, the shaft is loose. Crazy, as it's a 20 year old parts store cheapy and didn't leak a drop. Had a spare with me, but kept driving, and it hasn't failed yet. Now that it's home I'll replace it. Hopefully I have my 20 year old lifetime replacement receipt. I suspect (maybe) that due to belt routing, all load was from the alternator. The shaft deflecting and creating slack is probably why the belt broke and/or fell off year ago. It looks like I can run the power steering pump belt around it to add some tension in another direction.
Also, a wiper blade ripped. I probably should have expected it being a year old, but luckily it was the passenger side and it didn't completely fail, so didn't cause issues.
Oh, and the remote keyless entry system I added decided it didn't want to lock anymore. But still unlock.
And the power steering decided to start being sticky when cold too. That had gone away for awhile, but it seems worse with the colder weather.
And one of my BFG's has a weird crack in it that looks like dry rot, but very long and just one crack. They are 3 years old.
Big problem though is the trailer hitch. I think I may go ahead and repair it in the future. I'm not seeing anything but other class III hitches sold, so replacing it with another of same design isn't going to prevent this from happening again. My guess is simply fatigue from both vertical and side loading. I haven't looked at it closely to see whats practical, but small gussets from the bolt flanges to the vertical portion would have prevented the failure at the bends, so when I weld it back up, I'll likely do something along those lines.
However, I got off easy. Another of the group has a 2015(?) F350 with a diesel. Noticed some blue smoke as he was driving it, said it had been doing it for at least a few days. Last day, as soon as he hit the pavement to take his 100 mile drive home, truck turned off and wouldn't even attempt to start. Apparently holed the block. Repair shop said $25K for replacement, and over a month to get one in. Say what you will about constantly working to keep these trucks running, but I haven't put $25K in this truck total, from the ground up, in 20 years. It kind of shows, but I digress. lol
11 days into the woods for camping/hunting. 4 days of highway driving (600 miles total) and at least a couple of hours a day driving on absolutely brutal logging roads. The area has gotten so bad with massive potholes and washboard that anything over 5MPH for half of the area is too fast. I tow a utility trailer (2500lbs loaded, if lucky) that I just put tires on. Weird year, predicted 15" of snowfall the night before in the area (and needing to drive from approx 2500ft to 4500ft+) so I wanted to go first as my truck and trailer is the easiest to deal with in bad conditions. Short wheelbase is a huge benefit when you have to turn around in the middle of a 20ft (if lucky) roadbed. The failures started to pileup quickly.
First up, first day, after 100 miles of highway, within one mile of hitting the gravel, I heard a "bang". The trailer is all metal, filled with propane tanks, gas, and diesel, so it's not unlikely to hear some noise as it bounces through the potholes. But this was a bit much. Immediately after I process that sound, I hear it again, so I immediately stop. Figured the problem out pretty quick:
Closer inspection pics, the angle isn't quite as obvious as in person:
Yep, sheared the two rear legs of the trailer hitch. Luckily the two front mounting points didn't shear, so I was able to pull it over in a wider spot and call back for the other rig to come forward (after dropping their travel trailer) and take mine up and over once I had gone ahead and confirmed the weather reports were completely wrong, zero to 1" of snow at most on the road.
Of course immediately after starting to pull forward after the hitch broke, the rear view mirror button broke off the windshield. Since I added the multifunction mirror, it was hanging by the wires, which I then had to hold with one hand while driving (SM465 BTW) so it didn't smash the windshield.
A couple days later I noticed what sounded to me like a loose pulley. Kind of a tin-ney/thin metal type noise while the truck idled. I recorded it. Obviously the exhaust is one noise, but you can hear the metallic rattle/grinding through it:
I've had a loose pulley before, so I started with the water pump:
You'll probably notice the water pump pulley is not loose, the shaft is loose. Crazy, as it's a 20 year old parts store cheapy and didn't leak a drop. Had a spare with me, but kept driving, and it hasn't failed yet. Now that it's home I'll replace it. Hopefully I have my 20 year old lifetime replacement receipt. I suspect (maybe) that due to belt routing, all load was from the alternator. The shaft deflecting and creating slack is probably why the belt broke and/or fell off year ago. It looks like I can run the power steering pump belt around it to add some tension in another direction.
Also, a wiper blade ripped. I probably should have expected it being a year old, but luckily it was the passenger side and it didn't completely fail, so didn't cause issues.
Oh, and the remote keyless entry system I added decided it didn't want to lock anymore. But still unlock.
And the power steering decided to start being sticky when cold too. That had gone away for awhile, but it seems worse with the colder weather.
And one of my BFG's has a weird crack in it that looks like dry rot, but very long and just one crack. They are 3 years old.
Big problem though is the trailer hitch. I think I may go ahead and repair it in the future. I'm not seeing anything but other class III hitches sold, so replacing it with another of same design isn't going to prevent this from happening again. My guess is simply fatigue from both vertical and side loading. I haven't looked at it closely to see whats practical, but small gussets from the bolt flanges to the vertical portion would have prevented the failure at the bends, so when I weld it back up, I'll likely do something along those lines.
However, I got off easy. Another of the group has a 2015(?) F350 with a diesel. Noticed some blue smoke as he was driving it, said it had been doing it for at least a few days. Last day, as soon as he hit the pavement to take his 100 mile drive home, truck turned off and wouldn't even attempt to start. Apparently holed the block. Repair shop said $25K for replacement, and over a month to get one in. Say what you will about constantly working to keep these trucks running, but I haven't put $25K in this truck total, from the ground up, in 20 years. It kind of shows, but I digress. lol
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