I wrecked our escaPod - R-pod Owners Forum

People are safe? All that matters. The rest will get fixed or replaced. Try to have a good weekend, go see a movie or something..

I will admit, we pretty much avoid the northern plains this time of year. Having to travel from here to Northern California to see my parents, and having the need to stop in central Kansas to see hers, we have made that drive a "few times"..

Glad you are safe and what could have been isn't. The TV and TT can be repaired or replaced.

We were on the way to our older daughter's home near Salt Lake City. Looking at the forecasts, I thought there were no storms in store for the time we would be on the road, so we set out across I40 and linked up to I80. We made it across Nebraska and then the wind really started blowing. It was gusting up to 60 mph. So far, so good. Then the weather shifted and the temperature dropped from about 39F to 18F within 15 minutes. The wind had shifted to the opposite direction gusting up to 40 mph. Snow was coming down and blowing so as to cut visibility. Our travel slowed so much that we ended up stopping in Rock Springs, Wyoming.

This morning, things looked much better, so we took off and were on the road doing pretty well. However, as we went further west, ice started to show up. The wind also picked up and was (I found out afterward) gusting to 40 mph again. Within a very short distance, we went from dry pavement to ice. We lost traction and started to fishtail. I tried correcting, but it was useless. We ended up with the car and trailer facing the direction from which we came. The trailer had swung around so that the front-left of the trailer hit the rear-left of our Escape. The trailer's back-right corner hit the guardrail on a bridge.

The car's sheet metal was pushed in and touching the tire, so the car can't be driven. The trailer's back-right corner has a hole in it and the taillight was broken. The side-marker light on that corner was also broken. The front-left was damaged a little from where it hit the car, but that appears to be minor. It would take a good inspection by someone familiar with trailers to tell for sure.

The car and trailer were towed to Green River, Wyoming and here we sit. There was no insurance adjuster available today (Saturday). We are on hold until Monday. I got some Gorilla tape and taped up the broken window in the car and taped up the hole in the R-Pod. We are camped out at in the towing lot until Monday.

In hindsight, we should have gone out via I10 and up through Las Vegas on I15. However, we tried to take the most direct route to Salt Lake City. I should have known better than to trust the weather forecast.

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furpod Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group - pHp Joined: 25 Jul 2011 Location: Central KY Online Status: Offline Posts: 6128	Topic: I wrecked our escaPod Posted: 18 Dec 2016 at 9:06am
	People are safe? All that matters. The rest will get fixed or replaced. Try to have a good weekend, go see a movie or something.. I will admit, we pretty much avoid the northern plains this time of year. Having to travel from here to Northern California to see my parents, and having the need to stop in central Kansas to see hers, we have made that drive a "few times"..

Leo B Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 13 Jan 2012 Location: Lyndonville, VT Online Status: Offline Posts: 4518	Posted: 18 Dec 2016 at 7:29am
	The important thing is you guys didn't get hurt! The rest can be dealt with. Hope everything works out....stay positive.
	Leo & Melissa Bachand 2017 Ford F150 2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk Previously owned 2015 Rpod 179 2010 Rpod 171

mcarter Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 07 Apr 2016 Location: Greenbrier, TN Online Status: Offline Posts: 3419	Posted: 18 Dec 2016 at 6:02am
	Glad you are safe and what could have been isn't. The TV and TT can be repaired or replaced.

Kickstart Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 20 Sep 2010 Location: Ocean Shores, W Online Status: Offline Posts: 267	Posted: 18 Dec 2016 at 1:35am
	Welcome to the club. A club I don't enjoy others joining with me. Some bad conditions come up so quickly that no matter how good our towing combo and WDH, we just lose control. I know exactly how you feel. Hopefully the damage to your tow rig and trailer is slight enough that you aren't burdened with branded/rebuilt titles now. That can be a real lose lose situation. Hope everything works out for you.
	'10 RP 175-Replaced by 2014 Kodiak 173 QBSL '12 Toyota Tundra '05 Sportster (half a Harley) Retired-We're on Beach Time!

StephenH Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6417	Posted: 17 Dec 2016 at 10:31pm
	We were on the way to our older daughter's home near Salt Lake City. Looking at the forecasts, I thought there were no storms in store for the time we would be on the road, so we set out across I40 and linked up to I80. We made it across Nebraska and then the wind really started blowing. It was gusting up to 60 mph. So far, so good. Then the weather shifted and the temperature dropped from about 39F to 18F within 15 minutes. The wind had shifted to the opposite direction gusting up to 40 mph. Snow was coming down and blowing so as to cut visibility. Our travel slowed so much that we ended up stopping in Rock Springs, Wyoming. This morning, things looked much better, so we took off and were on the road doing pretty well. However, as we went further west, ice started to show up. The wind also picked up and was (I found out afterward) gusting to 40 mph again. Within a very short distance, we went from dry pavement to ice. We lost traction and started to fishtail. I tried correcting, but it was useless. We ended up with the car and trailer facing the direction from which we came. The trailer had swung around so that the front-left of the trailer hit the rear-left of our Escape. The trailer's back-right corner hit the guardrail on a bridge. The car's sheet metal was pushed in and touching the tire, so the car can't be driven. The trailer's back-right corner has a hole in it and the taillight was broken. The side-marker light on that corner was also broken. The front-left was damaged a little from where it hit the car, but that appears to be minor. It would take a good inspection by someone familiar with trailers to tell for sure. The car and trailer were towed to Green River, Wyoming and here we sit. There was no insurance adjuster available today (Saturday). We are on hold until Monday. I got some Gorilla tape and taped up the broken window in the car and taped up the hole in the R-Pod. We are camped out at in the towing lot until Monday. In hindsight, we should have gone out via I10 and up through Las Vegas on I15. However, we tried to take the most direct route to Salt Lake City. I should have known better than to trust the weather forecast.