Glad you made it home. How did you manage the trailer?
*** read this if you have Ironman uca *** (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter overrovers
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Glad you made it home. How did you manage the trailer?
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- #22
Our plan was as follows with as we were just over 340 miles from home:
Rented a 4 runner in Montrose
Towed the camper home
Rented truck and trailer
Towed 4 runner back to Montrose
Drop off rental car
Towed cruiser home
After I fixed the ball joint I thought we were in the clear. However the cv was damaged as we had to move the car roughly 8ft to get to the median we didn’t know this until we were about 20 miles down the road and the cv gave out with grease everywhere.
Perhaps the most interesting thing in the entire saga was that the week before I had the car inspected at a very reputable offroad shop in Denver due to a “clunk” in the front end and the shop said it was the KDSS bushings which were replaced... but the cluck was still there and I was told it could be the sway bar bushings. Now wondering if the ball joints just blew or could this entire mess have been prevented ?
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Holy Hell…
Yeah, I have an RV camper thing now but contemplating selling it and getting a trailer to tow behind 200.
This scenario is my biggest fear.
Having owned a couple toy hauler type trailers towing my dirt bikes all around I’ve seen a lot of trailer issues (bearings, flats, etc…) in my friend group and how the logistics nightmares unfold.
Glad youre safe but your thread has me rethinking my long term plan now, as my travels are generally solo, or with wife. Rare I ever do group trips anymore
Wow. Glad you managed that and figured out a way to get it all home. As a fellow travel trailer owner, I'm making mental notes.
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- #25
We got the camper so that we can take our newborn out but I’m honestly thinking maybe we just get a larger rttt as we’ve had an alucab for 7 years now we love it but have just outgrown it.
Then again I need to remind myself it wasn’t the cruiser that failed us but aftermarket parts….
Yeah, this is my ongoing dilemma to keep wife interested in joining.
I’d personally sleep in back of 200 and be perfectly fine.
I kinda spoiled her with this RV thing, but it’s become too much of a headache and looking at better options.
Slippery slope
If you have AAA, get the RV/Moto add on..
Friend grenaded a bearing on his 20ish foot trailer out near ocotillo and AAA got it to his house for free.
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- #28
Great to know I have 100 miles of towing with Hagerty so I need to look into aaa
Yup, I have that add on to AAA Premier which is up to a 200 mile tow. I have lots of trips within that range but it's the longer trips that would be a nightmare. Then again, that's why we all have Land Cruisers, to get there and back? It's not impervious as I had an alternator problem while 500 miles away in Sacramento and glad I caught it in a big city before heading to the remote Norcal coastline.
To your point, have to also stay up on maintenance of the trailer. I don't trust others to pack my bearings. I'm due for trailer tires after 7 yrs even as they look perfect.
Here's another nightmare in the making. Even with top shelf Timbren suspension, a friends Vorsheer had so much play in the axles after our last trip with a disturbing amount of camber. Glad it held up enough to get it into the shop where they discovered the issues. It's only 3 yrs old, and of course, Vorsheer is also out of business. Maybe too much playing in rocks, but I think it was the washboards that did them in.
With these off-road trailers, I'm strongly against fancy articulated suspensions. Give me a standard oversized Dexter (or equivelent) beam axle that has proven their durability in farm equipment. With bearings and parts that can be found everywhere.
@overrovers you mentioned the UCAs are Ironman but didn’t confirm if they were part of the recall. For posterity and others who might still have the recalled units, was the failure on the recalled part # or had you already replaced the ball joint on the UCA?
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- #31
They are the recalled ones but I was never contacted by Ironman so had no idea there was a recall
bloc
SILVER Star
Please don’t take it as an a****** comment, for the record.
I’m not sure factory UCAs will allow your alignment to get in range. There are other aftermarket UCAs that seem more trustworthy.. I was really happy with my OMEs.
This right here.
Thanks for clarifying, hopefully it can help someone else before they experience a similar situation. Either way, a crappy type of adventure, glad everyone and everything is back home safe!They are the recalled ones but I was never contacted by Ironman so had no idea there was a recall
Yes Yes Yes
I have seen, or come across soooo many dang trailers in my travels with failed bearings, spindles, or suspension components its insane, even the big name big $ ones, and completely scared me off the trailer idea, seems i cant go on a single trip without crossing paths with one.
Anyway you slice it, trailer bearings, spindles, and especially tires are inferior to most else out there and need ALOT of maintenance, something i am at the point in my life, i have close to zero interest in doing.
Back when i had my 80s and my 100 series, i had planned on buidling a trailer using the entire rear end and control arms from an 80 series, full floater axle, BOMB PROOF hubs and spindles, and normal size wheels to put on normal size tires, not inferior trailer tires.
I still occasionally kick around this idea, but now, using a rear end from a 200 and its suspension. It really wouldnt be that hard, the geometry is already done.
Spare tires swappable to either truck or trailer, etc....
I have been researching travel trailers for awhile now, and the more i think on them, and the carnage ive seen, the more i am leaning towards just building one, basically mirroring the design of my current camper.
All OEM axles, wheels spindles, bearings, etc....
#verydeeprabbithole
Seeing this thread on Saturday really got to me mentally since we’re leaving in a couple days with a camper for a very long trip. Constant nagging… so I grabbed my creeper and went all through my Cruiser and camper. I’m glad I did, I found an issue with one of my campers airbags earlier today. Thankfully, I had a back up bag so it’s installed and I have some alignment tweaking yet to do but we should be able to leave as scheduled on Thursday.
Our cruiser is modified, my camper is modified… all this talk really does press upon the importance of maintenance and inspections. I’m always on top of this but for whatever reason I’ve not noticed the rubbing issue I found today with the airbag.
I no longer have the nagging feeling now having gone through everything. If your the religious type the big guy works in mysterious ways, if you’re not then always trust that gut feeling, I guess.
FWIW we run SPC UCA’s and I don’t recall any catastrophes with them reported on here so fingers crossed.
Yall stay safe out there!
Our cruiser is modified, my camper is modified… all this talk really does press upon the importance of maintenance and inspections. I’m always on top of this but for whatever reason I’ve not noticed the rubbing issue I found today with the airbag.
I no longer have the nagging feeling now having gone through everything. If your the religious type the big guy works in mysterious ways, if you’re not then always trust that gut feeling, I guess.
FWIW we run SPC UCA’s and I don’t recall any catastrophes with them reported on here so fingers crossed.
Yall stay safe out there!
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Yup. .Ive had to do it a time or two. You really only need to cut the outboard side as the inboard is easy enough to disassemble under the truck.A cut off wheel is the ticket. I carry them with me at all times. They come in so handy when needing to cut through axles and such. I carry a sawzall too but it doesn't like axle shafts. The cutoff wheel zips right through.
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Glad to know this works. I'll be carrying an angle grinder on adventure trips from here on out.
Oh, most definitely, they’re super useful for a lot of various things, and also at camp.
Although not the safest thing out there, a wood specific cutoff wheel is magical in various trail situations
My redneck tool of choice!
