Yahoo Message Number: 12125 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/12125)
Just a note to in hope others may me more informed. Early one morning before the sun came up I saw the car in front of me swerve to the right, next thing I saw was a pile of rubber in the middle of the road. My choice was to center it up and go over it. Well, I managed to clip it with my left rear dual and felt the bump. No problem, I thought. 5 mile down the road two cars beeped me. I checked the rear camera and saw sparkes at the bottom of the screen. Oh no, at best I thought a chain was dragging. Pulled over a in a panic set the flashers and headed for the rear of our 40' Diesel. Boy was I releave to see only the full length mud flap dragging the ground. The left 1/3 of which was bent back and down.
The metal bar was making the sparks after the rubber mat had been consummed. I managed to remove the 50lb flap and get it in one of the bays. On I went to my aptointment 20 miles away. At this point I must admit to being "task opented" After arriving, I decided it would be a good idea to check for other damage. Boy was I lucky, that pile of truck recap must have bounced up and around. The hydraulic hoses from the fan were pulled loose from there clamp but no other damage was prsent.
Lessons learned,
1. Avoid driving at night when possible.
2. Increase following distance to 4 seconds.
3. Check your under side for hose that dangle below the frame of your coach and find a way to protect them.
4. If you do hit anything in the road and feel the bump, pull over and the next safe spot and do a close inspection with a flashlight, please.
5. Preperation for such events start with gloves, matt to lay on, tools to cut and adjust, hand cleaner, traffic cones or reflectors.
6. Making appointments that are time specific is not a good
idea for the RV drivers. I tend to forget about everthing but getting there at the appointed time.
Paul and Nancy Cummings
01' Intrigue 11309