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Ellen, my gooseneck trailer was built in 92 and has cancer in lots of places on the skin but not on the frame.The axles are a concern if they have not been kept up. I would have them checked and have all the bearings replaced if questionable. Then use marine grade grease as it is used to being in the water which will help it protect better. If used regularly then I grease them once a month or after the fourth trip.

I'm actually thinking of buying an RV that will pull a 3 horse tag along trailer and selling my gooseneck and dually.. Go back to a 3/4 ton to haul short runs with the horses.



Hope everyone has a great day.
 
Thanx Rick. You mentioned getting a RV to pull light trailer with. My late hubby and I had a motorhome during our riding times. A Class C and then a Class A. I liked the Class C. It had all the comforts of home and could easily pull a bumper pull horse trailer. Small enough to get around pretty well. The only thing was that you could not unhook and go to the store as easily as unhooking a truck. Really nice carrying your living quarters around.

Thanx for the advice:thumbsup:
 
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Blue, she came after her van at the repair shop in Troy, Al then came down and picked up her trailer from where my horses are and headed home. She made it 94 miles from home when the van decided to go on the blink again.
Thanks, yes, this is the basics.

I get what you are saying about the trailer, but I have been towing that trailer for over 17 years, 2.5 yrs of that with the van, and never a problem.

The van was supposedly "repaired" by the dealership in Troy, but all they did was put in a battery. Looks much smaller than the old battery, so I don't think they put in a heavy duty one. They didn't even give it an oil change or check fluids or anything. They drove it around after giving it a new battery, and then it just sat there.

Oh wait, they did one other thing, located the seat controls (on the inside of seats!) so I was able to adjust the seat to a more comfortable condition.

I paid very close attention to the sound and feel of the van as I was driving it. Right away, I noticed that I needed a lot of force on the gas pedal, same as frequently occurs. I get really sore and tired driving it for long periods.

Then it got lighter, easier again. After hooking up the trailer, the gas pedal needed more force again.

Stopped for gas, and there was a big POOF when I took off the gas cap. Scared me a bit so I texted Roadyy.

Was actually driving better after a bit, and gas pedal needed more pressure than the little rental car I had been driving, but not really hard like it gets sometimes.

Wanted to get through Montgomery before stopping to potty because I was south of there at 4:30 pm and was trying to get through before rush hour got really bad.

Finally broke free of Mongomery, and stopped at a big gas station to potty. Wanted to wait until the next town to get gas, so wasn't blocking people needing to fuel up.

Came out, and van wouldn't start. rrr rrr rrr rrr when I turned the key. I was not completely surprised, because I never believed the battery was the only problem.

At that point, just glad I was at a gas station and not parked on the highway somewhere. Asked a perfect stranger for a jump, did not work (I really wasn't expecting it to, but had to try).

Called USRider @ 5:30pm. They first say "Are you and the horses safe?" I really love that. Makes me feel calmer and like I am talking to someone that values my life and the lives of my horses.

Anyway, they ask me what I want; I want to go home. Do not want to deal with another out-of-town repair shop.

cont.
 
Ok, so they put me on hold and negotiate a tow for me and the trailer to get home. Cost to me $155 CASH ONLY. Not real happy about that, but fortunately had cash "just in case".

Tow truck is 90 minutes out. Dang. I call tow company number provided by USRider by text. Beg for earlier time, dispatcher says 4 in line in front of me, but will do her best.

Very glad I have potty and food available at gas station, at least until 10pm.

Tow truck (after many calls back and forth to USRider and Tow company) finally arrives THREE AND A HALF HOURS after original call.

Then he doesn't have a wrench to tighten the ball on the back of the tow truck for the trailer. Driver PLANS TO ATTACH TRAILER TO LOOSE BALL. :eek:

I stand between trailer and tow and say NO WAY are you attaching my trailer to a loose ball! I call the dispatcher and complain.

Driver says it will take longer, and he was planning to meet "somebody along the way". NOT HAPPENING

In a very strange stroke of divine intervention, I see a little ford ranger pull in with a HUGE job box taking up nearly the whole bed of the truck.

I accost the stranger as he is coming out of the gas station. It is rather funny the way he tries to avoid me, but I just keep talking and pointing to my van on the tow truck. Excuse me sir, but please, do you have a wrench to tighten the ball on the tow truck so the driver can attach my trailer? I have been waiting here for hours, and he can't tighten the ball on the truck.

TG the man has a whole pack of wrenches tightly wrapped in red tape, and he lets the driver use them. The driver can't seem to hold two wrenches at the same time, so the tool man finally just helps him.

I thank him, thinking I should get him some $$ but since the tow company needs all my cash, I don't say anything.

Cont
 
So, we finally are in the truck, and wouldn't you know, no seat belts! The driver is a smoker, but states he won't smoke in the truck (I have bad asthma and mentioned to him that I can't be around smoke.

It is now after 10 pm I have been at that gas station for 4.5 hrs.

He drives to the next little town, about 9 miles up the road. He says it is to check to see if the (magnetic) tow lights are working on my trailer. BUT he actually goes in the store to buy chewing tobacco. :icon_rolleyes:

Weren't we just at a gas station for an hour? Why the heck didn't he buy some chew there?? Did I mention he had his chic with him? Couldn't she have bought him some?

Oh well, at least we are on the road. Driver and chic are now discussing how he is going to get in trouble for all this mess, and it is really not his fault because, blah, blah, blah.

I am now highly concerned that I will not make it back in one piece. The heck with the truck and trailer, now I am worried for my life.

This road is very hilly, winding and it is very dark. Driver has a hard time staying between the lines, and is perilously close to the edge many times. Praying I make it home, while texting progress to a friend.

He has to make two more stops on the road, for smoke breaks (apparently the chew wasn't working) and at the last one bought a lot of high carb sugary stuff. I almost asked him not to eat it, because I knew his blood sugar would drop about 10 miles from my house.

Sure enough, I see him start yawning, and I start talking about anything that comes into my head.

Can't tell you how glad I was to see my road.

Of course, he was horrible trying to back my trailer onto the driveway, and kept turning the wrong way nearly sending my trailer into the fence and his truck tire off the side into the deep ditch. He had the trailer totally jack-knifed.

I finally made him get out of the truck. We unhooked the trailer, then pushed it down the driveway, turning it away from the my truck. TG once more for the Brenderup! Could not have done that with any other trailer.

Since it was 1:00 in the morning, finally decided I had to call off work.

It took over SEVEN HOURS to drive 94 miles. :eek:mg:
 
OMG..AA, you have been through it!!

Is your van a Ford? If it is , you need a new battery cable....my truck did this...DH BET the mechanic at the dealership that it was NOT the alternator, and if it was NOT after they replaced it, he would get the labor back. It was NOT....and they did give us the labor...the truck would run fine on rough roads(which would thankfully get us through Arkansas, LOL!) but get on smooth, and the gauges would go to 0, then the lights would go off...then dead.

Hope this helps.
 
OMG..AA, you have been through it!!

Is your van a Ford? If it is , you need a new battery cable....my truck did this...DH BET the mechanic at the dealership that it was NOT the alternator, and if it was NOT after they replaced it, he would get the labor back. It was NOT....and they did give us the labor...the truck would run fine on rough roads(which would thankfully get us through Arkansas, LOL!) but get on smooth, and the gauges would go to 0, then the lights would go off...then dead.

Hope this helps.
Thank you, yes will try cables too. It is a Chevy, and every Chevy I have ever had had alternator problems.

It would over charge the battery, making it fail. Doesn't show up on the tests they do, because it reads as working. Then the shop replaces the battery, it works for a while, then burns the battery up again over charging it. It happened to every one I had. Seemed like ever 100k miles we would replace a battery, it would go bad, replace battery again and also the alternator.

I actually hope it is just the cables or the alternator. Those are relatively cheap fixes. Of course this whole shiitake with the van has racked up quite a bit of money.

Going to take it to the shop near me, and they will be able to help. Or I will put a FREE TO GOOD HOME sign on it.

The issue that really stands out to me, is not one single person that saw me both times, offered to help. (Not including the hero in the big black truck...Roadyy of course)

No good Samaritans on the roads anymore. I remember as a young adult, almost everyone stopped. used to be able to just wave on most folks cause there was so much help.

Back in 1989 when my then truck pulling my stock trailer broke down, a trucker stopped within 15 minutes to help me. He radioed me a tow and everything.

Now nobody.

Makes me a little bit nervous to drive the trailer anywhere. Especially as so much of the areas I drive through there is no cell phone service.

Was it Blue that said Innocence is Bliss? Well my innocence is now gone. Makes me question a lot of things.
 
Speaking of Dreams, this is my dream trailer. Three horse slant (7' wide) gooseneck with the following features:

1) walkthrough door from dressing room
2) escape door 1st stall
3) saddle rack/storage in back
4) extra length in dressing room
5) fully insulated
6) electric and A/C in dressing room
7) PRO series, so better and stronger than the standard.

Under 20k brand new.

I would prefer this over a living quarters model, cause I can always add water and a cowboy shower for much less than the addition 10k for the rest of the living quarter stuff, most of which I do not need.

I can put in a $50 Walmart refrigerator, and a mattress too.

Here's the link:

Shadow Trailer 2016 AC, Electric, Walk thru, Insulated, Pro Series Horse Trailer for sale at Shadow Of Missouri
 
Then just add a 250 or 2500 Super Duty Crew cab 4x4 and we are ready to hit the road.

However, after all this mess with the van, I think no gooseneck unless I suddenly get rich enough to afford to keep replacing (at least the tow vehicle) with new ones.

I have no idea how they would have towed my trailer home if it was a gooseneck.
 
Decided I needed to chill out a few minutes & read posts. Have been refraining about posting myself, as don't have much to say right now. But...

AnitaAnne, what an ordeal!!! Holy C**p. I'm so glad that you are home in one piece. Your story made my head hurt. What a huge fiasco...but, I gotta say, your tenacity/energy/ability to just deal w/difficult events is truly impressive. Good idea to have called in to work today, I don't see how you could've done otherwise.

I have today off, after a very full week (my last day "off" was spent running around for that guard license & spending a lot of $. One thing I did find out w/the pricey physical 'tho, is that I'm headed for high blood pressure. Somehow, that's not a surprise. Will google for advice [nutrition/exercise I'm sure is called for]; will not go to a Dr right now but will NOT do drugs, just won't do it. The 1st reading was 156/109 but w/a 1/2 hr of lieing on my back, closing my eyes, deep breathing & visualizing/feeling a horse close to me nuzzling my body & nose-touching for breath exchange, got it down to 136/86. there it is then...)

So got up early, did laundry, went to grocery store for a few necessaries & had to go find work boots w/good soles. My paddock boots that I've used for 2 yrs as work boots didn't have much of a sole to begin with (as not being made for the work) & last winter were downright treacherous. I slipped yesterday on a puddle on the sidewalk. Conked my elbow & narrowly missed conking my face (& glasses) because I had the sense to turn my head up. Lovely elbow,forearm bruise, but nothing busted. Anyway, new boots have good soles. Didn't want to spend the $, but had to.

Tomorrow & Saturday work 7a-3p at the humongo CC site, then 4 days 6a-3p at the culinary site (as the regular guy is still in hosp). So, that's a good thing. It's week-by-week so far in knowing if I work or not, but so far so good. Not complaining, but it's a bit nerve wracking not knowing when or if all of the time.

Have a chicken leg/thigh thing to bake today & dig into bill paying/bill figuring.

Going to email Janice in a bit, give her an update.

Oh! Just got a call from the supv at the culinary site. The school is closed for Veteran's Day on Wednesday, so will have that day off. Maybe can get out to just see the horses anyway, gotta wrangle gas $$ anyway. Will see.

I know work is first & am very grateful that each week has something in it, but I do want to go see the horses. I miss them & miss Janice.

I'm considering deleting this whole post & continue to go quietly away, but guess I won't.

Obviously not commenting on everything I've read the last 2-3 pages, but have read it all & care about it all.

Later....
 
TJ: from the outside view, it actually sounds like things are going better than expected with your job.

Except for the fall of course! Very glad it was not worse, like a break.

Lets see if I can list the positives, and please excuse me if I get some wrong.

1) you are working nearly every day (very full time hours for "on call" job)
2) seems like next week is all day shift (your preferred hours)
3) you are now licensed for a larger area (more job opportunity)
4) you are getting lots of exercise in the form of walking (best kind there is)
5) Tim loves catnip spray!!

So plaster a big grin on your face, and walk around like the successful & resourceful lady you are. :thumbsup:


Thanks for all the lovely complements to me, but really what choice did I have?
 
Well its rained solid for 3 days now :( its been Bonfire night and fireworks for last two or 3 days evey night my poor black dog doesnt understand the loud bangs :(

Hoping its dry enough to ride tomorrow got soggy wet ponies and quagmire land. had to cancel my lesson today. But agreed from now untill spring will have a lesson every other week in a hired indoor school locally.

Glass of wine or two tonight... as a treat to chill me out ;-)

ELLE... Bear is beautiful, I love his bridle :)
 
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We still stop, AA, if that makes you feel any better.....one time on I-10, coming home from a show, there was a big trailer on the shoulder. We had our trailer, and honestly, I think I tried to dissuade DH from stopping, lol...but. I waited in the truck, until I heard the VOICE of the man.. I KNEW who it was...and jumped out of the truck to greet the trainer who convinced me to show Billy Joe In hunters!

Cheers, Fellpony!
 
Morning all,

AA, wow....just wow...that must have been a horribly challenging trip! You handled it really well though.
Ellen, I have no idea on trailers, but I hope you get a good one. It's on my wish list too.
Twalker, you're right, Stan needs to take it easy. I hope your hubby is fully recovered.
Tj, another good point to the job is that all that walking at the humongous place is good for fitness and to lower your blood pressure.

I was meant to be collecting honey from our bee hives today, but so far the weather is not great for it so we will probably leave it for another day. We have eight hives so it takes an entire day. It's not my favourite job to do. Last year we collected the honey on a day with less than ideal weather and I ended up getting attacked by bees (there were compounding factors too) I had 37 stings in my legs ( I counted ) and many more in my hair and on my face. It hurt for days, lucky I'm not allergic to them. Not keen to repeat the experience though.
If we don't do bees I will spend time cleaning out my deep freezer. We're sending a baby beef off to the abattoir next week to be turned into lovely steak and sausages! So I need freezer space. We go halves with my in laws, but half a cow takes a lot of space. We did a few sheep/lambs this week, but we kill and cut them up ourselves. A friend did some pigs last week, so I might swap a few chops and roasts with her to add some pork.
If I get time I should fit in a short ride this afternoon or maybe tomorrow.

Have a good weekend everyone!
 
AA: what a nightmare. Glad you are finally home safe and sound. I think you need to send that towing bill right to the garage that "fixed" the van.

tj: sounds like the job is going really well. Hope you get to stay on day shift!

Vicki: bees sound like a lot of work and a lot of risk. Hope you either had the perfect day or didn't do it at all. Excellent that you raise your own meat animals. Always nice to know how your food is raised/handled before it arrives in the freezer.


Pre-rode about 4 miles this morning, just enough to try out all the gears. The horse I am riding is a friend's 21-year-old Trakaner/Arab and he has a lot of opinions! Seemed to go well, so we shall see how about 46 more miles go tomorrow. Least the weather is cooling off. Today was 76F! Tomorrow only supposed to be 60F and overcast, which is good since the horses are not clipped.

Hope everyone gets some saddle time. Ride Strong!
 
TJ: from the outside view, it actually sounds like things are going better than expected with your job.

Except for the fall of course! Very glad it was not worse, like a break.

Lets see if I can list the positives, and please excuse me if I get some wrong.

1) you are working nearly every day (very full time hours for "on call" job)
2) seems like next week is all day shift (your preferred hours)
3) you are now licensed for a larger area (more job opportunity)
4) you are getting lots of exercise in the form of walking (best kind there is)
5) Tim loves catnip spray!!

So plaster a big grin on your face, and walk around like the successful & resourceful lady you are. :thumbsup:
:iagree::iagree:
 
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