Bumpy roads - Montana Owners Club

Steve and Brenda · 12-06-2006, 03:55 PM

I took a trip from Abilene Texas to Pueblo Colorado today and noted many Montanas in campgrounds, back yards and of course, on the road. So nice to see so many of them being used, I flashed my lights as I came across them.

Anyway, some of the roads between the Oklahoma state line and Pueblo were so rough I thought the laptop's hard drive would crash leading me to think that if I were towing my Montana the screws would be vibrated so severely that the cabinet doors would drop to the floor!!!

Have any of you been towing of such roads, what advice to you have (other than stay off secondary roads) when you hit these roads and finally, what type of preventative maintenance can be doneto prevent damage should I encounter such roads?

Clyde n Deb · 12-06-2006, 04:49 PM

Generally, I just grin and bear it............best is to just slow down IMO. What road were you on, I-25?

Where are you staying in Pueblo out of curiosity? I take my Monty down there in the warmer weather as much as possible, and work out of it for a week or so at a time.

BTW I have had cabinet doors fall off from the vibration you fear.
Rather unnerving....

Montana Sky · 12-06-2006, 05:09 PM

I have also found that slowing down usually helps smooth things out. Glad you got there safe!

stiles watson · 12-06-2006, 05:49 PM

Steve,

All I can say is if you put it in a washing machine, it is gonna get agitated. Meaning that a rough road will shake up your rig. If you did your stick house that way, you would call it an earthquake.

After experiencing rough terrain, I go over the unit to look for the obvious or easy to see difficulties that may have arisen. I particularly check the piping and drains. Bathtub and sink drains tend to loosen over time when moving around and they are not hard to repair with new plumbers putty and/or just tighten them. That's not all inclusive but might get you started thinking.

Parrothead · 12-06-2006, 06:41 PM

Steve
We drove on a really bad road in Montana this past summer for a lot of miles. They were redoing the road and had both sides torn up and not even graded. It was very, very rough. Plus it was raining. Nothing in the Monty was loose or damaged. The placemats even stayed on the table. The worse problem was the mud that was all over the bottom on the Monty and Brutus (TV. We did go very slow and I think the advice from the previous posts is very good. SLOW helps a lot. BTW we do velcro our cupboards closed but do not have the table or chairs screwed down. And we do not have any air type accessories (hitch or pin). Don't give up on secondary roads or you will miss some great scenery. Just check with the locals and you can get on the right road. That is what we did when we left Polson Montana. We didn't want to go back on the same bad road so we asked local people which way to go. (Bartenders are a great wealth of information.)
Happy trails.....................

Fordzilla · 12-06-2006, 08:36 PM

I remember I-35 north of the TX/OK border was terrible last fall when we were down there. Many areas looked like it had frost heaves where you and the Monty would get airborne if you didn't slow down. Ask me how I know this

It was a quick reality trip and one that reminded me why I should have been on the 2 lane roads enjoying the scenery instead of hauling it down the big roads.

Glenn and Lorraine · 12-06-2006, 11:36 PM

On the Interstates sometimes you just have to switch lanes for a much smoother ride. I will not hesitate running in the left lane if I find it better than the right lane. When I see I am being overtaken I will move to the right lane and allow the pass but go right back to the left lane as soon as it is clear again.
When approaching bridges or railroad tracks I straddle the tire grooves. The worn tire grooves on both ends of the bridge or across RR tracks can be compacted harder than between the grooves making for a very harsh ride.

Of course if the roughness is unavoidable than slow down. If need be, I will pull off and get the map out to possibly find an alternative route.

But even on the roughest roads my printer was still setting on the table when we arrived at our destination and only once did a cabinet door open. So just besure everything is in a safe place and use a lot of the nonskid mats.

old turbo · 12-07-2006, 12:32 AM

I am going to install some of those child guards on my cabnits. I 94 in Michigan from the Indiana border is the pits. I had two cabnit doors pull out at the hinges. I now take 69 all the way down to the Indiana toll road.

old turbo · 12-07-2006, 12:35 AM

I am going to install some of those child guards on my cabnits. I 94 in Michigan from the Indiana border is the pits. I had two cabnit doors pull out at the hinges. I now take 69 all the way down to the Indiana toll road.

Mrs. CountryGuy · 12-07-2006, 02:23 AM

Strap it down, tie it shut, slow down, move over a lane, all the suggestions, use em all. Also pack tight, so nothing moves around, as Sue and I agree many times, a roll of toilet paper works good for filling holes!

Also have an air pin, or better yet, get an air hitch!!!

sreigle · 12-07-2006, 04:15 AM

Oh, yes, we've had those roads more times than I care to remember. Slowing down is the only thing I know to do. And mark the road to avoid next time. As for secondary roads, we find some that are bad but have had far more rough interstates. But I'm considering US and state highways as secondary so maybe I am missing the point. We do avoid county roads except where we know they're good. There are a few states where we've found the roads generally bad no matter what kind of highway.

jrgwdenner · 12-07-2006, 04:18 AM

Old Turbo, you might want to look into the double sided velcro for strapping your cabinets closed on the road. Many of us have used it successfully for wrapping around the handles of adjoining cabinet doors. It would probably be easier that using the child proof cabinet locks. I bought some at Camping World and added a small piece of sticky velcro to the inside of the cabinet door so when I removed the strapping, I can just hang it inside on the velcro. It's also great for wrapping the endless supply of electrical cords for storage.

BirdingRVer · 12-07-2006, 05:20 AM

As a soon to be first timer with a 5th wheel, I am paranoid about low bridges and tunnels. On the interstates you can be pretty sure that there will be adequate clearance because of the truckers but, how do you know there will be enough clearance and the “secondary” roads?

Also is there a GPS that lets you know what clearances will be on the route that you are following?

Parrothead · 12-07-2006, 05:22 AM

Good points Carol and Judy. Carol, glad you mentioned the toilet paper. Keeping things from moving around inside the cupboards is very important. The only time a cabinet tried to open in the Monty was when I stuck a paper holder up in the cupboard and it fell forward. We had the Velcro on so no harm. I've been using the Velcro ties for many years for cords. You can buy it by the roll also and buy different cut lengths. The little colored ones are too short for some of the cupboards. Like Judy I have a "holder" taped to an inside cupboard door as well as one on the inside of the basement door for the ties we use for water hose, cable, etc. This is where the roll that you cut to length comes in handy (hose, cables). However, the end overhead cupboards do not have a facing cupboard so the child proof catches would work there. I actually have some small empty plastic tubs in a couple of the cupboards to keep things from moving around. They won't be empty when we start full timing. LOL As Carol mentioned TP and rolls of paper towels help keep things from moving around and then you always have extra! Hate it when you run out of TP. LOL
Happy trails........................

Mrs. CountryGuy · 12-07-2006, 06:13 AM

Sue, I don't know if your velcro is the same as ours, not sure where you can buy the kind we have, it came from a friend's friend, it is yellow and long strips, they were selling as a fund raiser. Wish I could get more!

Anyway, Al found that you could just "stick" it to the walls of the basement. There is that fabric, and we just stick the velcro strips to the wall. I get tickled every time I do it. Who knew???

I only have to velcro 3 sets of doors in our Tana, the 2 on the back wall, one over the desk (for those that want to read why, visit our web pages, and look for story going into New Orleans, SIGHHHH). The other cabinet on back wall, which is in the kitchen area of the 3295. The third is under the telie, where many of you have the fireplace. That is yorkie central and 4 of the smallest dog travel crates fit in there, I think the crates pop the door open. Al has never adjusted the doors, probably could, easier to just velcro it shut.

That is a good idea fixing a small piece of velcro to attach to, inside the cabinet. I just roll mine up, and throw in the door. The lazy gal's way!

Parrothead · 12-07-2006, 03:55 PM

Carol, I actually have two strips so the top and bottom of the velcro are secured. I did it for the length of the colored ones and the longer ones work fine. I think I got my rolls at Staples, if not then Home Depot. I know Home Depot has the package of multicolored that are about 6 or 7 inches and then they also have packages of longer ones that are all one color. The roll I bought to cut to size is black but I have seen some since in colors. I tried sticking to basement also but since most of the ones we use there are black, they are hard to see.
Happy trails..........................

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