FishAR Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 (edited) Some of you may remember my problem going south to Florida in December. I had a crank no start condition at a nice campground outside of Troy, Alabama. Coachnet provided a tow to a shop in Troy and they fixed my issue, a bad connection to my lift pump. In retrospect I should have just called a mobile mechanic on my own dime first but didn't, so here we are. I will next time if I'm already at a campground. The driver didn't want to unhook my driveshaft, kept saying he'd been doing this 22 years and it wasn't necessary, but I insisted. He couldn't get his fat ass under there so he called the truck shop he was towing me to and they sent out someone to do it. When we got to the repair shop I looked the coach over. Crack above the front electrical bay door, underside of front cap all roughed up, generator slideout crooked. Gouge out of fiberglass on bottom in front of passenger side tire. What I didn't see until we got to Florida was that he'd also bent the bottom of my rear electrical bay door with my mudflap when he raised the coach way up so he wouldn't have to bend over to attach the wheel straps. Didn't know then that the mudflap needed to be removed and it was his responsibility, now I do. I showed him the damage I saw and told him I was going to file a claim. I filed a claim with coachnet and they got on it. Contacted the tow service and got the insurance agent. The stall began. Then the insurance agent claimed Goodyear didn't want to turn it in. Coachnet called Goodyear and they said that was a mistake, they wanted to pay. Then serious stalling began. Finally just this week I contacted the adjustor again and she said Goodyear would not cooperate, wouldn't even talk to her, so her hands were tied. I turned it over to my own insurance company, State Farm, on Friday. I had 16,000 deposited into my checking account by State Farm this morning. Now the body shop at Gerzeny RV World is lining up parts so we can get an appointment for repairs. State Farm will now go after Goodyear and their insurance company and hopefully make them pay and get my deductible back. I would have turned it in months ago but I was convinced Kevin Goodyear was going to pay as they had accepted responsibility and said they were going to pay. My mistake. Edited March 23, 2022 by FishAR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena154 Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 (edited) Thanks for posting this. It helps the rest of us on deciding what to do or avoid. Good luck with your repairs. Patricia Neuzil '06 Diplomat Edited March 23, 2022 by sheena154 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Whitlow Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 Back in 2003 I got my 96 Holiday Rambler stuck in sand at the Gulf Islands National Seashore National Park. I called Bayside Towing & Recovery our of Gulf Breeze, FL, The operator, Glen Garrow, managed to smash and ruin our Kwikee steps, bend the right rear storage compartment door and damage the cargo bay. He then complained because he broke one of of his tow cables and doubled the charge for the tow. I also got my Monaco stuck in soft dirt last year (during the rainy season) and had Talon Towing, North Port, FL pull me out backwards. They scratched the paint when it come out of the mud and the coach rolled back into their equipment. I'm thankful that's the only damage. As you can see, I haven't had good luck with towing either. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert U Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 I was towed to a shop in Greer SC last month. It was a 45 mile tow. FMCA set it up. The guy was GREAT. He disconnected drive shaft, removed mud flap, removed tow bar and took pictures of coach front and rear. When we got there he replaced everything and took more pictures. Nice guy and very professional. Bob U 2000 Dip 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary 05 AMB DST Posted March 24, 2022 Share Posted March 24, 2022 When I had a 30 mile tow, the tow driver said that the FMCA tow package saved me $900. Gary 05 AMB DST 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdshill123 Posted March 24, 2022 Share Posted March 24, 2022 If you must be towed insist on a landall. No need to remove driveshaft and less chance of damage. CoachNet will get you that type of equipment. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96 EVO Posted March 29, 2022 Share Posted March 29, 2022 The second this clown said the driveshaft didn't need to be removed, I would have said "just go away"! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRY1942 Posted March 29, 2022 Share Posted March 29, 2022 You can pull both axles and use Axle Caps to prevent oil leaking out. Some prefer the axles over the driveshaft as few mark the drive shaft for proper re-install. If you see new trucks being piggy backed down the highway, you may observe simple cardboard covers in place and axles tied on the frame. Preferably we do not have to towed as first choice. Just a thought. Travel safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96 EVO Posted March 29, 2022 Share Posted March 29, 2022 41 minutes ago, CRY1942 said: You can pull both axles and use Axle Caps to prevent oil leaking out. Yes you can. But I have a feeling this tow operator didn't plan on doing that either! Maybe a standard transmission semi you can get away with towing the way he wanted (do as little as possible), but not an automatic transmission coach!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRY1942 Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 Had a friend who recently was towed, same battle. Wrecker refused to pull drive shaft, but after much discussion agreed to pull one axle, which does not work, still spins the differential, finally agreed to pull both axles, telling the owner it was not necessary to do anything. Agree, you have to disconnect or pull both axles on an Allison transmission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ray Davis Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 I'm trying to visualize 1 axel spinning inside a differential. I realize something is going to turn inside there, but will the pinion turn? If it does it will spin inside the transmission too. If the pinion does not spin would a short tow be safe removing just 1 axel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck B 2004 Windsor Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 The bitterness of a bad decision remains long after the the mistake is forgotten. Chuck B 2004 Windsor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary 05 AMB DST Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 I'm confused. How do you remove one axle and still tow it? Gary 05 AMB DST Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ray Davis Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 14 minutes ago, Gary 05 AMB DST said: I'm confused. How do you remove one axle and still tow it? Gary 05 AMB DST I cannot explain, but I think it's because we have full floating axels. Simply put some vehicles, break an axel and the wheel comes off. Break an axel on your coach and it just will not go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary 05 AMB DST Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 1 hour ago, Ray Davis said: I cannot explain, but I think it's because we have full floating axels. Simply put some vehicles, break an axel and the wheel comes off. Break an axel on your coach and it just will not go. So, you can remove an axle and the wheels stay on? Or is that because of the "BIG" hub? If so, I am starting to see it. I always thought the wheels were attached to the axle like my car. Thanks Gary 05 AMB DST Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan K Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 It's because the hub is mounted on an axle tube to carry the weight. Axle only rotates the assembly unlike with some smaller vehicles. Here's a pic of the axle removed. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary 05 AMB DST Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 Thanks Ivan for the photo. I was heading in that direction with my thoughts. Looks like I'll be making two caps and put them in the spare parts compartment, which is starting to get crowded. Gary 05 AMB DST Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96 EVO Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 Removing an axle 'can' be more trouble for a tow driver, than just removing the driveshaft. I recently had both axles pulled to repair weeping end gaskets. The first side the HD mechanic tackled, took him about 2hrs with an air chisel, vibrating the flange cones to get them to move. The other end, I had several days to soak them with penetrating oil, and they popped out with a couple of good blows of the sledge on the axle flange. I'm sure any competent tow operator would have quickly moved on to pulling the driveshaft! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan K Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 Not so easy to remove driveshaft with the big pressed in ujoints where you need to handle the heavy puller on all those stubborn caps and then an other to press them back in. I'd much rather remove the axle but I never had a problem with the cones, other than looking for them when I forget to leave a nut on and they fly into the next county 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96 EVO Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 Yeah, this young guy knew to leave all the nuts on at the top's of the studs just incase his aim with the sledge hammer was off a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRY1942 Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 I carry these Axle Caps--just in case and my opinion, both axles must be pulled. http://axlecap.net/index.html 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ray Davis Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 3 hours ago, Ivan K said: It's because the hub is mounted on an axle tube to carry the weight. Axle only rotates the assembly unlike with some smaller vehicles. Here's a pic of the axle removed. What a guy, Ivan ran out there and pulled his axels just to show us, and a picture is better than .......... 🤣 .😇 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96 EVO Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 8 minutes ago, Ray Davis said: What a guy, Ivan ran out there and pulled his axels just to show us, and a picture is better than .......... 🤣 .😇 Yeah, I was about to till I noticed Ivan beat me to it 😉! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishAR Posted April 24, 2022 Author Share Posted April 24, 2022 Approximately 2 weeks after I filed a claim with my insurance company I got a lot of subrugation instructions, as in don't have any contact with Goodyear Towing or their reps, don't sign anything, we'll keep you apprised of the situation. Then a few days later I got an email that State Farm had deposited my deductible back into my checking account. Apparently it didn't take them long to get Goodyear Towing and their insurance company to see the light. Dropped the Camelot off at Gerzeny's RV collision center Friday april 22, then we came back to IL. Supposed to be able to pick it up in 2-3 weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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