Blow out on I-70

[KHerfurt]

I was motoring up I-70 into the mountains of Colorado with my wife on our way to a wedding at a ranch in Altamont, Utah. Just as we approached Georgetown, I had a motorist pass us and motion that we had a flat tire. We pulled over at a wide spot in the road and sure enough, the left rear tire on our TM3326 had blown. With a dual axel, it was not readily apparent that the tire was even flat. I checked all the tire pressures before we left Evergreen.

Many people in this forum have mentioned that often, without protection, the PVC plumbing on the rear of the TrailManor becomes part of the blowout. Fortunately for us I read these experiences several years ago. I had an aluminum fabricator build me a bracket that protects the plastic plumbing in the event of a blowout. It worked perfectly. None of the plumbing was damaged. . .only the plastic wheel well cover was broken I pulled into Georgetown and had the spare installed and stopped in Glenwood Springs and had a new tire installed. We then proceeded to Utah without incident. Thank you TrailManor Forum!

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so ....do you have any photos of this bracket? I would like to build one for my TM.

[Bill]

First, my condolences on your blowout. I've been there, more times than I care to recall.

We want to know LOTS MORE about this aluminum bracket, including photos and measurements! Many of us, including me, have tried many solutions. Some worked, but most (including mine) didn't, and most were really expensive welded steel jobs that were hard to install.

Since yours worked, help us out here!

Bill

[KHerfurt]

Bill and lnt123,
The cost to build was about $80.00 in 2014. I built a rubber and aluminum frame out of 10 gauge aluminum. I saw pictures on the forum of a similar blowout shroud in 2014. I made a few modifications to the aluminum shroud which was on the forum. If I were to build it again I would make it about 5 or 6inches longer to eliminate interference with the drain valves.

First, I put a heavy rubber mud flap in front of the shroud. Bill, I have seen your posts on the mud flap to protect the plumbing. I deduced that, the mud flap in combination with the aluminum shroud would be a good solution. . .the mud flap absorbs much of the initial shock of the rapid air loss and the shroud the diverts the rubber down and around the plumbing. I had the shroud fabricated at a place called Cowboy Metal in Denver, Colorado. I am certain there are many metal fabricators in other cities. The shroud fit immediately behind the mud flap and tight against the frame of my TM. I bolted the shroud to the bracket that held the mud flap in front and attached along the frame in the rear with an aluminum angle bracket which was I was able to fabricate myself easily. I used six large pop rivets' to hold the aluminum angle to the shroud and then six self tapping screws to attach to the frame. Because of the construction of the TM I was able to bolt to the outside of the body in the rear.
The dimensions are as follows:
Height: 11 inches
Width: 13.5 inches
Length along horizontal axis: 19 inches (future versions would be 24-25 inches)
Length along 45 degree axis: 15.5 inches
Length of attachment tang in rear 1.5 Inches
10 gauge aluminum
I have never attached pictures to a post on the forum. I hope that I was able to successfully communicate my plumbing shroud. I cannot take credit for this plumbing protector. I found this on the forum several years ago and then made my own modifications. The blowout happened at 60 mph so the force of the rubber can be seen on the fender skirt at the rear of the TM in the last photo.

[Craigrrr]

Nice job, Would you happen to know the ground distance from under the shroud just under the plumbing ?

[KHerfurt]

Just now the TM is parked in our yard in the Mountains of Colorado. While the area is reasonably flat it gently slopes up to the rear of the TM rear bumper and an accurate measurement would be difficult. As I recall, during the blowout there is probably 6 inches from the bottom of shroud to the ground. I realize my picture looks like clearance might be a problem. I tried to make it as close to the plumbing as possible but enough room that the cleanout was not hard to get to. Measure your TM plumbing drop from the bottom of the floorboard and add an inch. That is what I did. I have never had clearance problems and I have taken it on some rough roads hunting in Colorado. Keep in mind that my TM is a 3326K and it has a dual axel. I don't know what might happen if you have a single axel but, I can't imagine that the shroud would not help to protect the plumbing. It is made of some pretty sturdy aluminum. It probably weighed 20 lbs and I used a hydraulic floor jack to hold it in place while I bolted it up in my driveway. With the single axel you may want to consider a stronger metal or perhaps something like carbon fiber.

I just went out and looked and it appears that the shroud is almost event with the bottom of the black plastic holding tank at the rear of my TM.

[Craigrrr]

Thanks, Yeah the single axle does have it's drawbacks!

[mecicon]

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...019#post112019

[Padgett]

Just a bit of noodling but if something hits the shield it will rotate the bottom into the piping. If you build the shield with an inclined forward panel, it will have to deform much further before it hits the plastic.

Like this:

[KHerfurt]

With sturdy enough material the cage should not deform. That is why I used 10 gauge aluminum. If I had a single axle I would have vacuum formed the plumbing shield from carbon fiber. There are places in almost every major city now that do vacuum forming.