Tow, blow & go

Ok, so the tire/axle/rim saga plot thickens.  This chapter opens with us towing the Boles home, over the grapevine (I-5).  We had just stopped in Visalia, at Camping World, to pick up a few things.  Checked the tires, all looked good.  Within 10 miles, on the pass, we felt the right trailer tire blow out and the trailer immediately go onto the rim.  Fortunately, there was NO sway, thanks the original stabilizer bars and the new anti-sway attachment I put on.  We skidded along to a stop, and again, thankfully there was a full pull off lane.  I got the blown tire right against the asphalt curb and we had about a foot clearance to the slow lane line on the left.  Huge semi's are hauling down the hill and we are shaking as each one blew past.  I got out and saw that the tire had literally exploded, the rim was shot and while dragging on the rim, it had kicked the axle out of alignment.  Your worst nightmare.  Now, I needed the trailer to be put up on a tow vehicle, not just a tire change.  This was Saturday at 11:15 a.m.  We started making calls to AAA (sorry, you don't have trailer coverage in your roadside assistance plan) and our GMAC trailer insurer.  With our I-Pad, we found a Camping World 48 miles north in Bakersfield, which, when towed to, would get us over the grapevine and closer to home.
Now, just as a refresher, I had brand new 8 ply tires, brand new rims (the defective rim with the hole in the metal that led to the flat going down had been replaced).  So, why did this tire explode?  And, why, with my new axle and shackles, did we skid along on the rim?

I won't bore you with the details of how we got a tow vehicle to come to us (2 hours later), but they showed up and it took one and a half hours & $475 (yes, you read that correctly) to load the trailer as to avoid scrapping the aluminum rear end, which hangs low anyway.
We got to Bakersfield, unloaded (which took an hour) before they closed, and the service dept.  determined that the 10 leaf-springs (original) was some of the problem with the new axle and the how low that hangs in relationship to the rim.  So, over the course of the next week, they replaced the 10 leaves with new metal 5 leaves, put our spare on (which it turns out the replacement rim we had purchased down south didn't fit the axle, so they had to put on a cheesy new rim (another $75) with our tire).  Mike was about to pull out of the service area when he noticed the axle still looked cattywampus.  Sure enough, it was an inch out of square.  So, they had to take all of it apart and start over again.  By this time, we realized why Boles Aero categorized our trailer a "Park Model".  Ha Ha
After getting it home, we still realized that all is not fool-proof underneath.  So, it will go into the welder this week for an additional skid plate..we think.
 Anyway, note to self: never, ever tow without a spare and your tool kit.  Have trailer tow insurance up to date and card handy.  Invest in some sturdy caution lights or something to warn cars and have some blocks of wood handy.

She still attracted folks over to her like a chicken to a june bug.  All during our week in Newport, we had a steady stream of people wanting to see it, and while it was being worked on at Camping World, folks were looking in the windows.  She is a beauty.