Texas or Bust (and bust it did!)

[@meaghanmorris8194]

Enjoy your time in Texas

[@islandgirl9560]

Love your videos as usual, thanks for the tip at the boarder crossing!!!

[@thistledewcreations]

I love shopping at Cracker Barrell! So many great things

[@musicpaulweber]

Thanks for the video. All the best getting back to the True North in one piece.

[@markm6028]

Thanks for the zip code tip....always run into that problem in the US.

[@debmetheral6596]

Thx for the ride along.

[@br31000]

Sorry to hear about the tire issues Before you replace an expensive axle, please bear in mind the normal wear a trailer tire gets. These axles twist each tight turn you make. They look out of line while turning and the tires drag badly to the side. They are supposed to be rotated every 3 K Kms. No one does. So the dragged front axle tires west unevenly. You simply need quality Good Year marathon tires to replace the one that never got rotated. Do not replace an axle !

[@valerielessard9525]

Loved the video😎 One day would love to make a trip to Texas. Looking forward to seeing part 2. Hope everything works out with the axel. Safe travels & Happy camping.🥰🇨🇦

[@manondesrochers5729]

Great video. Wow that is quite a way to visit family. Have they always been so far ? It was nice seing how you travelled thru the state. I always learn something watching your video. Thank you for sharing.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Yes it is a long way to visit family. My sister moved down to Texas in the late 80's. We've had many trips over the years going down to visit her. We found the Natchez Trace Parkway one year and now we always take it. Makes for a relaxing 450 miles of the trip.

[@Kerry6691]

Awesome road trip to a beautiful destination in Texas. And so nice to meet all your siblings. Looking forward to part two for more tips.

[@trishaharrison6183]

The Ohio Cabelas was the very first one we had ever been to. It was before we had them here in Canada. Wow what a trip so far. Amazing scenery , but do hope you get the trailer fixed and doesn’t put you in the poor house.😍

[@jesserevilla992]

Love your dog lol Your TT as ours, is fully usable while dry-camping off the road somewhere.

[@motorcoachtech7615]

Hope you get your axle situation straightened away ok. Safe travels.

[@OutdoorsygalO]

Oh man! We’re so sorry to hear about your axle! Thank goodness that you are on top of that. Good luck with everything and we hope you come home safely. Thanks for introducing us to your family. Happy birthday to your sister! 🎈🥳

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks so much

[@alisonlee6800]

The joys of traveling! It can never be smooth without its hiccups. I certainly hope you were able to find an affordable resolve. Otherwise I look forward to camping with coles Texas edition for the rest of the season 😜

[@CampingwiththeColes]

That would be fun! Texas edition. I don't think Cheryl could take any more of that heat and humidity though.

[@melaniew715]

For noisey places I use a white noise machine. Can’t sleep without it !

[@evenstargalaxy9586]

Very educational. Thank you. Interested in what you find out caused the axel problem. I hope all goes well.

[@gracespace1]

Great video! It was nice to see the drive down to Texas. Sad to hear about your troubles with the axel. Waiting to see how it turns out.

[@markm6028]

I think this is one of my favourite videos....love the road trip. Looking forward to the next one.

[@fromnorthtoneverland]

What bad news about the axle! Love the video though. It's nice when family can all come together. Our campgrounds I think are nicer but I'm a tent camper so that could be why. 😊

[@donlyn492]

Safe travels Ben and Cheryl You are always so careful about maintaining your truck and trailer, to the point where you had that axle replaced! I can feel the frustration! We have the exact same trailer , we have had the alignment checked twice, we don’t overload it, we check the tires at every stop., but still things can happen. I hope you can get things fixed up and can enjoy your sister’s birthday, stay cool Donna

[@rocket9152]

Day 1 must not have been easy for you. Feeling a little bit under the weather, travelling all day on a busy Interstate Highway and having to find somewhere to overnight late in the evening was certainly quite a way to start this road trip! Best of luck with your bent axle. I hope you will not have to leave your trailer behind in Texas for repairs.

[@strobela1]

Sorry to hear about the struggles with the trip down. Nice to meet your family. What might case a bent axel? Good thing you are on top and aware of how your trailer is running. Love your videos.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks for the concern. Terrible roads and possibly an overloaded trailer are likely the cause.

[@lauraleemillard-smith2043]

We love your videos! Sorry about the axle. We are headed to USA crossing at Sault St Marie into Michigan. Curious what the border guards looked at when they went in your trailer?

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Not really sure what exactly they're looking for. Two went in but they were only in for about a minute.

[@jeremystringer7110]

Cool trip! Speaking of your tire, we're in Moab at the moment and noticed uneven wear on the same tire you have. We have Dexter axels. We have a coachman. The guy who replaced our tire said that inside wear like this is usually caused by wheel bearing issues. What I found once I jacked it up was that the castle nut was way too loose. While jacked up, the play in the wheel was huge! There is supposed to be a little to account for expansion when it gets hot. Soooooo, we had the tire replaced, tightened the castle nut, not too much but just enough. Dexter has a video on KZbin. We drove 2 hours on it since and it seems ok. Time will tell! Good luck! I feel your stress!!

[@CampingwiththeColes]

When I jacked it up to replace the tire I tried wiggling the tire. There was very little play. I Googled it and they say 1/8 of an inch is the max it should move. I would say that mine fit within that 1/8". I know that the tires wear a little unevenly due to sharp turns and that's why I rotate mine at least once per season. I initially thought it was a bearing issue but as soon as I got to Texas and my brother-in-law looked and said the axle is bent, I looked and could see the bend. In the next episode I show the axle and you can see it's bent. Thanks for offering a possible solution though. It's always good to go through a list of possibilities to troubleshoot the problem. Have a great time in Moab. We'd love to go there someday.

[@jeremystringer7110]

@@CampingwiththeColes That stinks! Now you have me second guessing. I took a look today at the tire and mine too seems slightly off like its jetting out alittle....Either way we'll get it checked out! Stay safe in your travels!

[@GardnersGarage]

You know its hot when they have a fan above the driveway where they park the cars.

[@supergoodcamping]

Thanks for a peek at parks south of the border. Poopy deal on the axle!! Hoping that all works out - that's the same one you replaced last year, isn't it?

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Yep. Same axel 😤

[@ottawa875]

Great vid as usual. So much respect for keeping an eye on the rig and all moving parts. Did your TPMS show a higher tire temp on the troublesome tire?

[@CampingwiththeColes]

I kept an eye on the TPMS when I knew the tire was wearing unevenly but there was no noticeable temp or pressure change. I thought the temp would have gone up but it didn't.

[@ottawa875]

@@CampingwiththeColes interesting about the tire temp. I really would have thought there would be a noticeable increase. I’m making a tire check part of my circle check even at rest stops. Cheers and keep ‘er between the ditches!

[@mikeschlieman3295]

Another great video. I'm curious about the root cause of axle problems. On another topic. This is a longer trip than many attempt. You don't mention costs or the fuel stops that offten have to be planned. Such as on the Natchez trace parkway.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

I haven't added up the fuel costs yet. I'm kinda afraid too. However the gas is much cheaper in the US. I didn't worry about where to find gas stations because they're everywhere. On the Natchez Trace there are a lot of cut offs that take you to small and larger towns. Between half and a quarter tank I would look up gas stations along the route on Google Maps. Technology today sure makes things easy.

[@mikeschlieman3295]

@@CampingwiththeColes Thanks.

[@shaunbarr4203]

I would weight the trailer to be sure it not overloaded And then strip the suspension the bolts might be wore. Letting things move more There is a few wearable parts in there bolts bushings… Great videos. Btw

[@konradpol]

That rear view mirror, is that a cam attached to the RV to show you the back? is this an add on that you purchased? i would be interested in what make/model this is if its not a built in feature for the truck.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

It's a rear view and dashcam combo that a company gave me to test out before it goes to market. It has a lot of issues and I definitely wouldn't recommend this one. However I'm still using it because it works for the basics. All the bells and whistles is where it falls flat. You'll have to do some research if you're interested in one.

[@konradpol]

@@CampingwiththeColes Thanks for the reply, i assume it attaches to the existing mirror? and then you still need to mount a cam on the back of the RV?

[@bellefamille9884]

We'll be heading to a state park this year too. Did you wait and purchase all your groceries in the US, or just produce, meat & dairy?

[@CampingwiththeColes]

We bring a lot of groceries from home across the border. We pick up the produce, meat, dairy and liquor in the US. Cheryl likes to pick up a lot more then too as they have a lot of different brands of things that we don't have in Canada. That's why we have soooo many bags of groceries from the Walmart in the US.

[@chaleurphantom1]

Love Cracker Barrel.

[@leeandrews1072]

How was fuelling up along the NT Parkway, looks like nice easy driving but fuel an issue, vs the interstate?

[@CampingwiththeColes]

No problem. Lots of cut offs to get gas.

[@annapacheco5996]

Another great one guys. Hope all worked out with that Axle.👍👍

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks 👍

[@mikeyc181]

Great video guys, I really enjoy your informative views on camping. @ 30:03 I hear you say you take off the cruise control. I have a F150 as well and was told that cruise control will not work properly with trailers with electric brakes, ours is relatively new 2022, have you run into any issues ?

[@CampingwiththeColes]

I use cruise control all the time when towing on flat roads. Never had a problem. If I slow down I apply my brakes and cruise turns off. I can see there possibly being a problem if you have adaptive cruise control where the car slows down while on cruise.

[@scottanderson2980]

our cottage was on sturgen bay at sturgan bay park

[@raphaelcamden9407]

Was there towns on the trace,,, what would happen if you broke down

[@CampingwiththeColes]

There are lots of cutoffs to nearby towns. Easy to get gas or anything else you might need

[@darrylbisson6894]

it felt like a season finale cliffhanger at the end of the video. Wait until season 6 to see what happens. Hope everything works out.

[@evenstargalaxy9586]

What time of year did you do this trip?

[@CampingwiththeColes]

We were there for Father's Day weekend.

[@motorcoachtech7615]

I forgot to ask. How many k m’s or miles on your tires?

[@CampingwiththeColes]

I don't really know. The one that wore down was about a year old with maybe 8000kms on it. I've replaced several but as you'll see in part 2 of our Texas adventure, somehow I had one 7 year old tire on it that someone never got replaced and kept getting rotated. That tire is a couple years too old.

[@scottanderson2980]

Have you ever been Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park if so how was it now i know its rustic my cottage was on Bonnie IsL my mom and dad named it and now its on the map .

[@CampingwiththeColes]

We haven't been there yet. Very cool that your parents named an island.

[@scottanderson2980]

@@CampingwiththeColes yes. She named it after her dog be ready its very rustic if you go there but great fishing

[@hangingwiththehunters149]

I'm no expert, but I believe that the issue with your axel is due to weight. I recall that in a previous video, you said how close you are to max GVWR. If you run like that, all it takes is a big bump to tweak an axel, then once it's started, it'll continue to get worse. I would seriously consider upgrading to something that has a higher weight limit. Then replace the front once you are at home. Good luck on the rest of your trip

[@CampingwiththeColes]

You don't have to be an expert to figure that out but try telling that to Cheryl. She loves to "be prepared" at all cost. We're working on lowering the weight but it's a battle 😒

[@hangingwiththehunters149]

@CampingwiththeColes I believe that. We carry an extra kitchen sink if ya know what I mean😉😆

[@robertjordan7323]

Sarcasm Sheldon!

[@robertjordan7323]

What I was referring to was your comment on traffic when driving thru that nice quiet forested area. :)

[@bleebleeblahblah]

Same thing here. It's interesting, how the speed limit changed. I, also had no idea that the police did that EVERYWHERE else. I though they only did that where I live. it's pretty crappy , if you ask me. Now I know how law enforcement are able to make their quotas every Month.

[@br31000]

You’re axle is fine If you never rotated those tires …. That would be normal wear. The front axle tires are dragged sideways in each sharp turn. The inner edges are scraped off. No one ever rotates trailer tires. They get chewed inside and west like hell. Then someone wants to sell you an axle. Get good American made GoodYear’s marathon tires. Air up to 65 psi. Rotate them every couple thousand miles. Don’t let someone sell you an axle !!

[@rocket9152]

I believe you meant the Goodyear Endurance. Unlike the Endurance, the Marathons were made in China and known for their unreliability.

[@markm6028]

What?.....no loo review.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

None of the parks had Loos to review. Just bath houses (comfort stations)

[@jimmyramirez3515]

'promo sm'