S.O.S. in Minneapolis

    Well, @MBMedic has a new hitch on his SS on his way back to his wife at the hotel and can continue his trip home tomorrow!


    @Turbosling, Henry! I'll be bringing by the hitch this week.


    Was great to meet you and talk about our adventures.


    @SundreSlingQueen it's possible that could happen. I'm not close to downtown Minneapolis, but we might be able to find a spot to meet up.

    That would be awesome sauce. They are headed to Minneapolis tomorrow, then possibly stillwater, then to Henry on Tuesday. The sling will be in the shop getting tuned and the boys will be looking for friends! :00008040:

    @SlingJockey Thanks again my new friend. My wife is totally grateful for your assistance as well.


    She's still looking at me trying to figure out how this all happened. When we got to the hotel earlier, all i said was that i had an idea, and posted here. Then, well, all this happened and now we simply have to get up and get going in the morning.


    This is truely what forums are for. I will be sure to pay it forward whenever its needed. For now, its time for bed.

    All I can say is WOW!!!! This is a perfect example of how our Sling community comes together to help fellow Slingers....even our Canadian Brothers & Sisters!!!! Simply AWESOME!!!!
    It's great to see how people try to do what they can to help each other. To all you who tried to help, and especially @SlingJockey.....KUDDOS, you folks rock, and I tip my glass to you all.....SALUTE!!!!!! :00000436:
    By the way.......if any of you find that your adventures bring you close to our neck of the woods here in the north east tip of Ohio....drop me a post, or PM, and I'll be more than happy to meet up or assist in any way I can!!!!! :00000441:

    Those who will give up essential liberty to secure a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety


    2016 Slingshot SL Vin# 8855 (born in September 2015) w/ Alpha Stage 2 Turbo @ 7.5psi

    Quote from MBMedic

    @Slingshot Garage wish we could have stuck around to say hi, but this breakdown put us behind a day. We need to hit the road.


    Safe journey.

    Yes would've been awesome to meet you. Glad you got it figured out. It's been my experience also that our fellow slingshot owners are a great bunch of people. I come from a small town where everyone looks out for one another. And here on the forum It's the same. Just can't say enough good things about it. Safe travels my friend.

    Well, on the road again. This is a direct result of the friendly members found right here on these forums.


    Thanks to everyone who offered info and advise, and thanks one last time to SlingJockey for the direct help that is putting us on the road this morning.


    Will update when we get home.

    So, a little update to finish this thread off. (Got home and we had no phone or internet due to some construction snipping the line, couldn't post till today)


    We got home last night at 9:00 PM. The rest of the trip was windy as hell, and got cooler as we got closer to home. I had had enough by the time we had got home. Total trip was 5000 kms, (3100 miles) I now know without question that while the stock seats are ok, I can't wait to be in a position to purchase a set of custom seats. Something with lumbar support is needed without question.


    The thread on Hydroplaning here in these forums saved my ass I am sure as I was pre-warned of the danger and cautious of the hazard. Which was great because, DAMN did we get wet, lol. Rain gear is awesome, but not even it could repel the onslaught.


    Lastly, the fellowship displayed over these past few days by members on this website has been phenomenal!!! :thumbup: When shit hits the fan, and someone simply pipes up that they were in trouble, and just like that, someone else throws them a lifeline! A complete stranger reached out letting us get back on the road. SlingJockey without question, if you didn't happen to look at the forums, and get in touch, I have no doubt my day yesterday would have been spent going to Alpha, (which would have been fine too for a chance to see the place), but my wife worked today, and we would not have been home until about now.


    So, Mark, thank you most sincerely. You are the reason my wife didn't smother me in my sleep, lol. (her - "You know, if we had taken the Focus, none of this would have happened" X( , me - "But honey, it's all part of the experience, and look how this all played out!" 8o , her - "You can sleep in the other bed anyway" :thumbdown: )

    @MBMedic, glad you made it home alright and the better half is happy! Was great to meet you and be able to help. Took the hitch (your old one) over to Alpha tonight. Needless to say they were impressed and puzzled at the same time. It was end of the day for them, so I'll go back probably this Friday to get the new one put on and maybe a header?


    I know I'd appreciate any help if broke down on a trip, so it was a no-brainer as I knew I had a solution for you. Hope the new hitch holds up for you, it is an Alpha and tested by a SlingJockey!

    MBMedic wrote:
    So did they have any further thoughts as to why that hitch broke? Is the armature on the right side too thin or narrow? Or did I simply get the one and only dud of the batch? I am really glad to see you got a new hitch too. I was concerned about this.


    To be perfectly honest, I am concerned now and am considering simply selling off my trailer and investing into the saddle bag add-on over the rear tire. Seems a better option than running into a repeat of this issue when I go to New York in August.
    ___________________________________________________________________________________________




    [/quote]Not really, some hypothesis's, but more curious about what type of trailer you were pulling, tongue weight etc. Also wondering if the bolts on the rear shock mount where the hitch bolts to were tight enough, if loose, this could have caused that area to fatigue and break.


    I wouldn't be surprised that they will be addressing this in the current design and have me do some heavy duty testing again


    ___________________________________________________________________________________________



    Bolts at the rear shock mount were tightened with that 30" sway bar as tight as I could go on them. Also redone when it was welded.
    As for trailer specs, here is the info on it;
    1/8" thick Aluminum
    600lbs. Full Width Torx-Flex Axle
    12" Single Piece All Aluminum Rims With Bias-Ply Tires
    LED Turn/Stop TailLight
    2 Dual Latch Locks per Compartment
    Lockable Pushbuttons For Locks With Stainless Steel Hardware
    Weather-sealed Carpeted Rear Area With 14.5 cu.ft. Of Space
    Hydraulic Lid Supports
    Built-In Drainable Cooler
    Available in Plain Aluminum or PowderCoated
    Total Trailer Weight = 150lbs


    Website can be found here ---> http://www.trailertrax.ca/


    In my trailer I had 2 duffle bags at <50 lbs each. A laptop bag at about 5 lbs. I also had 1 gallon of fuel in a jerry can, my tool bag at 43 lbs, 1 floor jack, 0.5 ton , portable air compressor, 1 liter of that green slime stuff for a flat repair, led light for power outlet.


    Total weight 350 - 375 lbs with a tongue weight of only 41.5 lbs


    That's about all I can give you for info.


    I would love their opinion on further use of this trailer & hitch when they get a chance. As for product test info, I do have this trip planned for August, which is another 6000 kms. if I could be of assistance, I would be happy to help.

    :BLACKSS: 2016 Black Pearl 8)

    Edited once, last by MBMedic ().



    Nice trailer!
    That should let the guys at Alpha ( @Turbosling ) have a little more info.
    Your trailer is similar to what another owner tested with out to SSITR 2015 had (2 of us tested the prototypes) and he was really loaded on the way home from hauling back his parts after a lot of new mods while he was there. Might have been one that was destined to fail for some odd reason.


    Again, I expect that they will address it with a design change to prevent any future possible failures. Not very often you hear of a failed Alpha product.

    I can't say for sure, but this trailer from TrailerTrax LOOKS very much like the all-alum trailer marketed by USATrailer. The latter has a reputation of knocking off well-made trailers and having them done in China with different specs. That was true of the very nice "Timeout" trailers that are made in Indy. USATrailers sells one that looks exactly like the original TIMEOUT, but sells if for thousands less. Timeout dealers relate horror stories of people who bought the trailer from USATrailers and had them break down or fall apart. I nearly bought one, but did some research and learned of the scheme. Timeout dealers won't service the USATrailers as they don't want the liability. All one can say for sure is "buyer beware." It may look like a duck, etc., but may not be able to float...I don't want to knock TrailerTrax unnecessarily, as they may be perfectly legitimate. But everyone should know: this can be a very dangerous market.

    Interesting point of view. However, my issue has less to do with the trailer, and more about the break down.


    Now, I am not saying that there are (or are not) better trailers out there to be had. Personally, I would love the molded one that Slingmods offers that matches the Slingshot. However, as I just bought the SS, I simply needed a cheap & ready to go trailer. Found this one used and the rest is history.


    I've built many trailers myself, and have used many types all my life, so I know the feel of a good trailer and a bad one. Never felt this particular trailer jump out of line or misbehave even once during the trip. To be honest, barely knew it was back there. That said, somehow, the hitch still broke. That can only happen with a fault of the hitch through either manufacturing or installation error, OR the trailer did something that caused the break. I do not believe this to have been the case.


    It's a moot point however now. Henry at Alpha has been amazing and I can not say one bad thing about their customer service. They are outstanding and for that alone, I look forward to some more mods on my SS :)

    So, one last little bit to add to this thread. Recently, our local Manitoba website posted that they were looking for submissions for acts of kindness that people have recently either gave out, or experienced. The winner gets a $20 gift card to Domino's Pizza.


    Well I posted this entire ordeal and of course listed all three acts of kindness given to us by total strangers. Here's the link....


    NEW: Feel Good Fridays column - MyToba.ca


    Well, what do you know? We at least have earned ourselves a free pizza, lol. I'll take that thanks, lol


    So, thought I would just post this in here.


    Thanks again!

    Thought you'd like it, lol. They edited out your name. Not sure how people would find SlingJockey, but hey, better safe than sorry right? lol


    I got such a kick out of that.


    My days have changed by the way. Coming down on Tuesday now, not Wednesday. Getting my work done on Wednesday