Things not to do while motorhoming

This one did not happen to us. I don’t want it to.

“We had a scary experience after crossing the border back into Alaska. We lost popcan (our tow car), and didn’t even know it. We went 27 miles before we discovered it missing. Luckily no-one was hurt with the exception of popcan ($5,500 worth of damage). What happened is that the receiver on the motorhome cracked and broke. It didn’t do much damage to the motorhome. The tow bar messed up the bottom rung of the ladder and took the paint off in a very small spot. It was a scary feeling though, when we realized the car was gone and not knowing if anyone had gotten hurt.”

Could this happen to anyone else? We have safety cables in case the hitch breaks, but guess what the safety cables are attached to; loops on the sides of the receiver. Our tow car braking system has a breakaway cable. If the car separates from the motorhome and the safety cables don’t stop it for some reason, the breakaway cable pulls a plug and the Jeep brakes are fully applied. The Jeep might crash, or someone else might run into it, but it won’t run on indefinitely at sixty miles per hour. But guess what the breakaway cable is attached to…

The receiver is a big chunk of steel. Who would expect that to break apart?