A viral video showing a motorhome dragging the front bumper of a Chevy Colorado has been viewed millions of times online.
But the RV couple at the center of the video says there is a lot more to the story.
David and Jennifer Sinclair, longtime full-time RV travelers behind the Sinclair Trails blog, were on their way to Alaska when their trip suddenly changed in Fort St. John, British Columbia.
According to Cowboy State Daily, the couple was leaving a fuel stop when the tow base plate on their Chevy Colorado separated from the truck frame.
In their own update on Sinclair Trails, the Sinclairs said they were about 46 miles into the Alaska Highway after Dawson Creek when the front frame of the truck failed and the tow base plate broke off.
The Chevy Colorado was being flat-towed behind their Tiffin Allegro Bus Class A motorhome.
The failure happened while the truck was stopped at an intersection. The Sinclairs said it could have been much worse if it had failed while the rig was moving at highway speed.
A nearby person recorded video of the motorhome dragging the truck’s front bumper down the road, then flagged the couple down.
The Couple Says They Caught It Quickly
After the video went viral, the Sinclairs said many online comments made incorrect assumptions about what happened.
In their blog update, they said they did not drag the bumper for miles and caught the issue within about a minute.
They also said they do have a rear-view camera, but they were focused on merging and navigating traffic at the time.
“Yes, we have a rear-view camera which shows the truck, but we don’t stare at it all the time, when merging onto a highway and navigating traffic,” they wrote.
The couple also pushed back on some of the personal comments being made online, saying many people were sympathetic, while others were less kind.
“Reading the comments provides an interesting sample of humanity,” they wrote, adding that there were “a lot more trolls showing a lack of empathy” and making incorrect assumptions.
Alaska Trip Put on Hold
The Sinclairs were headed to Alaska when the incident happened.
After sleeping on it, they decided not to continue the trip. They considered driving the truck separately, storing it in Fort St. John, or renting a car in Alaska, but said each option would have affected the trip.
“We decided we’d rather come back again in a year or two and do it right,” they wrote on Sinclair Trails.
The couple later drove the motorhome and truck separately for about 950 miles and made it home safely.
They have since dropped the truck off at a local body shop for further inspection and an insurance review. According to their latest update, the truck, front frame, tow base plate, bumper, and tow bar were all damaged.
The exact repair outcome is not yet known.
A Reminder for RVers Who Flat Tow
The Sinclairs’ experience is a reminder that flat towing equipment should be inspected regularly.
RVers who tow a vehicle behind a motorhome should check the tow bar, base plate, safety cables, wiring, braking system, and visible frame attachment points before travel days.
That does not mean every failure can be spotted ahead of time. In this case, the Sinclairs are still waiting on the body shop and insurance adjuster to inspect the damage.
Still, the video has started a bigger conversation among RVers about how quickly a towing issue can happen, even to experienced travelers.
For the Sinclairs, the Alaska trip is delayed, not canceled forever.
They said they still hope to return to Alaska in the next year or two and would also like to see more of Canada.
For now, they are home safely and waiting to find out what happens next with their truck.
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