David and Jennifer Sinclair have been driving across North America for years, sharing their adventures along the way on their Sinclair Trail blog. Their latest adventure in Canada went viral for a different reason.
The Sinclairs were on their way to Alaska in their RV when they made a fuel stop in Fort St. John, British Columbia. He was towing his Chevy Colorado pickup truck via a tow base plate attached to the back of the RV.
“As we were leaving, the front frame of our truck failed,” Sinclair told Cowboy State Daily. “The tow base plate broke off, with the tow base plate separating from the truck frame.”
Fortunately for the couple, the motorhome was stopped at an intersection when the tow base broke off. Sinclair said it “could have been much worse if it failed in motion.”
Unfortunately, they didn’t notice and kept driving, leaving their front bumper-less truck sitting in the middle of the road.
Yup, That’s Us
A video of Sinclair’s RV dragging the Chevy's bumper down the road has been viewed millions of times, with the all-encompassing deadpan caption, “I think you lost something.”
The same person who took and posted the video flagged Sinclair down to let him know he was missing most of his truck. The response to this motoring mishap, according to Sinclair, has ranged from sympathetic to incorrect, irrelevant, and “a lot more trolls showing a lack of empathy.”
“We caught it within about a minute of it happening,” he said. “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. We didn’t drag it for lots of miles. We’re not rich Boomers.”
Sinclair has been posting videos and blogs online for years. He had a simple summation of the feedback he’s received since the video went viral.
“Disappointing, but not surprising,” he said.
xDavid and Jennifer Sinclar were leaving a gas station in Canada when the tow base plate on their RV broke. A video of them dragging their Chevy Colorado's bumper down the road has gone viral. They went back and found their truck — in need of some repair work. (Courtesy David and Jennifer Sinclar) 
xDavid and Jennifer Sinclar were leaving a gas station in Canada when the tow base plate on their RV broke. A video of them dragging their Chevy Colorado's bumper down the road has gone viral. They went back and found their truck — in need of some repair work. (Courtesy David and Jennifer Sinclar) 
xDavid and Jennifer Sinclar were leaving a gas station in Canada when the tow base plate on their RV broke. A video of them dragging their Chevy Colorado's bumper down the road has gone viral. They went back and found their truck — in need of some repair work. (Courtesy David and Jennifer Sinclar) 
xDavid and Jennifer Sinclar were leaving a gas station in Canada when the tow base plate on their RV broke. A video of them dragging their Chevy Colorado's bumper down the road has gone viral. They went back and found their truck — in need of some repair work. (Courtesy David and Jennifer Sinclar)
Sinclair Travels
Sinclair and his wife, Jennifer, have been full-time travelers in a Tiffin Allegro Bus Class A motorhome since September 2021. They call their luxury motorhome “Bill the Pony,” while the Chevy Colorado is named “Samwise.”
“We used to have a 5-acre homestead with chickens, ducks, bees, and feral cats,” Sinclair said. “We sold it to travel full-time.”
Since then, they’ve crisscrossed the United States several times. They even took a detour for a campervan travel trip across New Zealand.
The couple works remotely while on the road. Sinclair is an app developer through his company, Dejal, and his wife is a technical writer.
While on the road, they share stories of their adventures on their personal blogs and post videos on YouTube.
That means the Sinclairs have been through Wyoming multiple times. David called the Cowboy State “one of their favorite states.”
“Wyoming has some of the best freeways, Yellowstone is our all-time favorite national park, and we enjoy Buffalo and Devils Tower amongst other areas,” he said.
The Sinclairs were hoping to reach Alaska when their truck made a break for it. That’s scuttled their plans, at least for the moment.
“Yes, we considered continuing to Alaska with or without our truck, but decided to return home and try Alaska again another year,” he said.
The Choices Of Master Samwise
After a 950-mile drive, the Sinclairs have gotten Bill the Pony and Samwise home. They drove the vehicles separately to ensure they both made the trip without further incident.
“After sleeping on it, we decided to head home,” David said. “We considered driving the truck separately (to Alaska), or storing it in Fort St. John and renting a car in Alaska, but either would impact the enjoyment of our trip.”
By then, Bill the Pony might be put to pasture. The motorhome mishap has restarted the couple’s conversation about their vehicle of choice.
“We’re thinking about downsizing to a van or B+ anyway, which might work better,” he said.
They might be momentarily immobile, but the journey will continue.
“We decided we’d rather come back again in a year or two and do it right,” David said. “We’ll be back to see the rest of Alaska in the next year or two, and would like to explore more of Canada too.”
And if they ever decide to pump the brakes and find a new home, they might indulge in their growing fondness for the Cowboy State.
“If we settle down again in the future, Wyoming is high on the list for where we’ll end up,” David said.
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
