Finally made it home, after truck rear end blew up

[AZgl1800]

have mentioned several times, we went on a vacation to Custer, South Dakota pulling a Toy Hauler RV with a 2001 Suburban.... well, that got very interesting before we got home
===================================================


Now, THE REST OF THE STORY:

Home Safe. Glad we had just topped off the truck's fuel tank, used a 1/4 tank to keep us and the dogs cool, before we got help ...

Truck's rear axle started making a loud howling noise, and vibrations, then it just blew up and smoke all over the place,
Call Good Sam Roadside Assistance, they called 7 wrecking yards, none of them would come get us.

Finally a Rollback wrecker was passing us, and a guy ( who stopped to see if we need help ) who used to be a wrecker driver, recognized him and flagged him down for us.

He backed up.... his wife and kid with him done 3 calls today already, lives in Miami, OK; headed to Sapulpa, OK to get another job to take to Bartlesville, OK.

Anyway, he has to call his boss to get permission, then Good Sam Roadside Assistance, has to call his Boss to give the required payment info.

All that done, and this driver does NOT know how to use a Rollback. He let his winch unspool, so it is "broke".

I put the truck in 4-low and it crawls up on the Rollback, rear tires just get off the ground and the bed is so oily, the burb can't climb any higher.... I yelled at the Driver "Bring the bed up level, so I can drive forward"

He says I have to tie it down first..... I tell him again, I need to drive all the way forward, he refuses.....

He ties the burb down where it is, rear tires 4 inches from the rear of the bed.

Now, our max speed forward going home is 58 mph, because the rear end of the wrecker is trying to get in front of the whole shebang!!!

We get the burb in my yard, and he does NOT know how to release the Tow Straps!!!

I could not believe this, but after seeing the winch unspooled, figured it must be his first day on the job???


I have to show him how to release the Tow Strap latches, and then I have to run the bed to get the truck down, as he has to climb up into the burb, because no steps that I can use to get up there….


At least he leaves it in neutral and it rolls off the truck….


Quite a story to tell all over the world, but at least we are home safe, and the tow bill is paid in full by my Good Sam Insurance…. Guess that paid off finally????


Used it 3 times before in one trip moving from Arizona to Oklahoma…. All for the Avion which blew 5 tires out.


Oh, the real Rest of the Story.....

the Rollback guy does not know how to tow our RV behind his flat bed with it loaded ????????????


so, Cynthia calls a fellow Rural Postal Carrier lady, and she drives her 1 ton pickup to where we are, and pulls the Toy Hauler to our house.


Oh, the final end to the story - the Rollback driver has his family with him, she is larger than .... well, big enough.... that I have one hip on the seat and the other between the seat and the right side door..... ouch!~~~


Now, the helpful postal carrier lady, has a single cab pickup, so 3 big dogs won't fit with Cynthia in there, so I picked up Missy, all 110 lbs of Great Perenees and carry her in my lap, with the driver's wife in the middle, holding their 2 year old son..... who is really unhappy, his car seat was removed so I could fit in the truck....

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Wow! When it rains, it pours! I'm glad you managed to get home. Hopefully, the truck repairs will go much better.

[SMG]

If one of your daughter's co-workers was close enough she could come get the toy-hauler then it sounds like you were relatively close to home which is probably one positive in the entire situation.

[MurphCID]

Glad you made it home safely.

[AZgl1800]

If one of your daughter's co-workers was close enough she could come get the toy-hauler then it sounds like you were relatively close to home which is probably one positive in the entire situation.

her friend drove 60 miles one way, and pulled our Toy Hauler trailer to our house and parked it where we keep it.

tried to give her some gas money, but she won't take any....
so, she is going to find some restaurant coupons in her purse one of these days.


this is a side view of the rig




this is where we camped: Big Pine Campgrounds, Custer SD

[AZgl1800]

it puked oil everywhere, what a mess

[RollyShed]

Your rig, side view, our one would be as far back as the back end of the last window and doesn't have the extra height "wedge", other wise it is similar. We tow it with a Subaru Forester, 2.5 litre petrol.

[AZgl1800]

Your rig, side view, our one would be as far back as the back end of the last window and doesn't have the extra height "wedge", other wise it is similar. We tow it with a Subaru Forester, 2.5 litre petrol.

That "wedge" height is a Queen Size bed over the "Garage" where my scooter is parked and tied down.

[RollyShed]

That "wedge" height is a Queen Size bed over the "Garage" where my scooter is parked and tied down.

Scooter !!! Internal combustion... We only take bicycles and / or sea kayaks. !!!

[AZgl1800]

That "wedge" height is a Queen Size bed over the "Garage" where my scooter is parked and tied down.

Scooter !!! Internal combustion... We only take bicycles and / or sea kayaks. !!!

way too slow for me, and no water where I go most of the time.
the Bicycles? my body overheats in about 10 minutes, and I am done.....
a result of a Semi rig merging me into a Center Median back in 2008.

Electric bikes are a joke, electric cars are a joke. ( where will they get a recharge in the middle of the Sand dunes? )
it takes more Carbon Emissions to build them, Recharge them, than is saved by running down the highway w/o emissions.....

plus, the battery life is 10 to 15 years, and will cost more to replace, than the vehicles did when new.
Now, those batteries have to be recycled hopefully, to save the planet again.

Another thought:
Take an Interstate highway that is frequented by heavy snow storms, the battery is dead on all those no emission cars/trucks... how you going to walk to a service depot and get a can of Electricity?

Or, let's take Arizona where I lived for 20 years, 115*F and two vehicles get tangled up, blocking the entire freeway, on both sides, no traffic in either direction, and it takes 8-10 hours to get it all untangled, and hauled away....

I watch a ton of YouTube videos about Wrecker Services, and sometimes, the occupants have to be life flighted out, because they are elderly and overheating, waiting for the wreckers to clear the roads up ahead of them.

for me, this is a good chat thread.... I like to visit about life in general....

[AZgl1800]

that Suburban just might be "end of life" for me...

I spotted this at an auction, going to try and get it

[Pjotr]

Haha. For the sake of contrast, this is my car (not the exact same, but brand, type and colour match):


Aged 22 years, but still going strong.

[RollyShed]

way too slow for me, and no water where I go most of the time.
the Bicycles? my body overheats in about 10 minutes, and I am done.....
Electric bikes are a joke, electric cars are a joke. ( where will they get a recharge in the middle of the Sand dunes? )

I'll admit bicycling in 40+C is warm and I have done it with a loaded touring bike.
Electric? I have admitted I might accept one for my 100 birthday, still 20 years away.

Today, below 0C as I headed out. At least the fog had mainly lifted and I didn't notice any ice on the road. Not much warmer coming home at lunchtime.

Deserts and desert sand dunes aren't a problem in this country or any where else I've ridden. In USA it was up the Californian coast. Singapore and Thailand flat and populated. Australia, bush or a rail-trail.

[AZgl1800]

Haha. For the sake of contrast, this is my car (not the exact same, but brand, type and colour match):


Aged 22 years, but still going strong.

Toyota cars just run forever, with proper maintenance, as is with any vehicle, PMs are a must.

[BenTrabetere]

have mentioned several times, we went on a vacation to Custer, South Dakota pulling a Toy Hauler RV with a 2001 Suburban.... well, that got very interesting before we got home

Look on the bright side: You have an interesting story to tell. For your next driving adventure may I suggest an afternoon drive through OK in a '70s MG Midget? People who think "the journey is more important than the destination" have never been stuck on the side of the road ... or driven an MG Midget.

[AZgl1800]

have mentioned several times, we went on a vacation to Custer, South Dakota pulling a Toy Hauler RV with a 2001 Suburban.... well, that got very interesting before we got home

Look on the bright side: You have an interesting story to tell. For your next driving adventure may I suggest an afternoon drive through OK in a '70s MG Midget? People who think "the journey is more important than the destination" have never been stuck on the side of the road ... or driven an MG Midget.

My 1st personal car, was a 1964 Austin Healy Sprite, the 1st model that had the headlights faired into the fenders like modern cars....

the older versions had the Bugeye Lights on top of the fenders, they weren't pretty at all.

wish I still had pictures of that car.... it had a super major failing, the 4 carbs would not stay sync'd up.

Seemed like every weekend, I had to resync/balance the carbs to keep it running smooth.

When I was in Boot Camp, a friend from Western Oklahoma had a MG Midget, don't recall any of the features at all now, that was back in 1964.....
I seem to want to call it a "Triumph" ?

[AndyMH]

Trimph, no, completely different car, I had one in the early 1970's:

a TR4a, just like this one (but not LHD).

The midget and sprite were the same vehicle, different badges, and yes the frog eye, as it was known, was not attractive.

[AZgl1800]

Looks like I need to book a flight to Kalispell, Montana now



Meet the guy at a Credit Union up there and pull some cash out for him.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Looks like I need to book a flight to Kalispell, Montana now



Meet the guy at a Credit Union up there and pull some cash out for him.

In case I misunderstood how you are going to do it, do not fly with cash, or even a check, on you or in your luggage. Do a wire transfer to get the cash after you get there (I think that's what you intend to do but I'm sure that's what you said). Civil asset forfeiture (legal theft by the Government) is alive and well here in the SSA.

[RollyShed]

My 1st personal car, was a 1964 Austin Healy Sprite, the 1st model that had the headlights faired into the fenders like modern cars....

My first one was a 1954 Morris Minor, headlights in the mudguards. Overhead valve engine 850 cc. Up until 1953 the headlights were down lower beside the grill. The '54 still had the split windscreen. I put in a 1000 cc short block though the diff was still a lower ratio.

A very good handling car with rack & pinion steering not the sloppy steering on so many other makes.