Gary Stadler (Boogiethecat) (68.7.217.217)
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 10, 2002 - 11:35 am: | |
A buddie just emailed me this account of his last trip. House-trailer, not a bus, but certainly food for thought...
>> Recently had a scary trip, friends came down to go to Glamis with, I would be lucky if I could interpret my senses, left late and forgot about not feeling comfortable about the trailer tongue weight.
Just after filling up with water at Ocotillo Wells Ranger station, about a mile on 86 I thought we had a blow out but then it got real bad and thought the trailer unhooked or broke the hitch or I don't know. This all happened while doing 60 mph, didn't even realize that hitting the brakes wasn't doing anything. Was in the slow lane and I guess went of the shoulder a second too soon but the dam thing wasn't stopping. We were heading for a rolldown the ditch, I steered it into the ditch and then tried to steer back to straighten it out but hit the embankment.
So lucky it happend and no one seriously hurt. I thought I must be the worst driver... untill I saw what it was... the right rear duals were GONE.
They weren't real "duals" but a helper kit. A help break it kit, it's the way it was. Now I realize it's going to add leverage in favor of breakage by straining the axle, and that's what happend, the axle had a crack I could see and it had simply snapped off. The wife was driving the truck following me, and one of her passengers said he saw two tires pass us. Someone found them a quarter mile ahead and brought them to us. The trailer jack knifed into the right rear and the impact bent the right front frame section. We are lucky to be alive. If we hadn't had visitors and a heavy tongue it wouldn't have happend, at least then. Might not have happend for several months and then happened possibly while going over the mountains down hill arund a curve with the cliffs on the right, making it a definite end of story for the wife and me.
Lived through it, hope it makes me better. That was two weeks ago. Hope you can't top that and that all is well! >> |