70 MPH... Is that my Trucks front wheel passing us!?!

[Jason A. Sieg, CMI]

Date: 03-30-2007
Time: 09:00 pm
Place: I-69 west Mile Marker 169 (26 miles from home)
Who present: Myself & My Mother
Miles driven this day: 120 towing trailer, 25 no load alone, 45 with stove in bed

The Event:
This nice sunny afternoon I drove down to my mothers house to pick up the utility trailer so my mother and I could help my sister move to her new place. Once the trailer was hooked up, I dug up an old milk crate for my mom to use as a step to climb into my Toyota Tacoma 4x4 (3" suspension lift, 2-1/2" body lift & the equivalent to 33" tires) we went to fill up the gas tank. Of course I had to rant and rage about paying $2.80 a gallon.

OK, so we we go to my sisters so I, by myself can load her appliances onto the trailer. Having that done, of course she still doesn't have anything else ready to be moved... OK I'll skip the rest, you get the idea of how the move went!

So, I leave the trailer so my sister can load it at her leasure and one of her friends can haul it with their vehicle. I then load an electric stove into the back of my truck, one of her friends helped me out... we had to lift it over the tail gate... this past winter I broke the handle trying to open the gate. I had the stove standing upright & not tied down. It's not going to go anywhere anyway, right. The stove was a family friends, so I needed to bring it back to him. My sisters new place had a stove.

By now it is starting to become bark out as my mother and I leave. As we make it to the end of the on ramp to I-69 we feel a large bump under the front drivers wheel. I had no idea what it was but, it felt like I ran something over. What ever it was it was dead now & I did not want to see a smashed wild animal! I did look back just to make sure it was an animal though... Nothing? Ah-ha, the stove had tipped on it's edge. I better pull off to the side and lay the stove on it's back, I don't want it to fall all the way over and break the glass oven door.

Back in the truck and of we went... 70 MPH on I-69. 35 miles later, BOOM!

"I blew a tire!", easing the wheel toward the shoulder then slowly pressing on the brake... FLAMES SHOOT UP FROM UNDER THE DRIVERS FRONT FENDER!!!

"No brakes." Spoken softly and in shock. "I have no brakes." Said even softer yet loud enough that my mother still heard me.

Mom, just sat there as calm as can be the whole time. Later she told me that she felt that their was no danger at that time because I was so calm!

I continued to pump the breaks. Of course each time I pressed on the breaks flames shot up but I did feel the rear brakes catch.

Mom never saw any of the flames! As I saw the flames my mind started racing, why did I take the fire extinguisher out of the truck last week & why didn't I put it back?

The truck came to a smooth halt.
Then with all the speed and agility of an Elk, I yelled at my mother "GET OUT OF THE TRUCK AND GO TO THE BACK OF THE TRUCK!" At the same time I unhooked her seatbelt, put the truck in park, remover the keys, unhooked my seatbelt, YELLED TO MY MOTHER " GET OUT, THE TRUCK IS ON FIRE!!!", looked for on comming traffic and jumped out the door of my truck. I even slammed the door shut as I ran to the back to make sure my mother listened to me. Once I knew she was there I made my way back around the truck to see if it was still on fire. It wasn't.

Well, everyone is safe and to my surprise AAA was there in under 30 min. It just so happened that just a couple of miles earlier we both had commented that we both had no cell phone service but, where this all happened we had 4 bars.

Well in the photo you can see the gouge in the road from the loss of the wheel... we must have slid for more then a 1/4 mile.

Sorry for the long story!
[-o<

I am so sad now, I lost my truck!

Any one want to buy me a new truck?

Anyone want to buy a used truck, minor scuffs and bumps!

[Peter C. Russell]

That reminds me of the time years ago I packed up everyone in the family truckster, (1980 something ford station wagon ) and was heading to Mass for a family get together on Christmas eve. I was doing about 70 down Route 95 when I looked in the rear view mirror and smoke was pouring out of the back of the car, so bad that 4 lane of traffic were pulling over and stopping.

I told my wife and kids all 4, to get ready to gt out of the car as soon as I stopped and get away quickly because it was on fire. I stopped the car and terrified my kids jumped and ran. I was so proud of them but the felt a little stupid because the car blew a radiator hose and was never on fire. I have to admit, I stayed calm as did my wife and so did my kids.
I got the car fixed, went on to Christmas eve. and till this day we all laugh about it.

[Jason A. Sieg, CMI]

Here is another photo.

I had all of my Inspection equipment in the truck. When I remembered I told my mom I wanted to take some photos. She forgot, as did I all my equipment was in the truck.

[Larry D. Kage]

Ouch!

Hope you have better luck in the future.

[Stephen W. Stanczyk]

Should have bought a Ford.

[lcapaul]

Originally Posted by sstanczyk

Should have bought a Ford.

A Ford Story....Many years ago when I was a young lad we were returning from Elk Hunting in my Uncles new Ford 3/4T 4X4, we were coming from Montana on Interstate 90, before Lookout pass was "improved", as wer came down the West Side of the Pass, Two Lane, some guard rails, and a few thousand foot drop, we heard a couple of funny "ticks" from the rear of the Truck, we pulled through the town of Wallace when we heard a loud bang, my uncle asked "what was that" so I opened my door to look out and the rear wheel tried to jump in the cab with me, so I closed the door and said "the wheel fell off" then my uncle hit the brakes, there were none, and we left a line of fire right into a gas station parking lot, the right rear wheel bearing had blown and the whole axle came out.

The Next weekend I drove back to the top of Lookout Pass, turned around and drove slowly back down the hill looking down the bank every where I could. I was a Chevy man for years after that.

You have to know Lookout Pass to appreciate what it meens to go off the road there, its the steepest and most twisty section of I-90 anywhere in the U.S. including the Continental Divide and Snoqualami Pass.

[John McKenna]

During the last hurricane, thousands of cars were trying to escape
through the tiny town of Crockett Texas, where I live. I was fighting
the traffic while going home in order to beat the coming storm, which
was already starting to come upon us with high winds.

At that moment, the motor stopped running and I pulled off the road.
The cell phone towers were jammed and I could not call for help.
I thought to myself that it would not do much good anyway, because
the local tow trucks were probably so busy right now with all the
hundreds of cars running out of gas, overheating and having trouble.

Then to my surprise, I heard a voice to my side saying "need any help?"
When I turned and looked, it was the local tow truck driver, in the middle
of hundreds of cars creeping buy. At the very moment when I needed
help, the tow truck was pulling next to me and in a few minutes took
me and the car to safety.

I looked up at the sky and said "thank you".

[Roy D. Cooke, Sr]

A friend of mine was comming to Canada to do some fishing and got pulled over by a trooper for speeding .
When he got his ticket and was on his way again His wife started and would not shut up about his speeding and how she kept telling him to slow down . He pulled into the next rest area and they went to the Wash room .
When they came out he got in the passenger side and his wife said whats wrong .
He said you drive for a while .
She got stopped with in 20 miles by a trooper for speeding he got out of the Car and said there is a GOD there really is a GOD .
His wife did not think it was funny the trooper though just loved it when told what had happened .
He said it was complete silence in the car for the next few hundred miles .


Life some times pays nice dividends

Roy Cooke

[jrivera]

I had that happen once, lost the front left. Strange and funny feeling watching your tire go by you faster that the truck is doing. Wheel went across the grassy median, thank goodness no one was coming the other way, THAT could have been disaterous and then got picked up by a passerby who saw it happen. Thank goodness.

[Mario A. Kyriacou, CHI]

Someone was looking out for you and your mother Jason.