Dad and I went out for a nice afternoon drive in the 70's weather yesterday in the jeep - it was beautiful: easy trails, awesome views and we saw some neat rocks & a huge bullfrog at Corn Creek. About 30 miles or so into the trail, we heard a loud snap and the rear wheel fell off of the jeep with the axle shaft still attached.
We're not sure what actually caused the problem - maybe the large "bump" about a mile earlier where the rear end of the jeep ended up a few feet off of the ground in flight, but it is doubtful. My cell phone coverage didn't work at all, and luckily Dad had brought his cell and gps. After making a million calls, we finally got in touch with Becci & Mom who got Cal & Mike (Mom & Dad's neighbor and friend) to come out and get us with his truck and trailer.
Dad and I were stranded for a few hours - I hadn't brought any tools, water, etc. since it was going to be just a short trip. We were lucky enough to scrounge up a few cinder blocks, a two by four, and an old station wagon tailgate. I found some bailing wire in the jeep and we used the two by four with some rocks to leverage the jeep up enough to fashion a skid for the rear axle & used the bailing wire to attach it. We were able to drive/drag the jeep far enough to get it to level enough ground the trailer could get to it. We were able to drag the jeep onto the trailer and tow it home. Thank goodness for Cal & Mike or we would have still been out in the middle of the desert!
Here's some pics - they are really bad 'cause I only had my cell phone: Axle Shaft Carnage
Moral of the story - always be prepared, even for easy trips.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
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