Not long after I got my '65 with the Downey Pullman camper, we took it out for an
out-back camping trip near Big Bear Lake, California.
About 5 miles down a steep, remote dirt road, the left rear wheel came off in the
strangest way. The axle was a Dana 60 with the early keyed washer setup. The
previous owner had a brake job done before he sold the truck, and the shop had
reused the old washer. It failed, and that unwound the lock nut. The wheel, brake
drum and axle were free to leave, so they did.
Being a 1965, it had single circuit brakes. It was not positrac, so when I stepped on
the brakes, the wheel cylinders pushed out the shoes, and then fell out. When I
downshifted, the open rear provided no braking, as one axle had been removed.
Did I mention it was a steep downhill at night? Things got very busy; I was able
to not die due to the parking brake and some fancy driving.
It took a long while to calm down. I set out all the tools and supplies and thought for
a bit, and then sent the wife out on the trail to search for and pick up anything
metallic or rubber going back a quarter mile. She returned in an hour with various
metal bits. In the mean time the truck was chocked, jacked level, I have the lantern
out and the whole mess laid out in front of me.
Luckily we had plenty of car repair fluid -- beer. I made up a good-enough repair
part from a few Keystone cans and some tie wire. Then the various brake parts went
in slowly. Eventually it was all back together enough so we could drive away in 1st
gear.
2003 Lance 1071 maxed out plus 200 watts PV, accumulator and bottle opener
2004 Chevy 2500HD Duramax 167", Hellwig, Reese Titan, Reese Front, LineX, AirLift, bed mat, Rancho9000, Rickson 19.5" Eliminators with Mich 225/70 XDE M/S
KF6JGX; 5W on Yaesu FT530
Getting stuck is half the fun! As long as you don't have to be somewhere else in a hurry. Some things I carry along with me:
Large selection of tools. (love the Sears kits)
Small assortment of replacement items that are known to fail.
Extra wire, connectors, meter, test lights, fuses.
Screws, nuts and bolts of various sizes.
Tire patch kit.
Air compressor.
Hand axe.
Shovels.
Snatch strap.
Hand winch, until I can afford the real thing.
HAM radio, CB radio, FRS radio, Cell phone.
Duct tape! (lots of rolls!)
Strong wire (bailing wire) and plumbers tape.
Signal Flares.
First Aid kit (large one)
Plenty of water and some foods.
HiLift Jack.
Rope.
Pry bar.
Saw.
Extra Oil, Trans fluid, Power steering fluid, Coolant.
Hand cleaners and rags since everything above will make a mess.
Survival kit, well stocked in backpack for worst case.
Flashlights since most break downs seem to be at night.
A bunch of other stuff I've long since forgotten about.
Anything else my paranoid little brain can come up with.
And if possible a good friend in his vehicle just in case so he can take me to get real help!
The bad (or good) thing is that over the years I've used every piece of these tools at some point or another! And without them I would have been in very bad situations!
The other key ingredient is a cheerful wife who kind of likes problem-solving. We do NOT look for trouble, but it sometimes finds us when we are off-pavement. That's just part of boondocking. If you want things easy, stay in an RV park (which we do, sometimes!). If you want privacy, elbow room, and silence, be ready to do a little work now and then.
last year in colorado in the san juan mountains, we were boondocking a few miles from the main road, i decided that after 3 days of not starting the truck, that i would start it and let it run for awhile, when i went to start it...all it did was went "click", i tried it again and the same noise, so pulled out the jumper pack, hook it up and it was dead...at that point i said a few choice words and realized i had a LONG walk for phone reception. so after a brief cooling down period, i started out and i got about a halk mile away and up the road comes a jeep, flagged him down and ask if he could give me a jump...so my advise is to make sure your battery is good and that you carry a jumper pack that is charged.
"last year in colorado in the san juan mountains, we were boondocking a few miles from the main road, i decided that after 3 days of not starting the truck, that i would start it and let it run for awhile, when i went to start it...all it did was went "click", i tried it again and the same noise, so pulled out the jumper pack, hook it up and it was dead...at that point i said a few choice words and realized i had a LONG walk for phone reception. so after a brief cooling down period, i started out and i got about a halk mile away and up the road comes a jeep, flagged him down and ask if he could give me a jump...so my advise is to make sure your battery is good and that you carry a jumper pack that is charged."
This story perfectly makes the case why, IMHO, you should ALWAYS have some kind of generator with you when boondocking to charge either coach batteries and/or vehicle chassis batteries.
I carry an old Honda EX650 with me, even though my rig also has a built-in Onan generator too. This is overkill .... the Honda is the minimum safety genny.
Got stuck a couple of times up to the frame in my Dodge 2500 4x4. If you have a winch and their are no trees around bury your spare tire and hook your winch cable to the wheel and use it for an anchor.
I'm also a 4 wheeler. I carry tools, extra water for the radiator. I keep my old serpentine belt, carry duct tape, first aid kit. JB weld is good in case your radiator leaks. Carry oil, rags, extra wire and a voltmeter. Bring some tire inflator in a can. Hi-Lift and at tow strap are a must. I keep most of this stuff in a container. Toilet Paper for the wife. Probably forgot many things but you get the idea.
Two near misses over the last couple of years and they all involved dirt/gravel roads where we shouldn't have gone with a small SUV. This road may not look to bad but we got to the bottom and couldn't turn around forcing us to back up 600 meters. The road was sandy and rocky and we had traveled four kms down into a canyon. Wheels were spinning and sweat dripping. We made it back to a spot in the canyon where we spent the night. I would like to go back again .
The other time we were were on a road covered with round river rock. Came to a small hill and I gave it some gas and we began sinking into the rock. That was pretty scary. Took about an hour of backing up.
rr_trail_boss wrote: If you have a winch and their are no trees around bury your spare tire and hook your winch cable to the wheel and use it for an anchor.
Did you actually try this, and how deep did you bury it??
TinBenders
Formula Toy #006
2007 Can-Am 500 MAX XT
2009 Eclipse Attitude F37 AKS, it's still not white!!
08 F350, $X$, CC, dually.
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