I've visited the Outer Banks of NC, specifically Hatteras Island, since my parents and grandparents first took me there in 1967 when I was 4. I took my (then future) wife there for the first time in 1988. We have had a few vehicles for beach use, but my favorite is our 2005 Excursion V10, which I bought in 2013 with 65K miles. We now have 93K miles. It's a 4WD, 8000 lbs tank, and has never let us down. Plus, it fits and hauls everything, which is good, as my wife likes to bring, well, everything. LOL.
Okay, enough background. We were driving late Thursday night to Buxton, NC from Richmond, VA for a much needed break, and hopefully a fish or two. Noticed midway through that I had a vibration that would come and go, similar to an unbalanced tire, but definitely worse with speed so I kept it on the slow side. Stopped in South Nag's Head for gas, and visually inspected all 4 tires; nothing looked out of the ordinary, so we proceeded. This was really the first opportunity to stop and check, as it rained hard from the moment we left until then, and we only had about a 15 minute window there, as it turned out. Anyway, back on the road, over the Bonner bridge onto Hatteras Island, over the newly named Etheridge bridge (over New New Inlet, which is now bone dry, LOL!), and about 2 miles north of Rodanthe heard an explosion and the sound of my left rear fender taking a real beating. Good thing it was raining again, as the windows were rolled up. Otherwise, pretty sure my wife would have jumped clean out! (Okay, I might have too. Definitely a shorts soiling moment)
Kept it straight and braked slowly, so no real drama there. Pulled to the side of the road which, there, means my right tires were in the sand as close as I dared to approach the ditch, and the truck was maybe a foot outside the travel lane on the left. Jumped out and saw the left rear tire had separated, and the road gator was wedged hard between hub/axle/frame. Extracting alone took 20 minutes, as vehicles of all sorts were flying by in regular intervals and every time we spotted lights coming I jumped out from under the truck. Please note this was all at 11:15 PM. We had at least 40 vehicles pass us, and not a single one even slowed down. A disabled vehicle with the flashers on, on the side of a narrow road at night, 2 people standing nearby, 1 waving a flashlight to make sure everyone saw us, and still not a single consideration. Did I really need help? Well, it might have been nice to have someone watching our back as we wrestled with the massive piece of rubber stuck between the frame and hub. I may be old school, but I can't think of a similar situation where I would not have at least stopped to ensure everyone was okay. With no offense to my northern neighbors, all of the plates save 1 were MD, PA, NJ, NY & OH, pretty much in that order of prevalence. The 1 outlier was an NC local, and some of them really do hate tourons, LOL!
***Next time you see someone in distress by the roadside, please stop. I frequently do, and so far it's cost me nothing but some time, and a few times, some dirty hands, LOL! I know most people here would have stopped, so I guess what I'm saying is to please spread the word. A good deed is seldom a bad thing.***
Finally pulled it free, me underneath (knowing that all that was preventing me from a crush death was a de-skinned tire) and my wife pulling from the rear as I twisted and pushed to free it.
Limped along at 10mph until we reached a lighted gas station where I could change to the spare. That's a damned long 2 mile ride, and just glad the inner held together. Unfortunately, we were packed to the nines, anticipating that we would stay until Monday, so unpacking so I could reach the jack and free the spare took about 15 minutes. Wrapped up, repacked, checked all tire pressures (spare was low; never used) and proceeded to our room. Left Friday morning and got home around 2:00. The vibration I'd felt was gone entirely, but in the back of my mind, I'm thinking, "they all have the same date code, mileage, and deflation/inflation cycles for sand driving." Therefore, not a quick trip.
Yes, I picked up the gator, and dropped it in a trash can at the gas station where I changed the tire. 40 pounds of steel spined rubber is no thing to leave on the side of the road for someone else to deal with. Also have an appointment with a body shop on Monday at 8:00 Am. Fender is badly bent, trim is probably fubar, and I have no idea where the inner fender liner went. Actually looked on the way back north but no trace found. Tomorrow I have an appointment for 4 new BFG AT KO2's, as the wife won't ride with me until the tires are replaced. Date code is 1912 btw, and fewer than 30K miles on the tires, so you just never know. If something feels wrong, there probably is something wrong. Not sure f I could really have done anything different, as there were no visual clues at all that we had a serious problem brewing. All I know is that the truck was pristine before this, and now I need bodywork. POOP!!!!!
Wish we were at the beach now, as the catch is reportedly legendary, but glad to be back home with only some hurt feels. Be careful out there fellas.
Okay, enough background. We were driving late Thursday night to Buxton, NC from Richmond, VA for a much needed break, and hopefully a fish or two. Noticed midway through that I had a vibration that would come and go, similar to an unbalanced tire, but definitely worse with speed so I kept it on the slow side. Stopped in South Nag's Head for gas, and visually inspected all 4 tires; nothing looked out of the ordinary, so we proceeded. This was really the first opportunity to stop and check, as it rained hard from the moment we left until then, and we only had about a 15 minute window there, as it turned out. Anyway, back on the road, over the Bonner bridge onto Hatteras Island, over the newly named Etheridge bridge (over New New Inlet, which is now bone dry, LOL!), and about 2 miles north of Rodanthe heard an explosion and the sound of my left rear fender taking a real beating. Good thing it was raining again, as the windows were rolled up. Otherwise, pretty sure my wife would have jumped clean out! (Okay, I might have too. Definitely a shorts soiling moment)
Kept it straight and braked slowly, so no real drama there. Pulled to the side of the road which, there, means my right tires were in the sand as close as I dared to approach the ditch, and the truck was maybe a foot outside the travel lane on the left. Jumped out and saw the left rear tire had separated, and the road gator was wedged hard between hub/axle/frame. Extracting alone took 20 minutes, as vehicles of all sorts were flying by in regular intervals and every time we spotted lights coming I jumped out from under the truck. Please note this was all at 11:15 PM. We had at least 40 vehicles pass us, and not a single one even slowed down. A disabled vehicle with the flashers on, on the side of a narrow road at night, 2 people standing nearby, 1 waving a flashlight to make sure everyone saw us, and still not a single consideration. Did I really need help? Well, it might have been nice to have someone watching our back as we wrestled with the massive piece of rubber stuck between the frame and hub. I may be old school, but I can't think of a similar situation where I would not have at least stopped to ensure everyone was okay. With no offense to my northern neighbors, all of the plates save 1 were MD, PA, NJ, NY & OH, pretty much in that order of prevalence. The 1 outlier was an NC local, and some of them really do hate tourons, LOL!
***Next time you see someone in distress by the roadside, please stop. I frequently do, and so far it's cost me nothing but some time, and a few times, some dirty hands, LOL! I know most people here would have stopped, so I guess what I'm saying is to please spread the word. A good deed is seldom a bad thing.***
Finally pulled it free, me underneath (knowing that all that was preventing me from a crush death was a de-skinned tire) and my wife pulling from the rear as I twisted and pushed to free it.
Limped along at 10mph until we reached a lighted gas station where I could change to the spare. That's a damned long 2 mile ride, and just glad the inner held together. Unfortunately, we were packed to the nines, anticipating that we would stay until Monday, so unpacking so I could reach the jack and free the spare took about 15 minutes. Wrapped up, repacked, checked all tire pressures (spare was low; never used) and proceeded to our room. Left Friday morning and got home around 2:00. The vibration I'd felt was gone entirely, but in the back of my mind, I'm thinking, "they all have the same date code, mileage, and deflation/inflation cycles for sand driving." Therefore, not a quick trip.
Yes, I picked up the gator, and dropped it in a trash can at the gas station where I changed the tire. 40 pounds of steel spined rubber is no thing to leave on the side of the road for someone else to deal with. Also have an appointment with a body shop on Monday at 8:00 Am. Fender is badly bent, trim is probably fubar, and I have no idea where the inner fender liner went. Actually looked on the way back north but no trace found. Tomorrow I have an appointment for 4 new BFG AT KO2's, as the wife won't ride with me until the tires are replaced. Date code is 1912 btw, and fewer than 30K miles on the tires, so you just never know. If something feels wrong, there probably is something wrong. Not sure f I could really have done anything different, as there were no visual clues at all that we had a serious problem brewing. All I know is that the truck was pristine before this, and now I need bodywork. POOP!!!!!
Wish we were at the beach now, as the catch is reportedly legendary, but glad to be back home with only some hurt feels. Be careful out there fellas.