Just another one of those things I was able to check off the "First" list.
Last Tuesday, I had the pleasure of blowing my first steer tire in 15 years of driving. I was quite astonished to find out it was no where near as frightening as I thought it would be. Basically, I heard the noise, felt the front end raise as if I had run over something and then wop wop wop wop wop. It was not much of a struggle to keep control of the truck and ease off onto the shoulder out of harm's way. Perhaps, the low center of gravity on a car-hauler played a vital role in this.
And while I do seem to have exquisite luck, ( I will not indicate which end of the spectrum my luck tends to run), I was actually very lucky in the amount of damaged that was sustained.
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| Managed to keep my fender! |
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| That is no illusion. With the dropped cab and blown tire, my fuel tank is hovering an inch above the ground. |
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Damage to the hydraulic lines for the front cylinder where the rubber slapped it a few times.
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If you noticed in the first picture, there is slight damage to the fender, but I was able to reattach the mud flap and with the "new" used tire in place, I was able to drive away. No brake damage, no hood damage, no damage to any components under the hood.... At least that I know of.
I am also very thankful that a few weeks ago, I took it upon myself to have my right fuel tank rotated. It has an aluminum elbow on the bottom which is attached to the hydraulic oil tank. Notice how low that tank is sitting? I would have sheared a good portion of that elbow off and perhaps caused a substantial oil spill.
The hydraulic lines did take a good punch. There will be no moving the front of the deck over my hood until those are replaced. I tested it to see if it was punctured and the 8' rooster tail of oil was a pretty good indication. What this means is I was unable to raise the hood to check for more damages from the blown tire. But at least I was able to unload that evening and had an appointment to get the lines repaired the next morning. Sure, I know it all sounds bad, but with minimal damages I was able to mark one more "first" off my list.
5 comments:
Whats an Italian sound like when he gets a flat? Daego Wop Wop Wop. It'll buff out.
Terry, glad that you are okay and you survived with not much damage at all. Keep it safe on the road!
A billion years ago when I did the practical test for my class 5 license - the tester dude ripped me a new hole for for steering one handed and resting the other on the shifter.
His argument was that if I had a steerer blow I was going to need both hands on the wheel and since I wouldn't know before hand when a steerer was going to go nuclear I should have both hands on whenever possible.
The message stuck, and billion years later I drive with both hands on the wheel whenever practicle.. But I'v always wonderered deep down if that tester dude was maybe speaking from a time before modern power steering, when a steerer blow-out meant the truck instantly disintegrated four lanes of freeway traffic and any nearby dams and/or airports.
What was your experience lass?
A tug to the left/right? A hard pull left/right? Did you have both hands on the wheel at the time?
I'm genuinely curious.
More deets Terry! =)
Nice analogy and I think you are right. I learned to drive in a truck with no power steering. I was told to be prepared to have my arms ripped off before disintegrating traffic and demolishing nearby airports. Perhaps my experience was milder than most, but I was driving with 3 fingers on the wheel, arm resting on shifter. BOOM, bump and the truck mildly drifted to the right. No fear of diving into a ravine, and arms just where I left them, attached to my body. I think the boom was the worst part, well that and the damage. But I never felt out of control.
Was the tire no good before it blew?
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