An Eventful Shakedown Cruise for the Scratch Build

20211018_181942 by Joe Mirenna, on Flickr

With nearly two years of work behind us, we were wondering if it would be possible to get out for at least a little two day camping trip to see the fall colors. It looked doubtful just two weeks ago and then miraculously a new friend showed up to help install the LP gas lines, and the custom door window got made in time. It was not to be the last of the miracles.

Even though the camper was not done, we figured we could still make it work. There is just some interior window trim and shelving trickery, a screen door, a rock guard, and a decal to complete the project. So, we piled everything into Rosie and off we went.

Well, not before first slicing my finger on an errant lid support (...cuss words) and then falling from a collapsing new step stool while trial fitting the awning (...more cuss words followed by a scathing product review and return). Ominous warnings? Not to be deterred, we got on the road for a glorious autumn adventure in our new camper.

20211018_184750 by Joe Mirenna, on Flickr

20211018_184851 by Joe Mirenna, on Flickr

20211018_193113 by Joe Mirenna, on Flickr

20211018_185711 by Joe Mirenna, on Flickr

We were not disappointed. Great sunny weather, good food, everything worked great, the bed was comfortable, the campfire was perfect, the hiking was fun, and everything seemed to go splendidly. Just as we were leaving the campground, we hit a bump and heard two metallic noises, as if we had run over a small metal grate or something. Stopping to inspect, I looked all around the ground and the camper, but didn’t notice a thing. So back onto our leisurely two hour drive home.

A half hour later, cruising about 55 on an isolated smooth country highway, about 15 miles from the high speed interstate we were to enter, all of a sudden we heard a loud thump and felt a strong jerk on the truck. Quickly I applied brakes and pulled to the side, thinking I had a tire blow out. But when I looked in the side mirror my heart sank as I saw the trailer heavily leaning to the side with the tire sticking out at a sickening angle. If you ever saw the short animated film “Bambi versus Godzilla” you know what I’m talking about, but now I bet you can imagine just from the title.

The wheel had come loose and now the trailer was sitting on the base of the springs, tire wedged in the twisted up wheel well, and sitting on the road too low to fit the bottle jack I carried. In shock we stood at the roadside until a local woman stopped to give us assistance in finding a tow truck to call. But just a few moments later, a fellow showed up in his pickup, assessed the situation, said to wait right there because he lived only a mile and a half away. Within 5 minutes he returned with a floor jack, had her lifted up enough to remove the wheel and destroyed tire, and inspected the damage. All the lug nuts were gone as was one stud that sheared off leaving one more bent and the others boogered up a bit. By the time I removed the spare at the back, he had straightened the stud and inspected the damage further. The wheel well was banged up at the back, pulling off the plywood and separated from its sheet metal joint. The plate holding the springs and axel seemed intact at least enough to make it to his nearby house. Amazingly, other than the wheel well trim which was sickeningly bent up, the side aluminum was unscathed.

As we stood there heartbroken and in shock, Ken introduced himself, looked us square in the eyes and said, “Don’t worry. I can fix that right.” Soon we had the spare holding onto the remaining lug studs with nuts that he brought with him. After a short slow limp to his place, we convened in his driveway where he said, “I’ve got the parts ordered and they’ll be here tonight. I’ll have it ready for you on Saturday (...it was Wednesday).” Soon we had her unhitched, left in his hands, and back on the road home. We sat in silence for much of the ride home with emotions running from way low to almost euphoria as we sensed the virtual miracle of this road angel appearing. And then that awful feeling of how much worse this accident could have turned out, especially if it had waited until we hit the interstate highway. But almost the worst thing was guilt thinking of how I could have left the lug nuts untightened. These emotions carried for the next several days.

After the first fitful night of sleep, Ken texted me: “U built a nice rig. It will be right again.” I admit I teared up a bit at that. We made it back up there on Saturday afternoon and there was Ken standing in the driveway, guiding the reversing truck to hitch her up. I was amazed at the perfect repair job he had done. Somehow he got the wheel well back in perfect shape, caulk sealed, and even reinforced with a steel bar holding it to the plywood floor. There was a new tire on the spare (although I’ll probably replace the partially damaged wheel), the wheel hub had new studs, the spring holding plate and U-bolts were replaced, the banged up trim was reformed and looked good as new, and everything had been carefully gone over. There was no other damage anywhere on the camper. Again, I had to hold back tears. He gave me what was left of the spring base plate that had been road sanded to almost nothing, noting that only one of the U-bolt nuts remained. I paid him $138 for parts and really had to force him to accept that along with a couple of benjamins (...which he later complained that I had overpaid him).

20211024_183429 by Joe Mirenna, on Flickr

20211023_134128 by Joe Mirenna, on Flickr

He further explained that the other wheel had pretty loose lug nuts, even though I knew I had cranked them with a long wrench. He explained that since I was using new aluminum wheels, they not only had to be cranked down harder (128 foot pounds of torque), they should be checked after first driving a bit the first time. I was shocked and ashamed that I did not know this important fact.

He said it was funny because on that day he had noticed that one of his three cans of gas was empty, yet he decided that even though he didn’t really need it, he’d head out to town to fill that last can. That’s when he found us stranded on the road. How do these things happen? Yes, the universe is a bountiful place. But the best part was that in these times of such cultural division it was reassuring to find that there are generous and wonderful people everywhere.