Let’s talk trucks!
Jun 07 2010
(Yes, the picture is merely added for entertainment value. WTF, people…and no, I don’t know where this was taken but looks like the southwest to me.)
Well, yesterday was interesting. As some of you already know, I have been known to polo groom on the weekends. I love polo, I love polo ponies, it’s good exercise, and the extra cash keeps me from feeling any guilt about my $5 coffee drink and $10 salad addictions. This particular Sunday, we were heading out in a borrowed truck because the guy I work with is between trucks. Borrowed Truck sped merrily along the freeway all the way there and then, going up the hill to the actual field, we lost all ability to go forward. It wasn’t the hill, it was the transmission. This led to one of those Murphy’s Law days with horses – had to unhook the trailer, physically push the truck out of the way (thank God for spectators), hook up another truck, finally get there 15 minutes before polo with 5 horses to tack up and then sit around after polo while a replacement truck was procured, call AAA to drag away Dead Truck, etc., etc., etc.
I will hazard a guess that nearly everybody reading this with horses has had that day thanks to a truck biting the dust! My previous blue-ribbon-award winner was Memorial Day 1990 when I got stuck in Tomah, Wisconsin coming back from a horseshow. Stopped for gas and the truck simply didn’t start again. FYI: I don’t know if things have improved any, but in 1990, there was absolutely nowhere in Tomah to get your vehicle serviced on a holiday. We wound up sitting in the parking lot letting the horses graze, eating McDonalds and waiting for someone to call her boyfriend’s cousin to come look at the truck. It did get fixed but not before we had to put the poor horses up at the fairgrounds overnight and stay in a scary motel ourselves.
So, since misery loves company, I want to hear your most frustrating/annoying truck/trailer breakdown stories! Where? When? Worst possible place? Worst possible time? Of course! Murphy’s Law of horses! I once encountered a truck and trailer broke down on the Pacific Coast Highway right under the Santa Monica walking bridge. On a weekend. It’s hard to top that location for bad traffic, no room to be safely pulled over and crazy drivers everywhere, but I’m sure someone here has a worse story! (Needless to say, I pulled over and put my flashers on well behind them until a cop came and took my place).
And on a related topic – what is the MOST reliable hauling truck you’ve ever owned? I would love some good shopping advice to pass along. I had really good luck with my old Chevy one-ton crew-cab Silverado, at least after the first 6 months during which time it had a ton of glitches and needed two new thermostats. What do you think? Ford, Chevy, Dodge – what would you recommend?
P.S. If you are in CA, NV, AZ and happen to have a used 16-20 foot aluminum stock or slant trailer for sale, preferably extra wide and at least 7′ interior height to sell, no living quarters – small tack room or none – email me with pics and info because I know of a buyer for you.
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LOL, that picture of the horse in the truck reminded me of my “barn rat” days in NYC! The “party ponies” would jump up in something similiar and in winter enclosed. I, and other “barn rats”, would ride in back just to be near horses and work our tails off lifting kids & leading!
We’ve had many truck/trailer breaking experiences but this one was the most frighting. We were driving our manual 3/4 ton chevy silverado pulling a goose-neck 2 horse with a small lq. Speed limit 65, so going about that. Came up over a hill to see an accident (jack knifed suv/camper) on the right shoulder and the right lane. Everyone was merging to the 2 left lanes. Hubby driving applied the brakes and got no braking. None. Now we’re coming up fast on slow cars cause you know merge left past an accident means slow way the hell down and rubber neck. Hubby drops the truck into 3rd, engine is now roaring and I’m just hanging on to my seat-belt and cell phone knowing I have the vet and horse emergency rescue numbers in there. We’re in the furthest left lane, a truck in front of us find a hole in the lane to the right and jumps over before we end up on his bumper. We go left into the crash lane, it wasn’t an obvious option because this stretch of highway has krail (that concrete barrier stuff) and it doesn’t really look like we have enough room to fit. We flew past the slowed traffic with barely inches to spare between the krail on the left and cars on the right. Got past the bottle neck and merge back onto the traffic lanes. Both of us shaking we exit at the next exit. On the ramp we realize the problem. The truck’s brake lines blew. To slow down and get pulled into a gas station (in the shade) we use the trailer brakes and downshift a lot. I jumped out of the truck while we were rolling to a stop to check on the horses. They were peacefully munching hay. No idea that the almost ended up in a crash. Called around and a friend’s husband came out to help figure out the problem. Both guys are handy with trucks so a trip or two to autozone and we had a new brake line and were back on our way in about 2 hrs.