that I was focused on getting the brake system functioning so I could move the rig, and honestly didn't hear the "main guy" cursing at me. Luckily for him, I was so wired by the "Event" and admittedly a bit Freaked. To be honest, I only heard about them later from Heidi.
PINBOX RETIREMENT DRIVERS
as all the Oh so patient vacationing drivers honked and cursed me for blocking the intersection. It took me a minute or two to get the Breakaway brake back together. were now a severed main cross member tube and multiple cracked/popped welds across the frame of the fifth wheel section of the trailer. Those two small cracks in the lower part of the pinbox mount, that I'd spotted as we unhitched.
the damage was done, and now the pinbox repair turned into something a bit more.
PINBOX RETIREMENT CRACKED
a cracked pinbox right there in the middle.Ĭan you imagine a worse possible moment for THAT freak action to occur?īut. The truck was under power, which means at least for an instant, it was dragging that Brake LOCKED trailer, until I could react and jerked my foot off the accelerator. The cable that operates the Breakaway Brake safety system had for the first time ever, in I don't know how many hundreds of thousands of miles I've hauled a dozen different trailers of every sort, snagged on something as the truck swung through the turn, jerked the plunger out of the case. had little inclination to do any such thing.Ī genuine "Cowboy Biker gets a lesson on the effects of immovable objects meeting irresistible forces in Montana" sort of a situation. Though the trailer had, without the indecisiveness that sometimes afflicts me. I mean one minute were moving slowly, maybe 10 mph through the intersection and the next instant BOOM! We're goin' No Where! That sudden change in what's goin' on creates a problem. half way through the intersection the Fiver. Her words were still hanging in the air as I was making the turn. We were just making the turn off of the Yellowstone road onto the main road in West, maybe a half mile from our destination. Rolling west up the road out of the park at 25 mph with the flashers going I limped the 15 miles or so into West Yellowstone with my cracked pinbox. We got loaded and hitched, now aware of the pinbox cracks. on the promise that I'd bring it back! )įinally got the thing running and managed to take a "Cooling" run or two. Luckily, the guys at the NAPA Store in West were super, and loaned my the hundred dollar tool you need to make removing the serpentine belt on a Cummins an easy task. hauling parts and wrenching on the truck. Thursday was spent running back and forth twixt West Yellowstone and Madison Campground on the Raider.
is the burning wires smell of a cooking Alternator. With that in mind we climbed into the truck and no sooner pull away from the broken rig and "What's that smell?". we'll just go sight seeing for a few days, chill out, get the pinbox repair done Saturday, and all will be well. That gave me a couple of days to get on with our visit to the park. In short order I had an appointment with a welder in West, to do our emergency Pinbox Repair on Saturday. don't work in the park :) No problem, drive back up the road toward West Yellowstone a few miles to get signal. Just a little bracing and careful welding of a decent pinbox repair and it should be good as new! As is my habit, I scanned around the rig as I went about my routine and spotted two small hairline cracks where the back of the pinbox was welded to the cross member.ĭamn! Those pinbox cracks didn't look too bad. I was unhitching the rig in Madison Campground in Yellowstone National Park on a Wednesday afternoon. 'twas a sunny early fall day in Yellowstone when. My Pinbox Repair Was Caused by a Convergence of Bad Karma! It wasn't my fault! The Pinbox Repair story of the Cowboy Biker.