HITCH FAILURE
From our wheelin’ pal, Keith Schweizer.
This happened to a friend of Keiths a short time ago in Colorado high country.
“Thought I would send a message of warning to my OTR (On-the-Rocks) buddies. My Reese Hitch broke this weekend. Thankfully it happened in the best possible scenario. Going up hill at 10 MPH, so the safety cables held it in place till I secured my Jeep. I can’t even imagine what it could have been going 65 down the road. I went through and checked that the hitch was well within the ratings of the equipment, yet it still failed. I ask you all to inspect your towing gear for any fatigue and possibly upgrade it. We all take it for granted. I did. Nothing like a $50 part taking out your $$$ Heep as well as ???? on the highway. Tom”
August 2011
We received a phone call April 4th 2011 from a friend we hadn’t seen in a few years, and the first thing out of his mouth was: “Joan, you know what you’ve always told me about NOT traveling alone?”
Me: “Burt, what have you done?”
Burt and his dog were on their way down Pass Canyon and had just maneuvered the first waterfall when bang – oh, oh! No steering. The track bar had snapped in two at a factory bend and Burt had no way to repair it. Burt had to climb up several steep hills where he was finally able to get cell reception and call his wife in Phoenix who called me with Burt on the other line – four of us on phones all at once (a conference call). Between Phil and Burt they figured out the problem and were able to pin-point his exact location.
We contacted Bill Hammond who had recently installed an on-board Premier Power Welder in his Jeep – think it was a Christmas present. We made arrangements to meet with Bill who “hi-jacked” Doug McKay and Wayne Evans as co-mechanics. We had explained to Burt that it might take us an hour and a half or more to reach him, which it did. When we arrived, there was the Jeep but no Burt. Finally his ‘thrilled-to-see-us’ tail wagging dog, Dutch, came running up so we knew Burt wasn’t far behind. The guys had to work pretty hard to remove the track bar, then they cleaned it and got the powder coating off with the grinder Phil had brought along.
Finally! The time had come. The tension was high! Bill had not yet tried his on-board welder – would it work??? Oh, wow! Did it ever. It was incredible. With instruction manual in hand, Bill did a masterful job. Wayne sat in the driver’s seat keeping up the RPMs so the battery would stay happy; Doug helped hold the pieces together during the actual welding – he had brought protective gear to wear – and Phil had brought along his helmet and did the spot weld; Bill finished up the welding and did a superb job. Bill was wildly ecstatic – happier than a boy in a toy shop with his new tool, and with darned good reason. What an awesome piece of equipment.
During this time, Burt had been busy protecting Dutch’s eyes from the sparks and bright light. What an amazing end to a potentially serious problem. Burt and Dutch would have had a long hike out in the dark. Burt kept apologizing to us; but I think he finally realized that he had provided us with the opportunity to go out and do our very favorite thing – ‘wheel’ and help someone in need.
We all had a terrific time, another 4×4 adventure! The weather was glorious – it was close to sunset with a magnificent color display on our ever-beautiful Black Mountains.
We thank you, Burt!