We were on our way east on I-10, after the tire change by the guy sent by SeaTow. Over the years of towing boats, I’ve learned to always be aware of the sounds and vibrations that come with the territory. My senses were on high alert now that we were towing a large, heavy trailer with an expensive boat on it. Most often, a change in road conditions, such as asphalt to concrete, cause a change in sound and “feel”. Sometimes, however, it’s an indication that something is wrong.
We were about 50 miles into our trip, when there was a shudder, followed by a strange vibration as we crossed a bridge. “Surely we didn’t have another flat tire,” I thought, as I slowed the truck a bit and sat up to look back at the trailer tires in the side mirrors. The driver’s side tires looked fine, but the passenger side tires looked odd. No, we didn’t have a flat tire, but the wheel and tire that was just changed by the “expert” WAS GONE!!
I quickly pulled onto the shoulder, which suddenly seemed very narrow, and came to a stop with the emergency flashers on. I waited for a gap in the traffic so that I could safely open my door and go around to the passenger side to check out the damage. Evidently, the guy who changed the tire didn’t tighten the lug nuts, which eventually worked loose and sheared off the lugs, allowing the wheel to come off, leaving us in a dangerous situation. We were fortunate that we were able to stop the truck/trailer without significant damage to the trailer or boat.
So there we were, on the side of the interstate, just a few feet away from traffic going by at 70MPH. Most people made an effort to get into the left lane, but every truck that passed would cause a shudder in the truck and trailer from the airflow. Our first call was to SeaTow, telling them that the wheel that had just been changed by their guy just 50 miles back had flown off our trailer while traveling down the interstate. Their first response was that we only get one roadside assistance call per trip. Doing all I could do to not just go off on the SeaTow associate, I told her as politely as I could, that since SeaTow handled the spare tire change, it was their responsibility to fix the problem caused by their contractor. They eventually agreed to handle the repair call and pay for the service, but not the parts (new lug nuts and a wheel/tire). This lack of service is why we are switching to BoatUS for our on-water and roadside assistance.
And then we waited. And waited. And waited. I was able to pull up about 50 feet to get to some shade, making the wait just a bit more bearable. Eventually, a guy pulled up. Lisa thought the guy and the truck reminded her of 'Mater from Cars, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, right? Everybody loves 'Mater and we couldn't help but think that he was most likely going to know what he was doing. Sure enough, this guy was a pro, unlike the other guy. He knew exactly what had happened, what parts he would need to fix the problem (lug nuts, wheel and tire, and hub oil), and how to repair it properly. He didn’t like to talk, but didn’t seem to mind me watching. Right before he drove off to town to get the required parts, a guy who had stopped on the opposite side of the interstate in the westbound lane, braved the traffic to cross over and see if we could help because he had run out of gas. I had an empty gas can that I offered up, and the repair technician offered to get gas for him while he was in town.
It was dark by the time he got back with the parts. The Highway Patrol didn't ever make it to sit behind us, but the repair went quickly once he got back. Replacing the lugs required removing the brake caliper, draining the hub oil, pulling the hub/rotor, and pounding in new lugs. Once that was done, he reassembled everything, and put the tire back on. He really did know what he was doing, even while the trailer was on a jack and shuddering every time a truck went by. He finished up, we paid for the parts, and finally got back underway after at least 5 hours on the side of the road. We pressed on to Jacksonville, arriving late and hungry. We needed a good night of sleep to decide where we would go from here.
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