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the breakdown that saved my hide

Buzzcut1
Nomad II
Nomad II

My wife qualified for the National Dressage finals in Kentucky and we live in Northern California.  That means we were doing a 5000 mile round trip hauling the horse.  It also means we were going to cross the Sierras and the Rockies twice on I80.  The truck was running great I had the Lance 1062  well stocked, trailer had been serviced so off we went.  We crested Donner Summit of I80 in the Sierras with ease.  As we were descending into Truckee on the east side the engine overheat warning flashed on the dash so I backed off and exited the freeway.  As luck would have it the offramp exited onto a side road with a huge safe shoulder for both the truck and horse trailer. US RIDER  got the horse and trailer towed to a stable and a medium Wrecker towed my and the truck/camper to Qualitly Automotive in Truckee. I had to dismount the camper in their lot so the truck could go up onto their lift.  The hose that blew was maybe 4 inches long and the diameter of my index finger and was buried at the base of the turbo. They were going to have to take the top of the engine apart to reach it. we explained our destination and timeline for reaching  the Championships and they moved some repairs around to get us to the front of the line  Parts got ordered and work got started.  they had everything pulled and were waiting on the arts to arrive so the mechanich started checking everything while the truck was on the rack. He found that the frond rotors were under spec for wear so I said replace them. when they pulled the calipers to get to the rotor chunks of caliper piston fell out.  New caliper time.  They had the truck finished by Wednesday afternoon, abut 6 hours of shop time. We were back on the road Thursday morning and made Kentucky on time and had a successful competition.  If the shops mechanic had not gone the extra mile in checking out everything on the truck we may have lost our front brakes descending one of the steep grades in the Rockies. He literally saved out hides.  We sopped in on our way home to Drop off Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale for the staff as a thank you.  Quality Automotive Service in Truckee CA. good folks.  FYI I had had the brakes checked a year ago. truck is a 2011 Ford F350 Diesel CC 4x420231102_093729.jpg20231101_104514~2.jpg20231101_151525.jpg

2011 F350 6.7L Diesel 4x4 CrewCab longbed Dually, 2019 Lance 1062, Torqlift Talons, Fast Guns, upper and lower Stable Loads, Super Hitch, 48" Super Truss, Airlift loadlifter 5000 extreme airbags
8 REPLIES 8

Reality_Check
Nomad II
Nomad II

A great outcome for sure.  Interesting how what some would see as problematic,  others will be grateful for.  I'm amazed at how so many of our breakdowns turned put to be small blessings in disguise. 

So how did the Nationals go?  Congrats to Ruth (is memory correct?) for getting the invite!

'16 F550 CC, 4x4 with Link Ultraride air suspension, '18 AF 1150. Just so we can play with our snowmobiles, dirt bikes and fishing boat. And new 20' tag along...kayaks, bikes, mc's and extra water and food!!

Ruth took 8th out of 24 at 1st level and 12 out of 28th at second level with one of the youngest horses in the competition.  We were happy with the showing.

2011 F350 6.7L Diesel 4x4 CrewCab longbed Dually, 2019 Lance 1062, Torqlift Talons, Fast Guns, upper and lower Stable Loads, Super Hitch, 48" Super Truss, Airlift loadlifter 5000 extreme airbags

Bigfootgrey1
Explorer II
Explorer II

Definitely could have been a potential disaster. Excellent mechanics are not so common any more. You were lucky to have found him.!

2008 Bigfoot 25 C 10.4
2011 F-350 Dually 6.7 PSD

dedmiston
Moderator
Moderator

Very classy of you to go back and thank them.

Got any of that bourbon left? Feel free to express your thanks for the forum upgrades. 😎

2014 RAM 3500 Diesel 4x4 Dually long bed. B&W RVK3600 hitch • 2015 Crossroads Elevation Homestead Toy Hauler ("The Taj Mahauler") • <\br >Toys:

  • 18 Can Am Maverick x3
  • 05 Yamaha WR450
  • 07 Honda CRF250X
  • 05 Honda CRF230
  • 06 Honda CRF230

Is there a way to send private messages? (I apologize to the forum but wanted this to go to you.)

Regards, Don
My ride is a 28 foot Class C, 256 watts solar, 556 amp-hours of Telcom jars, 3000 watt Magnum hybrid inverter, Sola Basic Autoformer, Microair Easy Start.

not that I have found yet

2011 F350 6.7L Diesel 4x4 CrewCab longbed Dually, 2019 Lance 1062, Torqlift Talons, Fast Guns, upper and lower Stable Loads, Super Hitch, 48" Super Truss, Airlift loadlifter 5000 extreme airbags

Private messages are available.  Click on the username of the recipient, then 'view profile' where you will find a 'send message' button.

joerg68
Nomad III
Nomad III

That sure sounds like a lucky escape. And like you got good service all around - from towing to mechanical. Good to hear you are safe, and thanks for the report!

2014 Ford F350 XLT 6.2 SCLB + 2017 Northstar Arrow