Well I took the 56 chevy and my vintage travel trailer on a little road trip from las Vegas,Nv. to St Louis Mo. over the Memorial week holiday. Had a great trip there to see my folks who are in their 90's and struggling. Made it there ok. I'm retired now and enjoying myself and time wasn't a real constraint. On the way home we p***ed through Denver Co. and up into the Rockies and man there was some beautiful country there. Anyway as we were just past Idaho Springs I lost a rear wheel car and trailer skidded and fishtailed for a while . we were going downhill about 65-70 mph,Got us whoad down and off the road and all in felt pretty lucky. not on the roof, no in a ditch 10 fingers etc etc. Anyway They were also blasting up there and traffic was on and off, anyway I walk to a flag sign man to see if he knew any tow service. We googled 3 towing companies and 2 were useless but the third time was a charm.A little company called Allied auto towing and auto repair said they could come up in like 45 minutes and so they did. Very professionally got my wounded chevy up on the rollback and hooked up the trailer. got us back to the shop and babysat us, got us a room at a local hotel, told us where to eat and where not to eat.lol . Got me all fixed like in two days, had to find parts and get them out of Denver.Long story short they got us on the road . torque thrust wheel looked pretty bad so I ended up with a white spoke wheel new tire,all new rear brake job. Everything was stripped off the ground down backing plate. They did a super job. They are into old cars and Harley's and such and great guys to deal with. And the end price in this day and age I thought was way fair. We went to several restaurants while waiting and everyone there said they were pretty good guys. So if you are traveling on I70 west of Denver and have trouble call Allied Towing and auto repair.It so nice to meet and honest repair shop and hard working folks in this day and age.
Great story! Sorry it happened but, glad all turned out well. It's always good to hear a story like this to confirm our faith in humanity. Anyone traveling in that area needs to stop and give a thumbs-up and words of support to the folks at Allied Towing and Repair. You were fortunate to find them.
Good lesson. Torque those lug nuts before you leave on a trip. Especially with aluminum wheels Glad you are o.k. and no more damage than that.
Great to read your story and confirms what I believe, there are many good business/people to ***ist you when a problem comes up. In my many years of towing and travels, always met good people like you did with great results and treated fairly on $$ charged. Nice Chevy and trailer, very Kool !
It's good to hear a positive story like this once in a while. I'm glad you found an honest shop and got back on the road successfully to finish your trip....
I was out for the maiden voyage last July with my Ford. Just about 30 miles around the area since the car was a new build. The next morning I looked at the left rear wheel and 3 of the nuts are backed off, the wheel was quite loose when I jacked it up. Must have got overlooked during the last thrash to get it drivable. Now they all get torqued.
Glad you are OK. Some times a bad experience turn into a good time. We are sitting in Cheyenne WY. right now, We Lost a turbo on our truck yesterday 40 miles west of Cheyenne, so got a friend to come up from Denver to take the truck back home and got a friend in Cheyenne to come get the trailer and take it to Cheyenne. So sitting here at a motel waiting for my son to get here from Gillette WY. with his truck to take us on to Coeur d'Alene ID. To pick up my wife's new car. So now we get spend a week with our son and his family. Oh yea my wife's new car is a very nice 64 Fairlane. Good luck hope get home with out any problems.
Nice looking rig,glad to hear everything worked out well. Contrary to popular belief there are some good people out there and they seem to rise to the occasion when things there worse. HRP.
Many years ago, instead of anti-seize compound I used a dab of lithium grease instead on my lugs. I was driving down the road a month or so later and felt a vibration in the ride and started to hear a light clunking noise. My first thought was a u-joint and then later on it got progressively worse that same day. I pulled over into a parking lot, jacked up the car and tried to fiddle with the driveshaft to see if there was any play and I noticed the rear wheel at a bit of an odd angle. Sure enough, I jiggled the wheel and it moved about, I just about ****ped myself. I took the wheel off, spinning the lug nuts off with my fingers. I cleaned that grease off with a rag I carried in the car and literally screwed the rag inside the lug nuts and put everything back together again. Then I proceeded to do the same to the other three wheels, stupid of me and embarr***ing, but I got lucky.
Wow! What a close call. Did you happen to eat at Beau Jo's Pizza while you were in Idaho Springs? Best pizza anywhere, I think.
Wow, can't believe that tire didn't tear the 1/4 panel all to he--. Could of been much worse for sure! Like you said, least it stayed shiny side up! My brother had the same thing happen to his 58 Chevy pulling his canned ham out on 25 headed to Denver. Luckily he got it off the road and stopped before the wheel came all the way off. He still had a lug or two left so he knocked a stud out of each of the other 3 wheels and limped into the Springs with 4 lugs each, stopped at a parts store and put studs back in, geez, that had to be a PIA. Guess he figured that was better then a tow bill, not sure I would of.
Happy that everything worked out o.k. for you. I take many long trips-often alone and I know that breakdowns are always a reality.
Happy to here you and your significant other, the car/camper are all OK. That could have had a much different ending. Also high five for calling out the great service you got. So many times on this board all we here about is bad service and crooks, so heres to Allied Auto Towing and Repair.
So was the Late Unpleasantness in fact caused by loose lug nuts? Yeesh. I always double check them before any kind of road trip and again after a few hundred miles. Only takes a few minutes and does lots for peace of mind.
I think it is likely there are more good people out there than we hear about. It is simply a fact of human nature that people will readily put more energy into complaining than praising. When they are happy, they are happy....and just move on.......... Hats off to the OP for taking the time to share this story and give due recognition to Allied Auto Towing and Repair ! Ray
We had that happen one evening on the way to the races in a 64 chevy in 1975. The owner had just changed tires and we were 50 miles from home on the interstate when the car started shaking. We stopped and found 3 of the 4 studs broken and the 2 remaining were next to each other. We tightened the two remaining nuts and drove carefully to the race track knowing several teams had studs. It had rained and the races were called off so we drove into the nearby small town. The auto parts store was closed and only one gas station was open with just a kid to pump gas and clean up. They didn't have any studs so we asked to borrow a hammer. The kid says we have to hurry because he has to close in a 1/2 hour. He watched us jack up the other rear wheel, knock out a stud, jackup a front wheel, take out another stud then jack up the bad wheel and put the removed studs in. We handed him the hammer 15 minutes later. He said we should be in a pit crew and we told him we were.
Did you replace those 7/16" studs with 1/2 studs? Glad you and your ride are safe and sound! Am planning on towing a trailer with my 54 Chevy when it's done too! Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Glad your safe. I have seen this more than once. When you get home pull one of the mags off and check the lugnut depth on the wheel. Some times the lugnut is about a 1/16th longer than need be. Tightens up great but wheel is not snug on the break drum. sooner or later it will break off all the lugs just like you did.
Glad it all turned out OK and that Allied Towing came to the rescue, and proved to be good people. FK has offered some good advice about shank length on mag wheel lug nut, heed it.
Glad it worked out, neat ride you have there. I have experienced a few problems on the road over the years and without exception they have all resulted in meeting great folks in even the most remote places.
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