Travel Troubles

[Jackpine]

I had sort of mentioned we were to be off for a camping trip to Mt Graham yesterday, but things did not go as planned.

Right on time, we left with two grandkids and the trailer in tow. About 60+ miles to the east, another driver motioned for us to pull over. We did. At first, we saw nothing wrong, but suddenly, in the vicinity of the right trailer wheel, I smelled rubber. I discovered the frame of the trailer had descended onto the tire tread and was "shaving" it off.

I knew, of course that our trip was off and managed to slowly get to the next crossing median on the interstate and turned around, headed toward the little town of Benson we had passed about 6 miles earlier. I was hoping to find an RV repair place there and as luck would have it, the first promising place to ask about it was Lawley Ford (a truck dealership and service place there). The General Manager, Denver Caldwell, was the first person I met and asked about a place to get help. He shook his head - nothing for RV service in Benson, but he'd have his mechanic take a look at it and thought they'd be able to get us going.

The mechanic diagnosed a broken torsion bar, and, of course there was nothing he could do about it.

Denver was a perfect gentlemen though. He offered me a safe place to park the trailer on his lot till I could arrange for it to be towed. Told us were we could get lunch, and talked to a friend of his who was willing to put it on a flatbed and get it back to Tucson at a reasonable price if we didn't have towing coverage.

At lunch, looking at our breakdown insurance on the trailer, I found out we did have towing coverage, so I arranged that, the tow guy showed up right away and my trailer and we are now back in Tucson.

But thinking about all this: First, if the other driver had just ignored us (like probably many others had) would we have had a serious problem (possibly leading to an accident)? Would we have broken down on the mountain road (one way in places) and out of cell phone range? I really couldn't see anything down low on the right side while driving and any smoke was hidden behind the trailer. The tread had been worn badly and the tire is trashed.

What a super guy Denver Caldwell was to a stranger in need. He has a beautiful 2009 f150 King Ranch sitting in his showroom that I'd love to buy (but can't, of course).

There ARE good people in the world and good businesses. And, I think it's great, (and gives us hope) when we find them.

- Jack

[Corey Cohron RIP]

What an uplifting story, Jack! I'm so sorry about your trip, but I'm very happy that you're all home safely.

[88Racing]

Glad your ok and there weren't any accidents.

Your guardian angle was with you and your family.

The weekend plans are ruined but there will be more weekends to spend time with the grand children. Also with a repaired camper trailer.

I'm glad to hear of your positive experience at the Ford dealership. Glad to know that there are still kind hearted people out there.

Lars

[BlackSTX]

It's always nice when people see something that looks to be a concern, and let's you know about it, rather than ignoring it because it's someone else's problem.
Glad the Ford dealership at least took a look at it for you too. Some places prefer to say "no, we don't service them" and leave you on your own.

It's always nice to know there's places and people who try their best to help the customer; even when they know they aren't likely to see them again. That's what customer service is all about.

Good to hear your trip ended safely and without incident. It's always better to have a trip cut short than end with accident or injury.

[average-joe]

It all turned out good in the end, thumbs up for the dealership.