Snaga
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I'll start with the bad news... as I've just finished typing it for the Overlander Forum (so this bits a cut n paste). I'll add more of a trip report tomorrow once I have downloaded some piccies. Anywho... here's my sad story :cry:
A lot of names are from the Overlander forum but we did have a few members from here join us for the weekend so I thought you might enjoy the read as well.
Thanks everyone for a great weekend. Was great to catch up with everyone again. Contraray to what you'd expect Zo and I still had a great weekend
Yes we took some damage but hey, these things come with the teritory
(amazing part is... I didn't have to sleep on the couch or out with the dog :lol
Firstly... a huge thank you to Chopper and Wholehog who made it possible for me to limp back to camp... thanks guys.
Secondly... another huge thankyou to everyone back at camp who helped Zo and I pack down our trailer and camp before the tilt tray arrived so it could take the camper trailer back to Brissie for us behind the Prado. It really shows what great people we have on this forum
So, what happened?
Well... it all started with a nice leisurley drive around a few simple tracks to round out the weekend. Chopper in lead we headed off and checked out a few of the usual spots... and then headed off to find Club Rally Circuit from the western side.
Approaching the first assent of Club Rally we watched as Chopper and Hoggy took the tougher track to the right and then Jeff and I trundled up the easier side to the left. Totally different lines were needed since last years gathering as the heavy rain had caused some major washouts so we both picked the far left and stradled the ruts to the top... too easy
Next we came to my long standing adversary... the last assent on the western side of Club Rally Circuit. At last years Xmas gathering I made it just a third of the way up and after a few attempts Hoggy dragged me the rest of the way... a month or so ago, with the lift and better tyres I made it half the way up and then Rogerdodger winched me the rest of the way up.
Now come this year... all was going well and I got a bit further again. Unfortunately I was fairly crossed up with opposing wheels spinning in the breeze. I had a few goes trying slightly different lines... got out a couple of times to check if I had any chance and each time was oh, so close...
The fatal statement was... 'one more go and then we'll winch'... well, that was the last straw and I landed a bit hard on the back axel and heard a distinct cack, short and clear.
As we started winching a hear a few horrible noises and stoped the winch process... I got out and inspected the back end but couldn'r see any visible signs yet so we continued the winching and dragged me up the hill.
When I tried to drive the last bit under my own steam is when we all knew something was seriously wrong...
Lots of crunching noises and a then the cars back wheels locked up without any breaking applied.
Chopper and Hoggy set to work removing the driveshaft to release the back end from any drive but the noise was still there and the only thing left to do was to limp back to camp.
Back at camp... it was like flys to... well, you know what
A clacking noise that could be heard from the other side of the camp grounds brought everyone out to see what was up. Zo was saying a few quite prays under her breath but then heard someone say... 'Looks like Snaga' and emerged from our camp to see me limping across the campground.
The trip home was a piece of work all in it's self...
Chopper drove me to the LCMP office to use the phone to call the RACQ (I had upgraded to Ultra Care about 2 weeks ago... phew!)
Had a bit of an heart attack after speaking with the first operator. Conversation sort of went like... 'sorry, blah blah blah... that tow will cost approx $1000.00' :shocked:
After hanging up from that person I had a think and called back again and asked if someone could confirm my Ultra Care benifits and I was then advised that 'no, it wont cost anything. The damge will take longer than 24 hours so we can tow it back to you mechanic or home address free of charge' I can tell you I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard that.
More thanks again... this time to Hefty Merv (Michael and Mia) who offered to drive us all the way home (including our dog). They even had to wait arout at Kilcoy for 20 mins or so while the local mechanic confirmed that it was actually a 24 hour breakdown and the tow truck driver could head off to our place in Brissie.
We had a plesant trip down, traffic was fairly light for a Sunday afternoon and arrived back home around 1630 or 1700ish...
Thank you again guys... your generosity was greatly appreciated.
So now the wait for the tow truck to arrive begins.
Maybe around 6pm he arrives and firstly appologises for not arriving sooner... his gps navigator failed on the way down and had to run into Hardly Normals to buy another one.
Next... we unhitch the trailer from the back and push it off to the side (we couldn't get his truck onto the drive way without damaging neighbours lawns and driveways so we planned on letting the Prado drag it down the 10 meters of the drive way)
He moves the truck forward a bit to give a bit of clearence to unload the car... all going well until the back wheels lock up about 2 mtrs from the back of the tray and the car stops rolling
Ok, maybe I can drive it through what ever it's jammed on... nope. The car almost jumps off the tray :surprised:
He trys backing it up again and and down again but it keeps locking on something.
Now we decide to push the loaded trailer up the gutter and down the drive way... phew!! What an effort that was but we manage it... just.
The driver decides the Prado has to be dropped where it will stay as it doesn't look like it wants to drive anymore so he sets off to negotiate our rather skinny drive way to our 'battle axe block'.
He get reverses and get the back wheels over the gutter but as the fronts come up he bounces a bit and stalls it... now his truck wont start.
A quick inspection of the battery reveals he's lost a nut on one of the battery terminals and the cables have come loose. We couldn't find the nut (even though I heard it fall) and a rummage through his bits and bobs proved fruitless. I had a quick look in my garage and found 1 nut that looked like it would fit and waddya know... it did. So we were back in business.
Steve managed to navigate the tow truck down my driveway and proceeded to unload my car in the corner of the yard where another tow truck will be able to get to it.
It still wouldn't budge past that point so we wet the back surface of the tray down with water which allowed the back end to slip down (controlled by the winch) and then once they were on the ground Steve drove the truck out from under the front end.
Phew!!!!! it was finally home and back on terra firmer
Steve (truck driver) from RACQ is another person I really want to thank... he went way beyond the call of duty. Pushing camper trailers, putting up with a seriously narrow driveway, trades people on the road whos car and trailer was right where he needed to swing around into our place so he had to do it the hard way... and most importantly, cared enough through all that was thrown at us to still get my car to me without any further damage.
Thanks for your efforts Steve
So now that the car is back in our yard and safe... for the time being... want to know the best thing to come from the car/situation that day...........
The beer in the fridge was still ice cold and I think I deserved to crack one open (or two, or three)
Sorry the post was so long but sooooo much happend with so many good people to thank.
I've left a msg with my mechanic that we might need to investigate a locker for the back end so for now, the Prado will have a rest until the new year.
A lot of names are from the Overlander forum but we did have a few members from here join us for the weekend so I thought you might enjoy the read as well.
Thanks everyone for a great weekend. Was great to catch up with everyone again. Contraray to what you'd expect Zo and I still had a great weekend
Yes we took some damage but hey, these things come with the teritory
(amazing part is... I didn't have to sleep on the couch or out with the dog :lolFirstly... a huge thank you to Chopper and Wholehog who made it possible for me to limp back to camp... thanks guys.
Secondly... another huge thankyou to everyone back at camp who helped Zo and I pack down our trailer and camp before the tilt tray arrived so it could take the camper trailer back to Brissie for us behind the Prado. It really shows what great people we have on this forum
So, what happened?
Well... it all started with a nice leisurley drive around a few simple tracks to round out the weekend. Chopper in lead we headed off and checked out a few of the usual spots... and then headed off to find Club Rally Circuit from the western side.
Approaching the first assent of Club Rally we watched as Chopper and Hoggy took the tougher track to the right and then Jeff and I trundled up the easier side to the left. Totally different lines were needed since last years gathering as the heavy rain had caused some major washouts so we both picked the far left and stradled the ruts to the top... too easy
Next we came to my long standing adversary... the last assent on the western side of Club Rally Circuit. At last years Xmas gathering I made it just a third of the way up and after a few attempts Hoggy dragged me the rest of the way... a month or so ago, with the lift and better tyres I made it half the way up and then Rogerdodger winched me the rest of the way up.
Now come this year... all was going well and I got a bit further again. Unfortunately I was fairly crossed up with opposing wheels spinning in the breeze. I had a few goes trying slightly different lines... got out a couple of times to check if I had any chance and each time was oh, so close...
The fatal statement was... 'one more go and then we'll winch'... well, that was the last straw and I landed a bit hard on the back axel and heard a distinct cack, short and clear.
As we started winching a hear a few horrible noises and stoped the winch process... I got out and inspected the back end but couldn'r see any visible signs yet so we continued the winching and dragged me up the hill.
When I tried to drive the last bit under my own steam is when we all knew something was seriously wrong...
Lots of crunching noises and a then the cars back wheels locked up without any breaking applied.Chopper and Hoggy set to work removing the driveshaft to release the back end from any drive but the noise was still there and the only thing left to do was to limp back to camp.
Back at camp... it was like flys to... well, you know what
A clacking noise that could be heard from the other side of the camp grounds brought everyone out to see what was up. Zo was saying a few quite prays under her breath but then heard someone say... 'Looks like Snaga' and emerged from our camp to see me limping across the campground.
The trip home was a piece of work all in it's self...
Chopper drove me to the LCMP office to use the phone to call the RACQ (I had upgraded to Ultra Care about 2 weeks ago... phew!)
Had a bit of an heart attack after speaking with the first operator. Conversation sort of went like... 'sorry, blah blah blah... that tow will cost approx $1000.00' :shocked:
After hanging up from that person I had a think and called back again and asked if someone could confirm my Ultra Care benifits and I was then advised that 'no, it wont cost anything. The damge will take longer than 24 hours so we can tow it back to you mechanic or home address free of charge' I can tell you I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard that.
More thanks again... this time to Hefty Merv (Michael and Mia) who offered to drive us all the way home (including our dog). They even had to wait arout at Kilcoy for 20 mins or so while the local mechanic confirmed that it was actually a 24 hour breakdown and the tow truck driver could head off to our place in Brissie.
We had a plesant trip down, traffic was fairly light for a Sunday afternoon and arrived back home around 1630 or 1700ish...
Thank you again guys... your generosity was greatly appreciated.
So now the wait for the tow truck to arrive begins.
Maybe around 6pm he arrives and firstly appologises for not arriving sooner... his gps navigator failed on the way down and had to run into Hardly Normals to buy another one.
Next... we unhitch the trailer from the back and push it off to the side (we couldn't get his truck onto the drive way without damaging neighbours lawns and driveways so we planned on letting the Prado drag it down the 10 meters of the drive way)
He moves the truck forward a bit to give a bit of clearence to unload the car... all going well until the back wheels lock up about 2 mtrs from the back of the tray and the car stops rolling
Ok, maybe I can drive it through what ever it's jammed on... nope. The car almost jumps off the tray :surprised:
He trys backing it up again and and down again but it keeps locking on something.
Now we decide to push the loaded trailer up the gutter and down the drive way... phew!! What an effort that was but we manage it... just.
The driver decides the Prado has to be dropped where it will stay as it doesn't look like it wants to drive anymore so he sets off to negotiate our rather skinny drive way to our 'battle axe block'.
He get reverses and get the back wheels over the gutter but as the fronts come up he bounces a bit and stalls it... now his truck wont start.
A quick inspection of the battery reveals he's lost a nut on one of the battery terminals and the cables have come loose. We couldn't find the nut (even though I heard it fall) and a rummage through his bits and bobs proved fruitless. I had a quick look in my garage and found 1 nut that looked like it would fit and waddya know... it did. So we were back in business.
Steve managed to navigate the tow truck down my driveway and proceeded to unload my car in the corner of the yard where another tow truck will be able to get to it.
It still wouldn't budge past that point so we wet the back surface of the tray down with water which allowed the back end to slip down (controlled by the winch) and then once they were on the ground Steve drove the truck out from under the front end.
Phew!!!!! it was finally home and back on terra firmer
Steve (truck driver) from RACQ is another person I really want to thank... he went way beyond the call of duty. Pushing camper trailers, putting up with a seriously narrow driveway, trades people on the road whos car and trailer was right where he needed to swing around into our place so he had to do it the hard way... and most importantly, cared enough through all that was thrown at us to still get my car to me without any further damage.
Thanks for your efforts Steve
So now that the car is back in our yard and safe... for the time being... want to know the best thing to come from the car/situation that day...........
The beer in the fridge was still ice cold and I think I deserved to crack one open (or two, or three
)Sorry the post was so long but sooooo much happend with so many good people to thank.
I've left a msg with my mechanic that we might need to investigate a locker for the back end so for now, the Prado will have a rest until the new year.
ops: :roll:
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