A lesson on the value of towing coverage
So I had lunch with my dad today. He and my stepmom recently celebrated their anniversary at the Grand Canyon. They had a couple unexpectedly (and undesirably) interesting days.
Camped out at the North Rim, they decided to head off and visit some of the lookout points even more off the beaten path. Something like 12 miles off the paved roads, the truck started pulling left. Sure enough, they had a flat tire. After some variation of the 'fix-a-flat' can that gooped up the damage okay, but didn't inflate the tire sufficiently to drive on it, my dad started the process of putting on the spare. Like so many people, he'd never had to do that in his current vehicle, and the jack provided was probably best described as "wimpy." It took about two hours, but he managed to get the spare on and start back.
After covering about half the distance back to pavement, the truck started pulling right. Yep, two flat tires in the space of six miles. After considering options, my stepmom stayed with the dog and my dad started walking back in hopes of getting some help. They had plenty of spare water, and even fuel, just in case. But who carries two spare tires?
Fortunately, a park ranger came upon the truck and caught up with my dad. Of course, no service station in the area repairs/replaces tires, but they were able to take the semi-fixed tire and get it fully inflated. Back to the truck they went. This time, while trying to jack it up, the truck slipped and bent the jack. The ranger offered up what he had in his vehicle, which turned out to be about the same thing.
In the end, they were able to drive back to the campground. The ranger station allowed them to call around for tires, but the nearest option was almost 80 miles away. Not comfortable driving that distance on questionable tires, my dad called his car insurance provider. They were able to get a tow truck out there in an hour and a half to haul the truck off to get new tires.
Sometimes insurance pays off, and there are still plenty of places where cell phones aren't of much use.
Camped out at the North Rim, they decided to head off and visit some of the lookout points even more off the beaten path. Something like 12 miles off the paved roads, the truck started pulling left. Sure enough, they had a flat tire. After some variation of the 'fix-a-flat' can that gooped up the damage okay, but didn't inflate the tire sufficiently to drive on it, my dad started the process of putting on the spare. Like so many people, he'd never had to do that in his current vehicle, and the jack provided was probably best described as "wimpy." It took about two hours, but he managed to get the spare on and start back.
After covering about half the distance back to pavement, the truck started pulling right. Yep, two flat tires in the space of six miles. After considering options, my stepmom stayed with the dog and my dad started walking back in hopes of getting some help. They had plenty of spare water, and even fuel, just in case. But who carries two spare tires?
Fortunately, a park ranger came upon the truck and caught up with my dad. Of course, no service station in the area repairs/replaces tires, but they were able to take the semi-fixed tire and get it fully inflated. Back to the truck they went. This time, while trying to jack it up, the truck slipped and bent the jack. The ranger offered up what he had in his vehicle, which turned out to be about the same thing.
In the end, they were able to drive back to the campground. The ranger station allowed them to call around for tires, but the nearest option was almost 80 miles away. Not comfortable driving that distance on questionable tires, my dad called his car insurance provider. They were able to get a tow truck out there in an hour and a half to haul the truck off to get new tires.
Sometimes insurance pays off, and there are still plenty of places where cell phones aren't of much use.
It has been my experience that the jacks provided stock in vehicles are politicians. They're really only there to give you a false sense of security...
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