Good Samaritans

[3 Horse Ranch]

September 14th was a day I will long remember and not in a good way for what initially happened, but with good memories of how it all turned out in the end. We went to McDonald's for breakfast, came back to the old house and hooked up to the horse trailer. Backed down to the barn and proceeded to load the horses. While it wasn't without a few problems, they loaded much better than I thought they would.
At about 11:30 we headed east on Hwy 20 through North Cascades Park and Washington Pass taking it easy to keep the horses calm. All was going well until we got up past Ross Lake, a car passed and motioned for me to pull over. When I did he said "Your wheel came off, your right rear wheel came off, about hit me, then crossed the road and about hit an oncoming car." I went back, and sure enough. He put his 4 ways on and followed me until I got to a safe place to pull over. He then offered to take me back to get the wheel which was a couple of miles back. When we got to the wheel I was dumbstruck. The axle had snapped off just outside of the backing plate. It had plenty of grease, but had just snapped.
There was no limping on, there we sat for about 3 hours, no cell service, no way of calling for help. I couldn't disconnect and leave the horses alone, and I couldn't leave my blind brother with them. The first good Samaritan, Don Grace, had offered to call a tow when he got to Winthrop, but none ever showed. I later talked to him and he tried but no tow company had a spare horse trailer and nobody would deal with a trailer with animals inside, so none came. Don did call the State Patrol who got hold of the U.S. Park Service. At about 3:30 U.S. Park Ranger Steven Sigala, the second good Samaritan, stopped behind us and after finding out the problem worked for hours, driving down to Newhalem, about 15 winding and hilly miles to where he had cell service to make arrangements and back to us to keep us informed, at least three round trips. He said no matter what it took he would get us off the pass. On his last visit he informed us that someone volunteered to drive up from Concrete, WA. about 40 miles down the valley.
Just before dark Mr. Wood, our third good Samaritan, showed up with a horse trailer and with much more difficulty we loaded the horses and hauled them back to where we started. He told us to meet him in Lyman and lead him to the house as it was completely dark. I offered to pay for his fuel at he Lyman fuels but Mr. Wood refused and said he just wanted to get home.
The trailer has been picked up now and is in Mount Vernon to get 2 new axles, in a few weeks time we will have a usable trailer, meanwhile a horse hauler was hired to do the job and the horses are getting used to their new home.
All I can say is thank God no one or no other vehicles were involved, thank God it all worked out in the end, and thank God for and God bless those three good Samaritans., Don Grace, Park Ranger Steven Sigala, and Mr. Wood of Concrete, WA

That's my good Samaritan story of recent past, Just wondering if others have similar stories that might renew faith in our fellow man.

 

[Diggin It]

When we got to the wheel I was dumbstruck. The axle had snapped off just outside of the backing plate. It had plenty of grease, but had just snapped.

I remember an episode of one of those police accident investigation/reconstruction shows many years back. This one was in Canada and a truck had lost a wheel, but the results were much more unfortunate. After the cause was determined, the investigator stated it was the closest thing he had ever seen to a true accident where no one could be blamed. It was basically the same thing, the axle had broken internally, metal fatigue. He said there was no routine inspection or maintenance that could have found it, only some sort of disassembly and x-ray.

 

[Citydude]

September 14th was a day I will long remember and not in a good way. Went to McDonald's for breakfast, came back to the old house and hooked up to the horse trailer. Backed down to the barn and proceeded to load the horses. While it wasn't without a few problems, they loaded much better than I thought they would.
At about 11:30 we headed east on Hwy 20 taking it easy to keep the horses calm. All was going well until we got up past Ross Lake, a car passed and motioned for me to pull over. When I did he said "Your wheel came off, your right rear wheel came off, about hit me, then crossed the road and about hit an oncoming car." I went back, and sure enough. He put his 4 ways on and followed me until I got to a safe place to pull over. He then offered to take me back to get the wheel which was a couple of miles back. When we got to the wheel I was dumbstruck. The axle had snapped off just outside of the backing plate. It had plenty of grease, but had just snapped.
There was no limping on, there we sat for about 3 hours, no cell service, no way of calling for help. I couldn't disconnect and leave the horses alone, and I couldn't leave my blind brother with them. The first good Samaritan, Don Grace, had offered to call a tow when he got to Winthrop, but none ever showed. I later talked to him and he tried but no tow company had a spare horse trailer and nobody would deal with a trailer with animals inside, so none came. Don did call the State Patrol who got hold of the U.S. Park Service. At about 3:30 U.S. Park Ranger Steven Sigala, the second good Samaritan, stopped behind us and after finding out the problem worked for hours, driving down to Newhalem, about 15 winding and hilly miles to where he had cell service to make arrangements and back to us to keep us informed, at least three round trips. He said no matter what it took he would get us off the pass. On his last visit he informed us that someone volunteered to drive up from Concrete, WA. about 40 miles down the valley.
Just before dark Mr. Wood, our third good Samaritan, showed up with a horse trailer and with much more difficulty we loaded the horses and hauled them back to where we started. He told us to meet him in Lyman and lead him to the house as it was completely dark. I offered to pay for his fuel at he Lyman fuels but Mr. Wood refused and said he just wanted to get home.
The trailer has been picked up now and is in Mount Vernon to get 2 new axles, in a few weeks time we will have a usable trailer, meanwhile a horse hauler was hired to do the job.
All I can say is thank God no one or no other vehicles were involved, thank God it all worked out in the end, and thank God for and God bless those three good Samaritans., Don Grace, Park Ranger Steven Sigala, and Mr. Wood of Concrete, WA

That's my good Samaritan story of recent past, Just wondering if others have similar stories that might renew faith in our fellow man.

Thanks for posting. Positive outcomes from good samaritans is always good to hear.

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

He said there was no routine inspection or maintenance that could have found it, only some sort of disassembly and x-ray.

Exactly what I thought. Even if it had been disassembled in a normal maintenance procedure you could not have detected it. It was right at the backing plate.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Thankfully no! But I try to be that Good Samaritan whenever possible. Always worth it to keep the "Good Deed" meter on full!

 

[dodge man]

There are still some good people out there, thanks for the story.

 

[coobie]

Good post god knows there are still decent caring folks around.Glad it all worked out for you.

 

[newbury]

I've had wheels break off trailers twice.
The first one was a trailer in front of me and I managed to get the van I was driving (at 60 mph in heavy traffic) positioned so I essentially "headed" it like a soccer ball off the frame of the windshield. Big dent, no crack.
The second off a Uhaul trailer I rented.
Both were scary as all get out.

But to have it happen with virtually no support in the boonies and a live load etc.!

Darn man! Are you buying lottery tickets?

 

[Sigarms]

September 14th was a day I will long remember for giving me faith in my fellow man.

Changed it for you

And yes, you were blessed that day, and thank you for sharing that story.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

I do have a story about crazy stuff flying off trailers though. I was driving down a 4 lane divided highway at night when my buddy and I noticed sparks about 300 feet ahead. Right about the time we noticed that we saw a 20 lb propane tank come clanking by us in the other lane. BUT, we still saw sparks up ahead. We quickly caught up to a trailer that had lost its dual 20lb propane tanks. One clanked down the road, the other was stuck under the axle sparking like all get out. We got the trailer to pull over, disaster averted! This was 30 years ago, but I will never forget it. Scary stuff!

 

[TheMan419]

Thank you for the story. I am glad there are still people out there like that.

My wife has horses and she often hauls them from here to there when I am not with her. We have a service from US Rider. It is like AAA but they will come get the horse trailer and horses as well as your truck if there is a problem. The will even help you find temporary lodging for the horses if needed. Its like $150/yr. AAA is $80 or so. She was going to have that anyway, so for an exta few bucks she gets help with the horses as well. Thankfully we have never had to use it.

 

[ponytug]

Thank you for the story. I am glad there are still people out there like that.

My wife has horses and she often hauls them from here to there when I am not with her. We have a service from US Rider. It is like AAA but they will come get the horse trailer and horses as well as your truck if there is a problem. The will even help you find temporary lodging for the horses if needed. Its like $150/yr. AAA is $80 or so. She was going to have that anyway, so for an exta few bucks she gets help with the horses as well. Thankfully we have never had to use it.

+1 for US rider as well, but read the fine print to make sure that it covers you. We found a few carve outs that affected us, but went with it to cover the majority of our needs.

+1 on Good Sam, which really helped us out when the ECM on our Freightliner up and failed with no warning. (And kudos to the Good Samaritan who gave my wife a ride home to civilization from five hours away!) I spent a couple of days living at the repair shop while they sorted it out.

All the best,

Peter

 

[drssg]

That is my nightmare scenario: to be stuck out in the middle of nowhere with horses in the trailer. Having no cell service just really tops it off. It's nice to hear about your good samaritan.

I do have a story that is nowhere near as dramatic. I was cruising on my motorcycle and towing a small cargo trailer on the wide open freeway at 75 mph. A man in the lane to my left rolled down his window, honked his horn, and motioned to pull off the road.

I was leery, but his expression didn't look angry or crazy, and I pulled off into the breakdown lane. He walked back and informed me that the hitch on my trailer was about to break loose.

He was actually wrong. The trailer hitch is on a swivel to improve handling on low speed turns and the connector often rides at a bit of an angle, but it is firmly connected.

He apologized for needlessly stopping me on the interstate, but I thought it was very nice that he would go to that effort, and I told him so.

There really are quite a few nice people in the world, and they usually don't make the news.

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

Thank you for the story. I am glad there are still people out there like that.

My wife has horses and she often hauls them from here to there when I am not with her. We have a service from US Rider. It is like AAA but they will come get the horse trailer and horses as well as your truck if there is a problem. The will even help you find temporary lodging for the horses if needed. Its like $150/yr. AAA is $80 or so. She was going to have that anyway, so for an exta few bucks she gets help with the horses as well. Thankfully we have never had to use it.

Thanks for the info. I have AAA but they were of no help because of the horses. The first good Samaritan called them when he got to a place with cell service. they did nothing. I am considering dropping them. but will likely keep them because this is sparsely populated country once you get away from the river valley.

My brother had bought property in Tonasket and this was a one time move and the horses are just his pasture pets now that he is totally blind and no longer rides. I am his caretaker/transportation coordinator/handyman/.... but have little experience with horses.

 

[riptides]

I have US Rider, and a big name insurance. US Rider is OK. But my big name insurance covered my recovery efforts from half-way across the country much better. Our gooseneck was an issue finding someone to not only recover from the accident scene but also get back home. Luck would have it, the manufacturer has a recovery/tow service available and they dispatched a good Samaritan to assist. From half-way across the country.

Our big deal going cross country with horses provided some expensive but valuable service and information:

1. Communications are a big deal, OnStar, Cell, Wifi coverage is a must.
2. Planning for rest and recovery stops, there are plenty of people who can provide stop over and hook up services.
Seek those people/establishments out on your route.
3. Read the fine print on your insurance coverages.
Dispatch times.
Haul distances.
Equipment coverage.
Rental truck/car agreement.
4. Make sure your insurance can work with you from out of state locations.
Vehicle paperwork from state to state, power of attorney, release forms all are things they need to handle.

 

[ponytug]

@riptides Care to share who the big name insurer was?

I agree with 100% about the complexities of planning when moving animals. Unloading on a freeway is not something that I ever want to do. (But sometimes the totally unforeseen happens, like with @3 Horse Ranch.)

All the best,

Peter

 

[riptides]

@riptides Care to share who the big name insurer was?

I agree with 100% about the complexities of planning when moving animals. Unloading on a freeway is not something that I ever want to do. (But sometimes the totally unforeseen happens, like with @3 Horse Ranch.)

All the best,

Peter

Sent you a PM.

 

[Buppies]

Thanks for sharing your story 3 horse and glad everyone was ok. There are good people in the world and your story proves that

 

[Steppenwolfe]

Thanks for sharing your story 3 horse and glad everyone was ok. There are good people in the world and your story proves that

It always amazes me how many REALLY GOOD people there are in the world out there; especially when it's so easy to be one.

 

[NorTracNY]

Thank you for the story. I am glad there are still people out there like that.

My wife has horses and she often hauls them from here to there when I am not with her. We have a service from US Rider. It is like AAA but they will come get the horse trailer and horses as well as your truck if there is a problem. The will even help you find temporary lodging for the horses if needed. Its like $150/yr. AAA is $80 or so. She was going to have that anyway, so for an exta few bucks she gets help with the horses as well. Thankfully we have never had to use it.

I hope you never need to use US Rider. I read a story about a poor guy that needed to use it. It was useless. They did nothing to help other than call around to try and find someone in the area who might come help on a Sunday. The person that responded charged them hundreds of dollars and it took many hours. With a smart phone, they could have done the same. It wasn't like US Rider had a network of places that could help. They just collect premiums and call around trying to help if a customer gets in trouble. The person that responded wasn't going to hope some little company was going to reimburse him.