Good thing I had my morning coffee last Tuesday!

WoodsRider

Sponsoring Member<BR>Club Moderator
Damn Yankees
Oct 13, 1999
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So last week I'm out west vacationing with my family. We were taking the trailer up into the Cascade mountains for a couple days. About 25 miles from the summit of Snoqualmie Pass we started to smell burning rubber. More specifically tire. I kept thinking a big rig up ahead was shedding a tire, so we kept going. Just past the summit a pickup pulled alongside and the passenger shouted: "You're on fire!"

Somehow I kept my cool, pulled over and got all three kids out of the back and away from the truck. The guys who warned me also pulled over and kept saying: "Get away, you're gas tank's going to blow!"

It only took a minute for me to determine the fire was on the right side of the pickup and the fuel tank was on the left side. I was more worried about the fire being close to the propane tanks on the trailer and considered pulling the hitch pin and safety chains then driving the truck away from the trailer.

Instead I pulled the fire extinguisher out of the trailer and went to work on the flames. An 18-wheeler stopped and the driver hopped out with another extinguisher and together we got the flames out, but it was still smoking. I looked underneath and saw the spare tire had caught on fire. I dug out the tire changing tools, dropped the spare and rolled it into the creek next to the road.

The original dual-outlet muffler and tail pipes were replaced with a single-outlet 3-inch muffler and tail pipe. Obviously it was too close to the spare tire.

Once the culprit was found I inspected the underside for any signs of damage from the flames. Thankfully nothing else was damaged. I hauled the, now full of water, spare tire out of the creek before getting an "environmental pollution" ticket, tossed in the bed of the truck and drove to Cle Elum, WA where I bought a used spare, gas and lunch.

My wife was still in shock when we were eating lunch and asked me how I kept calm throughout the whole ordeal. The only thing I can think of is that I had my morning coffee!
 

dirt bike dave

Sponsoring Member
May 3, 2000
5,349
3
Close call, and nice job performing under pressure!

Thank goodness for the samaritans and your cool head.

Glad to hear everything turned out OK.
 

Tony Eeds

Godspeed Tony.
N. Texas SP
Jun 9, 2002
9,535
0
Wow, good catch!

Did you stop and get some Snoqualmie Falls Pancakes?

Yum!!!!
 

kmccune

2-Strokes forever
LIFETIME SPONSOR
Jul 3, 1999
2,726
1
Wow! Glad it worked out as well as it did. This makes me think that I should put a couple more extinguishers in the camper!
 

RM_guy

Moderator
Damn Yankees
LIFETIME SPONSOR
Nov 21, 2000
7,045
208
North East USA
Jeez Bill that sounds scary! That can screw up a vacation for sure...glad all turned out OK. I sure hope you didn't stain those nice lavender shorts of yours when you crapped your pants!
 

squeaky

Roosta's Princess
Damn Yankees
LIFETIME SPONSOR
Mar 28, 2003
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YIKES! Glad you and the family are all right - thank goodness for good samaritans!

Good job fixing that situation under the pressure - I would've had a heart attack or something!
 

XRpredator

AssClown SuperPowers
Damn Yankees
Aug 2, 2000
13,510
19
ah, the pleasures of going over Snoqualmie . . .

You fared better than my sister did when my folks moved her to Everett. Needless to say, when you combine a flat tire, a bad injector line, ice and snow conditions, and two cats recovering from their drug-induced travel stupor, fun does NOT ensue.

I got a couple more stories about a few of my delicate flower's trips to the westside, but they just tick me off, so I'll leave it at that :|
 

Offroadr

Ready to bang some trees!
Jan 4, 2000
5,227
25
Sounds like fun....not!

Good job Bill!
 

WoodsRider

Sponsoring Member<BR>Club Moderator
Damn Yankees
Oct 13, 1999
2,812
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XRpredator said:
I got a couple more stories about a few of my delicate flower's trips to the westside, but they just tick me off, so I'll leave it at that :|

I'm originally from Seattle and went to college in Ellensburg. I've got more than my share of horror stories going over Snoqualmie.
 

WaltCMoto

Sponsoring Member
Jan 1, 2001
1,934
0
Ah .....road trip stories. they some how turn into lasting memories. Glad it turned out OK, due to your nerves of steel.
 

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