The offending Qiad trailer
After I read about the bad luck J.G. had with his Patrol on his way to Moz I posted a reply that I was a little nervous going to Knysna with a Quad trailer behind the Patrol. All that I have read about the "handgranade effect" ect linked to the fact that I have not been able to afford a EGT played a part in my nervousness.
One thing is for sure, if it rained as much on the original day of remembrance (Dingaansdag) history would have been very different in this county but never the less we hooked the trailer and left for Knysna at about 0300. Everything went smooth except for a 30 minute delay just after Kroonstad due to a fatal bus accident. Rain all the way until just before Bloemfontein. We stopped at the Maxis restaurant at Bloem, had breakfast, checked everything and went on our merry way.
10 Km after Bloem I noticed something different on the trailer and stopped. Horror.... One of the studs on the right wheel broke off, of the 3 remaining nuts, 2 were stripped and one was still in good nick. Made some changes between the two wheels on the trailer and got it so that it could be towed to a garage. Word of advice; do not try to get a garage that can help you on a holiday in Bloem. After about 2 hours we ended up at Hi -Q where I bought 2 oversized studs to replace the broken one and one that was stripped.
I have never seen the N1 so busy, stopping on a national freeway for no apparent reason, start stopping like in JHB peak traffic not funny. When we turned off at Colesberg the road became quieter and we moved. 30 Km outside of Graaf Reinet we could see a serious rain storm developing over Graaf Reinet and then the right rear tyre on the trailer disintegrated. POP . Stopped, and happiness, the spare tyre does not fit on the studs. (Did I mention that I am taking this quad to a Nephew in Knysna, and that he organized this trailer? ) After some creative engineering
with a hammer we got it over 2 of the studs. My wife was by this time an expert on handeling the jack, handing we spanners and hammers ect. Max speed, 40 km/h.We got to Graaf Reinet after some serious praying, and made it to the Kwik fit before the wobbeling tyre died also. Fortunately Hennie helped us with 2 new rims ant tyres and thanx to him for assisting me in sorting the trailer out, thanx to my wife that stood in the pouring rain with me as I changed the tyres.
Wet to the bone we got into the Patrol and left to Aberdeen where we had reservations in a guest house.
The Guesthouse in Aberdeen, check out the "offroad parking bit
With the 2 new tyres and rims on the trailer, all went well until I unhooked it at Knysna and kicked the offending right hand tyre for good measure.
