Terry The Toad
is one Smokin' Farker
I am confessing to this colossally stupid blunder in the hope that it might help someone else prevent something similar in the future.
As you can tell from my signature line, I have a Lang 48 original (trailer model.) I think the new ones have a slide-in second shelf, but mine has (ahem, "had") an extra shelf that looked like a small table. (Expanded metal top with short steel legs.)
Well, I never used that additional shelf. It sat on the back of the cook chamber, I never thought about it, and pretty much forgot it was there.
So, last Thursday I hooked up the smoker and started out to south Georgia for a family reunion. I got about 20 miles from home (far enough to be on an expressway going 65 MPH) and to my horror, in the rearview mirror I saw that steel shelf hit the ground, bounce, and go airborne. (You can probably imagine the sick feeling I had thinking of the possible consequences.)
First - it narrowly missed a van, then the shelf slid to a stop on the line between the two lanes of traffic.
I immediately pulled over and started running back to retrieve the shelf (praying every step of the way that no one would hit it.) I almost got back to where it was laying in the road and a semi ran over it and blew a tire. That threw the shelf smack dab in the middle of one lane where a mini-van hit it and blew a tire.
I managed to retrieve the shelf before there was any more damage (except to my pride.)
To (try to) make a long story short: a trooper showed up and wrote me a ticket for having an unsecured load. Remarkably, the mini-van driver didn't seem the slightest bit perturbed by the whole incident. I offered to buy the guy a new tire - but he said "no thanks". And, after a "Road Ranger" came and changed his tire, the mini-van driver got in his van and left! The semi-driver was pretty understanding too. His company was local so they sent out a shop truck to change his tire. I felt like a complete idiot - but all the other people were incredibly understanding. So, I guess after I pay my ticket - and my insurance company buys the trucking company a new tire - I can try to put this behind me.
I guess considering what COULD have happened, I got off easy.
But you can be sure that I will check, double- and triple-check my trailer next time I go anywhere!
As you can tell from my signature line, I have a Lang 48 original (trailer model.) I think the new ones have a slide-in second shelf, but mine has (ahem, "had") an extra shelf that looked like a small table. (Expanded metal top with short steel legs.)
Well, I never used that additional shelf. It sat on the back of the cook chamber, I never thought about it, and pretty much forgot it was there.
So, last Thursday I hooked up the smoker and started out to south Georgia for a family reunion. I got about 20 miles from home (far enough to be on an expressway going 65 MPH) and to my horror, in the rearview mirror I saw that steel shelf hit the ground, bounce, and go airborne. (You can probably imagine the sick feeling I had thinking of the possible consequences.)
First - it narrowly missed a van, then the shelf slid to a stop on the line between the two lanes of traffic.
I immediately pulled over and started running back to retrieve the shelf (praying every step of the way that no one would hit it.) I almost got back to where it was laying in the road and a semi ran over it and blew a tire. That threw the shelf smack dab in the middle of one lane where a mini-van hit it and blew a tire.
I managed to retrieve the shelf before there was any more damage (except to my pride.)
To (try to) make a long story short: a trooper showed up and wrote me a ticket for having an unsecured load. Remarkably, the mini-van driver didn't seem the slightest bit perturbed by the whole incident. I offered to buy the guy a new tire - but he said "no thanks". And, after a "Road Ranger" came and changed his tire, the mini-van driver got in his van and left! The semi-driver was pretty understanding too. His company was local so they sent out a shop truck to change his tire. I felt like a complete idiot - but all the other people were incredibly understanding. So, I guess after I pay my ticket - and my insurance company buys the trucking company a new tire - I can try to put this behind me.
I guess considering what COULD have happened, I got off easy.
But you can be sure that I will check, double- and triple-check my trailer next time I go anywhere!
