WARNING _ BIG POST_!
For those of you who care, or those of you who don't, the following can be found in my new book:
"How not to retrieve a Vehicle, in 10 easy to follow steps".
Chapter 1.) Only 9.5hrs return trip!
Left Benalla, and got home about 2.30. Left home at 3.
The trailer had an awful vibration, be disappeared at 80km/h. I saw a sign for hot donuts and pulled over. Checked the trailer, and smelt rubber. So I checked each tyre. One was ballooned a little, and was farken hot to touch. Let out some air. Get donuts and boot off.
about 30 mins later, I had a retread tyre on the trailer delaminate, so it had about a 1/4 of the tread missing. Fortunantly it happened 1 km from a rest stop. Limped it into there. go to change the wheel, and had the wrong sized wheel brace. needed a 19mm, I had a 17mm. (later found another one in the car that was 19mm).
So.... I Stood around ready the break something. Couple pulled up into the rest area. They had a Falcon. (19mm lug nuts). Asked them to use there wheel brace. Got The wheel off. After Undoing the bolts holding the spare to the trailer, found out that the spare was stuck to the trailer. Had to bash it off.
An hour or som later, We arrived in Benalia. I lined the trailer up with the car, and put chassis stands under the end with the ramps, and jacked up the front. So that it wouldn't pick the arse end of the car up. Tried to drive the car on, but the bumper was up against the trailer. There was about a 2 - 2.5" drop from the trailer top to the ramps. I couldn't even take them out to place them on the top. rolled the car off. I had to take the headlights and grill off to take the bumper off. All with no real tools. Just the ones that came in the emergency kit in the old mans car.
Took about 45mins to finally get the bumper off. Drove it up and tried to get it over the lip. It just bucked around and span wheels. rolled it back off. Found some wood that looked like it was a fence at some stage, as it still had partial rails attached, and pretty little decorative tops, and place it between the ramp and the trailer.
Pulled the stands out from underneath, jacked the front of the trailer up more. I left it attached to the tow car, cause otherwise it would roll around, because the trailer hand brake didn't work. The rear of the old man's car was almost off the ground.
Drove the car up the ramps, over the wood and the front end was on. Winched it forwards but it was getting caught on a bracket that the exhaust was mounted from. I wasn't going to roll the car back off again, so I got some wood, and jacked up the car off the trailer. The whole car moved forwards about 1/2 a foot with a bang, as the bracket let go of the now bent trailer top.
Got the car on it, positioned it in the middle. I had a wheel chock under the front, and winched the backend down. Also had the front held down too. As we were driving back, I was braking to turn onto the Hume, and the damn car moved about a foot forward, crushing the wheel chock, hitting the front of the trailer, and pulling the rear into the side, due to the way the rear end was held down. Got out again, tightened all the tie downs and drove the ****er home between 90 - 100km/h. This is in a 110 zone mind you.
Next thing that pissed me off was that now the car was a foot forwards, the cars rear end was squatting. Lights in the air, and the chain that linked between the car and the trailer was running along the ground. Stopped again, fixed the chains got coffee and drove home.
I got home at 12.15. Backed the trailer into the drive so I could drive the Telstar off the trailer. 12.30 rolled around and the car was off and I was inside.
Was defiantly a painful exercise, and if I had the $400+ to get the car home, I sure as hell would have done it that way.