Toyota; there is a reason it’s the NGO go-to
- 18 May 23
- 11:32
- One Comment
A little trip out to a school this afternoon, an hour each way, and hour there. No worries. All is well until on the way back, a metallic sound, crunching maybe, and then off comes our front wheel, spinning away into the bush, as we grind to a halt on in the middle of the road.
We get out, it takes a second as the front wing has been pushed back into the door, to survey the damage. There is a little debris, mainly bits of plastic bodywork. The vehicle is resting on the brake disc, a long deep gouge in the dirt shows our path to a halt. No wheelnuts, the reason we lost the wheel. I now recall I sent the driver into town the day before to have the tires changed…
“Anthony”, I said to our driver, “get the tools”. But I didn’t need to, he was already on it. It took about an hour but it was poetic how we worked together with so few words, each understanding what the other was trying to do. We got the wheel from the bush, and used it as a support as we gradually lifted the vehicle up high enough to take the wheel back. Of course, the jack wasn’t original, we had to adapt. In one iconic moment (to me anyway) we had the suspension propped up on two rocks whilst we manoeuvred the jack (anyone old enough to remember “Ice Cold in Alex”?). We took one bolt from each of the other wheels and bingo, back on 4 wheels again. Wheel turning smoothly, incredibly.
One last thing to fix, a bit of the suspension had come away from the chassis, not a vital component and not affecting us driving it (slowly). So, we just found some small rope and tied it in place. Did the job though, got back to town and a ‘garage’. Sadly lost that photo.
Yes, the Toyota, virtually bomb-proof!
One thought on “Toyota; there is a reason it’s the NGO go-to”
Yep Phil, am old enough to remember “Ice Cold in Alex”. Well done you, yet again, a stoic in a difficult scenraio. Bonne. K