As I was coming out of the parking lot of the I-83 Diner I nipped the barrier wall of the exit ramp and felt a jolt to the truck. I immediately looked at the passenger side mirror and saw a tire perpendicular to the trailer. “FUCK!” was the first thought in my mind. The second was that I broke the axle and now was somewhat impeding the entrance/exit to the parking lot and what kind of delays and/or trouble this was going to cause me.
On a closer inspection of the damage I realized that the tire simply had popped out but the rim that holds it in place was bent. The barrier wall was intact. I was traveling at 3-4mph as I was approaching the ramp to exit which ends in a T and the only options are either a right or left turn. The load I was carrying weighed 44,500lbs so the force, even at slow speeds, must have been responsible.
Trailers have eight tires for a reason. Fortunately there was no other damage and I managed to limped to a nearby truck stop with a shop and they fixed it fairly quickly, though I had to wait three hours to get the repairs done.
My delivery appointment was moved back from twelve-noon to 21:30 and I made the new delivery on time but now my schedule was lopsided as I started my day at 09:30 and my next pickup that was 107 miles away.
If this amount of damage could be inflicted going 3-4mph imagine the dangers when we’re traveling at 68mph!
