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Neal Johns
Super Nomad
Posts: 1687
Registered: 10-31-2002
Location: Lytle Creek, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: In love!
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Time Machine - Broken in the back country
Place: Off the map a few miles east of the El Marmol to Catavina road.
Time: 2003
Fools: Marian and Neal Johns w/Husky
Size Counts by Marian Johns
I know what all of you are thinking, but in this case, it was a bigger hammer we needed, rather than the smaller one we pack along on our desert
travels. A big hammer and a small Mexican named Pancho saved the day. Actually, the real heroes of this drama were some incredible friends – Bob and
Marilyn Martin and John Page – who came 500 miles when we called for help. Plus, there was a little instrument of modern technology called a satellite
phone, courtesy of son (and satellite tester), Jonathan, which was an indispensable item that enabled our rescue.
A week of exploring and wildflower viewing near Cataviña in Baja (about 300 miles south of the border) started off well enough as we oohed and awed
at the solid blankets of orange poppies covering the hills along I-15 between Corona and Lake Elsinore. But fate had other plans, and she dealt us a
hand with a few unpleasant surprises. First of all, Neal’s bridge broke as he was pigging out on Jelly Bellies we had just purchased at Tom’s Farms.
After considering different options, we found a dentist in Escondido who temporarily cemented it back in place. By the time Neal’s teeth were fixed,
it was too late to cross the border, so we camped in the boonies near Tecate on the U.S. side.
The next morning, Wednesday, we crossed the border with no hassles, enjoyed the beautiful drive between Tecate and Ensenada, had lunch at our
favorite restaurant, the Misión Santa Isabel in San Quentín, and arrived at our destination in the late afternoon.
The following day, we explored some two-track roads off in the boonies east and south of El Marmol and were heading back toward the main, paved
highway. We had just started down a short slope into a wash, when a horrendous BANG! brought us to an instant stop. Besides a downward tilt, the front
of the truck was listing noticeably to the left. With all of that, we were still unprepared for the sickening sight of a wheel turned at a right angle
from its normal position. Closer inspection revealed a separated ball joint, and a lower “A” arm buried in the sand. The truck wasn’t going anywhere
and, consequently, neither were we. Should we try to walk out? It was about 10 miles to the highway. We would have to carry a lot of water and take
Tessa (our Husky) too. And then what? We needed a new ball joint assembly, but where could we find that? Probably back in U.S.
My next thought and question was, “Did we bring the sat phone?” Was I ever relieved when Neal said, “Yes.” And Hallelujah! the blessed thing
worked! From there in the middle of nowhere, we were able to reach Bob Martin who readily agreed to come and help. Fortunately, Neal had written down
the GPS coordinates for each of the junctions where we had made turns. He relayed those to Bob and also suggested that Bob come with someone – maybe
John Page?
The truck was at such an odd angle, there was no way we could have slept in it that night, so in the dwindling daylight, we managed to jack up the
front end and then dug out the rear wheels until it was much more level. Then the wind began to blow – persistently and with ever-increasing force –
over 20 mph. It rocked and buffeted the truck and camper all night long. Even though we had two jacks under the front end, we expected, at any minute,
for the truck to fall off. But somehow, despite the raging wind, it managed to stay up on its precarious perch.
Friday morning, the wind continued, but at 10:00 a.m. we learned, via another phone call, that Bob and John were rounding up the new part and would
be heading our way later that day. Things were looking up! Next, we braved the wind and hiked about a mile to the last junction where we tied blue
tape on the bushes as a sign for Bob to turn there. There was nothing to do then but wait. Because of the wind, we stayed holed up in the camper the
rest of the day. We read and played cards, took a nap, and read and played cards.
The wind continued to howl through the second night, and on into the next day. About 1:00 Saturday afternoon, Neal turned on all of the radios we had
– the CB, the two-meter ham, and the GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service). I was ecstatic when, finally, about 3:00, we began to hear our rescuers on
the CB. They had planned to pretend they could not hear us, but chickened out when they heard the relief in our voices. It was a beautiful sight to
see the Martin’s and John’s trucks coming over the hill.
The men immediately set about to remove the broken ball joint, and worked until dark. Unfortunately, no amount of hammering loosened the ball, so
they decided they would somehow have to get the truck out to the highway. The wind continued throughout a third night.
In the morning they tried binding the parts together with a steel cable dog leash we had. We packed up everything and moved about one-eighth of a
mile before it broke. What now? Then we remembered that Neal had several chains stashed away in his menagerie of emergency goodies. So they tried one
of those next, and (another Hallelujah!) – it held the whole the way!
It would have been too dangerous to drive on the highway, should the chain break. So, John and Neal took John’s truck and drove another six miles on
the paved highway into Cataviña in search of a mechanic with the proper tools. They returned with Pancho and his BIG sledge hammer. Wow! With just a
few whacks, he had the old ball removed and the new part installed. The secret to his success was the big hammer, and....he pounded at a downward
angle instead of from the sides.
What a wonderful feeling of relief! And, besides that, the wind had finally died down. We weren’t really able to properly express our thanks and
appreciation to the Bob, Marilyn and John, but you can bet we will be forever grateful for their kindness and willingness to come all that way to bail
us out of trouble.
During our ordeal we all but forgot about wildflowers, but as we headed home in our repaired truck, we were able to appreciate the colorful fields
and roadside where they seemed to be blooming everywhere.
How many Engineers does it take to fix a Toyota? More than three!
[Edited on 12-20-2011 by Neal Johns]
My motto:
Never let a Dragon pass by without pulling its tail!
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Barry A.
Select Nomad
Posts: 10007
Registered: 11-30-2003
Location: Redding, Northern CA
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Mood: optimistic
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Neal----------I remember this story, and the shudder I felt less we encountered the same fate sometime. In the final analysis, did you ever figure
out just what had caused this to happen?
-----and did the repair job and added "part" do the trick, or did you have to have additional work done on the suspension when you got back home?
Is this the same truck that you took into the Mission Santa Maria later and lost a differential? (I think it was a diff.)
Barry
[Edited on 12-20-2011 by Barry A.]
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64591
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Neal is the only guy I know who has broken his Toyota (TWICE) in Baja!
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vacaenbaja
Senior Nomad
Posts: 640
Registered: 4-4-2006
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I have seen that same failure on a Chevy S10. Does that
Toyota have the indepemdent front end and not the solid axel right?
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ddawson
Nomad
Posts: 103
Registered: 9-6-2010
Location: Hilo
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| Quote: | Originally posted by vacaenbaja
I have seen that same failure on a Chevy S10. Does that
Toyota have the indepemdent front end and not the solid axel right? |
Yes, Tacomas are IFS.
Stories like this have caused me to carry a toolbox full of spare parts when in baja. Glad you made it out ok!
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64591
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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More photos ( from http://vivabaja.com/neal2 )
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captkw
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3850
Registered: 10-19-2010
Location: el charro b.c.s.
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Mood: new dog/missing the old 1
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VHF
HOLA, since I was a kid,I have alway's had a charged vhf hand held at the min.in my car,,cb's dont work worth crap..and yes I know some fool is gonna
try and argue with that,,any way.,when I was younger lad,on the east cape,that was are phone,,pizza,cop,z doctor,and I cant count how many time's a
VHF has stopped a bad cop cold (la paz) and has helped save a coulpe of live's (mine) 2 of some the gear that is part of my baja,air pump and a GOOD
VHF,,stick with a Icom or stanard,,they work,and I dont see anyone hear BN ever bring them up..but me,when I go to the head,,I fist make shure I have
paper,,when Im in baja Ihave VHF,and no catavina isnt a great vhf spot,bet will rasie
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TMW
Select Nomad
Posts: 10659
Registered: 9-1-2003
Location: Bakersfield, CA
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Well Neal do you now carry a big hammer? It is amazing how in the middle of nowhere a Mexican can fix almost anything.
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vacaenbaja
Senior Nomad
Posts: 640
Registered: 4-4-2006
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Yep those IFS front ends do pop the ball joints as I found out
just going on the freeway on my '87 Nissan Pathfinder 4x4.
It seems that the shock lost its fluid and was not doing its
job. Hit a few of those "newly engineered" high speed dips
and drop offs we have on the freeway now days. POP!!
and hang on! One of the ball joints went. I was boucning up and down like a basket ball.
As far as radios I like to use an ICOM 706. Covers 2 meters ,10 meters,
(cb too if "opened up") ,as well as world wide general bands.
You just have to have a good antenna tuner and a
random length of wire for a dipole set up when stationary
or an outbacker whip when mobile. Yes you should have a
license to legally use it, which is not hard to study for.
But in a real emergency I think that you can use it to get you
out of a life threatening jam and then negotiate the consequences later if any.
Sat phones however are truly awesome. Too bad they couldn't make the deal for the low orbit system that TRW was suppose to put up.
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captkw
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3850
Registered: 10-19-2010
Location: el charro b.c.s.
Member Is Offline
Mood: new dog/missing the old 1
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ROGER,AFIRM......just recommending to folk's on a small buget,and what work's the best all arond,ssb,ham are great for boat's offshore or in house,but
I THINK (RARE) general baja use,a handheld vhf with two batts's can save the
day and comm's are alway's a good thing,,22/..out..K&T
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Neal Johns
Super Nomad
Posts: 1687
Registered: 10-31-2002
Location: Lytle Creek, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: In love!
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Barry, the part did the trick, there was a recall on some years ball joints, It was a ’99 and the Tacoma taken to Santa Maria was an ’03. Gave the ’99
to son and later to handyman (237 K miles and still going).
Re: Sat phones, Delorme has a black box - the inReach - now, that is like a super Spot, lets you send and receive emails and GPS position just like at
home. $250 and $10 a month. Uses Iridium. Poor Globalstar sat system is only working 10 minutes an hour and stock is 49 cents. :-(
My motto:
Never let a Dragon pass by without pulling its tail!
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captkw
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3850
Registered: 10-19-2010
Location: el charro b.c.s.
Member Is Offline
Mood: new dog/missing the old 1
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OOOPPPSS !!
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Neal Johns
Super Nomad
Posts: 1687
Registered: 10-31-2002
Location: Lytle Creek, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: In love!
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TW, I got a full size sledge and cut the handle down. Size counts.
My motto:
Never let a Dragon pass by without pulling its tail!
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edm1
Senior Nomad
Posts: 568
Registered: 8-23-2006
Location: Oak Hills, Ca
Member Is Offline
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Merry Christmas Neal!
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15938
Registered: 11-8-2004
Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
Member Is Offline
Mood: Everchangin'
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| Quote: | Originally posted by captkw
HOLA, since I was a kid,I have alway's had a charged vhf hand held at the min.in my car,,cb's dont work worth crap..and yes I know some fool is gonna
try and argue with that,,any way.,when I was younger lad,on the east cape,that was are phone,,pizza,cop,z doctor,and I cant count how many time's a
VHF has stopped a bad cop cold (la paz) and has helped save a coulpe of live's (mine) 2 of some the gear that is part of my baja,air pump and a GOOD
VHF,,stick with a Icom or stanard,,they work,and I dont see anyone hear BN ever bring them up..but me,when I go to the head,,I fist make shure I have
paper,,when Im in baja Ihave VHF,and no catavina isnt a great vhf spot,bet will rasie |
i've got two i carry-one for the friends rig for on the road comm's. and one on the beach when we take out the tin boat, just in case!
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bajabass
Super Nomad
Posts: 2016
Registered: 10-4-2006
Location: La Paz,BCS
Member Is Offline
Mood: Want to fish!!!
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After spending the last 30 years rebuilding front ends for a living, nothing beats a BFH! Brute force, deftly applied, has no substitute. A MAP gas
torch is a great thing to carry if you have room. Many uses on the road. Great fire starter, and may have allowed even the little hammer to loosen up
that ball joint!
Keep your eyes on the road, and your hands upon the wheel!
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805gregg
Super Nomad
Posts: 1344
Registered: 5-21-2006
Location: Ojai, Ca
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Maybe if you own a Toy truck you should carry a spare front end. That looks just like my neighbors Toy in his driveway, his broke also and he wasn't
even off road or in Baja.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64591
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Seriously, stop buying Toyota trucks!!! (maybe the price will drop so those of us who know they are gold in Baja can afford them, better)
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jeans
Super Nomad
Posts: 1059
Registered: 9-16-2002
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Mood: Encantada
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| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
Neal is the only guy I know who has broken his Toyota (TWICE) in Baja! |
I broke an idler arm in Laguna Salada. We had to go to Mexicali for parts...does that count? (except I'm not a guy)
Mom always told me to be different - Now she says...Not THAT different
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64591
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Merry Christmas jeans! You can be a 'guy' too! 
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