[Jeff Teuton]

Don't everyone get all concerned. You have to remember what you have seen on my rig was after one hour of fireman cutting me out which I think they came in from both sides, and then some 8 hours of big wreckers pulling, dragging, and otherwise finishing it off. It was a total anyway as is the trailer. What I had was a Class 8 truck built in a Day Cab configuration. It had a 16K front axle and 40K rear axle capacity which means a 56,000 Lb GVW. Double frame (C channel inside another C channel) and a big bore motor which means it had hd crossmembers and the motor itself becoming strongest. The front was fiberglass and the cab was aluminum. All NRC conversions are steel frame built on the chassis and reinforced in critical places such as slide outs, windows, etc. The front axle is what the industry calls a Set Forward Axle which is what all big trucks used to be, but turning considerations, axle placement etc have evolved into most trucks are now Set Back Axle. The Columbia Freightliner is a SBA, while the Coronado is a SFA. It is very hard to run in the woods at 70 MPH and not expect this. I now have pictures of the scene and I took down some large trees, but in the end, the trees took me down. Tires are always a concern. It was a cool beautiful day about 55 degrees. Tires are seldom an issue at 55 degrees. Road was smooth, and traffic was light. Did I just blow a tire, or did I hit something or did I pick up a nail or something and then low tire pressure and then blow, only my Guardian Angel can say. They had 40K miles on them since new, and at my last fuel/food stop some 120 miles back in Tallahassee I checked all tires (truck and trailer), hitch, chains, as I planned on getting into Louisiana from there. This vehicle has never slept outside except for at the races and was as near new as any 13 model could have been. I have seen rigs at the races, and I would not run the tires I saw on some. But I'm the one who thought he was Daniel Boone and made a trail. I think a person should make reasonable decisions on his or her equipment. We all know the weak spots and the troublesome items on a particular rig. My 2 cents which always runs 50 cents.