Good Samaritans on the Road (to the Tevis Cup, Post # 44)

After Fantazia was pulled at the Wild West Pioneer Ride on Saturday (read about our experiences at Wild West here), I decided to go home that afternoon rather than Sunday as planned. I probably would have stayed if my brother hadn’t been visiting my home town. I really wanted to hang out with him (he always seems to pick endurance ride weekends to visit!) so I figured that at least one good thing could result from being pulled early on Saturday. If not for good Samaritans on the road (thank you, Pep Boys Merced), we’d never have made it. But we did!

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A little background
Truck stops are amazing
Pep Boys
On filling your tire at a service station

Before leaving, however, I waited to make sure Fantazia at and drank well. She had a very sore muscle, so I wanted to give her some banamine, and it was HOT. She needed to be well-hydrated with a healthy active gut before embarking on a drive that would be six hours including a few stops. Fortunately, she was in great shape, so we left Skillman Horse Campground around 12:45.

A little background

On the way up on Wednesday, the truck had given me a low air warning just south of Auburn. I stopped at a Shell station (kudos for not even trying to charge for air, which is illegal in California). By dint of testing all four tires, I discovered that the left rear was 20 lbs low (the others were at 75 psi). I filled it and carried on. I unhitched the trailer and visited friends in Grass Valley on Friday; no low air warnings. I figured I was good, but of course I wasn’t taking into account that a trailer puts a lot more weight on the rear tires. Also, as far as I can tell, the low air warning doesn’t go on until a tire is nearly 20 lbs low (maybe it’s 25% low).

By the time we were approaching Auburn on the way home Saturday, the low air warning flashed. I filled it (this time in a Valero that tried to hide the free air rule… I had to go in and ask them to allow me air.)

By the way, truck stops are amazing

Fortunately, I made it through all the Sacramento traffic and was below Stockton before the low air warning flashed again. I had planned to stop at the Ripon Loves for fuel, so I continued till there. Loves is a truck stop… and truck stops are great. First, you can pull a truck and trailer in easily (being, after all, much smaller than a semi). Second, diesel exhaust fluid is right there at the pump, and free (with your diesel purchase). So much cheaper and easier than those boxes you get (they tend to be cheapest at Home Depot, or the occasional Costco deal). Third, at least at Loves, there is air at every second aisle–and it’s fast! Tire fills in seconds. (Truck stops also have clean bathrooms, showers, and–usually–decent coffee.)

Truck stops also frequently have truck service centers. The Ripon Loves does! I should have pulled in and asked if they could fix my tire, because the low air warning came on again just north of Merced. I pulled into an am/pm that had a service shop behind it, but unfortunately it was 5:10 by then, so they were closed. More unfortunately, I couldn’t get the tire to hold air (or, more probably, to take air in at all). The service station attendant very nicely looked up which places were still open and suggested I try Pep Boys.

Pep Boys Merced

It took me about ten minutes to get to Pep Boys on Main St, and by then it was past 5:30. Considering they close at six, it was nice of them to listen to me at all. At first, they told me I had to unhitch the trailer so they could put the truck up… Well I tried. I had to drive around the block to park (some confusion ensued when I explained I could not just “turn left” into the lot through a small space and no room to open).

I unloaded Fantazia. I undid the chains, cord, lock… I got the big block of pine I’d taken from the campground because it made cranking the trailer up easier. I cranked. And the trailer did not budge. I thought I had forgotten to unlock the hitch, but I had. After trying repeatedly (after all, I had just unhitched and rehitched two days earlier), I realized the crank was broken. By this time it was nearly six. I told Pep Boys I could not get the trailer off.

They said, well pull in as close as you can, unload the horse, and we’ll jack up the entire thing.

The fix

I put Fantazia back in the trailer, pulled around the block again, and parked in front of their shop. I unloaded Fantazia, who was feeling quite cranky about all this, although she was clearly more comfortable out of the trailer in the breeze!

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They took the tire off and inspected it for leaks… Turned out to be the valve stem. They put a new one on, replaced the tire, and sent me on my way. Yes, it was a kindness; they had no obligation to help me, and didn’t finish until well after closing time. It’s not the first time I’ve been aided by good Samaritans while on the road. Every time, I am so thankful for the generosity of strangers.

On filling your tire at a service station

When hauling, try to go to a truck stop. Too often the air pumps at regular service stations are inaccessible, or if you can get to them, you’ll be blocking traffic. Then there’s the free air thing…. It is illegal for a service station to charge you for air (or water) in California if you purchase gas or fuel. Since they don’t generally know whether you’ve done so (and they probably don’t want a blow out on their conscience), most attendants will give you air if you ask.

But you have to ask. The air pumps almost always have a coin or credit card slot, and do NOT work if you don’t pay (or go inside to request they unlock it). Some have a button on the side that you need to press after asking.

What bothers me most about this is that service stations are relying on people not to know the law, or to be in too much of a hurry to go inside. By law, the pump has to have a notice on it informing users of the right to free air. In most cases this notice is either too small or worn to read/find, or missing.

If you pump gas/fuel and request air, and they deny it, you can file a complaint with this form.