A bad day ... and a good LEO encounter.

[jfl]

I was on my way to the airport for a maintenance flight and exiting the Interstate, got a flat front tire on the Avalanche.
Got the jack out, lifted the car, not easy with artrhits in the wrist and then tried to lower the spare tire; after 15 minutes of trying to get the long rod to engage the system that lowers the tire, I would have gladly killed whoever designed this contraption .

A deputy stopped behind me, didn't ask for any documents and tried himself for another 15 minutes; then he got on the radio and called someone.
Five minutes later, the Captain shows up and says: "It is really a b*tch and, after wrestling a few minutes, gets the thing to engage and lower the spare; then we proceeded to pull it free from the cable, another frustration; eventually we succeed, get out from under the truck.
I tell them I can finish by myself, thank them very sincerely and ask them for their name. They give me their card and I tell them I am going to send a nice letter to the Sheriff. They were happy about that.

Why am I posting this here ???
Oh yeah !
While we were fighting on the ground with the spare, several times, my cover shirt got caught behind my M-TAC, fully exposing the G-26; there is no way they could have missed it.
Not a word, not a look, they couldn't care less. Never asked me for my DL or CCW (in Florida you don't have to disclose).

Their kindness helped me get over my frustration.

BTW, how do you address a Sheriff in a letter; is "Dear Sheriff SoandSo" the proper way ?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[SleepingZ]

The spare tire thingy, you are right. Don' you wish the engineer that designed it would have been there with you, I bet you could educate them with the jack handle, it would only take about 30 seconds of training.

Sounds like a good experience with LEO's.


Z

[preachertim]

Glad it turned out OK.

[C9H13NO3]

I've had no problems getting the spare off on my Silverado...I think it's the same system. Too bad yours had to be a pain. My buddy's Ford used a socket on the end of the long rod, and when he was trying to get it on the thing the socket fell off. We had to remove his whole rear bumper to get it back and get the spare off! Glad you had a good experience with the LEOs

[wmhawth]

Sounds like a couple of pretty nice cops. At the risk of getting a bit off topic, I must tell you that membership in an auto club such as AAA is money well spent as it gets you help when you need it, especially if arthiritis as you mentioned makes changing a tire painful. I am personally of an age where I'd as soon let some young buck wrestle with the spare myself.

[nutz4utwo]

I bet you could educate them with the jack handle, it would only take about 30 seconds of training.

Excellent use of the word "educate"

It is always a good idea to mess around with this stuff on a good day in your driveway to get the hang of it and discover any potential issues.

[jfl]

Sounds like a couple of pretty nice cops. At the risk of getting a bit off topic, I must tell you that membership in an auto club such as AAA is money well spent as it gets you help when you need it, especially if arthiritis as you mentioned makes changing a tire painful. I am personally of an age where I'd as soon let some young buck wrestle with the spare myself.

We are AAA members; the card was at home
OTOH, around here it takes them an hour or more to arrive, I thought I could get it done in 15 minutes .......... WRONG

[BamaSteve]

I was on my way to the airport for a maintenance flight and exiting the Interstate, got a flat front tire on the Avalanche.
Got the jack out, lifted the car, not easy with artrhits in the wrist and then tried to lower the spare tire; after 15 minutes of trying to get the long rod to engage the system that lowers the tire, I would have gladly killed whoever designed this contraption .

I hear ya on that note, and of course you never notice that aggravating contraption when you are broke down on the side of the rode

[mlr1m]

Thats nice to hear about them stopping to help ya. It used to be common where I live to see patrol officers on the interstate changing tires or offering other assistance. Its pretty much a thing of the past now it seems.

Michael

[Thumper]

It's nice to hear about the "good" encounters. Thanks!

[farmerbyron]

I hope the flat tire was still on the truck. A few weeks ago I had a flat outside of Chuckie Cheese (hell hole) and the jack slipped off! Glad the flat was still on the hub. Proceeded to wrestle with the spare in 25 deg. cold and strangely enough couldn't care less about exposing my kahr. No body around except for friends anyways so no big deal. It turns out at about the same time as I was wrestling a flat a shooting took place about a mile and half away.

[helitech]

I was on my way to the airport for a maintenance flight

Glad to see you calling it a "maintenance flight" and not a test flight. I always correct the younger pilots and mechs.

[jonconsiglio]

Dear Sheriff so-and-so would be proper grammar - I pretty sure... Or you could leave out "dear" and just start the letter - Sheriff so-and-so,.

Jonathan

[rottkeeper]

Cops are people too, most good a few bad, some departments do not let them get involved in helping with auto repair for many reasons.
Glad it worked out for you.

[boricua]

That's the true meaning of customer service and professionalism.

I think "Sheriff so and so" is appropriate. Make it a nice letter and hope these officers get rewarded somehow.