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muladzh Profile
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The perfect hot topic


What it looked like, six months and 15500 miles ago.

Image

and

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What it looked like, this afternoon.
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and

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From a safe distance it looked like this:

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Just after 12 noon, the rather junkie 2010 Jeep JK Rubicon we bought in March, started to smell chemical, and burning, we stopped, and the jeep erupted into flames - we rescued a computer, a gps, the food and water, then ran to the rear to grab the firefighting tools, and other tools. We lost all the rest in 12 minutes. Including a dash mounted gps we just bought, a computer bag of topo maps, various tools and some clothing. About a letter sized piece of paper, both sides, handwritten, amount of other stuff.
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Since we got that JK joke jeep I have disliked it, couldn't do the male bonding thing with it, and had sensors tell us things were wrong, when they weren't, make strange noises, and often falter when running. It was 6 months old, 15500 miles plus a little change, was serviced regularly, treated much better than my 05 TJ Jeep, because I thought it may break.

Two days ago, I turned it on, and instantly expected it to catch fire. I checked under the hood, found and saw nothing. Yesterday I saw a flash vision of it burning. Today it burned on a sand road, for no apparent reason. There was no smell of burning desert, gasoline or burning vehicle when I got it, but as soon as I started it, I smelled a chemical burning smell. 9 minutes later is was totally destroyed, the tank had exploded and we were in the desert 26 miles from anywhere. Luckily 911 worked, and 22 minutes later, when all was out, and I was shoveling sand on the burning desert (I got it out before anyone arrived) a Sheriff's officer arrived, ten minutes after that the first of two BLM firetrucks arrived. The fire crew saw my efforts with a shovel, and thanked me, patting me on the back and saying good one. The Deputy seemed convinced it was a brush caused fire - but there was no brush anywhere that was burned. He admitted that much, so the reason for the fire was undetermined at the scene. The junk jeep really is junk now, and sits, abandoned on a sand road, in the desert, miles away from anywhere and anything, and we sit in a Mack Camper, unable to go back to it. We can do nothing about it, or anything, until offices open on Monday - what ever happened to caring insurance companies. At that time, we will find out what they want doing, to get the burned out hulk off the desert.


Even the wheels burned. For it to have burned out in 12 minutes, it had to burn very hot - molten glass, and wheel alloy ran in rivers from the hulk. Quite an impressive firework show.

We were rescued from the desert by friends, who, when the shock wore off, were amazed by the remains of the jeep. I would not have expected it to burn so very fast and hot.

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9/19/2010, 5:21 am Link to this post Send Email to muladzh   Send PM to muladzh Blog
 
Firlefanz Profile
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Re: The perfect hot topic


Oh, dear! That's horrible.

At least you and the Frog got out and are not hurt. You managed to save some stuff and even stopped the fire from spreading.

I'm still sorry you lost the jeep, even if you didn't like it. Worse, I'm worried about you sitting in the Mack and not being able to go to your beautiful place.

Lots of hugs: emoticon emoticon emoticon emoticon

Last edited by Firlefanz, 9/19/2010, 7:04 am


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Hannah Steenbock
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9/19/2010, 7:00 am Link to this post Send Email to Firlefanz   Send PM to Firlefanz Blog
 
muladzh Profile
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Re: The perfect hot topic


Being stuck in town is the annoying part - even if the insurance coughs up for a rental, for a week, it won't help any - they allow for $35 a day, for one week - that won't get anything with four wheel drive, so we won't be seeing the Butte again, until we find a way to get our other jeep out from Indiana. I suppose we will be walking a lot, in the next couple of weeks.

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9/19/2010, 1:41 pm Link to this post Send Email to muladzh   Send PM to muladzh Blog
 
muladzh Profile
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Re: The perfect hot topic


Still dancing the silly dance with the insurance company, they seen concerned that it is 26 miles into the desert.. How they suppose I was to get it to town I don't know - it may stay there for years before somebody hauls it off for scrap, but that is not my problem.

It is not so much that we did not like the Jeep, it just wasn't like any of the earlier jeeps - it had a security system, auto door locks, hill assist brakes and other things I did not like having on a Jeep. Off highway, in the desert it behaved very well, until it burned.

Two days hindsight analysis of the circumstance leave me with the impression that the fire started in the center of the vehicle towards the front - when we used the fire extinguisher, the flames were too hot to get close to, but were central at the rear of the engine, before I dropped the hood, the battery tray caught fire.... That was when we grabbed what we could, and retreated. Because of the road, the area, the lack of brush etc, I am convinced that the transmission had something to do with it - that and the fact that it burned so fast - you don't expect a vehicle to erupt into rapid flame - there aren't supposed to be volatile things near heat sources. Maybe the transmission had seeped fluid over it - it was manual not auto, but they have fluid - and maybe that caught from something or somehow. I just cannot get my head around it - I did nothing wrong, I was not on vegetation, don't drive in scrub, or if I have to I go round it. If the Insurance will bother to contact me, we will see what they think.

We are mourning the loss of way more stuff than we at first supposed. Also, we are not happy being 4 miles from the stores, I am too old to wander so far with groceries.

Last edited by muladzh, 9/20/2010, 4:01 pm


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9/20/2010, 3:51 pm Link to this post Send Email to muladzh   Send PM to muladzh Blog
 
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Re: The perfect hot topic


I'm sorry you're having such trouble. emoticon

Hope it all works out soon, so you're mobile again.

  emoticon

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Hannah Steenbock
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9/20/2010, 7:05 pm Link to this post Send Email to Firlefanz   Send PM to Firlefanz Blog
 
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Re: The perfect hot topic


Oh that is horrible! I am so glad you and Frog were safe!! emoticon
I "googled" it to see if there was a recall or something on it and found your post at JK though.. emoticon A lot of help that was...
I hope you get the insurance to pay up! emoticon

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“Freedom and democracy are dreams you never give up.”

9/20/2010, 9:12 pm Link to this post Send Email to Queenyforever   Send PM to Queenyforever Blog
 
muladzh Profile
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Re: The perfect hot topic


Today we got to go with the truck the insurance sent to recover the hulk.. Very interesting - the guy got stuck three times, because he thought he knew how to drive in sand and wouldn't hear otherwise.

But we recovered it, and now it is the hands of the insurance.

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9/20/2010, 11:56 pm Link to this post Send Email to muladzh   Send PM to muladzh Blog
 
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Re: The perfect hot topic


Hope they do right by you.......
And don't you love a "know-it-all?" emoticon

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“Freedom and democracy are dreams you never give up.”

9/21/2010, 7:22 pm Link to this post Send Email to Queenyforever   Send PM to Queenyforever Blog
 
muladzh Profile
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Re: The perfect hot topic


The main reason we bought the land here is to get away from the idiots in society. They all think they know best, and screw up all the time, because they don't.

The insurance settled a figure on the vehicle - $16.57 more than the loan, so we get that, plus the gap insurance money, plus the unused warranty. But, that will take three to four weeks.

We have yet to hear how much they will settle for the contents - all of which I need. So whatever they give me, I still have to replace everything we lost, because we use it. My s.i.l. is trying to persuade me to buy other things I want with it.. That ain't going to happen - there is a large deductible on the policy that means even if they agree the values, I am still $500 out of pocket.

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9/21/2010, 9:53 pm Link to this post Send Email to muladzh   Send PM to muladzh Blog
 
Firlefanz Profile
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Re: The perfect hot topic


Ouch!

Well, I do hope you can replace all the stuff you lost, and get a better car!

  emoticon

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Hannah Steenbock
Hannah Steenbock's Forum
9/22/2010, 2:35 pm Link to this post Send Email to Firlefanz   Send PM to Firlefanz Blog
 


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