Doesn't look too bad, huh?

Little story on this: I drove down to Marion, Indiana (168 miles, 3.5 hours) to pick her up with a friends tow dolly. I've used the dolly flawlessly in the past, and figured it would be ok now.........about halfway into the trip, i realize i forgot my jack & toolbox..... Thought to myself, everything will be fine, nuthin has happened in the past, we should be ok now........

Famous last words.........

Got there, loaded the bug up and started coming home. Nothing out of the ordinary really, just the occasional stops for coffee and to check the straps on the dolly. Got within 35 miles of home and decided to stop for coffee and to stretch my legs. Went into the truckstop, got some java, came out and checked the straps, fired the truck up, put her in drive went to pull out onto the road and BAM!!! Drivers side rear wheel falls off and goes rolling down the road!!

I quickly pull into the gas station across the street, run down the road and grab the tire and notice the brake drum is still attached.......get back to the wounded bug and notice the huge nut & cotter pin missing. Searched all over and couldn't find either missing part, which was probably good as the threads on the stub axle were completely screwed, along with the splines on the shaft where the drum rides. Great, 35 miles from home, no toolbox, no spare parts, 11:30pm at night (nothing open parts store wise)......what to do?

I dig around the truck and find the stock, not worth a crap bottle jack, but no handle or anything else. Take a look at the bug, and then run back across the street to the truck stop where i had seen an assortment of cheapo tools. I grab some cheapo vise grips, the largest regular screwdriver i can find (to use as a jack handle) and the smallest phillips screwdriver i can find to use as a cotter pin.

Walk back across the street and start the tedious job of jacking the bug up to attempt getting the wheel back on so i can at least move it to a parking spot until i can get home and get the parts/tools i need. While jacking the bug up, i notice a guy in a land/range rover getting gas. He's watching me work (cuss at myself is more like it), goes in pays for his gas and drives over to me, asking if i need anything. I mention a decent jack would be nice and dude pulls out his stock land/range rover jack which is a MILLION times better than mine.

We get it jacked up, and try sliding the wheel/drum back on just to find out the splines on the stub shaft refuse to let it go on far enough to slide the makeshift cotter pin back in. We proceed to unstrap the front of the bug and carefully slide the dolly out from underneath. Block the front wheels and jack the rearend up as high as we can go to try sliding the dolly under the rear so i can still make it home. Ended up working great, even though we had to "wedge" the driver rear tire on with the strap, but it got me home!!

Never got the guys name, but if you should happen to be reading this, THANX!!