Well...Dark Aero almost had to be left behind.
One should always check the torque values on the tire lugs at least twice. One should always check the tire pressures of yer spare tire(s) (even new ones) because when in the heat of the battle, you won't git the time to check and inflate.
The trailer jack was a tremendous help in making things happen. I can't stress this enough if yer looking at doing side of the road repairs on the tire/hub.
At some point of the drive out to Houston, all 4 lug bolts loosened up and fell off along the way. After finishing up with my task in Houston, I headed back only to be met with the familiar clunk clunk of a flat tire. No problems...I have a spare tire! Pulling into an apartment driveway, I inspect the carnage. A completely flat tire and the wheel pant has taken some damage on the bottom side. Nothing too serious...whew. It's at this point I notice the wheel rim is crooked in the fork and wobbles. Rut roh!
I pull back the wheel pant to reveal what the issue is and notice that none of the wheel lug bolts are on the wheel. Since the tire is sandwiched between the tines of the fork, it won't fall off. It was just sort of spinning within the hub. The sidewalls of the tire just got hammered on the forks enough to kill it and then the air finally escaped.
Late evening on a Sunday with no spare lug bolts, I started trying to find who would possibly have lug bolts or something close that would work to git me home. The nearest AutoZone was about 3 miles away so I disconnected Dark Aero, pulled the hub to take with me, and headed out. After about a good hour in the store, I had 4 lug studs that would thread through the hub and 4 acorn nuts that would keep the wheel in place. It wasn't a perfect solution but it would work. I got home with a low tire...but I made it home.
Someone posted my rig in a forum thread! This was before my flat tire incident.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/...#post-10701584