Ain't we got fun?

***Power Hungry*** · #1 Fri, April 24th, 2009, 03:33 PM

We're on I-77 in NC, and we just pulled off to get two new rear tires.

Though it's a huge inconvenience and an unexpected expense, we sure are grateful that God got us off the road safely and at an exit where we can get all fixed up! God is good!

JWBFX4 · #2 Fri, April 24th, 2009, 03:39 PM

Wow that sucks, Glad you got off safely and nothing too bad happened.

***88Racing*** · #3 Fri, April 24th, 2009, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Power Hungry

We're on I-77 in NC, and we just pulled off to get two new rear tires.

Though it's a huge inconvenience and an unexpected expense, we sure are grateful that God got us off the road safely and at an exit where we can get all fixed up! God is good!

Better check the vehicle out a little better next time before you leave.

What you hit? Road debri?

Thank goodness it wasn't the fronts!

Have a "safe trip"

Lars

***cleatus12r*** · #4 Fri, April 24th, 2009, 03:50 PM

Glad you're OK.

I'd much rather have a front blow than a rear.

dlmcbm · #5 Fri, April 24th, 2009, 04:04 PM

I take it your going up RT81.... Ill find an overpass in Hagerstown, Md. and look for ya. Maybe hang a "BIG" PHP sigh out of something.

have fun. hope the rest of your trip goes well.

***Power Hungry*** · #6 Fri, April 24th, 2009, 07:27 PM

Yep... up I-77/I-81.

Let me know what mile marker you're at and we'll wave!

As for tires, we got a pretty good deal on 4 new Michellins. As always, God put us where we needed to be. The tire held until we could get off the highway. We have a nice, full-size spare and it took 10 minutes to change tire. We were 20 miles from a Costco we were familiar with and were able to get right in. All in all, pretty lucky.

I don't know what happened to the tire. I checked the tires earlier before we left and everything was cool. At some point during the trip we started to feel a little vibration. It started getting worse pretty fast and we limped to an exit. What we saw wasn't good. I guess with the warmer climate things shifted and the tread separated. Besides, the tires were old. I think they were actually the original ones on the vehicle so they didn't have many miles, but a lot of age.

Well... we're back on the road again and heading north. A bit of a detour, but none the worse for the wear. (Although a few dollars lighter.) Hopefully this is the worst of it and the rest of the weekend will be smooth sailing!

Take care.

***88Racing*** · #7 Fri, April 24th, 2009, 07:47 PM

Tire seperation is scary stuff. It can happen from hitting curbs or nice big potholes, the problem is you can't see it and forget it and it heats up(long trips)your done. You were lucky as you said to be where you were.

Drive safe!

Lars

Peroni · #8 Thu, April 30th, 2009, 08:00 PM

You were very lucky. When I got my truck it had Firestone Steeltex tires on it. They looked great and had awesome tread. 2 summers ago I was heading out to western WI with about 1500lbs in the back. Just got past DeWitte MI after 15hrs on the road including 3hrs stuck at the Sarnia border crossing when driver's rear went BANG!

Tread mostly seperated, wrapped around the axle locking that hub and I slid 200' on the rim. The steel belting scratched my rear bumper, put a huge dent in underside of the bed, caught my mud flap stuffing into the wheel well which crumpled the lower rear of the body panel, tore out the front fender brace, kinked the brake line, messed up the parking brake cable and very nearly tore off the fuel filler neck. What a relaxing way to start a trip! Wait it gets better! My spare - which I filled not even 24hrs before - only had 10lbs left in it. Lovely! Had to go on the ramp truck as he had no air tank. Had to drive all the way up to Ludington, take the ferry across lake Michigan then drive clear across WI on rt 10 with a leaky spare and 3 tires I no longer trusted. Needless to say when I got to Ellsworth I called around and (ironically) ended up ordering 4 Michelins from River Falls Tire who are a Firestone dealer. In the end it was kinda worth it cause the chick at the tire place was HOT!

And I got consolation knowing the azzhat who was tailgating me in MI probably had to go home and change his undies.

***Jackpine*** · #9 Thu, April 30th, 2009, 08:46 PM

How'd I miss this thread? Glad you all are OK, Bill and Corey.

Something you MAY want to look into (when you get your trailer) is a Tire Pressure Monitoring System. Camping World sells one now for $360 to members that monitors six tires. The wireless receiver sits on your dash and the senders are little 1/2 ounce things that screw into your tire valves. You get a yellow light and a tone if a tire drops 12.5% and a red light and warning if it drops 25%. You also have an onscreen readout of each tire's pressure (on demand). You can monitor up to 24 tires (I think?). But the bad news is that additional sensor/transmitters are $90 a pair. You can rapidly switch between monitoring vehicle AND trailer and vehicle only (for when you're not towing).

I was always worried about losing pressure in a trailer tire before I got this and now I don't have to worry. Additionally, one time driving down the rocky dirt mountain road in the Chiracauahas, I shredded a rear tire on my truck and didn't even know it until we were at the bottom and I started to speed up. Possibly, with the sensor, I might have saved that tire. Thankfully, my rim wasn't damaged.

I know this sounds like I sell this device, but I don't. I just happen to think it's a good idea.

Oh, if you DO buy a trailer - you're going to want to join Camping World! Trust me on that!

- Jack