Lana Gates
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​​​​Gulliver's Travels

How a Flat Tire Helped Us Work Together

7/27/2022

6 Comments

 
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We had just settled into Mike Rowe’s The Way I Heard It podcast to get beyond a stupid (but all-important at the time) squabble. The diversion worked, lightening our moods and bringing smiles to our faces. 

The cheer didn’t last long. Midway through one episode, our tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) started beeping, alerting us to a rapidly deflating tire on our trailer — the third such instance in 2022. 

Thankfully, the off-ramp to a closed weigh station on the freeway offered the perfect place to pull over. As I emerged from the truck, a loud hissing assaulted my ears. Nearing the trailer, I could see a vapor escaping the front passenger tire.
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A Team Effort

What Mike Rowe had begun, this situation completed. We both forgot about our squabble and quickly shifted into our roles to fix the situation. Having experienced two other flat tires within two months, we knew exactly what needed to be done and had gotten pretty good at it. 

I opened the trailer’s passenger side cellar door and removed the lug wrench to lower the spare tire from its secure spot under the rig. I also grabbed our Safe Jack from the cellar, a purchase that has more than paid for itself. It’s the right tool for any job that requires jacking up the trailer. After lowering the spare, I had to crawl under the trailer to pull it out. 

Bob busied himself in the back of the truck to find the torque wrench and the right size socket to loosen the bad tire’s lug nuts. That done, he crawled under the trailer to jack it up high enough to remove the bad tire and put on the spare. 

Unlike with our other flat tires, the root cause of this one was not a stem leak. The tire had started to shred. If our TPMS hadn’t notified us of the fast leak, we wouldn’t have even known. Our rig could have sustained serious damage from the shredding tire like a camper neighbor experienced. A tire blowout without a TPMS bent the frame of their slideout, sealing it shut.
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We carry a full-size tire under our trailer, the same make and model as the other tires on the coach. It’s a good thing, because this flat happened 1.5 hours from our destination in Bar Harbor, Maine. That’s a long way to go with a smaller, temporary tire. And, it being a Sunday, all of the tire shops in the area were closed.

Warranty to the Rescue

Having bought a set of trailer tires from Discount Tire in Tennessee in 2021, we knew they were still under warranty. Unfortunately, Discount Tire stores don’t exist in Maine. So, Bob had to call Discount Tire to see if the nearest store, in Boston, could ship the tire we needed to our location. The store associate said they could, so we had to confirm our campground could accept packages. Some campgrounds don’t allow package delivery for temporary residents.

Our campground in Bar Harbor said it could receive a package. Bob ordered the tire and arranged with Tire Warehouse in the area to remove the bad tire from our rim and put the new tire on. We only had to pay about $35 for shipping — a bargain when you consider the cost of that new tire out the door neared $250. 
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Once again, God watched over and took care of us, ensuring we had a safe place to pull over when the leak happened, providing cloud cover while we changed the tire, preparing the way for us to make it to our destination, and arranging for us to replace the bad tire with a new one. And our day only got better from there. 

You might also like The Importance of a Pre-travel Walkaround.
6 Comments
Ray Cole
7/28/2022 05:28:47 am

Looking forward to seeing you guys soon

Reply
Karen
7/28/2022 08:23:51 am

Glad you guys are safe. God is so good!

Reply
Thomas Doherty
7/28/2022 09:54:22 am

Love your stories but especially this one. Overcoming a bunch of small issues, like no Discount Tire stores in Maine, etc., makes me think of my troubles and how they seem to compound, when they are insignificant, really.

Though admittedly I find myself singing “There’s a hole in my bucket,” far too often. I need to let go and let God vs cursing the darkness. And stop mixing metaphors.

Please keep your stories coming!

Reply
Carole
7/28/2022 06:59:54 pm

Ok.. this flat tire story assaulted my eyes..lol OMG..how scary.. Glad you and trailer are ok..Will you please come home ..lol Enjoy your time..Lova ya.. But before I go I do have a comment about that shredded tire..DANNNNNNNNG!!!lol

Reply
Margot D'Souza
7/29/2022 07:15:58 am

So glad to hear that you got through the flat tire incident safely! Thank God.

Reply
Betty Schoen
8/8/2022 02:16:37 pm

I'm so glad all your angels were with you that day, watching out for bum tires. xoxoxo

Reply



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    This is the travel blog of Bob and Lana Gates and our truck, Gulliver, and fifth wheel, Tagalong. We live on the road full time, enjoying all the adventures that come our way.

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