3 tires, one trip

[david_reaves]

Originally Posted by EdJunior

I feel your pain. Only for me, it was three trailer tires on one trip home. A 5 1/2 hour drive (San Antonio to Houston) turned into a 14 1/2 hour day/nightmare.

Similar story, but just over a week ago-- the pain is still fresh

Hit a pothole somewhere on I-81 in Virginia. Didn't know it bent the axle... First tire, down to the steel bands. Spare on, bought a new tire and a tread gauge. Monitored tire #2 at every stop. Finally, changed second tire for spare again-- looking for another tire. (Apparently, many places don't stock load range E tires.) Spare blows out! Sitting on side of I-40 for 2+ hours waiting for road service with a mounted new tire. It's friday evening, so service can't find a tire. After 3 hours in heat, I put the badly worn, but still inflated tire #2 back on and limp into the nearest town. They have a Days Inn with truck parking, so we stay there for the night. My wife takes the truck 40 miles down the road next morning to buy an new road tire AND a new spare. I waited at the motel lot for a truck service to come see if there was anything to be done for the axle. There wasn't. He said the best thing would be to replace the axle. It turns out that the Dexter Torflex axles are practically custom built for each model. The delivery time is 6-8 weeks, and eTrailer doesn't stock the size on my Windjammer.

We put the second new tire on the camper, and drove carefully home. I continued to check the tire every stop (every 2 hours or so). We made it home only one day late. However the last new tire is also ruined (but still holding air). So, original tire-- down to lots of steel, tire #2-- inside half down to no tread and very edge of band visible, spare tire-- blowout, tire #3-- badly worn on inside half. So, total of four tires gone because of the axle. At least the new spare is still in great shape.

Oh, also, the tire shop that replaced the tires (40 miles away, remember) only filled my load range E tires to 50 lbs. My wife didn't know to double-check them. So, we spent another hour driving around the small town trying to find a compressor that would fill the higher pressure. (Helpful hint-- most coin operated pumps at gas stations and quick marts DON'T have enough pressure). After getting the tire and spare inflated, we finally got on the road and eventually made it home with no more difficulty. (My wife did flinch every time she heard any sort of road noise, that day and the next.)

In the end, we've lived to camp another day

[Bytesponge]

Originally Posted by david_reaves

Similar story, but just over a week ago-- the pain is still fresh

Hit a pothole somewhere on I-81 in Virginia. Didn't know it bent the axle... First tire, down to the steel bands. Spare on, bought a new tire and a tread gauge. Monitored tire #2 at every stop. Finally, changed second tire for spare again-- looking for another tire. (Apparently, many places don't stock load range E tires.) Spare blows out! Sitting on side of I-40 for 2+ hours waiting for road service with a mounted new tire. It's friday evening, so service can't find a tire. After 3 hours in heat, I put the badly worn, but still inflated tire #2 back on and limp into the nearest town. They have a Days Inn with truck parking, so we stay there for the night. My wife takes the truck 40 miles down the road next morning to buy an new road tire AND a new spare. I waited at the motel lot for a truck service to come see if there was anything to be done for the axle. There wasn't. He said the best thing would be to replace the axle. It turns out that the Dexter Torflex axles are practically custom built for each model. The delivery time is 6-8 weeks, and eTrailer doesn't stock the size on my Windjammer.

We put the second new tire on the camper, and drove carefully home. I continued to check the tire every stop (every 2 hours or so). We made it home only one day late. However the last new tire is also ruined (but still holding air). So, original tire-- down to lots of steel, tire #2-- inside half down to no tread and very edge of band visible, spare tire-- blowout, tire #3-- badly worn on inside half. So, total of four tires gone because of the axle. At least the new spare is still in great shape.

Oh, also, the tire shop that replaced the tires (40 miles away, remember) only filled my load range E tires to 50 lbs. My wife didn't know to double-check them. So, we spent another hour driving around the small town trying to find a compressor that would fill the higher pressure. (Helpful hint-- most coin operated pumps at gas stations and quick marts DON'T have enough pressure). After getting the tire and spare inflated, we finally got on the road and eventually made it home with no more difficulty. (My wife did flinch every time she heard any sort of road noise, that day and the next.)

In the end, we've lived to camp another day

I would be in deep pucky because I bought a Class A with no spare tire or wheel.
Have safe travels

[david_reaves]

Originally Posted by Bytesponge

I would be in deep pucky because I bought a Class A with no spare tire or wheel.
Have safe travels

Ironically, you might not have been. My Good Sam road service was having trouble when I needed to get a mounted tire with road service because no one had a small enough tire for my camper available. They did have larger tires, so you might have been good to go with your Class A.

My sister bough a smaller Class C, also doesn't have a spare at all. Ships with a can of fix-a-flat and a 12-volt compressor. Not much good for a blowout, but ok if you only have a nail or something.

David R