Luckily Marci found RV blogs (well, Facebook pages) and we’ve
been reading them religiously since April.
So we knew – I MEAN KNEW – that things will go wrong on any RV
eventually. We paid close attention to
things that seem common (like tires) and things that are preventable (like
fires at gas stations due to leaving the propane refrigerators running or
leaving the antenna extended).
Look – we are just not preachy or judgmental. And we are quick to point out that we are not
experts at anything in the RV world. So
don’t take offense, go ahead -run your fridge, don’t check your tires, don’t triple check
that your slide will not be dragging something across your floor. And I promise – some of this WILL happen to
us (or anyone who drives thousands of miles with a small home on wheels).
This morning we woke up at the KOA in Wendover, NV (there is
a free 24 hour shuttle to the Casino – located about 300 yards away – for the ‘gamin’
camper). After 550 miles the day before, we planned to head across the salt flats in the cool
morning. And then I saw the tire.
As I said above, I’ve been warned. Not just by all of you, but by two 5th
wheel owning co-workers I trust. CHECK
YOUR TIRES.
And I found the right rear (new at the start of the trip)
was TOTALLY worn on the ‘outside’.
Remembering the photos of blow-outs on Facebook – I could see me
changing a tire in the middle of 100 miles of flat salt and sun. I’ve changed a
whole lot of tires in my life – I decided not to wait for Good Sam Road Service
(doesn’t seem to be a prompt) and broke open my new ‘bottle jack’ to
get ‘er done.
Right.
An hour later, covered in dirt, tire-blackened hands, and enough
colorful language to hope that my neighbors’ hearing aide battery was dead – I got
the spare on. We quickly threw
everything into the truck bed – (thankfully Marci insisted on a triple check –
which prevented more RV repairs) and headed for The Tire Factory (whom I HIGHLY
recommend http://www.tirefactory.com/gotirezonecom
) for a quick repair. They even moved us to the front of the line because our
rig blocked their entire parking lot.
Anyway, I learned that the tire was faulty to begin with
(nothing wrong with the axle etc), how to actually change an RV tire, and that
we could persevere through our first RV repair issue. I am sure there will be many more – but we
choose to look at this as part of the adventure (and it will grow a life of its
own as I tell the story over and over the years to come!)
PS This repair only cost $113 and a bit of worry in the 120 miles across the salt flats
